dig4gold

Do we really need 144 (+) powders?!
What's the most powders you ever kept on the shelf?
I now have 6. And one of those is for handgun.
Seems like overkill.
I'm a guitar player and though I would love to have a roomj full of guitars and different amps, I know that they all pretty much do the same thing and all I'm doing is stroking my ego.
So now I obsess over eloading . . . it's cheaper anyway!

skb2706

I regularly use less than 10. I have a few more than that. Truth is I am finding that there are about 5 that will do everything I want very accurately.

handloader1

At least 20 different kinds. Good luck.

SecondChance

Cabelas comes to me to restock their shelves!!!!!!!! Nuff said!!!!!

dig4gold

Hey 2nd . . . I'll just order form you next time! (lol)

Pawildman

....And there you have it.....

Prairie Wolf

Depends on what you are doing.

I have way more powders than I need. I could get by with

3 shotgun powders

Red dot, Longshot, and Steel

2 Pistol powders.

I use 231 and 296/110. Long shot and Red dot could pull double duty here.

2 Rifle powders

You need a light rifle, like H4895, CFE223, IMR8208 or Varget.

You may need a medium rifle, like H4350

I also want a heavy one, like H1000, Retumbo.

I've been trying to reduce the number I use but they keep coming out with better stuff.

I could get by with
Steel, Longshot, H110, Red Dot, H4895, and H4831. Those are the burning rates I need, the individual powders could be different. There are some special ones like Trail Boss that would be nice to have.

skb2706

My current users are
RL15 covers several mid chamberings
RL7 small capacity varmint
WW296 magnum pistol
Bluedot auto pistols
RL 22 big guns
IMR 4350 ditto
H380 22 250 s
H414 misc mid deer size chamberings
Use a whole lot of RL10x in my .204 s

But I stock several others, including two different Ramshot powders, Red dot and some I haven't seen for awhile.

Bernie P.

I would say one or two different powders per cal is all you should have on hand.If a given powder works well with more than one gun/cal so much the better.Shelf life can be a factor if you don't shoot much especially in hot humid areas if you don't have a controlled storage environment.

SecondChance

Thats fine, but when you reload for 15 calibers or more, a few powders just don't cut it. That and when you reload for several people with custom rifles looking for custom accuracy, you need multiple powders for this task.