Imr 4831?

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Just curious as to your thoughts on this powder.....I've avoided using it in the past, even though I have a friend that likes it in his .30-06.

In the past, I've used other powders (IMR 4064, IMR 3031, IMR 4350, H414, H335, and recently H4895) that I can use in most of my other rifles, i.e. .30/30 Winchester, .223, and .35 Remington.

I'm thinking about purchasing a pound to try in my .30-06, 6.5x55, and possibly my .308. I am particularly interested in how it performs in the 06 & Swede with heavier bullets (180 grn & up in the 06; 140 grain & up in the Swede).

Finally, if you have any pet loads you would wish to share, I would be more than interested in hearing about them.

Thanks in advance.............

[Adam Helmer]

Mr. 16 gauge,

I have shot far too much IMR 4831 in my life to date. IMR 4831 is best in heavy bullet loads in the .30-06 and in most loads in the 7mm Rem Mag. I have used it in the .243, .264 WM, .300 Weatherby Magnum and other big gun loads. IMR 4831 is very close to IMR 4350.

Adam

[Gil Martin]

I know a lot of folks that really like IMR 4831 and use it in various rifle loads. I have used IMR 4350, IMR 4320, IMR 4064, IMR 4895 and IMR 3031. Just never got around to using IMR 4831. All the best...
Gil

[Dan Morris]

Used mega lbs of IMR 4831....was perfect. About 10 years ago, it got hard to get in Denver area....scored a lot of 4350 n have used it sence! Got too much to go back now.
Dan

[Jack]

IMR 4831 is an excellent choice for the 6.5x55- and not just with heaviest bullets.
IMR 4831 is too slow for your 30-30, 223, and 35 Remington, but 4831 would be a good choice for the 30-06 with bullets of 180 or heavier. The 308 doesn't have enough room in the case to use 4831 - I'd stick with some of your other powders for the 308. 4064 and 4895 are excellent choices for the 308.

[buckhunter]

I used in in a 280 a long time ago. Worked best with heavy bullets. I used it to take a maine moose. Since I load only a 140 gr bullet in my 280 I have migrated to 4350 which I use in just about everything.

[270man]

Fellow Reloaders,

Originally, I used only IMR powders for reloading 30-06, 270, 6mm, etc. Over the years, prices and availability moved me to Hodgdon powders like H4831. Keep in mind that Hodgdon now owns IMR and Winchester powders. I'm told that IMR 4831 has a faster burn rate than H4831 but can't prove it. Both have worked fine in my reloads.

With so many powders (e.g., H4350 vs IMR4350, H4831 vs IMR4831, H4895 vs IMR4895) that are very similar but with different labels, I wonder just how long Hodgdon will continue to make all of them. I guess that sales and profits will dictate whether we will continue to see all the various powders or if Hodgdon will reduce its offerings.

From what I've read, many of Hodgdon's ball powders are the same as Winchester's, but with different labels on the canisters (e.g., H110 vs W296, H414 vs W760).

As for the original question, I believe IMR 4831 will work well in the 30-06. Many of my fellow shooters prefer IMR4064 or 4895 (either IMR or Hodgdon) in the old '06.

270man

[wrenchman]

I dont reload much any more but when i did imr4831 was what i used my 270 loved it.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

With so many powders (e.g., H4350 vs IMR4350, H4831 vs IMR4831, H4895 vs IMR4895) that are very similar but with different labels, I wonder just how long Hodgdon will continue to make all of them.

That is a good point, and one that should be considered. Another Winchester powder that was identical to Hodgdon was Winchesters 540 (identical to HS6).

It really disturbs me to spend a lot of time and money working up handloads, only to have one or more of the components removed from the market by the manufacturer. Case in point: Winchester's 170 grain 30 cal Silver tip bullet for the .30/30......worked up a load, just in time to have Winchester pull it from the market. They did the same with the 9mm silvertip (for reloading), but thought better of it and brought that one back.....the 30 cal, however, is still not available as a component. Same with Remington and the bronze point. One other fiasco was the amount of cash I spent working up Bismuth loads for duck hunting with my older shotguns, only to have the factory close it's doors when the owner died due to family squabbles (or so I'm told). Now I have a bunch of data, and bismuth is next to impossible to find, and expensive when you do.

I'll take a look at my loading manuals again and see how H4831 compares.....I don't want to be left out in the cold again.

