Zebulon said
I do know what I'm going  to do if I'm still around whenever powder and primer prices inevitably dip down to whatever I perceive is the perigee of that market cycle. It won't ever likely be as low as it last was because there's a ratchet.
However, we have new American and foreign manufacturers streaming in to build factories and those may come on line at a time when the country is no longer exporting ordnance at the current rate. Who knows but there's little new under the Sun and it has happened before, more than once. 
If it does, I will buy enough of my favorite powders to last until the most optimistic estimate of my personal sell-by date. Anything left over I'll instruct my executor to distribute among my shooting friends. Here's hoping the leftovers won't be enough to get excited about. 
  

I will take all of the IMR 4064 you can give me... I load 222 Rem Mag, 30-40 Krag, and 30-06 with it.

I haven't had to buy powder or primers in awhile but from what I have seen it's unlikely prices will get appreciably better any time soon. Best opportunities seem to be the "free haz-mat" or shipping and other promotions. I think getting a bit carried away restocking my powder and primer magazines awhile back may have been among my best investments of the time. 

Mike

However, we have new American and foreign manufacturers streaming in to build factories and those may come on line at a time when the country is no longer exporting ordnance at the current rate. Who knows but there's little new under the Sun and it has happened before, more than once. 

If it does, I will buy enough of my favorite powders to last until the most optimistic estimate of my personal sell-by date. Anything left over I'll instruct my executor to distribute among my shooting friends. Here's hoping the leftovers won't be enough to get excited about. 

Mike

Bert H. said

Zebulon said
 
If I had to do with only five powders, give me 4759, Unique, 3031, 4350, and H110/296. 
  

Interesting... my five powders would be 4198, Bullseye, 2400, 4064, and 4350.
  

I'd try to squeeze 4064 in, somehow. And, since 4759 is no longer going to be made, I'd substitute RL-7 (or 5744 if AA ever makes it again.)

fred.lasor@gmail.com said
Chuck:
 
I came late to this conversation, but skipped through the entire thread as I am interested in forming for, and shooting, large-bore cartridges.  One thing I don't see mentioned is making a cast of the chamber.  Perhaps I missed that, but did you try that?  It would have given you both the inside chamber diameter and case length.
Also, did you anneal the cases before sizing them?  I have resized and re-profiled several large cases, and even with smaller cases, have found that annealing the brass makes the process a lot easier.  I make .32-40 cases out of .30-30 brass, and found that it was very difficult without annealing, but no problem after annealing.  I also made .50-100 brass out of .348 and had much better results after annealing that.  
The last post I saw was the one about turning necks for a .284.  Will you be doing more with the .40, or have you gotten all the results you wanted?
Thanks. 
  

I did not cast the chamber.  But when you fire form the brass this gives you the needed measurements the die makers want.  Case length is 3-1/4".  I have some original cartridges and the parent brass I was using is the same length. I also have 2 books that have all the cartridge dimensions. 

I have an annealer and did use it some but when the brass gets soft it sometimes wrinkles more when I was forcing it through the holes I drilled in the sheet of aluminum.  Reducing the parent brass to the point I could get it into the chamber is the hardest part of the entire process.  I did ruin several pieces of brass while doing this. 

If you read through the process you should know that Lee already made me a set of dies for the 45-125-300 EX.  I'm done with the 40 for now.  I am going to send some fire formed 38 EX brass to Lee Precision and have them make a 4 or 5 die set.  The 1 or 2 extra dies will be for reducing the parent brass so it can go into the full length sizing die.  I will send them the 40 EX after I get the 38 EX done.  I'm hoping the 38 EX reducing dies may work for the 40 EX too.  Lee wants me to send them the 38 EX in July or August when they are not so busy. 

I am working on 2 other rifles right now and the 40 can wait for awhile.  61 pieces of Win 284 brass was neck turned so a loaded cartridge will chamber.  Then I fire formed it in the rifle to make it a Wildcat 284 Shehane.  The first firing straightens the case walls for more powder capacity.  The next firing will move the shoulder forward to determine where to set the headspace. 

Zebulon said
 
If I had to do with only five powders, give me 4759, Unique, 3031, 4350, and H110/296. 
  

