Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters is PB the same as 231?

I actually saw a pound on a store shelf today. A little pricey but my 45 is looking at that blank space on the powder shelf in the shop and its getting mighty worried.

IIRC 231 and HP38 are the same, PB is faster.
Someone will correct me shortly.

Yup

ADI its the same as 231 and HP 38 and a vitavouri number as well.

231 is a double base ball powder. It can't be "the same as" Porous Base, which is single base. ADI and most of the VV line are single base as well.

231/HP38 are made by St. Marks - in Florida. PB is made by IMR - in Canada. VV powders are made by Nammo Vihtavuori Oy in Laukaa, Finland. All are carried and resold by Hodgdon in the US. 231/HP38 are double base; PB is single base. The only VV powders which are double are a few of their rifle powders.

Simple answer? No. PB is different than 231/HP38. Stupidity is expensive (to quote the OP sig line), so I pray you are paying close attention. There are many powders that work well with .45 ACP, PB IS one of them. It's very close to 231/HP38, but is NOT the same.

It would probably have been better to characterize it as either similar or as IMRs answer to 231. I don't plan on using 231 data for PB powder loads.

http://www.adi-powders.com.au/handloaders/equivalents.asp

Thanks for the help!

That's an interesting page, not something we're used to seeing where American consumers and legal staffs are involved. (Maybe 'stupid' is named in our Bill of Rights or Declaration of Independence.)

Given the footnote at the bottom of the table, it appears that an Australian legal staff may have had some involvement:

• NOTE: These tables are only approximate, showing equivalent values within about 5%.
  Actual burning rates can vary depending on the calibre, weapon, loading components and practices, as well as from powder lot to powder lot. As a consequence it must be understood that Australian Munitions cannot accept any responsibility for the use of this information in any way.

--Bob

Hodgdon's own, pressure tested data:



So much for that 5% rule. Burn rate charts are not to be trusted.

Same speed, lower pressure, more reloads per pound of powder: Looks as if PB would be worth a try.

2525-
If the press releases issued this past year from Hodgdon are to be believed, manufacture of PB was discontinued as of last December, along with SR-7625, SR-4756, and SR-4759.

--Bob