2400 Users I want to pick your brain!

2400 works great in .44 mag, .41mag, and .357 mag ( Just like the bottle says!;-) ). I have a 265gr SWC 44 mag load for my Marlin 1894 that the accuracy blows my mind. It also worked great in my .44 mag blackhawk under a 200 gr bullet I cast. Unfortunately school tuition is really the opposite of free, and the blackhawk had to go this semester ( I make just enough so that I don't qualify for my share of the CHANGE to assist me with my tuition). Anyway, I bought a lot of 2400 when I had the ruger, it was worth having around. My 1894 is one of my hunting rifles so it doesn't get shot all that much. What other calibers like 2400? I have even wondered if it would maybe work as a 30-30 powder pushing only a 125gr or lighter boolit in my contender pistol. How versatile is this stuff? It meters so well in a powder measure and I have a lot of it. I also have 1911s in 45ACP and 38super, got a .40 carbine too.

Disclaimer: If any of the above ideas are just plain dumb, please notify me immediately. I will not take offense.

Chris

Alliant 2400 is a good powder to use with a lot of cast bullet loads in revolver and rifle loads. Look at a cast bullet loading manual and you will see all sorts of loads. I would not use it in semi auto pistols unless I was using extremely heavy bullets. I don't see why it would work in your 30-30. I use it in my 30 m1 carbine, my 44's and 357 mags. I play with it a little in my 45-70 also. Good luck with whatever you use it in. It is worth having around.

It's definitely one of the great magnum pistol powders, but it won't be of much use to you in .45 ACP, .38 Super or .40 S&W--it's just too slow for those. You could certainly use it for reduced loads in the .30-30 though. I've used it for reduced cast bullet loads in .30-06 with great success.

Mike

I use it in my 22 hornet, I use it in my 45 70 and many in between. I have not had any success with it in my 32 auto. It is not the most efficient powder in many of them but it is plenty accurate with usable power.
Unique, 2400 and H4350 are the three I stock in bulk. The others are specialty applications.

Good luck with school.

Hang in there with the education, it will be worth the time and trouble.

What type of reduced load were you using? I am shooting this in a production class benchrest pistol. Reduced recoil along with accuracy is what I'm looking for, and with this being a pistol with a 14" barrel conventional 30-30 loads may not work....then again they may. I just want to load a few with different powders and try em out at the range.

Chris

2400 is my favorite cast bullet powder for rifles. I like it in 30-30, 45-70, 308, 30-06, 270 win, and more. I shoot more in rifles than in handguns. I've always found it easy to get acceptable accuracy. Love the stuff.

For the 30-30 try up to 16 grains of 2400 under anything up to and including a 170 grain Rem CoreLokt bullet. Increase as appropriate for lighter boolits. Alliant said in their 1995 Reloader's Guide that the 16 grain Core Lokt load gave1500 fps from a 14 inch bbl. Regards, Woody

I use 28.5grs. of 2400 in a 338 Win Mag with 235gr cast boolit for around 2000 fps--mild mannered and accurate load!

Winelover

Older load books use 2400 in lots and lots of carts.
My dad used it in tons of stuff. but data can be a bit scarce.

I just went and looked, one of my pet loads 15 years ago was 11 grains of 2400 under a 115 gr. LRFN for my Marlin .30-30. The box had a piece of target taped to the back that had a 1.5" 50-yard 5-shot group printed on it (factory iron sights).

Gear

I like 17 to 17.5 grains of 2400 in my .45 Colt under a 255 grain Keith type SWC. I shoot this out of my Colt Anaconda and it's laser accurate. I've never had the opportunity to go hunting with it, but I'm sure it would put meat on the table if I decided to bag a deer or hog.

With cast bullets, about all cases like 2400.
It is the GO TO powder for cast, when all other powders fail.

Keep your cast bullet rifle velosities to about 1800 pfs.

Were I to have only 4 powders, they would be unique, 2400, 4895, and 4350.

25 grains in the .444 Marlin with a 255 Lyman 429244.
17.5 grains in the 8mm Mauser and a Lee 175 grain.

15.5 grains under a Lee C309-150F gets me 1,739 fps average and a 16 SD. It is my favorite load through my Marlin 30AS .30/30.

10 or 11 grains under a Lee c 309-180R without gas check is a nice low guestimated @1200 fps load the gives me 1 1/4 " groups at 100yrds.In a handi 30-30. O.k. its not hot or anything but to 150 yrds good plinking .After that it seems to wanna hit the dirt real quick.

I use 15 gr of the A2400 with #311413 cast bullets in my .308 Savage 99. Mild load, but accurate and fun for 50 yard shooting. And I believe it is the Lyman 49th addition of the manual that has loads for the 30-30. I don't have it handy but I'm sure someone else likely does.

16-18 grs of 2400 should work in the 30-30 you could go up some wwith the lighter boolit.
for the others another powder is in order,titegroup or unique.
unique would also work in the 30-30,44-45 etc.,as would titegroup but not where i would wanna go.

Don't be so positive that it won't work in pistol cartridges (talking semi auto's not revolvers). Al will verify that I was getting good results with 4227 out of the 7.62x25 Tokarev and that powder is even slower then the 2400 spoke of here. I think it was old Skeeter Skeleton that said don't belive that myth you have to have a longer barrel to burn. Not so, in fact even in a long barrel there are unburnt grains. That's just how 2400 is. You just have to try it. One thing it is slow enough that it would be hard to get into trouble with it in a pistol cartridge.

Joe

12.5gr of 2400 works well with my 105gr hard cast .30 Carbine bullets.

Don