Experience with Ramshot powders?

[bigmyk2k]

Is there anyone out there with experience using Ramshot powders? If so, what has your impression been?

Particularly, talking about Exterminator, Silouhette, True Blue, TAC, and Zip.

Thanks!

[sellersm]

Excellent powders, in my experience! Silhouette is the old WAP powder, Zip is basically Win231/HP38, True Blue is basically Blue Dot. Good stuff. I'd use them without any hesitation...

[bigmyk2k]

Cool! I haven't been actually reloading long, but in the year or so of researching leading up to it, I didn't see the name enough to get a feel.
So, thanks for the insight!

[SA Friday]

Depends on what you are loading with them. Every powder has it's advantages and disadvantages. I have yet to find one that's "perfect" in all aspects. The Ramshot powder I have used a lot of is TAC. It meters like water and this makes it very good for lading 223 in a progressive press. I get more accurate rounds from Varget, but Varget's metering isn't conducive for use during progressive reloading. TAC is popular with three gun shooters because of the above. I've heard it's also good with 308, but all of my 308 rounds are shot from bolt actions and for precision so I stick with Varget for them too.

[MarkCO]

I've used a lot of Tac, XTerm and Hunter.

I use TAC for my 60 to 69 grain .223 loads. For the same velocity, a bit less recoil than the Varget and it does nmot eat the comps as fast either. Xterm I use for 40 to 55 grain varmint loads. Lets me load on the progressive and get accuracy equal to single stage loading with some of the other powders. With quality bullets, I can get 1/2 MOA with the AR-15 and 69s over TAC. Under that in the .22-250 with Xterm.

I use Hunter in .30-06, .308 and .260 loads and I have been pretty happy with it.

I've not tried the pistol powders yet, I have a pound of one of them for some reason.

[w748]

Bought a jug of TAC for M80 type loads when nothing else was available ; no regrets!

[DSB OUTDOORS]

I love TAC for .223 / 5.56 and .308 very consistent grouping. Little fowling.

[spqrzilla]

The reality is that there are about five major powder manufacturers in the world. Hodgdon, Winchester, IMR brands (all distributed by Hodgdon) manufacture no smokeless powders at all and the rest of the powder brands like Ramshot, Accurate, and Alliant manufacture little if any - they repackage powders made for them by one or more of the five manufacturers. The main sources are in Belgium, Czech Republic, Australia (ADI or Thales?), Canada (General Dynamics) and Florida (St Marks - almost all ball powders come from them).

Norma, Vihtavouri market their own manufacture to my belief.

Some powders are marketed by several of those brands, e.g. Winchester 231, Hodgdon HP38 are all the same powder off the same line. Hodgdon H110 and Winchester 296 is another example. More often each brand is buying a powder made to its own specifications, and so even though it might be similar to another brands' powder it isn't interchangeable.

Sometimes a brand of powder has actually moved through multiple manufacturing sources over time. Often with almost no one noticing any differences beyond lot to lot variations.

So the only real reason to pick one powder brand over another is the availability of good reloading data, perhaps some characteristic like Hodgdon's Extreme line of less temp variation, or ease of finding them locally.

And of course price.

[paddywagon]

The only one I have used is TAC. Loaded .308 as well as 5.56 with it. It works very well, but I prefer the Varget from Hodgen for match loads.