Rifle powder

PRS is a first-round-hit game across unknown distances and whatever weather the weekend brings, which makes velocity consistency the entire propellant conversation. A load that shifts between a cold morning stage and a hot afternoon one puts your dope out at the far targets, and a load with sloppy extreme spread does the same thing at any temperature. Case fill is part of that: a full, uniform charge column ignites more consistently than a partly filled one, which is why the favoured powders in this game are the ones that fill a Creedmoor-class case properly.

What matters here

• velocity holding from a cold morning to a hot afternoon
• low extreme spread and standard deviation across a string
• high case fill for uniform ignition
• lot-to-lot consistency you can rebuild a load on
• actually being able to buy more of it next season

5 of 6 in stock right now at the retailers we track. These picks are RCM's — no manufacturer endorses them, and they are judgement rather than test data. Disagree with one? Tell us and say why.

1. 1

   Hodgdon H4350

   Hodgdon · extruded · burn 151

   $54.28/lblanded · Lohman Arms · 8 lb

   The powder people camp on retailer websites for, and the standing default in 6.5 Creedmoor and the short magnums: temperature stable, and it fills those cases at a density that produces genuinely low velocity spread with match bullets.

   But: Two honest problems. The scarcity is real, and building a match program around a powder you cannot reliably resupply is its own mistake. Careful head-to-head testing also shows less separation from the alternatives than the forums suggest. As a stick powder it does not throw well, so plan on weighing every charge.

2. 2

   Hodgdon Varget

   Hodgdon · extruded · burn 129

   $56.05/lblanded · Graf & Sons · 8 lb

   The temperature-insensitive default for .308 and heavy bullets in .223, with a long record of holding its dope across a season - which is exactly what the discipline asks for.

   But: Chronically scarce, and the recommendation has become reflexive rather than reasoned. It bridges in a drop tube and gets cut by a rotary measure, so weigh rather than throw.

3. 3

   Reloder 16

   Alliant · extruded · burn 150

   Not in stock

   The TZ chemistry is aimed squarely at this problem - resisting the usual pattern of more pressure hot and less cold - and it is energetic for its burn position, so heavy bullets in 6.5 Creedmoor and .270 get magnum-flavoured performance out of a standard case.

   But: Temperature stable is not temperature proof. Confirm your own lot over the range of conditions you will actually shoot in rather than assuming the load cannot move.

4. 4

   N555

   Vihtavuori · extruded · burn 164

   $58.30/lblanded · Graf & Sons · 8 lb

   Designed around the Creedmoor family with aggressive temperature-stability and anti-fouling claims, and the brand's lot-to-lot consistency matters most in exactly this application, where you rebuild the same load year after year.

   But: Premium price, as always with the brand, and it is new enough that the stability claim rests more on the manufacturer than on accumulated match experience.

5. 5

   Winchester StaBALL 6.5

   Winchester · spherical · burn 157

   $53.93/lblanded · Graf & Sons · 8 lb

   The practical answer when H4350 is not on the shelf: a temperature-stable ball powder aimed at the same cases that meters superbly and is usually available and cheaper.

   But: Not a drop-in stand-in - it needs full independent load development, and side-by-side testing tends to show no clear advantage either way, with some rifles simply preferring the extruded powder.

6. 6

   Hodgdon H1000

   Hodgdon · extruded · burn 182

   $56.43/lblanded · Graf & Sons · 8 lb

   The pick once the case gets big - the PRC family, .300 Winchester Magnum and the heavy-for-caliber loads - where you can fill the case to the neck and get a full, consistent burn, with Extreme-series stability holding the dope across the day.

   But: Put it in a case too small for it and you get poor load density, inconsistent ignition and velocity you could have had from a faster powder.