Federal Cartridge Loads

[HFV]

Need help... Is there anyone on this forum that knows or knows how to find out,, powder type in Federal
Fusion 270 short mag. factory ammo.. I pulled a couple down , both were loaded w/71 gr. of some type ball powder. (270 WSM w/150 gr bullet) Your input will be greatly appreciated .

 

[John Russell]

The companies do not use the same powders that we use. Our powders are blended so each can is as close to the last as possible, and that the loads you make today are the same as you made last year (as close as possible) and are repeatable.

The commercial companies buy powder in bulk, (by the tons), and each batch is different, and each batch requires the company to develope a new load(s) for that batch of powder.

 

[HFV]

Thanks John,, my next ??,, the powder in the 270 WSM is definitely ball powder,, I wonder what type would be the closest to
the burning rate (ball powder) in magnum cartridges? Is Magpro a ball powder? 71 grains Rel 25 shot great in 7mm WSM, but is definitely not ball type, and did not perform good in 270 wsm. What ball powder has slowest burn rate?

 

[smoooth]

Accurate 8700 is a very slow ball powder, also some mil-surplus powders for 50BMG are ball as well.

 

[johnfred1965]

The commercial companies buy powder in bulk, (by the tons), and each batch is different, and each batch requires the company to develope a new load(s) for that batch of powder.

I am not as emphatic as horace in my disagreement with you, I just wanted to say I had read the opposite was true about factory loads. The ammo company sets the parameters for a cartridge (pressure, velocity, charge weight and volume, etc) and the powder companies will mix a batch of "non-canister" powder to match their requirements.

To answer the OP, John R is right, usually you cannot match the powder in factory loads to any commercial powders, however, there are exceptions. The two that come to mind are Hornady 6.5creedmoor that lists the exact load of H4350 that they use right on the box, and certain GI loads that specify IMR powders and weights. I would stop guessing what is in your 270wsm factory loads and get on one of the excellent powder or bullet manufacturing websites for load data for your cartridge

 

[johnfred1965]

Here is another bit of information. Since Federal and Alliant powder are both owned by Vista Outdoors, it is a good bet that Alliant mixed the powder for Federal. You might want to look at Alliant's load data for a similar velocity load. It won't be the same chemical mix, but they may have something close