So what do you do when ?

[Wolfdog91]

So what do YOU ( as I you individually) do when can't find the powder the book says to use for a load ?

[trails4u]

I start with Quickload if I'm getting off in uncharted waters.....find something that might show promise, then hit the interwebs to see if others have tried, and what success they might have had. I usually like to have an idea that it MIGHT work before I just start randomly asking, 'Hey...how many grains of xx is safe in xx'?

I also pay pretty close attention to burn rates. If it's way faster/slower than recommended loads.....I'm very leary.

[36g]

Find another load reference that lists a powder that you CAN find.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Without knowing specifically what you're trying to load, I'd just make the observation that all my reloading manuals give multiple loads for any common weight bullet, jacketed or cast. Be specific, and we might have an alternative loading for you from a manual you don't have.

DG

[Electrod47]

Wolfdog. Many times powder makers load up their info with their powders and give little room for others. Especially if they sell components like bullets, primers, brass even. Go to the more generic books. Like Lyman or Lee who offer a little of everybody. No matter what powders you have you can after a long search find something if its doable. When you can't find something, avoid internet recommendations not backed up by some form of official testing. You hear it all the time, I know "SAMMI" is just a recommendation!!. You just line up a burn chart and go for it!! No No No. There have been upteen shortages through the last few decades and if there were an easy answer, we would have all known about it by now.


Final Thought: Things are scarce right now, when they lighten up a bit, one of the first things to come back are shotgun powders. Get you a 8lb ( or 2 ) caddy of Red Dot. I load 14 different calibers and Red Dot has seen me through many a pinch.

[waksupi]

Consult a few burn charts, you can pin a load down pretty easy.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I only had that issue once.

Many years ago, I wanted to try AA4100 in my S&W500. It was no where to be found. So, I worked up a load of Unique. Then about 6 months later, I found a jug of AA4100. Then I worked up a load for that. I preferred the Unique load. So now I have a half a jug of AA4100 that I'll probably never use.

[gwpercle]

Lets get the parameters straight ...
What do I do when I can't find the "powder" the "book" says to use for a load .
Okay ... let's just say we are lookinf at 30-06 150 gr. SP ...my book has more than one powder.
In fact it is showing 18 different powders that I can use . Plus I have another 8 Books that probably have a few different powders .
Lets say the powder we can't find is Varget ( Varget is always hard to come by) .
In the Hornady Manual the powders are listed from fast at top to slower at bottom .
I look at where Varget sits ... then write down the 3-4 powders above it and 3-4 powders below it and start going to all the reloading supply places in Baton Rouge and towns within a 30 min drive .
If I'm lucky I find one or two powders and buy them . I did see a pound of Varget in Cabela's but it looked like bait for a trap of some sort ... I didn't touch it . I haven't seen Varget for 12 years ...
I wasn't falling for whatever trick some one was pulling .

When you can't find what you want ... just look for something else close ... look on the Burn Rate Chart and find something close to the subject power's burn rate ... that's usually a good place to start and/or cross reference a possible selection .
Also ask the question ... I can't find Super Whoopie powder ...what's a good powder to use with ...

I got to thinking , in the 2012 powder shortage , I was getting into loading 9mm Luger ... I wrote down all the powders I could use / had data for and took the list with me and would buy what few I found on shopping trips .
I got to know a lot of new powders ...not just Unique and Bullseye that I had mostly used since 1967 .
Gary

[stubshaft]

Burn rate charts are your new best friend when there are limited powders available.

[Half Dog]

Create a wanting to trade post in the swapping and selling forum. Perhaps someone close to you has the same issue with a different powder.

[Nobade]

Yep, a combination of burn rate charts and Quickload lets me come up with something pretty easily.

