Average Monthly Smokeless Powder Useage.

[arakboss]

How much smokeless powder do you think the average reloader (excluding competition shooters) uses over a month?

I would guess that I use less than a pound a month averaged over the year.

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[Xmark1]

That's a loading question.
Tite Group has had a bad rap for a long time, but I now use it for the case and a half of 9mm I shoot each month. It's cheap - compared to my old favorites. And it gets the job done. Usually, 4.5 grains pushing a 94 grain norma frangible at 1,400 FPS. It hits the gong with authority. One pound goes a long way!

If I'm Long-gunning it, I use a lot more powder. Like it takes 100 grains to fill my 338 LM cases.

The good news is I bought it cheap and stacked it deep. Probably have enough to last me till I die.

 

[RVTECH]

That's a loading question.

This is true!

Heck at 4.5 grains of Titegroup per thats approx 1555 rounds per pound!

 

[arakboss]

I may have overdone it on pistol powders but reduced rifle loads should increase the demand a bit.

 

[Xmark1]

I may have overdone it on pistol powders but reduced rifle loads should increase the demand a bit.

Some rifle powders are currently $80 a pound! Insanity!
At the start of covid, I stocked up on the likes of H1000, Blue Dot, Varget, etc.
I spent about $1,300 on powder when it was nowhere near its current prices.
I lived through the Sandy Hook shortages and saw trouble coming this time.

 

[RVTECH]

I may have overdone it on pistol powders but reduced rifle loads should increase the demand a bit.

Well, this is what has happened with me when I started making 'reduced' .30-30 rounds with Unique.

My use of Unique for them essentially DOUBLED my use of it, but it's not like I am loading 1000s of rounds of them so my 8 lb jug of it should last a while - but it's probably down to about 7 lb now!

Typically I am using 10 grains for the .30-30 rounds which is still not too bad and will give me approx. 700 rounds per lb.

About my only other use of Unique is for .357 mag and I am only at 7 grains for those which is on the low end as well.

 

[aasbra]

How much smokeless powder do you think the average reloader (excluding competition shooters) uses over a month?

I would guess that I use less than a pound a month averaged over the year.

Speaking for myself, not enough. I need to shoot more often. I mostly shoot and load handgun calibers, so a pound of powder lasts me for a while unless I am doing g a large run of loading to replenish or stock up.

 

[arakboss]

Speaking for myself, not enough. I need to shoot more often. I mostly shoot and load handgun calibers, so a pound of powder lasts me for a while unless I am doing g a large run of loading to replenish or stock up.

"I need to shoot more often."

Same here. It's fairly easy for me to sneak in reloading time at a few minutes here, and a few minutes there. Dedicating hours for a range trip, not so much. I envy those who can step outside and shoot off their back porch.

 

[gmerkt]

Tite Group has had a bad rap for a long time, but I now use it for the case and a half of 9mm I shoot each month. It's cheap

I like Tite Group for .380 and 9mm P. Every time I buy a one pound bottle, I think, "I'll get a lot of loads out of this" and next thing I know, it's gone. I also use Win. 244 in 9mm P. .45 ACP gets Win. 231. 10mm Auto gets Vectan AO or Longshot. .38 Special gets Vectan BA 10 or Bullseye. .357 Magnum gets Win. 296.

I've got some Unique, Blue Dot, Herco and several others that I can rotate in or out if I like.

Rifle powders, I shoot .30-06 and .308 in M1 Rifles and lately, I've finished up my IMR 4166 and I'm set to use VV N135. I've also got IMR 4895 and IMR & Acc. Arms 4064 for certain bullet weights. In .223/5.56mm. I'm using mostly Win. 748. But I have lots of .223 loaded in other things for various rifles, not just AR's.

The thing is, I can't really estimate consumption levels of these things in terms of months. Because so much of my shooting is done seasonally. Meaning, I don't do much shooting during cold/wet weather. But come the "good" weather, the rate of consumption goes up dramatically. I'd say typically I take M1 Rifles out half a dozen times a year, shoot minimum 100 rounds each trip, so there is at least 600 rounds right there. That's about four pounds +/- right there. Not counting hundreds of rounds of .223/5.56. Pistol ammo, It's only a guess but probably several thousand rounds per year. Every time I go to the range, I take at least one rifle and two handguns. In the rare case that all the benches in either category are in use when I get there. Also there is the thing where once you get to the range, if your gun or ammo doesn't work out, you have something else to work with. If I'm going out to the hills to shoot on public lands, I take several guns. To make the trip worthwhile.

 

[gmerkt]

I shoot .30-06 and .308 in M1 Rifles and lately, I've finished up my IMR 4166 and I'm set to use VV N135.

I should add, I liked 4166 for accuracy. BUT: It was horrible for metering. Now that I've switched over to VV N135, the difference is immense. N135 has much smaller extruded grains, it meters nicely. I've done enough load development with N135 now that I'm ready to go with it. 8 pounds.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Smokeless powder...
Is that anything like decaffeinated coffee....?

Kidding here.
Andy

 

[Papercidal]

In 9mm I use a bit over half a pound at 3.5 grains per round

 

[dangerranger60]

I would bet those in groups like this one are the outliers. I would bet the average reloader uses less than a pound a year. I sold reloading supplies for awhile. There are a few that really burn powder, there are a few more that shoot often, and a lot that shoot less than 500 rounds a year. But I'll bet the biggest group shoot less than 50 rounds a year. DR

 

[WillametteWill]

Finally got around to doing the math. Using a 10-year average, #3 - 11.8oz per year, or about 5oz per month. This includes shotgun, rifle, and pistol. I'm with @dangerranger60, betting most average less than a pound per year, especially if they are loading for pistols. I also think many take years off sometimes (I did).