Your most accurate magnum powder

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Dfish1247

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I don’t know how to better word the title.

Over the last year, in any magnum load I’ve tried, 4227 just outperforms the rest in accuracy for me. This is 357, 41, 44, 460, and recently 50ae. S&W, Ruger, Magnum Research, and Colt. Bullets are the standard, 158, 215, 240, 250, and 325 weights. No light or extra heavy boutique bullets. Just the standard swc, round nose , hollow point find at any store bullets.

Win296 is next, then 2400. The accuracy gaps aren’t huge by any stretch, any of the three do the job excellent, but 4227 edges them out.

Do you guys have one powder that just flat wins in accuracy?

No fighting, just your experiences.
 
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IMR 4227 is my " go to powder " for all the magnum's . Yes , I have H110 , 2400 , Ramshot Enforcer and Accurate #9 . But I always come back to 4227 . It doesn't give me the velocity of some of the others , but the accuracy is always the best . I'll take accuracy over velocity any day . Regards Paul
 
Arub01 said:
Been using 2400 for years for the 357 and 44 magnums. Have no reason to switch to anything else. 125 grain fmjs for the .357 and 240 grain jhps for the .44 mag.
Click to expand...

I've been a 2400 fan for years, but recently picked some 296 just because it was all that was available at the time. I don't know about accuracy yet, but I do like how easy the ball powder flows through my powder measure.
 
For .357, it's IMR 4227, with Blue Dot a close second. For the .44 Magnum, I've had better experience with H110 in all my revolvers (and Contender) than any other.

I discovered H110 by accident. Years ago when I lived in Idaho I was loading for my .30 Carbine. I was using H110. I noticed in the book it was also a good powder for the .44 Mag, so I tried it. Been using it since.
 
I have never used 4227 in magnum cartridges. I find W296/H110 and 2400 to be accurate for me depending on the cartridge.

Lil'Gun is the most accurate for me but I don't use it because it generates excessive heat in my revolvers. I will use it in Carbine ammo. (Leverguns)
 
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I have a lot more experience with 2400, but not because I ever considered 4227 a second choice. 2400 was always more readily available and considerably less expensive where I live.

I never noticed any accuracy difference myself, but I remember 4227 was popular with the metallic silhouette shooters. I shot my 6-1/2” M29 with cast bullets and 2400. (I had an 8-3/8” M29 but I could shoot my 6-1/2” gun better.) Most of the better revolver shooters used jacketed bullets and 4227. H110 and W296 were also popular.

The best revolver shooting I remember seeing in those days was a 5-round target at 100 meters (on a piece of paper) that was a bit less than 5-inches. The shooter was using a production Ruger Super Blackhawk (factory open sights), some type of Sierra bullet, I can’t recall the weight, and 4227. After I saw that, I understood why some guys routinely shot scores in the 30s, and I didn’t. :rolleyes:
 
I cannot say that I have ever had an on-paper and from a rest pure accuracy showdown pitting magnum powders against each other.

I can say this, however. I’ve used more than just a few pounds of W296, 2400, Accurate#9 and Power Pro 300-MP and I’ve enjoyed every grain of all of these I’ve ever used.

Meanwhile, it’s also true that only once ever in three decades of handloading have I ever had a powder go bad on me, and that was a single one-pound metal can of IMR-4227. I bought it new and sealed in, IIRC, 1991. I still have and use powders (also in metal cans) that I bought three years before this particular can (Win 473-AA) and that stuff is still fantastic, but the IMR-4227 went sour.

It’s literally the one powder out of maybe 2-1/2 dozen different that I had to dispose of.

These days, there are just far too many fantastic choices of both new and long established products for me to even consider toying with 4227 again. And I’m not biased against old stuff, I burn more Bullseye than the average handloader probably does.
 
W296 is accurate in my model 27 (357) but the muzzle blast is a bit much. The most accurate bullet with that powder for me was the old Speer 146 grain half jacket HP SWC.
 
I use H110 for max loads and Ramshot Enforcer for mid range in 357. I’m using a jacketed soft point or hollow point 158 grain. I can’t say one is more accurate than the other though. Accuracy varies with which gun I shoot it in but overall both are very accurate.
 
I am quickly coming around to 4227 and Enforcer after relying on W296/H110 and 2400 for many years.


RobertJ. said:
...
I discovered H110 by accident. Years ago when I lived in Idaho I was loading for my .30 Carbine. I was using H110. I noticed in the book it was also a good powder for the .44 Mag, so I tried it. Been using it since.
Click to expand...
Indeed, H110/W296 is the original milspec 30 carbine powder.
 
I tried IMR4227 in 38 special cases and it did not produce in fps and it was
messy and unburned flakes jammed up the cylinder.

In my 686 6" it did a lot better with the 158 lead bullet for target speeds and was so so with the 110 to 140 gr JHP bullets but did best with the 158 XTP.

A friend gave it to me and I have been trying to use it up, ever since. It is not my favorite powder.
 
Nevada Ed said:
I tried IMR4227 in 38 special cases and it did not produce in fps and it was
messy and unburned flakes jammed up the cylinder.

In my 686 6" it did a lot better with the 158 lead bullet for target speeds and was so so with the 110 to 140 gr JHP bullets but did best with the 158 XTP.

A friend gave it to me and I have been trying to use it up, ever since. It is not my favorite powder.
Click to expand...

Ed, 4227 is way too slow for .38 Special pressures. It's slowest of all the magnum class powders and IMO starts being useful in the 44 Magnum. I think it's just above AA5744.
 
4227 for me. I saw the title of OP's post and immediately said 4227. I didn't anticipate seeing so many of you that also like 4227. Yes, it's dirty in lighter loads, but it just works. I particularly like it for cast bullet loads. It may not give the highest velocities, but I'm looking for good groups. I have shot a lot of 2400 and 296/H110, but none of them are better than 4227. That is, except for my 4" M24 that has a clear preference for 2400 and 240 gr LSWCs.
 
I'm so hopelessly Old School that my vote is still 2400 or H110 .

I had never tried any of the Accurate powders untill about 12 years ago , there was a shortage and no Unique or Bullseye ,
... I started with Acc. #5 (in place of Unique) , liked it and tried Acc.#2 (in place of Bullseye) and liked it even better ... I wished I had found them earlier ...
If I were still shooting a lot of Magnum Loads , I have a sneaking suspicion that Acc. #7 and Acc. #9 might be real winners in Magnum loads department .
Gary
 
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I started reloading back in the 70's and have loaded very few magnum loads. They were .357, .41 and .44. They were all with 2400. I was satisfied and am probably on my 2nd pound by now.
 
Have used 2400 and that was ok for 2/3 power loads.

I am now using only HS-6 for 9mm major and 44 and 41 mag but those are 1/2 power loads. W the cci mag primers the accuracy can not be duplicated by anything else I tried.
 
I no longer load any magnum handgun cartridges, but have used a good bit of #2400 over the last fifty years. I've used much smaller amounts of 296/H110. As for accuracy, the two powders are tied. Velocities with 296 are often a little higher than with #2400 but not enough to offset the horrendous blast and fireball that goes along with so many 296 loads.
 
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