Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Are These The EXACT Same Powders?

There was a dealer in Sioux Falls who was selling 3100 as 4831 surplus. He was selling it in paper bags. I believe he bought a 55 gallon drum or two of surplus powder that was labeled 3100.

My memory is getting worse as I get older, but I believe that there was a magazine article regarding the last of the surplus 4831 as being labeled 3100.

Does anyone recall that or am I remembering something that never happened?

I’m reading articles all the time from experts. I learn or relearn things. There’s quite a few people here on the fire that are very knowledgeable too.

The first AA3100 I tried was indeed very similar in both appearance and burn-rate to the then-available H4831--which doesn't prove much....

My Rockchucker has a '71 stamped into the top. I think I purchased it in 72. Not an expert by any means. I like advice from other reloaders and sometimes I even use it. Be Well Brothers, RZ.

Thank you sir!
F01

Other "same" powders are Hodgdon HS-6 and Winchester W 540. 540 is no longer marketed but HS-6 is still a common choice for me in the 28 ga and for 12 ga buffered hunting loads.

A pair of same but discontinued powders one can still run across are Hodgdon HS-7 and Winchester H 571. I recently acquired an unopened bottle of each which will be used for buffered 12 ga loads. Those two bottles should last me through a good decade of hunting and ease the stress on my stock of HS-6.

I had a friend that took this concept a little too far in my humble opinion. One day he mentioned his “duplex” loads for the .300 Weatherby, and since that piqued my curiosity and I also shoot a .300 Weatherby I asked exactly what his duplex loads were.

He rattled off three different powders, all with similar burn rates. He says when the containers get low he just mixes them all together. Mind blown!

AKBob5,

Ran into a guy at one of the "winter hunting shows" years ago, believe it was SCI. He recognized me from photos with my articles, and wondered if I thought the editor Handloader would be interested in an article on mixing powders to get higher velocities. If I recall correctly he specifically mentioned the .375 H&H, and regularly getting an extra 150 fps, or even more.

I asked if he'd pressure-tested any of his handloads, and he looked puzzled--because he'd developed them by traditional "pressure signs." I explained that plenty of electronic pressure-testing had been done on ammo developed by using such pressure signs, and they usually didn't show up until over 70,000 PSI--and that I doubt the editor (who at the time was Dave Scovill) would run such an article without his handloads being pressure-tested--and in-line with the 65,000 PSI that SAAMI allows as maximum average pressure for ANY cartridge.

He tried to argue with me, so I told him to write it up and send it to Scovill. Dunno if he ever did....

John

That was probably Trap And Field Supply. As a teen, I'd go there with my Dad. They had brown paper bags of powder. If you wanted a big quantity, they'd get it from a big cardboard drum. Robson Hardware also sold powder that way.

The latest of the same powder, different name is Hodgdon now sells Titegroup as High Gun, probably trying trying to increase the market for it for via shotshell reloaders.

I've used 24#s of Titegroup for 12 ga 1 oz and 1-1/8 oz target loads over the past few years.....good stuff. Very dense, so often use a taller wad to get good stack heights and a flat crimp...ie use a 1 oz wad for a 1-1/8 oz load and 7/8 oz wad for a 1 oz load.