Quote:
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Guys who get their reloading start from a 200 year old guy using a single-stage for his pistol rounds get stuck on Abraham Lincoln favorites of Bullseye and Unique.
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Well, uh, ix-nay on the condescension-ay there, Chet.
(that's from a movie, take it in the spirit that it's offered)
I agree to a point, but the folks stuck on the oldies (and I'm a well-known Unique hater) are not competing with us at the powder section, so don't fret too much.
I've got an irrational selection of powders in my cache, almost all of them geared toward handgun rounds.
From my angle, there's a bunch of reasons that I haven't tried a Ramshot powder but the first reason is because they aren't marketed by Hodgdon. Hodgdon's fine online data source is the reason that I tend to choose a Hodgdon or Hodgdon-marketed powder first. That resource is incredibly powerful, flexible and comprehensive. Being able to reference it is an absolute selling point.
The last new powder I picked up was Alliant Power Pro 300-MP and I snagged it because the
all too few published velocities I've seen with it have been impressive. Truth be told, I just don't "need" the ultimate in velocity, but as a relatively new chrono owner, it's sort of a sport to wring velocity from some loads. I literally grabbed 300-MP because the store I was at had Alliant powders on sale and I had considered this one for a little while. Early shots fired with it have impressed me in
"feel." I haven't been able to chrono them yet, but they feel powerful and smooth -- an observation that I am finding difficult to accurately describe, but I
think that's what I'm feeling. (it's possible that I have myself convinced of this rather than it actually happening...
)
Worst thing about Power Pro 300-MP is that it's "marketed" by Alliant, so load data is scarce and expert help (only an e-mail away) is horribly vague and unhelpful.
But I've rolled some
.327 Federal Magnum loads with it that felt terrific and I can't wait to get them through the chrono traps. A few folks on the interwebs have had some decent results with 300-MP in .357 Magnum, where I'm also planning on testing it.
Ramshot? Marketed and backed by Accurate. Decent data source, but not a flexible interface like Hodgdon. And yes, these powders don't seem to appear on the shelves quite as often where I shop. Could be that I'm not looking for them.
As -NEW- powders, I have confidence that they'd do a fine job in any role they are suited, and I wouldn't hesitate to try them...if I didn't already have so #$@$&*'ing many on hand right now.
