Well Crud!!

[joatmon]

I have one pound of American Select and am trying to thin the kinds of powder I stock. I decided to use this up on 40S&W and dang if it aint so good I'll have to look for an 8lb'er!
Guess I'll have to cut back on another one.
Aaron

[claude]

I hate it when that happens...................:violin:

[tazman]

I have a whole shelf full of powders I tried to use up but found out they worked well. It's hard to limit yourself to just a couple of powders when so many work so well.[smilie=b:

[Walla2]

Best laid plans......Rats! At least you didn't have to buy a new gun or more equipment to use it up...Or did you?

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Forget the effort!!!

If your shooting any different cartridges/calibers/bullets etc. etc. you will collect powders. It happens!

I have recently added LiL'gun and 300MP to my collection due to working with a new to me RUGER 77/44 and developing loads for a 275gr Wide Flat Nose cast bullet.

Will one of those powders "shine" or will it be back to H110?

At this point, the jury is not in so that is just the way it is, a couple more powders that AT THIS POINT may or may not not have a real reason to take up space in the closet. Won't know until the testing is done.

Next week or next year, who knows?

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[Shiloh]

Probably 15 powders. Five get used regularly and are "go to" powders. Been like this since I started shooting mostly cast years ago.
For jacketed, there are a lot more powders to choose from.

Shiloh

[dverna]

I have quite a selection myself and it is handy to have options when working up a load. The "mistake" most people make, including myself, is to sub-optimize and try to squeeze the best performance out of a load. The reality is that for most of the shooting I do, getting another 50 fps in a pistol, or 100 fps in a rifle has little practical value. Similarly, for rifle plinking and game hunting ammo, having a 1.5 moa load instead of a 1 moa load is of little consequence.

My needs (12, 20 and 28 ga: 9mm, .38 Spl, .357, .40 and .45: .223, .30/30, .308, .300 mag) could easily be met with Promo, Unique, Longshot, HP38, Varget, H4895, H4350. Regrettably, Varget is not readily available and I am down to 8 lbs. So it may drop off the list soon and I will use H4895 in its place.

[Blackwater]

Trying to cut down on the powders you stock is an inviting scenario, but .... there's a downside. Whenever you start to think, "I wonder what XXXX powder would do, you can't try it. So .... I have well over 30 different partial cans of various powders. I still use them whenever I get a new gun, just to see what the gun likes, but throw them out or give them away or sell them? NOT ON YOUR LIFE! They don't eat, aren't taxable, and just sit there awaiting the call, so I just let 'em do that. Just seems to be the most advantageous way, to deal with it all, to me. But then, I have a rather experimental bent and like to test a lot, so .... that may not be for everyone. I DO have "standard loads" for my guns, but I'm never averse to trying something new. Occasionally I get a nice surprise. I love it when that happens. But again, that's just me.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

I'll need to come down in large part with Blackwater on this subject.

Had it not been for the fact that I had worked to develop good loads for several 300 Win. Mags. It's not likely I would have had had IMR7828 and RL22 on hand when a new RUGER American 30/06 came along.

I'd likely used the stashes of H or IMR 4350 or 4831 for that "06" rather then seeing that rifle on the first time out throw a sub 3/4" group with a charge of 61.5gr of RL22 behind a Hornady 165gr Interlock.

Now, one of the first powders mentioned might well have gotten er done as they have for years, but the possibility is high that My load development would have gone past that first test series before reaching the very good level of results.

Gett'in on a bit in age, and who knows now many other rifles I just might have the opportunity to work with, But I sure have no plans to try and decrease the number of options available, not when I have instead added a couple more to the stash during the last year.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[DerekP Houston]

same problem! I havent found a load that doesn't shoot well and my shelves are getting quite full.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Derek,

Is that a, "load" or a rifle "that doesn't shoot well." with your powder stash?

CDOC