Powder recommendations for .308 & .30/06

[Rocky Raab]

It's a good question.

The absolute best powder can be hard to find. It has to generate the highest possible bullet velocity at below maximum pressures, burn cleanly and consistently, not fill the case too much or too little, and meter well through a dispenser.

But there's even more to it that that. The BEST powder would have a broad pressure curve and not "spike" its pressure peak, yet tail off in pressure just before the bullet leaves the muzzle. It would not erode the rifle's throat either mechanically or thermally. It would leave little fouling and no unburned particles in the bore. It would not create a huge muzzle flash or boom. It would not degrade in storage either before or after being loaded into cartridges. Finally, and not the least important, it would be easy to manufacture so that every batch performed the same.

Making the whole thing even more complicated is the fact that EVERY rifle is different, EVERY bullet is different and EVERY cartridge case is different. Finding the powder that shines with Brand A bullet, Brand B primer, Brand C brass in your own Brownugeremingester Model 777 rifle - at your altitude and in today's weather - well....