IMR 4895 Does It All

Over the years, various rifle propellants have graced my loading bench but there is one which has seen more duty in all of my big game rifles than any other: the IMR 4895.

In my humble opinion, it is one of the most versatile powders available, and as far as performance is concerned, it has accounted for quite a bit of venison in my freezer over the course of my hunting career. A notched tag is, shall we say, my bottom line.

Trial Run

More than four decades ago, when I first started reloading my own ammunition for the .300 Savage and .257 Roberts, one of my pals literally insisted I give 4895 a try. He was absolutely right. This fellow — the late Dick Burnett — was hunting with me one late November afternoon when I shot a whitetail buck with the .257 Bob from a distance of about 125 yards downhill in an old clearcut. The little 4-pointer walked about 10 paces, turned around and walked directly back to where he had been standing when I fired, and dropped stone dead in four inches of snow. One shot, right through the ticker.

A couple of years later, I virtually duplicated the feat — this time on a small mule deer buck — again about 125 yards downhill. Propelled by 37 grains of IMR 4895, the 100-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip toppled the critter. He moved just far enough to land at the dead end of an old logging road about a half mile from my camp. I was back home by mid-morning.

Not to be confused with Hodgdon’s H4895, which has a slightly faster burn rate as listed in the 2025 Hodgdon Annual Manual (page 59), IMR 4895 originated as a military propellant for use in the .30-06 and it has applications in a wide range of calibers from tiny varmint loads to the .375 H&H Magnum. I see it mentioned by handloaders on a somewhat regular basis. While other powders have come along for the larger calibers, including the ’06, I believe 4895 remains a top choice for anyone looking for a consistent performer.

I actually still have an original IMR 4895 can — some people actually collect these things — although I’m guilty of buying it by the 8-lb. jug! The vintage can may have been the first pound of 4895 I ever purchased, and it has remained in almost pristine condition over the years.
While some people contend in various forums that IMR 4895 doesn’t meter all that well, I’ve never had any real trouble with it. I try to measure my loads almost down to the granule for consistency regardless of what brass I’m using, and my hunting history has definitely confirmed my method works — at least for me. Each charge is individually weighed on an electronic scale, and if there’s a more precise way of doing things, I wouldn’t know what it is.

Incidentally, whether I’m using Remington, , Federal or other brass, I always resize it and then check for trim length before going further with primer and powder. I load all of my rifle cartridges on an old single-stage RCBS press and never had a single round fail. After wet tumbling, I always take an extra few seconds to clean out the primer pocket by hand.

IMR 4895 is popular with match shooters and I can see why. It is a very consistent powder, and some people will use nothing else for their precision work. This propellant is so widely used it earns a solid reputation for versatility. In the five centerfire rifle calibers for which I load my own, I’ve never worried about poor performance. The stuff just keeps delivering the goods, regardless which brand of primer I’m using.

For the .300 Savage, I like a 150-grain boattail, either Nosler or Speer, ahead of 38 grains of 4895. Out of my vintage Model 99 lever-action Savage — my grandfather’s rifle, gifted to me when I graduated from high school — the load combination has worked very well.

In the .308 Winchester, I’ve found 39 grains of 4895 behind a 165-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip or AccuBond to be strong medicine. This particular load accounted for my best Snake River muley one year, a handsome 4×5 taken on a 209-yard downhill shot. In the Nosler Reloading Guide #9, it’s listed as the “most accurate load,” and I’ve got the antlers to prove it in my workshop.

Likewise, I’ve used 4895 behind Hornady’s InterBond 165-grainer and my brother likes that bullet/powder combo enough to use it in his .308, collecting a couple of dandy bucks. Hornady data says the max IMR 4895 powder behind its 165- and 168-grain bullets is 43.3 grains, but again I back off from the maximum because I simply don’t care to push my guns or ammunition to the limits.

Thirty-Two Times

IMR 4895 also powers my .32 Winchester Special handloads, pushing a 170-grain bullet out of the 16” barrel with enough accuracy in brush country to have put meat on the table. The Speer manual lists a maximum load of 35.0 grains of 4895 in this cartridge, but I back off to 34.0 grains because it does what I need it to do in the brush country I may be hunting.

I have also used 4895 behind a 165-grain Speer or Nosler boattail for my .30-06 loads before stepping things up a bit by switching to a 180-grain AccuBond ahead of 56 grains of Hybrid 100V, which Nosler lists as the maximum and most accurate load with that bullet. I’ve also found it to be true! However, that 165-grain recipe did account for a nice Wyoming buck several years ago, so I’m not complaining. I found that the heavier bullet carried a little better in the breezes found in the Snake River country I sometimes hunted, where cross-canyon shots are the norm rather than the exception.

I am first to acknowledge your mileage may vary and different rifles do like different loads. Consult your loading manual for specifics, and you may find that working up, or even down, to a specific powder charge provides better results.

If one peruses the Internet, you’re bound to see various discussions about IMR4895 being discontinued. Fortunately, Hodgdon continues to list it among the various propellants available. Why kill off a winner?

Hodgdon.com

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