Interesting... my five powders would be 4198, Bullseye, 2400, 4064, and 4350.

If I had to do with only five powders, give me 4759, Unique, 3031, 4350, and H110/296. 

Chuck said

Bert H. said
I use IMR 4198 for a fair number of the older Winchester cartridges, e.g. 25-20 S.S., 32-40, 38-55, 40-70 Ballard, 40-70 Sharps Str., 40-90 Sharps Str., and 50-95 WCF.  When I decide to start reloading 33 WCF again, I will give it a try and work up a load.
I also very recently began reloading my 222 Remington Magnum with it (24.2 grains under a 40 gr. V-Max bullet).  It is the only "modern" cartridge I reload using 4198.  I recently bought 2 lbs of the H4198 that I intend to use for the 222 Rem Mag.
Bert
  

I went through my loading manuals and researched over 40 Winchester calibers for our early guns.  I found loading data using 4198 for at least 30 of these calibers.  I did not find 4198 info on the 44, 38, 32-20, the 2 Military loads for the Hotchkiss, 40-72, 7.62 Russian, 303 Brit, 30-03, 30-40, 22 WCF, 405 and 35.
Again, these are just my manuals.   In addition to 4198 you should have some 2400, 3031, 4064, 4227, 4895 and maybe 4759. 
  

I have IMR 4198, IMR 3031, IMR 4064, IMR 4227, and IMR 4350. I also have A2400, Bullseye, Unique, A8700, H110, H4198, Lil-Gun, and W296 on hand.  Essentially, I have the necessary powder to reload almost any cartridge you can think of.

Bert

I came late to this conversation, but skipped through the entire thread as I am interested in forming for, and shooting, large-bore cartridges.  One thing I don't see mentioned is making a cast of the chamber.  Perhaps I missed that, but did you try that?  It would have given you both the inside chamber diameter and case length.

Also, did you anneal the cases before sizing them?  I have resized and re-profiled several large cases, and even with smaller cases, have found that annealing the brass makes the process a lot easier.  I make .32-40 cases out of .30-30 brass, and found that it was very difficult without annealing, but no problem after annealing.  I also made .50-100 brass out of .348 and had much better results after annealing that.  

The last post I saw was the one about turning necks for a .284.  Will you be doing more with the .40, or have you gotten all the results you wanted?

Thanks. 

Bert H. said
I use IMR 4198 for a fair number of the older Winchester cartridges, e.g. 25-20 S.S., 32-40, 38-55, 40-70 Ballard, 40-70 Sharps Str., 40-90 Sharps Str., and 50-95 WCF.  When I decide to start reloading 33 WCF again, I will give it a try and work up a load.
I also very recently began reloading my 222 Remington Magnum with it (24.2 grains under a 40 gr. V-Max bullet).  It is the only "modern" cartridge I reload using 4198.  I recently bought 2 lbs of the H4198 that I intend to use for the 222 Rem Mag.
Bert
  

I went through my loading manuals and researched over 40 Winchester calibers for our early guns.  I found loading data using 4198 for at least 30 of these calibers.  I did not find 4198 info on the 44, 38, 32-20, the 2 Military loads for the Hotchkiss, 40-72, 7.62 Russian, 303 Brit, 30-03, 30-40, 22 WCF, 405 and 35.

Again, these are just my manuals.   In addition to 4198 you should have some 2400, 3031, 4064, 4227, 4895 and maybe 4759. 

I also very recently began reloading my 222 Remington Magnum with it (24.2 grains under a 40 gr. V-Max bullet).  It is the only "modern" cartridge I reload using 4198.  I recently bought 2 lbs of the H4198 that I intend to use for the 222 Rem Mag.

Bert

I did a study and found that the majority of the old Winchester large calibers can use 4198. 

Bert H. said
Bill,
Why not load your 45-90 with 4198?  I would start with 36 grains and work it up slowly to find your accuracy load.
Bert
  

  I like Bert's idea. I use 4198 in 45-75 and 50-95 in 1876s and 50-110 in 1886s, it's very manageable and consistent, great powder in big cases. T/R