Any opinions on IMR 4198 and Hodgdon Benchmark powders?

Kermit

Kermit

New member
Has anyone had experience with IMR 4198 or Hodgdon Benchmark powders? Would these be good powders for working up loads for both the .222 and the .204? Your experiences or opinions would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
IMR 4198 is a stick powder and it doesn't meter very well. The sticks get caught up in my powder dispenser. Ball powders are much easier to work with, if that matters to you.
 
Guy next door uses Benchmark with excellent results in his 308. I tried a small amount in a 22-250 with very promising results also. I have a pound waiting to be further developed. I believe the guy next door also used his with a .223 and heavy bullets with good results also.
 
I have used both, and they are top on my choices.

They use a very clean burning formula, and when the fired case is extracted, often you can still see the brass color inside the case.

They are both from the Hodgdon line of "Extream" powders, meaning that they are very stable over an extream temperature range.

The H4198 is a shorter size stick than it used to be, and is now called H-4198-SC (short cut).

Also, in the same line and in between these two in burning rate is H322, which is perfect for the .222/.223 family, and it is a favorite of benchrest shooters, so it can't be bad /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
I used exclusively IMR 4198 for .223. Now I switched to H4198 just for temperature stabilization. If it's cold or hot the bullet trajectory is always the same. I used to be able to see with IMR 4198 the bullets start impacting high on hotter days or rising during rapid fire.

I did just use up my last IMR4198 on 2000 rounds of .223 just last week. I will only purchase H4198 from now on.
 
I use Benchmark for lighter bullets and Varget for heavier. They are both in the series of the EXCELLENT Hodgdon Extreme powders and perform very well!
 
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