BruceB
06-24-2014, 07:34 PM
Once upon a time, not that long ago....
The earnest shooting/handloading hobbyist would carefully peruse that vast listing of the various powder types on the market.
After due (and serious) contemplation, OR from prior satisfactory
experience with a given powder, he would decide how many pounds were required, and either order his selection or go to a store and buy it.
Flash forward to JUNE 2014.
NOW.... we search wherever we think there may be powder to be found.
IMMEDIATELY (speaking for myself here) we buy as much as we can of whatever might be available, without regard for type, manufacturer, burning speed... any of those once-critical factors.
THEN, with the new stuff safely in our possession...... THEN we start the quest for info:
"Hoo boy! POWDER! Lessee just what I can actually USE this stuff for, now that I have it!!!"
This is the point where the utility of the wonderful cast bullet becomes obvious. I don't believe there is any smokeless powder, of any make, of any burn rate, anywhere on Earth, that I can't find SOME use for in a cast-bullet rifle or handgun load..... barring some of the thumb-size artillery propellants, natch.
That load may not be "the best", it may not be the "most-efficient", it might even need serious effort and research ....duplexing, anyone?.... but by George it WILL drive a cast bullet out the muzzle, and I WILL enjoy both the load and its development.
I will also enjoy the loading and shooting I will continue to do, while non-casters wait in frustration for "their" favored powder to re-appear on the store shelves.
This seems to be the way MY powder shopping goes these days, anyway. Opportunism, carried to the maximum degree, should keep my rifles and handguns running until supplies improve.
If I loaded shotshells, the same would apply there. I'm VERY glad there are so many shotshell powders on the list; they make wonderful handgun loads as well as great reduced charges in rifles.
The earnest shooting/handloading hobbyist would carefully peruse that vast listing of the various powder types on the market.
After due (and serious) contemplation, OR from prior satisfactory
experience with a given powder, he would decide how many pounds were required, and either order his selection or go to a store and buy it.
Flash forward to JUNE 2014.
NOW.... we search wherever we think there may be powder to be found.
IMMEDIATELY (speaking for myself here) we buy as much as we can of whatever might be available, without regard for type, manufacturer, burning speed... any of those once-critical factors.
THEN, with the new stuff safely in our possession...... THEN we start the quest for info:
"Hoo boy! POWDER! Lessee just what I can actually USE this stuff for, now that I have it!!!"
This is the point where the utility of the wonderful cast bullet becomes obvious. I don't believe there is any smokeless powder, of any make, of any burn rate, anywhere on Earth, that I can't find SOME use for in a cast-bullet rifle or handgun load..... barring some of the thumb-size artillery propellants, natch.
That load may not be "the best", it may not be the "most-efficient", it might even need serious effort and research ....duplexing, anyone?.... but by George it WILL drive a cast bullet out the muzzle, and I WILL enjoy both the load and its development.
I will also enjoy the loading and shooting I will continue to do, while non-casters wait in frustration for "their" favored powder to re-appear on the store shelves.
This seems to be the way MY powder shopping goes these days, anyway. Opportunism, carried to the maximum degree, should keep my rifles and handguns running until supplies improve.
If I loaded shotshells, the same would apply there. I'm VERY glad there are so many shotshell powders on the list; they make wonderful handgun loads as well as great reduced charges in rifles.