Magnum Gun Powder Needed

S

STXJN316

New member
Friends, I have a 300 RUM and a 264 Win Mag and enjoy reloading but am having a very hard time purchasing any powder. Have searched on line and have found a number of scam on line sites that say the have the powder I am looking for, but they have no phone number or they list a false street address.

Am looking to purchase Retumbo (some sites say it's not being made anymore) and others that it will be manufactured again but at some time in the future.

Other powders with similar performance are H-1000, Reloader 25, Reloader 26, Ram Shot Magnum, N570, 24N41, and Reloader 22.

I have also read that they are not manufacturing these powders in the states anymore and that all of it is coming in from foreign sources.

Would like to know if you have any trusted sources for one of the magnum powders listed above that I could purchase powder from.

Hunt large whitetail and hogs in deep South Texas and have a blind where we can shoot 1000 yards to the east and 1000 yards to the west. Shooting 212 grain VLD's in the 300 RUM, nothing walks away, but without powder...

Thanks
 
It's a question of timing--I've seen most of those you mentioned recently available--but you have to monitor "the usual suspects" frequently and be ready to jump fast when they are available. Don't rely on "notify me when available"--whenever I get those notices the powders or primers are always gone by the time I log onto the site.
 
IMO you need to look at other powders that will give you the results you want. RXX, especially the magnum powders, are now made from unobtainium, on a distant planet. But, there are many other magnum powders available.
You can do this by consulting the Hodgdon Datacenter (which includes Hodgdon, IMR, Winchester, and other powders) and entering your cartridge and bullet weight. For 7mm RUM the following powders are listed:
H1000, H4350, H4831, H50BMG, Hybrid 100V, IMR 4831, IMR 7828, IMR 7828 SSC, IMR 8133, Retumbo, StaBALL HD, Supreme 780, US 869.
If you use "notify me when back in stock" use an email address that goes to your Phone. Act promptly. It does work. The powders I linked above & below are in stock. The five bolded in the paragraph above are linked.
The shortages are easing but YOU have to do the leg-work. Get hoppin'!
https://www.powdervalley.com/product/accurate-mag-pro/
https://www.powdervalley.com/product/winchester-staball-hd-smokeless-powder/
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1009218837?pid=834699
https://www.powdervalley.com/product/hodgdon-h4350/
https://www.powdervalley.com/product/hodgdon-h4831sc/
 
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https://thefiringline.com/forums/member.php?u=196109,

Welcome to the forum. Please do pop over to the general forums introduction sticky thread and introduce yourself, here.

What the others have already said is accurate. The number of powders not sold out has been declining from 100% during the panic peak, and now you usually find over half of your favorites. A few have even been showing up at "sale" prices, which I hope is the leading edge of seeing competition start to deflate the prices of handloading components. Primers are going to be slower to get to that point, but they will eventually.

In addition to the above, you might want to look at less fresh sources, like Jeff Bartlett's reloading site, where he has some slow pull-down powders originally of for 50 BMG and 20 mm Vulcan rounds. He warns you, correctly, that the burn rates can vary a fair amount, as these are bulk grade powders and not the burn-rate-tuned canister grade powder sold specifically for reloading. So you may have more load workup to do, but it can be done.

Also, consider brands you don't normally use. Vihtavuori, while a little pricey, is really excellent powder. Their web site lists 300 RUM loads for their N165 and N170 powders, both of which are in stock at Powder Valley at this moment, though they have no data for the 264 WM, and I suspect, from what others have written, they are probably too bulky for it.
 
I agree with Unclenick on the surplus powders, and their source. I have an 8 Lb jug of WC872, and plan to use it in my unfired 300 WM, after I mount my new Leopold scope on it the right way. Big magnums eat LOTS of powder. I plan to cut my teeth on the 300 WM with WC872, before trying Accurate MagPro I picked up. I am keeping an eye out for IMR7828SC. Note that many medium speed rifle powders will work in Magnums and Texas deer and hogs won't know the difference.
 
Welcome to the mix.

I'm not trying to persuade you from using Retumbo, but if you do not already have a load you might consider using H-1000 instead.

A good friend and hunting bud has a 300 also. We worked up loads for it back around 2010'ish and while Retumbo did produce some good velocities and groups, it was really tweaky with regard to temps. We worked up loads in the spring with temps running from mid 50's to mid 70's. Soon as it got up into the 80's everything fell apart and primers began to flatten out. Same thing using Rel-25.

That said, AA-8700 worked awesome and had we known it would be discontinued we would have stocked up. We went on to H-1000 and it all came together. He used the 185gr Berger and they shot very well out to past 1K. He had an 800acre cotton field with a convenient road right out across the middle. We used a laser transit to set up a range out to 1500yds, with a t-post every 100 all the way out. This let us move our targets at will quick and easy.

