Winchester Ball Powder for 6.5x54 Mannlicher Schoenauer - The Firearms Forum

scout2*10 · 01-08-2012, 11:58 PM

Anyone have any ideas or info on Winchester's ball powders for reloading a 6.5x54 Mannlicher Schoenauer? I haven't been able to find any. Burn rate of Winchester 748 is close to IMR 3031, which I use. Would any of you guys try it? If so, where would you start? I tried to get an answer from Winchester but no luck. The rifle is fantastic, low recoil, very accurate, customized by Griffin & Howe in the early 30's, it's a work of art. With IMR 3031 it will put 5 AMax 140 gr rounds into one ragged hole at 100 yards. I wil continue to use it, but the Winchester ball powder measures so well...

Thanks

steve4102 · 01-09-2012, 01:14 AM

The only "Ball" powders with 140gr bullets I can find is H-380, 760/414.
Why is it important to drop/meter powder for this rifle. Surely you can't be shooting so many rounds that weighing each round is real problem?

Ramshot BigGame and Hunter are excellent ball powders. Send an email off to them and they will most likely have some data for you in a few days.

scout2*10 · 01-09-2012, 06:12 AM

Thanks, I appreciate the information.

Bindernut · 01-09-2012, 09:32 AM

H335 is closer to IMR3031 than W748 is. W748 is very close to IMR4320...slower than 3031.

The current Hornady manual has data for H380, which is a spherical powder right around the same burn rate as 4320.
H380 is a bit slower than your 3031 but still worth trying. (I'm a fan of using slower-burning powders anyway.)
I've heard some folks say that H380 and W748 are identical (like HP38 & W231 or H414 & W760 are twins) but I have not verified this so do not substitute data between the two unless you get verification directly from Hodgdon themselves.

Hodgdon Benchmark is a nice short-cut extruded powder that is right next to 3031 on the burn rate chart. Finding data for that powder in the 6.5x54MS might be tricky though.

If you've got a load that works, I'd definitely keep that load...but I can understand wanting to find a spherical powder load too.

steve4102 · 01-09-2012, 09:56 AM

Quote:

I've heard some folks say that H380 and W748 are identical

Duno, but I do have both on hand and mine don't even look the same.

Bindernut · 01-09-2012, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve4102

Duno, but I do have both on hand and mine don't even look the same.

That's why I threw the note of caution out there. I haven't used W748 since the early 90s and that was still Olin-manufactured powder. I know W748 was different than H380 back then. Nowadays, I don't know. either one would fit the burn-rate and powder-type profile that the OP is looking for.

<rant_mode_on>
Now that Hodgdon is in charge of marketing WW, H, and IMR, it's hard to tell what they've consolidated and what they've not. Multiple brandings on the same powder is nothing but a problem waiting to happen...especially if you go dig around on the internet for loading data. Too much disinformation out there!
I wish that Hodgdon would just issue a statement and trim their line down accordingly instead of having identical powders in two different canisters.
That's the main reason that I pretty much stopped using any of their sphericals except for HP38/W231.
<rant_mode_off>

01-08-2012, 11:58 PM	#1
scout2*10 Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 8	Winchester Ball Powder for 6.5x54 Mannlicher Schoenauer Anyone have any ideas or info on Winchester's ball powders for reloading a 6.5x54 Mannlicher Schoenauer? I haven't been able to find any. Burn rate of Winchester 748 is close to IMR 3031, which I use. Would any of you guys try it? If so, where would you start? I tried to get an answer from Winchester but no luck. The rifle is fantastic, low recoil, very accurate, customized by Griffin & Howe in the early 30's, it's a work of art. With IMR 3031 it will put 5 AMax 140 gr rounds into one ragged hole at 100 yards. I wil continue to use it, but the Winchester ball powder measures so well... Thanks Attached Images --> Last edited by scout210; 01-09-2012 at 12:39 AM..*

01-09-2012, 01:14 AM	#2
steve4102 Former Guest Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Minnesota Contributor Posts: 2,760	Re: Winchester Ball Powder for 6.5x54 Mannlicher Schoenauer The only "Ball" powders with 140gr bullets I can find is H-380, 760/414. Why is it important to drop/meter powder for this rifle. Surely you can't be shooting so many rounds that weighing each round is real problem? Ramshot BigGame and Hunter are excellent ball powders. Send an email off to them and they will most likely have some data for you in a few days.

01-09-2012, 06:12 AM	#3
scout2*10 Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 8	Re: Winchester Ball Powder for 6.5x54 Mannlicher Schoenauer Thanks, I appreciate the information. __________________ Lord, make me fast and accurate. Let my aim be true and my hand faster than those who would seek to destroy me. Grant me victory over my foes and those that wish to do harm to me and mine. Let not my last thought be “If only I had my gun”; and Lord if today is truly the day that You call me home, let me die in a pile of brass.

01-09-2012, 09:32 AM	#4
Bindernut Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: ND, USA Posts: 2,489	Re: Winchester Ball Powder for 6.5x54 Mannlicher Schoenauer H335 is closer to IMR3031 than W748 is. W748 is very close to IMR4320...slower than 3031. The current Hornady manual has data for H380, which is a spherical powder right around the same burn rate as 4320. H380 is a bit slower than your 3031 but still worth trying. (I'm a fan of using slower-burning powders anyway.) I've heard some folks say that H380 and W748 are identical (like HP38 & W231 or H414 & W760 are twins) but I have not verified this so do not substitute data between the two unless you get verification directly from Hodgdon themselves. Hodgdon Benchmark is a nice short-cut extruded powder that is right next to 3031 on the burn rate chart. Finding data for that powder in the 6.5x54MS might be tricky though. If you've got a load that works, I'd definitely keep that load...but I can understand wanting to find a spherical powder load too. Last edited by Bindernut; 01-09-2012 at 09:35 AM..