SmallCaliberCentral

I switched to temperature insensitive powders several years ago. I have had customers work up loads in the winter and had primers loose in the summer from the extra pressure. It is not advertised well but Ramshot powder is temperature insensitive. I like to hunt coyotes in the winter and I want the point of impact to be the same as in hot weather. I shoot H4895 in my 204s as I have had the best accuracy with it. They like it 1 1/2 grain under max. Missing really fast does nothing for me. My 20 VarTarg likes X-Terminator best.

Sidwinderwa - thank you for the report on H4895. It seems to be stable in several calibers. I didn't try it in the 204. Also a recommendation for the OP.


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Rick,
I bet the best thing about the VC (varmint-cong) in Oregon is that they don't shoot back!

To kill, you must know your enemy, and in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit - ever. They're like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong.

Remember, the faster the burn rate for any particular cartridge the greater the likely hood you'll get into trouble with extreme temperature swings.
Out of the seven 8208 and 4895 would be my choice and I'm not a big fan of 8208. Benchmark is a pretty stable powder though.

Sidewinderwa, thanks for the info. I'm fixing to make a post asking anyone where I might buy some x-terminator. My 1-12 .223 loves it but I can't find any, anywhere. If you know a source, please let me know. Thanks. JD Southeast Texas

Last spring, I was hurting for H4198, which I use in my Var Targ, I couldn't find any powder nowhere. Here is what I had to do to get my powder. I checked with a number of suppliers that stock powder, and found that some will let you know when they have the powder in stock, so I asked 3 or 4 of them to send me email when they got my powder in stock. I had to bite the bullit, so to speak, and paid the Haz Mat. But I got 8 lbs of H4198. Will last me quit a while, but I won't have worry about having the powder I need. I got mine from Gamaliels. Just a thought

CFE, like all the new powders coming out of General Dynamics are VERY stable.
Now that said, Hodgy's "Extreme" powders are NOT universal properties; they are that way under specific conditions, with specific components.
Varget as an example, was designed to work with the 147-155gr bullets in the 308. While it may group well in the 223, it is a streaming pile for temp sensitivity; MORE sensitive in that setting than Bl-c(2).
Dr. Denton Bramwell has done some very good testing on this subject, some of his work can be found on RSI's website.

hodgdons have just come out with a new line of IMR powders that they claim are indifferent to temp changes. IMR 4166 is recommended for the smaller calibers-.204, .223, .22-250 etc. I just shot a .363 3 shot group with a savage mod. 12. they claim good velocity but as it is winter here I have a hard finding a day that my chrono that works. cfe-223 with 30.6 grains behind 35 grain bergers and rem. primers works really well in my savage--I don't know how it reacts to very high temps.