Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Trail Boss reduce velocity loads...

Hodgdon has data using their Trail Boss powder for reduced velocity loads.
It's an interesting chart that shows loads from .22-250 - .416Rem.


I plan on using the TB to work up a simple plinking load with 110gr hollow points in my .308. I'd like to do the same with the .223 and 40gr bullets and possibly my .204 and 32's.

But there's no data for the .204 or the .223...
Anyone worked with Trail Boss in the little cartridges?

https://hodgdonpowderco.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/trail-boss-reduced-loads-2018-2.pdf

Go to Hodgdonreloading.com and put in 223 and trail boss. It'll show data for 55gr. Turns the 223 into a sleepy standard velocity 22LR.

Got it, Thanks!

They also have a formula for any cartridge. Fill the case and weigh the charge. 70% of this is your starting charge. 100% full with no compression is your maximum charge. Trail Boss is almost un-obtanium. There are other powders that will work as well or better for what you want. Unique is one of them and data readily available.
Good luck,
Rick

This. Trail Boss is no more so unless one has a goodly stash of it I wouldn't waste time fiddling with it only to find that replicating the ammo can't be done. Besides, like Rick points out there's a slew of powders better suited anyway.

TB powder has always represented a poor bang for the buck while delivering so-so accuracy. I left it long ago.

Hmmm - well apparently the doom and gloom of Trail Boss is true. I couldn't come up with it anywhere in town or online. So, I guess I'll be moving on.

I have Seafires Blue Dot data for the .223 and a half bottle of the stuff on hand, so I'll try that instead.

I really liked the notion that you couldn't double charge by accident with the TB - AND that there is manufacturer test data out there to use.

I ran Unique in my Ruger .338 mag and a small tuft of Dacron stuffing to hold the charge in place, with lead gas checked bullets. It was a lot of fun, but I was never comfortable with that tiny charge in that huge hull. I still have like 2#'s of Unique sitting on the shelf.

Trail Boss is superb in suppressed loads. I have a decent stash and will only use it suppressed. I look for it to go discontinued.

That be about right, use it in 308’s for suppressed loads

I ran across JB’s old article in Handloader on reduced loads from a few years back. Lots of good info and I book marked it.

I’ll try Blue Dot in the .223, but keep an eye out for TB to use in the .308.

Can you get safely to subsonic with Blue Dot in the 223?
I've used it to get Hornet velocities out of my 222 and 223. Just don't want to start lowering charges and have something go wonky with pressures

I can tell you this in my working with and testing Blue Dot loads in a lot of calibers.

Small rifle or small pistol mag primers, I've tested it down to 4 grains of powder in the 223. It was NOT position sensitive in the 223, so I used no fillers. This was with bullet weights from 35 grains to 55 grains... It was minute of sage rat out to 75 yards with no real problems. Can't find velocity numbers on the chronograph at the moment, on my computer. They were originally recorded on my old computer and may not have been loaded when its hard drive info was down loaded on my current computer.
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If you have a chronograph, a little testing will give you that information...

Sako, try this link my friend... it should give you a reference on what you might need.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...8346/seasonal-request-blue-dot-223-loads

If you have Steel, it works about as well as Blue Dot.

Jim, have you been able to locate any Steel powder?

I’ve not gotten the stellar results some have with TB in CF rifle loads, just okay. OTOH, it works well in handguns, .38/.357 and .45 Colt, with lead bullets. That’s probably where the rest of mine will go. Have about a jug and a half left.

Don’t try it in a Little Dandy! Also, don’t sneeze….

With any reduced load, check, double check, then go back and triple check each charged case in the loading block by peering in with a flashlight before seating bullets. It's a simple protocol I've followed for the last 50+ years and have never had a mishap. I do it for all cartridges, even centerfire rifle rounds that get caseful's of powder (mainly to check and make sure that I didn't skip one). Not doing that is one of the reasons I don't employ a progressive press. I'm quite willing to employ a little anal-ness and suffer a slower loading rate in the interest of utter safety.

Save yourself the trouble and don't bother with case fillers with reduced loads. They only provide minimally more efficiency/accuracy and present the very real risk of ringing a chamber if even slightly mis-applied. Position sensitivity is over-rated IMO unless one is striving for the nth degree of accuracy like in a benchrest match where a tenth of an inch or so means the difference between 1st and 3rd place.

Ok, I very carefully (as in charging and immediately loading the bullet) 5 rounds each of 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 grains of Blue Dot for the .223 and a 40 gr Speer soft point.

The goal is to have a next to nothing recoil and noise level round to let my grandkids learn to shoot it.
I’ll take it out along with the 7mm-08 and .308 and some full power test loads (H4350 & W748) and see how it goes.

Range day and that was the most fun I’ve had behind the trigger in a long time... wish I’d jumped on this band wagon earlier!



Tika T3X SL .223 1in8”. SWFA 6X MQ.
Loads are Blue Dot 5 shot strings. 6,7,8,9, and 10gr test loads. Target @ 50 yards.
Hole in bottom of black was 1st shot - made scope adjustment and the rest are in the bull (6gr).
Group at 5 o’clock is 7gr, 3 o’clock is 8gr, 7 o’clock is 9 gr and 9 o’clock is 10 gr.

I haven't looked for any, Cliff, I have a part of a pound I bought several years ago for shotgun shells.

Graf's and Midway has Steel powder now.

When I got some years ago...it was $17 a pound on sale

I lucked out on Steel Powder. Found 4 / four pound jugs of it..I had misplaced in the garage.
Price on them was like $68 each for the 4 pound jugs. Bought it back under Trump when it was on sale.

Like finding a winning lottery ticket, that is still good to cash in.