Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 2400

Powder and primers have largely come back in my area, and with a little looking I've been able to stock up or re-supply on almost everything I need, with the exception of 2400. I haven't seen any since last December, and I've done plenty of looking. I have some H110, which works fine in my .44's and .357's, but I've always preferred 2400, because it not only works great with my homecast bullets, but I can also dial it down a notch or two if I feel like it; it still works great, and with standard primers.

Today I stopped at an out-of-the-way LGS that I hadn't visited in over 15 years. Found three pounds of 2400 on a dust-covered shelf, at a decent price, and the elderly woman at the counter invited me to take them all, so I did. Time to bust out my Keith molds and crank up the lead furnace.

Nice!

I tend to check out smaller, out of the way places when possible. Have found some incredible deals, sometimes on handloading tools as well a components.

My greatest powder buy was several pounds of the original H4831 mil-surp for $2.25 a pound. That was in the mid-1970's when the newly-manufactured H4831 had already been introduced, for about twice the price. Found the dust-covered cardboard "cans" in a hardware store in a tiny town in eastern Montana.

I started loading in the early 80's, when Hodgdon powders were packaged in those brightly colored cardboard rectangular cans. My vision of heaven includes a small but well-stocked gun store with shelves full of those old "cans."

I still have some mil-surp H4831 that an elderly acquaintance gave me years ago, and it still shoots fine.

A buddy of mine was given 45 pounds of the mil-surp H4381 a couple of years ago. He tried to sell some of it here on the Campfire Classifieds, but had no takers. I dunno if he still has any or not.

JB, I have seen numerous references over the years to mil-surplus 4831. Do you know what the military used it for?

Possibly the 6.8x64mm.

I believe I have read 20mm cannon

Sycamore

Yep. 20mm cannon. I still have a small stash of that WWII surplus 4831 left over from about 45 years ago when my dad and I bought it for the princely sum of $1.00/pound. As I recall, we bought a 25pound keg for a discounted price of $20.00.

I've had better luck with that stuff than I have had with women!

I've had really good experiences with 2400 in the 357 and 44 magnums, and in the 30-06 with light jacketed and ultra-heavy cast. My dad has an old cardboard 8lb keg that I snag a jar of whenever I go to his house. It will be a bummer when I've burned it up. I don't remember a time when that keg wasn't in his hobby room. It may be as old as I am.

I have a fair amount of H-110 and H-4831 that I bought in the 60's. I think it was surplus even back then and it came in paper bags. It's still good, clean powder with no signs of deterioration. The paper bags were getting brittle, so I transferred the powder to empty powder cans as those became available, using a Magic Marker to ID what's inside.

This powder shoots great to be that old, and for sure, the price was right.

DF

I had the same problem finding 2400 but then I ran across two pounds of the old Hercules at a gun show. Traded the guy a 1000 small pistol primers for it.


Re 4831. The last I bought of the mil surplus was 52 cents a pound. Probably in the mid 60's. I still have the heavy metal cannister the 50 lbs came in. I have long since burned all that up

50 lbs at 52 cents/lb... Truly the Good Ol' Days!

Wow, 50 pounds of 4831! That's a lot of .270 !

Sycamore

I have 8 lbs. of HERCULES 2400 for sale if anyone wants it. Don't really want to ship it, so local pick up only in SE Wisconsin unless you make it worth my while.

Fast Ed

Fast Ed, am interested in it. Live in Portage.

Given the cost of powder these days, he may not be THAT good a "buddy" any longer.