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Bronze Supporter
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I'll try to be brief, but fail regularly:
Handloading for about 42 years (since a kid). In the early years, new powders were almost uneard of. Now it seems a weekly event.
I have stalwart standbys and adhere to the regimen of "one load/one gun" most frequently. I have enough guns (and some in duplicated calibers) to be able to do this and still achieve load variety for field application. Example: with seven .250 Savages in the stable, some are applied to light bullet varmint loads (75g and such), the majority hover around the 85g Ballistic Tip, and a couple have their dedicated MTM boxes filled with 100g bullets for "the heavy stuff" (heavy for a .250).
I experience fear on a regular basis with new powders being introduced. I have been burned more than once in former experiments: having developed a fine load with a brand new powder, only to see it fade into obscurity only a (for me) small number of years later. Even trusted companions desert: (Reloader 12 for my light .30-06 loads in a Winchester '95 carbine). I managed to tap a nervous hoarder companion for a supply of this good powder that might take me to the end of my existence and usage of the '95.
I read articles about newly introduced powders with great reservation. I nearly always reject the exploration, believing (with good evidence) that they will not be available 5-10 years from now. On the other hand, I see some of these recruits become hard sergeants in the field, and regret my decisions of an earlier date to disregard their potential worth.
I am curious toward others' strategy to this quandary. For me it is a very frequent puzzlement. I wonder if I am missing a boat, and on the other hand, do not want to firmly esconce myself on a boat that will sink in the relatively near future.
Handloading for about 42 years (since a kid). In the early years, new powders were almost uneard of. Now it seems a weekly event.
I have stalwart standbys and adhere to the regimen of "one load/one gun" most frequently. I have enough guns (and some in duplicated calibers) to be able to do this and still achieve load variety for field application. Example: with seven .250 Savages in the stable, some are applied to light bullet varmint loads (75g and such), the majority hover around the 85g Ballistic Tip, and a couple have their dedicated MTM boxes filled with 100g bullets for "the heavy stuff" (heavy for a .250).
I experience fear on a regular basis with new powders being introduced. I have been burned more than once in former experiments: having developed a fine load with a brand new powder, only to see it fade into obscurity only a (for me) small number of years later. Even trusted companions desert: (Reloader 12 for my light .30-06 loads in a Winchester '95 carbine). I managed to tap a nervous hoarder companion for a supply of this good powder that might take me to the end of my existence and usage of the '95.
I read articles about newly introduced powders with great reservation. I nearly always reject the exploration, believing (with good evidence) that they will not be available 5-10 years from now. On the other hand, I see some of these recruits become hard sergeants in the field, and regret my decisions of an earlier date to disregard their potential worth.
I am curious toward others' strategy to this quandary. For me it is a very frequent puzzlement. I wonder if I am missing a boat, and on the other hand, do not want to firmly esconce myself on a boat that will sink in the relatively near future.
