Factory Powder in R-P & Super X...

[BCB]

Need a bit of info about the older R-P and Western Super X ammo

I am shooting the 30-40 Krag in a custom MGM barrel on the Encore frame

Very good accuracy using the N.O.E. 311-202-RN (~210 grains) and a compressed charge of WC-872. This powder has a burn rate equal to or slower than H-870

I now want to shoot some jacket bullets from it and I pulled the bullets on a R-P and a Super X factory round and found the bullets were 180 grains and the powder charges ranged from 43.8 (Super X) to 46.8 (R-P) grains

I then looked in reloading manualsold ones from the 60s to the new ones and charges that fall in the area of the previously mentioned would indicate a burn rate in the neighborhood of 4350 or 4831. QuickLoad verifies this also

Many medium burn rate powders are also listed in the manuals, but the charges would not be near the ones in the factory rounds I pulled

So, my question is: Does anyone use the slow burners in the burn rate of the 4350s and the 4831s to load jacketed bullets from 150 to 200+ grains? It would seem this was the selection of the factory people many years agowell at least in the 1960s or thereabout

ThanksBCB

[madsenshooter]

Could be they used powders in that burn rate to keep pressure down while still getting the advertised velocity. I pulled down some 30 Remington that spanned that era, the earlier ones had a stick powder and the charges would have gone along with 3031, which the powder also resembled in grain size. Later the rounds were loaded with a ball powder and the case was full with a uniform ball powder that looked like 760. Good low pressure loads for some very old guns, like my Remington 14. Still later and I can see that the balls weren't the same uniform size as they were in the previous loads. Perhaps a blended powder like Hodgdon's Superformance or LVR.

[BCB]

Indeed

The IMR-30-31 is certainly a good powder for the 30-30 Winchester as I have loaded hundreds of them with that powder. I would think it would perform as well in the 30 Remington also

So, as I see it with the 30-40 Krag, I do believe I will start with a mid-range charge of IMR-4350 and the Hornady 165 SST bullet. Shooting from a single shot format on the Encore frame, I am certain that this firearm can handle mid to max loads, yet I likely will not go to the maximum stuff...

The next bullet will be the Hornady 220 RN. Just sort of for nostalgianot going to use that critter on deer

Good-luckBCB