On the 872, it is like burning coal. I use it in a wildcat based off the RUM case. Will it work, yes, but H-1000 is a LOT cleaner and more stable with the varied temps we get. The 872 is great IF you have a load for between 50 & 70, then another for temps between 70 and around 85. It isn't that it is a bad powder, you just have to develop in the range you figure to us it most in. It won't work as well with the 264 as it will with the 300, where the 1000 should cover both. I've been using Ramshot Magnum in a couple of calibers, as well as Magpro. I also just purchased some of the StaBall HD to try out as well. I'm hoping it will deliver on my 7 rem mag and STW. I also plan on giving it a swing in my 25-06 AI, as my supply of RS Magnum is getting a bit low. One other one you might look into is the H-869. It is a slow burner very similar to the older discontinued H-870, but temp stabilized like the H-1000. I've used it in my wildcat as well and it preforms very well.

Good luck and hope this helps.
 
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Mike / Tx said:
Welcome to the mix.

I'm not trying to persuade you from using Retumbo, but if you do not already have a load you might consider using H-1000 instead.

A good friend and hunting bud has a 300 also. We worked up loads for it back around 2010'ish and while Retumbo did produce some good velocities and groups, it was really tweaky with regard to temps. We worked up loads in the spring with temps running from mid 50's to mid 70's. Soon as it got up into the 80's everything fell apart and primers began to flatten out. Same thing using Rel-25.

That said, AA-8700 worked awesome and had we known it would be discontinued we would have stocked up. We went on to H-1000 and it all came together. He used the 185gr Berger and they shot very well out to past 1K. He had an 800acre cotton field with a convenient road right out across the middle. We used a laser transit to set up a range out to 1500yds, with a t-post every 100 all the way out. This let us move our targets at will quick and easy.

On the 872, it is like burning coal. I use it in a wildcat based off the RUM case. Will it work, yes, but H-1000 is a LOT cleaner and more stable with the varied temps we get. The 872 is great IF you have a load for between 50 & 70, then another for temps between 70 and around 85. It isn't that it is a bad powder, you just have to develop in the range you figure to us it most in. It won't work as well with the 264 as it will with the 300, where the 1000 should cover both. I've been using Ramshot Magnum in a couple of calibers, as well as Magpro. I also just purchased some of the StaBall HD to try out as well. I'm hoping it will deliver on my 7 rem mag and STW. I also plan on giving it a swing in my 25-06 AI, as my supply of RS Magnum is getting a bit low. One other one you might look into is the H-869. It is a slow burner very similar to the older discontinued H-870, but temp stabilized like the H-1000. I've used it in my wildcat as well and it preforms very well.

Good luck and hope this helps.
Click to expand...
I am in North Ga and see 80 degree temp swings August to Jan. I know a lot of people see more than that. I love Magnum, Magpro, 7828sc, Norma MRP, RL 19, still have a huge stock of 780, and a pile of others.
The powder I keep returning to in my 7wsm, 7 Rem mag, 300 win mag, and 257 why is Imr 4350. I know it is supposed to be the worst of the worst in temp sensitivity dept, but I have never seen it. 300 yd zero in Jan is 300 yd zero in August. Pressure signs look same. No hang fires or even miniscule symptoms of such. My loads are over any max loads for 4350 that I have ever seen published, except for the WBY.
 
They can be pretty bulky by handloaders' standards. The 300 RUM has a lot of room for that, but the 264 may have issues with it.
 
CAUTION: The following post (or a page linked to) includes or discusses loading data not covered by currently published sources of tested data for this cartridge (QuickLOAD or Gordon's Reloading Tool data is not professionally tested). USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The Firing Line, nor the staff of TFL assumes any liability for any damage or injury resulting from the use of this information.
I tried straight WC872 in 308, case full. It left a trail of black bits down the bore. I then started mixing in WC844, checking recoil, brass, and primers after each round. I got up to 50-50%. It was still more of a shotgun push type recoil. I have heard, and believe, you cannot blow up your gun with WC872; it is just too slow burning. A common technique is to stack 3 grains of Unique (or other powder) under the WC872 to fill. That is called a duplex load. The rule of thumb is you use a little more booster powder until you no longer get the trail of black bits in the bore.
AIR, someone (Clark?) did tests to determine at what point a firearm would forcibly disassemble/fail. He was using compressed loads of faster and faster powders, but only succeeded in blowing up a rifle with Alliant Bullseye. So, in my opinion, playing with WC872 in large capacity cartridges is reasonably safe, including duplex loads. Work up.
There is some surplus powder load data here:
https://www.castpics.net/LoadData/Surplus/default.html
 
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I have several pounds of N150 and Ramshot LRT for sale on a local forum for $25 a pound. No taker so far. But you need to be in southern California.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
Both are good powders--if I didn't have large quantities of them both already I'd take you up on that. Wouldn't go to CA for them though.
 
How come there isn't Stagpanther down here? It has been sitting on calguns (local forum) for weeks. Not a sound, not even after I reduced the price.

Screw it. I may just put them back to my pile and wait for the next shortage.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
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