[dverna]

Lets get the parameters straight ...
What do I do when I can't find the "powder" the "book" says to use for a load .
Okay ... let's just say we are lookinf at 30-06 150 gr. SP ...my book has more than one powder.
In fact it is showing 18 different powders that I can use . Plus I have another 8 Books that probably have a few different powders .
Lets say the powder we can't find is Varget ( Varget is always hard to come by) .
In the Hornady Manual the powders are listed from fast at top to slower at bottom .
I look at where Varget sits ... then write down the 3-4 powders above it and 3-4 powders below it and start going to all the reloading supply places in Baton Rouge and towns within a 30 min drive .
If I'm lucky I find one or two powders and buy them . I did see a pound of Varget in Cabela's but it looked like bait for a trap of some sort ... I didn't touch it . I haven't seen Varget for 12 years ...
I wasn't falling for whatever trick some one was pulling .

When you can't find what you want ... just look for something else close ... look on the Burn Rate Chart and find something close to the subject power's burn rate ... that's usually a good place to start and/or cross reference a possible selection .
Also ask the question ... I can't find Super Whoopie powder ...what's a good powder to use with ...

I got to thinking , in the 2012 powder shortage , I was getting into loading 9mm Luger ... I wrote down all the powders I could use / had data for and took the list with me and would buy what few I found on shopping trips .
I got to know a lot of new powders ...not just Unique and Bullseye that I had mostly used since 1967 .
Gary

This is how I would approach it as well. But I have never had esoteric calibers that would only work with a handful of powders.

[mdi]

Find another load reference that lists a powder that you CAN find.
:goodpost:

I have been reloading for a very long time and never had the problem. I have several old and current reloading manuals. I have always kept a good inventory and variety of powders on hand (when shopping I often bought one extra pound of powder or brick of primers, resulting in being able to reload during panic shortages, but not much help today though). One thought; I always find a load in my manual(s) before I assemble components for a load. And I ain't smart enough to try and extrapolate a load for ABC powder from XYZ powder data.....

[Texas by God]

Burn rate charts and data for another cartridge with similar case capacity and bullet weight are tools I use for such enterprise.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[BLAHUT]

Burn rate, close to each other, just start with a lower powder charge, may be 10% less, just be safe> have had to do many times, that is where a cronagraf comes in handy?

[country gent]

I have the one caliber books here for most of what I load nice in that they have most data in them from manuals and makers. You can get specialty data from sierra also by contacting them. ( how I got my 80 grn load data for the 22-250 fast twist when I built it.).

When wandering of the grid into uncharted waters be absolutely sure to start low enough and work up. Water capacity of your case and others can give an idea as will burn rate charts

[725]

I look to both the burn rate charts and the "accuracy " load from the Sierra manual. I try and find a similar velocity as shown by the Sierra manual that is produced by the other powders. Then I add a little scrutiny to the volume to volume loads shown. If a load has (for purposes of this discussion) 50 grains in the accuracy load, I look for something close to the velocity and grain amount to use instead of my preferred powder.

[Rickf1985]

I adapt to what is available within the loading parameters of the manuals for the cartridge I am loading. Where I once used Unique and Bullseye I am now using CFE Pistol and Autocomp. For rifle I used 4895 for most everything I shoot but now I am using 3031, BL-C2, 5744, Buffalo Rifle and H335. If the originals come back I will go back to them but the alternatives have worked quite well.

[405grain]

Wolfdog91: It has become painfully obvious to us old timers that shortages of ammunition and reloading components usually occur in cycles. During favorable times it is always advantageous to stock pile things like powder, primers, brass, etc. I still have lots of supplies, but decided last year that when things do come back into stock, from now on I'll only buy powder in 8 pound jugs. This is a good plan because I think I'll have a lot of time between now and then to save up for it! Also, if I casually buy a brick of primers every month, in a year I'll have 10,000 primers set aside, (because I'll have shot the other 2000). By the second year I'll have 20,000 primers, and that should see me through the next shortage. I have some primers that are 40 years old - I bet that if they found some primers in King Tuts tomb they'd still work. Long story short; Learn from this shortage because there will be more of them in the future. "Buy cheap, stack deep."

