TXTad
Active Member
I never got around to trying 4831 for my Swedes. I bought a lot (as in..a LOT) of slow WC852 and found some loads that I think approximate the original ballistics, though I never got around to chronographing them before life moved on to other things for a while. That time is starting to come back, so I should eventually find out just how good these loads are. Since I was just plinking soda cans at 100 yards, I was content to use a Remington bullet with dual cannelures crimped in the rear-most one. I bought a large lot of those as well....
My end goal is to find ball/spherical fuels for j-word full-tilt loadings in 243 and 6.5 x 55 that provide the ballistic and accuracy performance of IMR/H 4350 and 4831, which are both a PITA to run through my powder measures. WW-780/785 might have been an answer, but both are out of print and never have been easy to find.
WC-860 is close in the 6.5 x 55; a full case of that fuel (55.0 grains) gives 2450 FPS to 140 grain j-words and stellar accuracy. This is 1896-level ballistics, and is certainly a capable load. In contrast, 45.5 grains of IMR-4831 gives 2700 FPS to Nosler Partitions, Hornady Interlocks, and Sierra Game Kings of 140 grains; all shoot under 1" at 100 yards in my Ruger 77.
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I think some of the best conversations often wind up on and off topic...In short, I want a ball-powder equivalent to IMR-4831; I'm not sure that it exists, or ever did. I know that all of this red-coated bullet bit is off-topic, but there are some right knowledgeable folks here, and I don't know where else to look--so I ask for a bit of indulgence here.