2 votes for powder I guess thats what I'll tell him. I talked to a guy at the range who told me his boys rifle was doing what I stated aboutand that he had gun checked out and everything was ok. I told him that I would post something here, since alot of the guys have forgot more about reloading then I know. The boy didnt havea ton of bucks and loved to handload and wanted to know what he should spend his allowance on 1st the new bullets or the powder. I'll let him know powder. Im not sure what he is using but I'll suggest the H45831sc. thx for the help