[Soundguy]

So what do YOU ( as I you individually) do when can't find the powder the book says to use for a load ?


One thing to do is be preemptive in your reloading hobby. For instance..i maintain a few powders that have very very wide reloading uses..for instance... Trail boss. Not fantastic for auto loaders..but for manual actions.. It will pretty much load anything using the 70-100% of free case space under projectile, with absolutely no compressed loads. You can load 25 acp up to 470ne. Using that formula and be safe pressure wise for nitro proofed guns. That's one thing you do...have a last ditch fall back powder.

[Winger Ed.]

can't find the powder the book says to use for a load ?

I'd check a few other books.

Something else I've found is powders listed in a old book that they loved so much, they'd about write songs about them--
aren't even listed in the new edition of the same book.

[Bazoo]

What do I do? I avoid calibers that use a narrow range of powder, I avoid powder with narrow applications. I collect data for the calibers I’m interested in. I also collect manuals that might offer insight.

But let’s say I had a caliber that needed x powder and I had non. What would I do? I’d make do with powder that is similar. I research my caliber and powder and see if anyone has used it. Make a page or two in my research notebook and record the info as I come across it while searching. Including powder and amount and any measurements and poster and forum they are on. If they seem nuts in other posts I disregard it. If they seem to be a safe and sane loader, I note that. I try my best to corroborate data from a published source. And I find old handloader with my caliber in it of available. Not to mention asking for help from those that have quickloads if I cannot find a solution on my own. That’s how I approach it.

[megasupermagnum]

It really depends on what I'm loading. In most bottleneck rifles, I just choose a similar powder. Data for those isn't set in stone anyway. In a handgun, I don't think I've ever had the problem. Sometimes I have to use data for a bullet that is 10-20 grains heavier or lighter, but there's usually a lot of data for handguns.

Shotguns is where the question really lies. There's plenty of times you can go through 6 manuals and not find a load you want that you can also get the hull, primer, powder, and wad to all match. It's even more true now that a lot of times things are discontinued. 16 gauge especially, good luck with that. In shotguns I'm about all fed up with that. I bought myself a Pressure Trace II system, and I use that to test substitutions. It's no replacement for a load manual, but I feel plenty safe using it to adjust loads to work for me.

[rbuck351]

I just switch to a different powder of similar burn rate. I have powders in a wide spectrum of burn rates but If I didn't have anything close, I would probably use a slower powder with a booster charge of faster powder. If none of that worked I would just use a slightly different cartridge. I have calibers in most sizes from 22H to 416 Rem in rifle and 32 auto to 454 Casull in pistol.

[GregLaROCHE]

I often consult burn rate charts. There are lots available on the internet. Some formats are easier to read than others.

[WRideout]

Sometimes data can be found in really old loading manuals that is not available anywhere else. I have several old Lyman and and Hornady books that are falling apart, but they have data for oddball cartridges, like 6.5 Japanese. If you are needing a page from an older book, post a request here, and someone will probably be able to send you a PDF file of it.

Also, I will sometimes use data for jacketed bullets, and start low.

Wayne

[Wayne Smith]

Collect data - loading manuals will give you lots of options for most calibers/cartridges - until you get into the unusual or obsolete ones. Then I ask someone here who has Quickload for some data for specific boolit/powder combinations, and have been provided with such data each time. I also have a 25 Krag AI which has a water capacity two grains greater than the 257 Roberts AI and two grains less than the 25-06. My Serria manuals give me data for both, so I have a number of options to play with safely.

[Soundguy]

It really depends on what I'm loading. In most bottleneck rifles, I just choose a similar powder. Data for those isn't set in stone anyway. In a handgun, I don't think I've ever had the problem. Sometimes I have to use data for a bullet that is 10-20 grains heavier or lighter, but there's usually a lot of data for handguns.

