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Posted: 9/9/2010 7:39:53 AM EDT
We have the manuals, dies, RCBS Rock Crusher, Thumbler tumbler and Stainless Steel tumbling medium.
Ordered enough primers: small pistol, large pistol, small rifle, large rifle, for now.
The last of the brass (.357) on my list is on backorder and now it is time to look at the powders and projectiles (another topic).
What we could be reloading: Pistol: .38, .357(125-158gr), .41( 210gr), .45( 230gr), Rifle: .223, 7mm-08 (140gr), 30-30( 150gr), 7.62x39 (110gr), .308( 150gr), 30-06(160gr)
I have thought about purging the gun cabinet to make life simpler but likely will not part with anything until Obama/Holder freezes over.

Have some Alliance 2400 for the .41 Rem. mag.

Is there a set of powders that will cover the bases in reloading without getting outrageous?
Any ideas? Or should I just go through the reloading manuals to pick and choose?
Link Posted: 9/9/2010 7:55:35 AM EDT
[#1]
There are only a very few pistol powders that can be loaded in rifle cases to achieve the performance the case will allow when using powders the case capacity can take
advantage of.  And there are small capacity rifle cases.  There are a few pistol powders that can be used in rifle cases for "REDUCED LOADS".  For your pistol loading Unique & Accurate #5 will likely get you by.  You have 2400.  For rifle, I suspect IMR 4198, IMR 4895, IMR 3031 & IMR 4064 would likely be suitable.  To really refine which powders are most suitable, refer to several current reloading manuals.  For pistol & especially with rifle loads, the bullet weight & speeds you want to achieve will determine which powder is most suitable.
Link Posted: 9/9/2010 8:25:13 AM EDT
[#2]
RL-15 / Varget may handle all the rifle loads ..................... but I'm not sure about that.
Link Posted: 9/9/2010 8:39:51 PM EDT
[#3]
Link Posted: 9/10/2010 6:42:13 AM EDT
[#4]
You can load almost any pistol caliber with AA#5 and AA#7, one's they're not so good for are the huge 50SW, 454 Casull,etc
Link Posted: 9/10/2010 12:34:39 PM EDT
[#5]
For pistol, I'd use something like Titegroup and something like Blue Dot or HS-6 for the magnum stuff.  Unique or Universal would probably work in all of them, but you won't get full magnum potential.  Trailboss would be nice for some powder puff loads in your wheelguns.    

For rifle, something fast like RL7 for the 7.62x39 and .30-30 and something medium like H335, 4895, 748, or BL-C2 would have you covered.  RL-15 or Varget might work too for a medium burning rate powder.

You have a ton of options, but there's a reason so many powders are available.  If you want peak performance, you'll have to have more than a few powders on hand, and you'll go through a ton experimenting.
Link Posted: 9/10/2010 8:21:13 PM EDT
[#6]
When studying powders, a good place to start might the Sierra load manual.  It offers a recomended accruracy load and a hunting load for each cartridge.
Link Posted: 9/10/2010 11:01:22 PM EDT
[#7]
If you are wanting to boil it down to two powders:

Pistols:
Unique will be just right for the lower pressure cartridges = .38 &.45, but be a little fast, but probably nice/soft shooting for the .357 & .41 Magnums.
If you were willing to have two pistol powders, N105 would give you top velocity from the the .357 & .41 Mags & Unique would still be a good choice for the other two.

Rifles:
For one powder, Win 748, or BLC2 would do all of them pretty well, but is a little slow for the lower pressure cardridges = 30-30 & 7.62x39 - it would just give you a little more muzzle blast from these because the lower pressure wouldn't be burning as much of the powder, but velocity should still be good.
If you were willing to stock 2 rifle powders, Reloader 10X may be a good choice for the 30-30 & 7.62x39.
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