Obsolete Winchester WMR in .243 Win.

[.260 james]

I have 3 lbs. of WMR powder i am looking to burn in a .243 . Anyone have load data for 95 Nosler BTs. I am just looking for something usable to get rid of this powder and lost my old load data. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[bheadboy]

it is a very slow powder for heavier bullets, call Hodgden and their tech line will give you some useful info.
Bob

 

[.260 james]

Thanks, Bob I will give them a shout tomorrow.

 

[PJGunner]

I have 3 lbs. of WMR powder i am looking to burn in a .243 . Anyone have load data for 95 Nosler BTs. I am just looking for something usable to get rid of this powder and lost my old load data. Any help would be appreciated.

You only have three pounds? OK, I'm jerking your chain.

This is from the Winchester loading booklet circa 1997.

WMR powder .243 Win. 100 gr. bullet, 44.7 gr. 3,000 FPS @ 55,500 P.S.I.
105 gr. bullet, 43.7 gr. 2,890 FPS @ 56,500 P.S.I.

I would estimate that the 100 gr. load should be a safe starting point and probably somewhere around 45.7 would work with the 95 gr. bullets.

I shoot the 100 gr. Hornady IL Spire Point using the 44.7 gr. load and it's safe in my rifle. I'm using Winchester brass and winchester standard (WLR) primers.
The 6Th Ed. Hornady loading manual shows a start load of 40.8 gr. of WMR for 2500 FPS to a max load of 47.9 gr. for 3,000 FPS using 95 to 100 bullets.
The only reason I bother with what little data there is for WMR is when they dropped it, I bought up every bit I could find, more or less. To get a decent price I had to buy 5 8 pound jugs of the stuff, A friend who help broker the deal bought one from me so I have four. Why? because that stuff is fantastic in my .270 Win. and .300 win. mag. rifles. How does 2950 FPS with a 150 gr. bullet from the .270 sound? Or 2930 FPSwith a 200 gr. bullet from the .300 Win. Mag.? The powder also works reasonably well in my .243, 6MM Rem. .257 Robt., 25-06 and.280 Remington. Strange thing is it doesn't work worth a darn in the 30-06. Very erratic. The only data the Winchester book shows is for 200 and 220 gr. bullets. ???
The only manuals that ever had any data were some of the early Nosler's and Hornady's. Sierra and Speer totally ignored the powder. Look at various burning rate charts and WMR is all over the place from being faster that 4350 to just below RL22.
Anyway, there's some data to give you a place to start.
Paul B.

 

[.260 james]

Thank You, Sir. thats what I needed. I bought this stuff years ago for a .243 i had and got excellent accuracy and good velocity, but at the time i think i was have a bedding issue with the gun . One day it would shoot under a half inch, other days two inches. all round groups though. I heard winchester stopped producing this powder because of pressure related problems, especially .243 Win.

 

[PJGunner]

Thank You, Sir. that's what I needed. I bought this stuff years ago for a .243 i had and got excellent accuracy and good velocity, but at the time i think i was have a bedding issue with the gun . One day it would shoot under a half inch, other days two inches. all round groups though. I heard winchester stopped producing this powder because of pressure related problems, especially .243 Win.

Dunno about pressure problems with the .243 but I'm here to tell you is was squirrelly as hell in the 30-06 with 180 gr. bullets. On the Winchester data for the 06, they only show loads for the 200 and 220 gr. bullets. they show 55.7 gr. for both bullets (???) and2435 FPS at 48,200 P.S.I. for the 200 gr. bullet and 2380 FPS at 51,100 P.S.I. for the 220 gr. bullet.

Seems to me Winchester just can't get it right when it comes to a slow burning powder. First there was 780BR, then 785, then WMR, then WXR which I heard was repackaged RL22 and now 780. I wonder how long will that one last? You just never know.
Paul B.