Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Anybody a fan of "WC" surplus powders?

I've been thinking about buying up surplus powders to keep the cost down but have no experience with them. There are several flavors all claiming similar performance to H870. I only have a half pound of H870 left so was wondering if one was preferable over others? What about IMR7383?

Only one I've got experience with is 844, I've got an 8# kegs worth of shtf so loaded with it for my 223.I've fired about 200-300 rounds from the stash and all went well.

I have used several of the surplus powders, but I do not try to red-line the loads.

I have loaded WC852 with .30/06 with no problems. It is slow enough that a case full does not reach red-line pressures.

IMR7383 is a really strange triple-base powder, it does not burn well until you reach close to maximum pressure and then a little more is too much. I will not buy any more when I have used up what I have.

I am going to try WC872 in a .300 RUM. My plan is to load strong .300 Win level loads on the cheap, you can't beat $5/pound.

Michael

Nate,

I shot a lot of surplus powder. Lot to lot variance can be greater then with canister powder, so work up.

Here are the general guide lines:

WC820 = H110
WC844 = H335
WC846 = BLC (2)
WC852 = H380

WC860 is slower the H870 by a out 8%

WC872 is slower then H870 by 10-12%

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What he says.

So is WC872 the best bet for .300WM?

I'm going to fix antelope Sniper's post.
WC846=WC844.

Nate, buy a Pressure Trace and you can do anything you want. The problem is 98% of the populace doesn't know what they think they do about powders.

WC846 has an original patent date in the early-mid 1930's. WC844 was a voluntary segregation on an "as-built" basis. There is only one recipe. The difference is based upon 0.25% differences in calcium carbonate. Hodgdon is only, and has only ever been a surplus reseller/blender. Doesn't it strike you funny that they refuse to list nominal burning rate variations?

The question to ask yourself is why it was surplussed. You can't honestly say with a straight face that WC870 = H870. How many different lots did Hodgdon combine and what was the end result burning rate they wanted? Where compared to that goal, is this WC lot you bought?
Buy a Pressure Trace, and you can test pressures yourself.

Probably not, WC872 is very slow burning and is best used in very large cases.

Here is a link to Jeff Bartlett's surplus powder page.

He recommends WC857 for the 300 Win Mag.

Michael

Tag

No, it's too slow.

It's better in the 300 RUM.

Yes, same formula, but segmented.

The fast lots are labeled 844, the slow lots 846. It's been that way since the Vietnam war.

Mike, I didn't list WC857 because I haven't tried it. However based on what Jeff says, it sounds like a great powder for the magnums smaller then the RUM's/STW.

The segregation wasn't about burning speed, it was about CaCO. It took Frankfort several years and a few hundred thousand rounds with no cleaning, to identify the gas tube potential issue.


All that said, that was in Olin times, now that is wholly General Dynamics. So what makes them "different" may or may not remain the same.

I like WC748, which is what the stamp on the outside of the Winchester box says that my most recent 8-lb-ers of 748 came in.

what cartridge are you running the 7383 in? I've read it is ok for mid-sized bottlenecks, like 308, etc

Sycamore

.30/06 I bought the IMR7383 as SHTF insurance early in the panic, as it was the only powder available that was "usable" in medium bore cartridges. It is cheap, it works ok for 2400-2500 fps with a 165gr bullet. It stinks, smells of ammonia. I have read that it is temperature sensitive, but I have not tested extensively to see.

Michael