IMR 4227, what's it good for?

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Thanks for all the replies, I'll make it work or get a new gun just for this powder.

chris
Ooohh you HAD to mention that. :). Well allow me to be the first to suggest a gun just for IMR 4227: a Krag. The .30US and 4227 are a beautiful team. 20gr under a 173gr cast GC spire point in a full infantry rifle gets better than 1800fps and is plenty good for any critter you’d care to fricassee out to 200yds. The 7.65Argie with a heavy 210gr GC lead flat nose is a lot of fun with 22-24gr of 4227 and I’ve seen Argie Mausers recently for reasonable money.
 
I've tried it in .30 Carbine, 300 Blackout, .44 Mag and cast bullets in various HP rifle rounds.

It works OK in lots of stuff, but I've always had other powders that worked better.

I think it's best as a "collector powder".

Look on past threads asking about the oldest can of powder people have and 4227 comes up a LOT.
:)
4227 and IMR 4227 are historically different powders.
 
I picked up 2#'s of IMR4227 during the first Dark Age... just because it was on the shelf. At first, with .41MAG starting loads, I didn't like it... dirty, stinky, and poor accuracy. Then I ramped the powder charge up for some loads I was making up for my Marlin 1894 in .41... and it was magical! It turned out to be an excellent powder there, so I bought another 8#. Forward to today, and I've just finished working up loads for a .45 Colt H&R HandiRifle with it. The key to success with IMR4227 is case fill... the fuller, the better. I also have loads worked up with it, with cast bullets, in .30-30, .308, and .348WCF, where it does pretty well, just not as well as my favorite IMR4198... but places a close second. Not trying to take away enabling points, but there might be some options for you with what you have.
 
I have mixed feelings on imr4227, I heard it was great for heavy bullets in magnum chambering. I bought a pound last year sometime , it was the only powder on the shelf at bass pro. I loaded a ladder of 454 casull rounds with 325 grain swc bullets . accuracy was good, recoil was moderate. Every load produced a lot of unburned powder. I figured the near max load with a heavy crimp would manage to burn it but it didn't (5" barrel).
Tried some in my 10" revolver , still had unburned powder.
I guess it really does like heavy bullets, heavy crimp & long barrel . haven't continued but I was planning to try some 45-70 with it next.
I'm not going to give up on it but I doubt I'll buy more unless I find a load I really like.
 
Tried some in my 10" revolver , still had unburned powder.

It's an odd burner, much in the way AA5744 burns and leaves crap in the barrel. It's not really unburnt powder, just junk in the barrel. I joke that I have to have a shovel to get the leftovers out after a shooting session. It doesn't seem to affect accuracy, nor build up in the barrel. I fired 700 rounds of .41 with IMR4227 through the Marlin over one weekend, and first shot to last shot, it was very consistent, accuracy-wise.

I don't normally use it in pistols these days, however... it does, indeed, favor longer barrels, more so than something like 2400, which is in the same burn range.
 
I was at the lgs today and picked up two pounds of Accurate 2200 and one pound of IMR 4227 with the intention of trying them out in my .223 AR.

Well, I must have looked at the wrong thing (or maybe too many things) because the 4227 won't work for my rifle.:cuss:

So what calibers doe's everyone use it in? Not looking for load data, just wonder if I can use it in something or if I should trade it off.

Thanks,
chris

.410 bore shotgun.
 
Do you powder coat your cast .223 bullets?

I PC and use a check. Recently I've started to experiment to shrink the groups. Talking to a friend who is very into aerodynamics, he claims that the base being trued up will improve the bullet's flight. Even though the base of the check looks pretty true, I made a delrin collet for my mini lathe and cut a couple that were nearly perfect to begin with and was quite surprised to discover how un-flat they actually were. Haven't been back to the range yet but hoping to get out this week and test some.

223pc.jpg 223pc2.jpg


Thanks for all the replies, I'll make it work or get a new gun just for this powder.

chris

That's the spirit! I got into 32 auto the same way. I bought a set of dies at a garage sale and didn't have a firearm chambered in that caliber so I picked one up the next week. I now have four that I reload for.
 
I was at the lgs today and picked up two pounds of Accurate 2200 and one pound of IMR 4227 with the intention of trying them out in my .223 AR.

Well, I must have looked at the wrong thing (or maybe too many things) because the 4227 won't work for my rifle.:cuss:

So what calibers doe's everyone use it in? Not looking for load data, just wonder if I can use it in something or if I should trade it off.

Thanks,
chris
I’m not advocating nor discouraging this, but Lee #1 lists IMR 4227 for use in .223 Rem with 40, 45, 50 and 55 gr fmj bullets. https://archive.org/details/Modern_Reloading_1st_Edition_by_Richard_Lee

T
hose may be loads for a bolt action, and may not cycle the action of an AR, but it’s somewhere to start.

If you do try it, report back and let us know how it went.

***Edit. Those loads are also listed in the IMR Powder 2001 manual.
https://www.castpics.net/LoadData/Freebies/RM/IMR/IMR01.pdf
 
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.30 Carbine, 5.7mm Johnson, 218 Bee, 22 Hornet. There are also a number of pistol rounds that I understand can also use it, but I don't load any of them.

I don't think you'll have any problem finding someone who would love to have it.
 
