Grains per pound

[eric_monster]

Hi all,

I am fairly new to the forum, been doing a lot of reading. So thank you all for the valuable info. I am trying to get started in reloading and have a question, is there a way to figure out how many rounds a person can load from a 1 pound container of powder?

I have no idea what loads I am going to work up. But planning on .45 and 9mm plinking ammo and .308 match ammo.

If I am asking too broad of a question, just let me know.

Thanks,

Eric

 

[highlife]

7000 grains

 

[dennisinaz]

There are 7000 grains in a pound. Just divide a typical load into that. I use 50 grains of R17 in my 6.5-284. That means I can get 140 rounds out of a pound. If you are loading 9mm plinking ammo- you can probably find a load with a fast powder that will take only 5-6 grains. That means you can get 1400 rounds out of a pound. HUGE difference.

When I load for my 300 and 340 Weatherbys- I typically use about 85-90 grains of powder. I can only get about 75 rounds out of a pound!

 

[JaxCatm]

If you buy in bulk I.E. an 8 pound can or get 16 pounds depending on your tempo of shooting you will take a while to get through it. I get realistically 11,500 rounds of 9mm out of a 8 pound can of Bullseye. But like dennisinaz said if you load big stuff then it can get pretty expensive real quick. Try loading for the 338 Lapua or 50 BMG sometime. Guys get into buying 40-50 pounds of a powder they like. If you ever go that far I suggest a actual powder magazine.

 

[rocketron]

the 7th edition hornady book has a chart in the back of it that gives the info. your looking for (page 944)

Ron

 

[artbosco]

Is there a way to figure out how many rounds a person can load from a 1 pound container of powder?

Divide your load into 7000 [the number of grains per pound] or use this handy Rounds Per Pound Reference Chart: http://www.reloadbench.com/gloss/grain.html

 

[eric_monster]

You guys are all awesome! Thanks for the info.

Eric

 

[TheSnake]

Eric,
For plinking with my 9mm and 45ACP, I use Meister Lead cast bullets as it saves a lot with the cost of reloading. In 9mm, it is almost not worth the price of reloading using FMJ or JHP bullets by the time you spend loading them. Shooting lead saves enough money to justify it. The 45ACP is another story. There is enough savings there to justify lead or FMJ. I purchase the lead bullets in 1K lots to save even more. The Meisters are very uniform and clean over other brands I have purchased. I use 4.3 grains of W231 powder in both 9mm 115gr LRN and 45ACP 230gr RLN and can get about 1600 rounds from a pound of powder. The 45ACP with lead cycles my full size Kimber just fine. I also load Meister lead in my 45LC ammo. I purchase the Meister directly from Meister as the price includes shipping.

Hope this helps.