Shotguns is where the question really lies. There's plenty of times you can go through 6 manuals and not find a load you want that you can also get the hull, primer, powder, and wad to all match. It's even more true now that a lot of times things are discontinued. 16 gauge especially, good luck with that. In shotguns I'm about all fed up with that. I bought myself a Pressure Trace II system, and I use that to test substitutions. It's no replacement for a load manual, but I feel plenty safe using it to adjust loads to work for me.

True that... shotgun reloading has the least powders and most restrictive cookbooks.

[kenton]

I haven't seen anyone post it yet but check Hodgdon's reloading center for data. Since they acquired western powder they have even more data available free online.
https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/reloading-data-center

Most other manufactures have at least some data available online.

Another option is to contact the powder manufacture and ask for guidance. The one time I have done it they were helpful. The worst they can do is say they don't have data or that it is a bad idea.

[tmanbuckhunter]

Consult the manufacturer of the powder. Accurate 5744 is a great example of a powder that has an extremely wide array of uses, but you may not always find data for your given combination and need a starting place. I've contacted Accurate numerous times and gotten extrapolated data to work with. One thing you can do to, but this is a FAR more advanced technique, is compare case capacity with a similar case, for example 303 Brit/30USA and start on the lower end of the spectrum. A lot of ways to skin this cat if you can't get what you need, but you're pretty sure what you have will work, especially if there is data for it in another cartridge that is very similar.

[captaint]

Well, I guess the first thing I would do is consult my powder burn rate chart and see where my preferred powder stacks up. Then try to find a substitute close to the preferred. When you find one, then go to a manual and any published load source and find what you need/want. My favorite is Ken Waters Pet Loads, the complete version. If we still haven't found something, then I can't help you. Notice I said published loads.

[ACC]

So what do YOU ( as I you individually) do when can't find the powder the book says to use for a load ?

Look for another on the list in the hand loading manual of your choice.

ACC

[GregLaROCHE]

I once contacted Vihtavuori and asked for data for a cast 6.5 Swede. They said they didn’t have information for any cast boolits.

[farmerjim]

I have been reloading for about 60 years and have a bunch of old and several new manuals. By exploring the internet I have found about 30 full reloading manuals in digital form. There are also many of the old tables from the manufacturers.
This place, Handloads.com, closed a couple of years ago, but nothing ever totally dies on the net, so it is now at this address.

https://web.archive.org/web/20180801003256/http://handloads.com/loaddata/loadlist.asp

I have used much of their data, but be sure to verify it by other sources.
There are many powders that will work good that are not listed but will work well.
As they say....
If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you are with.

[tja6435]

I spent the last 2 years of Obummer and pretty much all of Trump’s term loading up on powder and primers. If I don’t have a specific powder, I look for one close in burn rate that I do have on hand.

[Bigslug]

I read this thread that was posted back in January https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?437834-People-who-make-up-their-own-loads

;-)

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I read this thread that was posted back in January https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?437834-People-who-make-up-their-own-loads

;-)

Yeah, I did too...and also thought about my posts there as I posted here.

I think Wolf is looking for some secret sauce, but the problem is it doesn't exist. We are surely in tough times for newbie boolit casters. Many of the old powders that work great for cast boolits have been discontinued and the ones that haven't...like any of the supplies we need, just aren't staying on the shelf long enough for a newbie to find them. The newest branded powders out there are mostly unknown to boolit casters, because not much has been written about them, other than what the powder companies have put out as advertising for the specific use they were designed for...and no one designs a powder for cast boolits. Most of us old timers who have done some experimenting in the past, have a large stash of the older powders for use, so we don't really have any incentive or desire to buy the newest powders to experiment with...especially at the current inflated prices. So that leaves the newbie with the conundrum of trying to do the experimenting with little to no experience...or just put it off until the times start changing. So what to do in the mean time? Start discussions like this.