I’m not advocating nor discouraging this, but Lee #1 lists IMR 4227 for use in .223 Rem with 40, 45, 50 and 55 gr fmj bullets. https://archive.org/details/Modern_Reloading_1st_Edition_by_Richard_Lee

T
hose may be loads for a bolt action, and may not cycle the action of an AR, but it’s somewhere to start.

If you do try it, report back and let us know how it went.

***Edit. Those loads are also listed in the IMR Powder 2001 manual.
https://www.castpics.net/LoadData/Freebies/RM/IMR/IMR01.pdf
Knowing where to look seems to be the entire battle most times. The older manuals are a treasure trove of good loads for hard times.
 
I PC and use a check. Recently I've started to experiment to shrink the groups. Talking to a friend who is very into aerodynamics, he claims that the base being trued up will improve the bullet's flight. Even though the base of the check looks pretty true, I made a delrin collet for my mini lathe and cut a couple that were nearly perfect to begin with and was quite surprised to discover how un-flat they actually were. Haven't been back to the range yet but hoping to get out this week and test some.

View attachment 1038176 View attachment 1038177




That's the spirit! I got into 32 auto the same way. I bought a set of dies at a garage sale and didn't have a firearm chambered in that caliber so I picked one up the next week. I now have four that I reload for.
I'm dying to see a head to head with turned and trued vs not. This is deep in the weeds where the the big bucks hide.
 
4227 and IMR 4227 are historically different powders.

......and they are historically the same powder. Back when there were both 4227s, (H4227 and IMR4227) they were diffferent, tho only slightly. Hodgdon instructed folks not to interchange charge rates. Few years back Hodgdon discontinued the brand of H4227, and renamed that powder formulation IMR4227. They also discontinued the old formulation for IMR4227. They now claim you can interchange the old H4227 recipes for the new IMR4227 formulation. I believe the powders must have been close enough to start with that the old IMR4227 can be also loaded with H4227 recipes.
 
I was at the lgs today and picked up two pounds of Accurate 2200 and one pound of IMR 4227 with the intention of trying them out in my .223 AR.

Well, I must have looked at the wrong thing (or maybe too many things) because the 4227 won't work for my rifle.:cuss:

So what calibers doe's everyone use it in? Not looking for load data, just wonder if I can use it in something or if I should trade it off.

Thanks,
chris
 
I was actually surprised by the data provided by Hodgdon for IMR 4227. If you go to https://shop.hodgdon.com/imr/imr-4227 and scroll to the bottom of the page, there are drop down boxes where you can choose load data by cartridge just for 4227. There are 36 cartridges listed in pistol and 24 for rifle. Some of those are overlapping, but still a lot of cartridges use IMR 4227.
 
......and they are historically the same powder. Back when there were both 4227s, (H4227 and IMR4227) they were diffferent, tho only slightly. Hodgdon instructed folks not to interchange charge rates. Few years back Hodgdon discontinued the brand of H4227, and renamed that powder formulation IMR4227. They also discontinued the old formulation for IMR4227. They now claim you can interchange the old H4227 recipes for the new IMR4227 formulation. I believe the powders must have been close enough to start with that the old IMR4227 can be also loaded with H4227 recipes.
Why confuse the issue with the meaning of words (historically)? The powders used to be different, so be cautious with the age of powders and any assumptions.
 
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Having read the above posts I decided to call Hodgdon and ask if the data for IMR4227 and H4227 are interchangeable. I spoke with a guy named Curtis, and he confirmed that the data is interchangeable.

(913) 362-9455 if anyone would care to confirm for themselves.

Thanks again to everyone for the help.

chris
 
Why confuse the issue with the meaning of words? The powders used to be different, so be cautious with the age of powders and any assumptions.

Not confusing anyone(except maybe you), only stating facts to clarify some of the confusion about the two 4227s and their history. Did not assume anything either, as ballman6711 verifies. You musta assumed I assumed.

Having read the above posts I decided to call Hodgdon and ask if the data for IMR4227 and H4227 are interchangeable. I spoke with a guy named Curtis, and he confirmed that the data is interchangeable.

(913) 362-9455 if anyone would care to confirm for themselves.
 
I’ve actually been wondering if IMR 4227 will cycle the action of my AR with 55 gr bullets for a while now. I had planned to work up some loads today, but as always, something came up. I’m off work tomorrow, and it’s supposed to rain, so it would be a good time to try it. I’ll report my findings back for posterity.

Edit… if I have time I may try 2400 as well. Lee has loads for that powder too.
 
I’ve actually been wondering if IMR 4227 will cycle the action of my AR with 55 gr bullets for a while now. I had planned to work up some loads today, but as always, something came up. I’m off work tomorrow, and it’s supposed to rain, so it would be a good time to try it. I’ll report my findings back for posterity.

Edit… if I have time I may try 2400 as well. Lee has loads for that powder too.
There are 55 grain loads for #9
 
I was at the lgs today and picked up two pounds of Accurate 2200 and one pound of IMR 4227 with the intention of trying them out in my .223 AR.

Well, I must have looked at the wrong thing (or maybe too many things) because the 4227 won't work for my rifle.:cuss:

So what calibers doe's everyone use it in? Not looking for load data, just wonder if I can use it in something or if I should trade it off.

Thanks,
chris
.One web site that I recently viewed listed IMR4227 as the best powder for the Sierra 150 grain SP but I can't locate it just now. But that was for a 300AAC. I Will keep searching for the site - they may have some data on the 5.56/223. If I can find it I'll post it.
 
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