If you are happy with your 4831 load why change? 4350 might not shoot as well or it might be great. Reloader 22 works well with 300 mags.

If I was looking to switch powders, I would take advantage of the shorter cut ones (H4831SC or H4350 or others) or a ball powder (Ramshot and others). Also for a hunting rifle, I would use one of Hodgdons Extreme powders or something appropriate from Ramshot as they don't show as much variation as the temperature drops or rises.

But to switch to save 4 grains of powder? Not worth the effort.

Dale

I do not have a 300 mag but I do load for my .243 (2 different rifles), .270 and .338 win mag. I use H4831 in all with great results. All four rifles shoot sub minute of angle groups from a bench with the loads I have worked up. I like H4831 a lot and if you are thinking of switching powders I highly recommend giving it a try.

jack

+1 for RL22....

At 65 grains you can load 107 rounds and at 69 grains you can load 101 rounds per pound.If you do a lot of shooting it would probley pay off.

I had pressure signs with 4831 and switched to H1000.  I load 81 grains of H1000 with the 180 grain Nosler Partitions.  I get velocities that averaged 3108 fps. 

Do you have, on hand, 4350? Is this IMR or H? If you have to buy a pound and then not work, then you stuck with unwanted powder.

Posted By Deiceman on 18 Oct 2011 06:25 AM
At 65 grains you can load 107 rounds and at 69 grains you can load 101 rounds per pound.If you do a lot of shooting it would probley pay off.

But how many grains will he burn working up a new load? Plus the cost of bullets and primers.   That moves the breakeven point further down the road.  I don't think saving 4 grains is worth it unless you are gaining the additional benefits I mentioned above.

I have always tried to use a powder that most nearly fills the case without exhibiting signs of over pressure. IMR and H 4831 are favorites of mine too for that very reason. When you find a powder that nearly fills the case and gives good to great accuracy you have found what you are looking for. To quibble over 4 grains of powder is a moot point as you will have to work up a load with the new powder and use a bunch just to test it out.

Looking at the charts, I can achieve the same velosity with less powder. I have a range out back behind my house, only 50 yards, but I can cronograph my exact bullet speed for the imr4831 and then check it against the imr 4350. If I reload only three bullets at a time then test them it should not take me long to get where I want to be.
Joe Termite

Joe again, yea I know I should have cronographed before now, I was just to lazy to set it up.

Joe

If your IMR 4831 is working good why change?  No answer needed.  Other considerations, some would say leaving too much empty space in your load is not good.  The reasoning for this is you shoot horizontal, and the powder will lay on the bottom side of the casing with the empty space above.  It is said it's better to have your load more closely filled to the bottom of the bullet.

With that said, like others here I use H4831SC (short cut) in a automatic powder drop with excellent results in .243, 30.06 and 300 Wby Mag.  But I would also like to say, go with what is easily available for you.  The H4831SC sometimes is hard to get.

Another thing to consider, I try to buy my powder at gun shows, it's usually reasonably priced.  Shipping powder usually has a HAZMAT Fee attached which can make a good mailorder price go bad real fast.  Same thing for primers.

The first load I put together for my 7mm Remington magnum was with 4831. I switched to 4350 and "felt" recoil was substantially reduced.

Joe T, The burn rates you're talking about are in a very narrow range and there is probably going to be little difference in velocity - maybe less then the average variation of any given load. For what it's worth, I have played with four 300 Win Mags and a 30-338 and always concluded that, for best accuracy (I put accuracy ahead of velocity): Over 180 gr bullets get H-1000, 180's get H-4831, and under 180's get AA4350. Remember the three 4350's may be close but they are not the same (Accurate appears to be the slowest). With the lighter bullets, IMR 4831 and Reloader 19 are nearly as good. I don't know why, but my current 300's, a Steyr and a Savage both show a clear preference for 150 gr flat-base bullets, so I practice with bulk Rem Core-Loct's and hunt with Nosler Partitions at 3240 fps. The Steyr gets there with 4.5gr less powder. Go figure...
For chronographing, it takes a minimum of eight shots to achieve statistical validity of 90%. Otherwise you'll end up chasing your tail and wasting money in the long run. An average variation of 40 fps (+/_20 fps) is a very consistent hunting load.

Hey Finepoint,
Thank you for the info, very helpful.
Joe Termite

While your working up new loads I found that 165 gr bullets carry speed and knock down enegy alot further than 180 gr bullets will. Dont know if I would woorry about the 4 grains per load but over time if you shoot quite a bit it could help, other than it is just plain fun to reloads and shoot.

BOTTOM LINE !
Do you reload to save $$$$ or because reloading is fun?

I personally have pet loads that work out of my guns,but like to "play around with " varios other components to see if I can get an improvement!
I really don't care if I save 43 cents worth of powder by changing loads if I can improve the load for an individual rifle or pistol !
The experimenting is part of the draw for me!

If you do it just to save a few cents then try to get a small amount of the alternate powder from a buddy who reloads,and load 3 or 4 rounds to try it!

4831 is a slower powder than 4350, and I found in my 30-06 that I get more consistent velocities with 4350. ALSO it is noted, that when I shoot in a semi darkened area, a larger amount of muzzle flash occurs with the 4831, which means that the powder is still burning when the bullet leaves the end of the muzzle. Therefore, the 4350 is the more EFFICIENT load in the gun as it is using up all of its energy to push the bullet and not being wasted out in the atmosphere. I shoot 55.8 grains of IMR 4350 over a CCI BR2 Primers, pushing a Nosler 180 grain ballistic tip bullet at 2700 FPS, out of a Ruger Mark I M-77 rifle.

If you wanting just to find a better load and see if it groups better go for it I shoot H4350 and really have shot small groups with it , but if you are happy with what you shoot now , stick with it , but if your like me your never happy and always looking for a better group

I use 4350 and have been for 15 years +.
I shoot 165 gr. nosler partition bullets with 72 grains of powder.
I swear by it.  Taken several elk and makes a very good deer load.