[Jack]

Most sources say that IMR4831 and Hodgdon 4831 are NOT the same- IMR's version is a little faster. My unscientific observation from using both powders would agree that they are different powders, and one cannot be substituted for the other.
Even in the cases of 2 powders being the same powder, but sold by different companies, like H110/W296 and H414/W760, the lots are not the same. If you switch from one powder to the other, you should work up loads again.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

From what I've read, many of Hodgdon's ball powders are the same as Winchester's, but with different labels on the canisters (e.g., H110 vs W296, H414 vs W760).

If they are the same, Hodgdon isn't saying so....the only one that they will claim is the same is Win 540 being the same as HS6. While they may well be the same, and Hodgdon just doesn't want to state so (for whatever reason), means that the powders should not be mixed.

Most sources say that IMR4831 and Hodgdon 4831 are NOT the same- IMR's version is a little faster. My unscientific observation from using both powders would agree that they are different powders, and one cannot be substituted for the other.

Jack,
I don't think 270man intended to imply that the IMR powders are identical to the H powders of similar name & could be loaded the same.....only to imply that they are similar, and since Hodgdon now controls the IMR product, and times being what they are economically, the ax could fall and the IMR powders could be cut, or eventually phased out. Hope it doesn't happen, but it very well could.

Having gone through the manuals, is appears that you get just a tweak more velocity with the IMR4831, so I will probably go with that, and pray that the members of the board at Hodgdon see fit to continue to product it.

I must admit that I was primarily a IMR & Hercules (now Alliant...shows you how old I am!) fan for most of my life, and just recently (last 10 years or so) started using Hodgdon powders. I was pleasantly surprised how well HS6 shot in a variety of my handguns (9mm, 38 Super, .38 Special) as well as my 12 & 16 gauge handloads. Also impressed with H414, BLC-2, and H4895. IMHO, Alliant has dropped the ball.....their current loading data base is scanty and they have cut WAYYYY back on their loads/velocities. I'm glad I saved my old data manuals and will continue to refer to those when necessary.

[powell&hyde]

Hodgdon does not make any of their powders at all!! Most of their powder is made by ADI (Thales) out of Australia and a few powders made for them by St. Marks. and are re-branded with their H number. Here is a link to Hodgdon's web site, as you click on whatever powder you are interested in, a pdf file will open up and it will show who made the powder for Hodgdon. IMR is made in Canada and still makes their own powder with the exception of one or two as shown on the msds sheets on the link below. For example, look on your can of IMR 4227, mine says manufactured in Australia.

http://www.hodgdon.com/msds.html

[skeet]

Trap 100---Win 452 (IIRC)Hs-5---473 Win Hs 6--540..Hs 7 Win 571..HP-38--- Win 231 and of course H414--Win 760.. Only reason the older loading data did not match was the conditions of testing etc. As stated the powders are made by different manufacturers... IMR and Hodgdon matching numbers. Alliant is kinda hurting in the rifle line any more..shotgun too..but Hercules was a spin off from Dupont..anti trust stuff way back when. They do have a neat powder for the 410 now though. I got a 100 lb keg of old surplus 4831 waaaayyyy back in the 60s..Still have about 5 1/2 lbs..Great powder then and still is today. Great in the 25-06 and in the 270

[Rapier]

I think the original question was, is IMR 4831 suitable for the 06 and the Swede. The answer is very much a yes. The idea is to pick which powder version of 4831 you want to start with and stick with it. I started with H-4831 when it was a pulled surplus powder in the 60s and have used many 8 pounders. It is a great powder for the 06, 270, 6.5x06, 25x06 and all other such capacity cases. It works well in the 6.5x55 especially with the heavy bullets like the 140s. The old Hodgdon manual shows a 3,000 fps load for it with a 140 in the M-96 specificly.

Just follow the guides and make sure you are on the IMR page, not the H page, for safety sake when you get near a max load.
Ed

[Larryjk]

For a long time I didn't have a .270 around here. Now all of a sudden I have two of them. When I got the first (Pre-64 Model 70 FWT) I decided to give it a try with the O'Connor load (130 gr. bullet, 60 grs. of H4831, standard primer). It shoots less than 1 inch without further adoo. The other .270 is about the same. That is very good for not trying different powder types and weights. Has taken many coyotes during antelope season.