Ok mabye y'all can help me out here since y'all know kinda how my brain works. I asked this question on cast boolits and I think I'm about to cause them to pull their hair out

Ok so I got another question. When looking at powders for the purpose of using them for cast. What exactly am I look for as far as wanted characteristics ? I know I know published data is the safest but the problem is well I just don't have that option alot of the time currently. I don't have a stock pile of 20 different powder like most of y'all do ,I don't have anyone locally to trade with to get what I want and I'm more less stuff with what ever pops up for sale ever two weeks or so. Been seeing lots of the ramshot powders on but very few if any IMR or Hodogen no pull down powder either.
So that being said IN GENERAL what am I looking for in a power I wanna use with cast ? Somthing that's gonna fill the case good ? Low on the burn chart ? High on the burn chart ? Like wants a good check list of things ? Like if I walk in the gun store see a few different rifle powers what should I look up about them to see if they would be good candidates? Other then somone already using them of course .Or since I'm powder coating and gas checking do I not need to be as careful then if I was using uncoated plain based ? Should case fill be one of my main worries or is there's someone more important?
And no I'm not planning on just picking random powders filling cases till they look good or where its the same as jacketed data and blowing my face off not what I'm trying to do in the slightest


See the problem is all these old heads just keep trying to tell to go get some 4064,reloader 7 or Varget and I'm just here like yeah I would if I could but you know... The shortage. They also keep telling me to just go to the Lyman manual but same problem basically. Think alot of em forget no eveyone has 30 odd years of powder just stashed away lol . Not to mention most if the newer powders arnt listed in the cast manual so like...

I like your attitude , Wolfie.

Trying to figure out the optimum load for each round you reload.

Keep at it , you will be an excellent reloader.




Following this thread.

Lyman books have a lot of cast bullet loads. I would be looking at all the published data i could find and making lists of powder. A burn rate chart is good too. Find a powder only one two away from one you have data for and you can start out with a light load gradually increasing the charge till your chrony says fast enough for cast or you see signs of over pressure.

https://imrpowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/2020-burn-rate-chart.pdf

Typically cast loads lean to the faster side of powders. Light charges of pistol powders to fast rifle powders. Some of the more common ones are ( in no particular order )
Unique
4227
4198
3031
5744
All should have old data available for the caliber you are wanting to load.
Be safe !

Which round are you loading?

Internet is your friend, must be dozens of clubs and forums online to get educated from!

You browser is your key !!

medium fast burn

your not going for top velocity in cast your going for a powder that will burn complete in the pressure range you have to work with and burn with partial case fill

most pistol powders work for pistol and some into the rifle with cast boolits

the slowest you probably want to go is around a 4895 any slower than that and your either very high on velocity or can't get it to all light and burn.


to simplify it

pistol powders most of them work but unless your doing a big heavy bullet you don't need anything into magnum pistol powders .
bullesey up through about Unique do cast pistol well I use power pistol it is very close to Unique for burn
magnum pistol powders to get a heavy pistol load or a decent plinking rifle load 2400 is a very common one and will get you up around 16-1700fps
I get away with power pistol for some plinking laods again uniqie data is all over cass boolits I am only going for 100 yar plinking so 12-1400fps is fine
medium fast burning rifle powders like 4895 that will burn over a huge range of charges and do reduced laods well. I use H4895 as the Lee manual has a fair amount of reduced load data

I also use these powders for my jacketed rounds the H4895 in 223 , 30-30, 308 - 30-06

for real powder puff stuff I use tightwad and it is very close to clays for load data actually a little faster than bulseye , you use a ting 2-3 grain charge