I have shot kegs of AA2495, which is a copy of IMR 4895, through my 308’s with outstanding results. I developed loads with AA4064 and it is an excellent powder with 168’s and 175’s in that cartridge.
I bought kegs of AA2520, a ball powder, and got one leg with it, used it in 223, 308 and 30-06. It meters well, shoots well when you hit the sweet spot, I think it is peaky in hot weather, hard as heck to ignite in cold weather, and not as flexible as the stick powders. I use it because it was cheap. It was a great deal when it was $64.00 for eight pounds.
I have experienced "settling" at 600 yards after using AA2520 out to 300 yards. I regularly use stick powders at the 600 yard relay. Going from AA2520, it will take up to 4 shots before the group centers. The first couple of shots are truly wild. It is very scary as you only get two sighting shots in a highpower match and if the first shots are wild, you don't have a clue as to wind conditions.
I have never had that experience switching from stick powders to 300, and then using a different stick powder at 600 yards.
AA4350 is a copy of IMR 4350, if you like the IMR powder you will like AA4350. Buy by price.
I have and am using AA#5, shoots well in the 44 Spl, 45 ACP, 45 LC. These are all low to medium pressure cartridges. However, I don’t like using AA#5 in my Dillion powder measure as the fine ball granules roll out between the powder slider bar and powder horn gumming the mechanism. This is true for the other ball powders I have used, except for W231. When I load up the last of my AA#5, I will not be buying anymore.
AA#9 shoots very well in my 357's and 44 Mags with cast and jacketed bullets. But being a ball powder, the granules gum up my powder bar.
Turns out I am not a big fan of ball powders, they do not perform any better than the stick or flake powders in my pistols or rifles, they leave just as much unburnt residue or more, had misfires and hangfires in cold weather, and the “advantage” of better metering does not show up in standard deviations or extreme spreads. I have enough chronograph data that I am confident to state that better metering does little in terms of performance. Makes a person feel better, makes you think you have your processes under control, but it is an illusion.
When it was cheap I bought ball powders. With price being equal I will buy flake or stick powders.
I think the one powder that Accurate Arms hit a home run with is AA5744. Works great with cast bullets in the 308, 30-06 and the 45/70. It is a bulky powder. You can duplicate black powder velocities in the 45/70 with excellent accuracy, not position sensitive, no weird hangfires, which I have had with reduced charges of IMR 4895 in the 45/70.
When Accurate Arms powders were significantly less than the other brands, I bought them. When it is only a dollar or two different, I buy IMR or Hodgdon. The greatest issue I have had with Accurate Arms powders is the difference between powder lots and the unreliability of their loading data. I have had to develop my own reloading data with each lot and each powder. I found the Accurate Arms data to vary widely between manuals, I have had blown primers on the starting loads, and been way too slow and low with maximum data. Each lot and manual has been a law unto itself. I believe this is due to the number of vendors they have used to make their powders. One lot will come from China, (which was excellent powder), the next Czechoslovakia. The physical characteristics are different and so are the pressures.
I am slowly getting to only Bullseye, Unique and 2400 for all my pistol cartridges. For rifles and pistols the uniformity I get with IMR and Alliant powders has been outstanding, don't need to fool with new powder lots, just load and shoot.
Can't say that about Accurate Arms powders. However once I got them dialed in, I was happy till the jug emptied.
