StaBALL HD Powder

[AP2020]

Looking good in my 6.8 Western

 

[Scrumbag]

Interesting stuff. I wonder how Hodgdon are going to balance Winchester ball powders with the Ramshot offerings.

Is the StaBall powder made in Belgium like Ramshot?

 

[AP2020]

Interesting stuff. I wonder how Hodgdon are going to balance Winchester ball powders with the Ramshot offerings.

Is the StaBall powder made in Belgium like Ramshot?

I feel like Hodgdon will sell all the powder that they can!

Not sure on the origins.

 

[FNSafari]

Win ball powders are made by St Marks(general dynamics) south of Tallahassee FL.

 

[RegionRat]

On the video, when you went to open the bolt it looked a little stiff or is that action always like that?
Just curious since the brass is a little unusual and the recipe is brand new too.
At $6 per case, I hope they were not over-pressure.

 

[AP2020]

On the video, when you went to open the bolt it looked a little stiff or is that action always like that?
Just curious since the brass is a little unusual and the recipe is brand new too.
At $6 per case, I hope they were not over-pressure.

No, the loads were on the hot side.

Unbeknownst to myself until AFTER I produced the video. Roberson Brass had filed for bankruptcy last Fall. I tried to send them a link to the video, and their email bounced back.

Fortunately for me, I did not pay for the brass as I was sent the brass for review.

 

[RegionRat]

No, the loads were on the hot side.

Unbeknownst to myself until AFTER I produced the video. Roberson Brass had filed for bankruptcy last Fall. I tried to send them a link to the video, and their email bounced back.

Fortunately for me, I did not pay for the brass as I was sent the brass for review.

I would try and re-tune those and grab data while it is still cold since those will be no bueno once it warms up.

It will be interesting and useful for all of us to grab chrono data in winter and compare it to summer for these new powders.

With luck, these new domestic ball powders are at least decent and more available compared to the irregular supply of the imports.

I have yet to see this type (or any type) of ball powder compete with the best extruded types, but times change and we may have to adapt to what we can get.

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

@ Region,..
Regular Old StaBall 6.5, Shoots GREAT, in My 6 XC with 107 SMK's and 6.5 Creed w/ 143. ELD-X's.
Probably won't, win a Match but, I got, a .218 Dia., 5 shot group out of, my 6 XC with, the 107's ( Lots of, 3's ) and Sub 1/2 MOA with, Horn 103 ELD-X's,.. all THROWN Charges.
The 6.5 Creed with, the Hornady 143's is around, 5/8ths MOA ( 5 shots ) FIRST Try and NO Bullet Tuning,.. Yet.
My son Plans on using, the HD powder, in His new 7 PRC Build and has been, gobbling up, 7 Pounds of it, so far.
IF, the New HD is, as good as ole StaBall 65,.. he will be, very Happy !

 

[RegionRat]

Probably won't, win a Match but, I got, a .218 Dia., 5 shot group out of, my 6 XC with, the 107's ( Lots of, 3's ) and Sub 1/2 MOA with, Horn 103 ELD-X's,.. all THROWN Charges.

That is good shooting in anybody's book.

Don't get me wrong on ball powders...
I am a fan of thrown charges when I have to make 2000 prairie dog loads in a hurry, and ball powders are just fine for getting those within half minute in good rigs.

So, I have used many ball powders and will continue, but I am also picky about match loads that have to go past 600 yards and for those I use the best extruded stuff I can find.

I am certainly going to test the new ones as soon as we get caught up fixing all the weather damage around here. I have had very few days where I pulled the trigger since those first January storms cut up our roads, and the next storms damaged our trees. The club is supposed to get hammered with 3" of rain in the next 24 hours, so wish us luck.

 

[Loudenboomer]

Thanks for the review. Been eyeing the StaBALL HD for use in the .338 Lapua. Looking forward to your StaBALL Match review as well.