I have a chance to buy 8 lbs of this powder. It's said to be used by the US military to load 223 and 308 (5.56 and 7.62).

Is the a commercial equivilent?

Anyone know where to get load data?

WC-846 is close to H-BLc2 so starting loads of BLc is where I would begin.
COW lists; Cartridge 5.56mm Ball M193 having 28.5 grains: Cartridge 7.62mm Ball M59 having 46 grains. Remember it is surplus for a reason! It may be too fast, too slow, or maybe too much?

I have 8# of WC835 as well. The supplier here in Canada has sold tons (literally) of surplus powder, WC845 included.

Contact them here for questions ... http://www.higginsonpowders.com/

They listed WC835 as an H335 equivalent. I have found it to be a bit faster, so proceed with caution. It is good powder for 223 and similar, and meters well as it's a ball powder. I wish I had more.

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What are you going to shoot it in?

trying to standardize a 223 load. 8 lbs = 56,000 grains = roughly 2,000 loads with a 55 grain bullet.

It'll work fine for blasting ammo...that's basically what it's for, but for all the variables that come into play with surplus powders...with a few exceptions...if it is priced anywhere near commercial powders, buy it cheap or I would just get 8# of a fresh commercial powder.

There was some reason(s) why it was surplused. It might be too old, too much flash...burn dirty...not temp resistant.

8# of fresh commercial powder will also load 2k of 223 ammo at about .05 a round.

TC

Ever actually use any of the surplus powders out there or has this info been plucked off the net?

Not only do I have 8# of WC845, but I also have over 12# of WC852 (H450 equivalent). Both are fresh, consistent, easy to measure, clean and priced right. There are many folks who have bought these powders here in Canada from Higginsons over the yrs and to date, I've never heard a complaint yet. In fact, now that the supply has dried up, most lament the loss of availability.

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I have been using WC846 for ten years now.Got 16 lbs. at the time. I used the data Accurate put out for their 2460 powder.
In my 223 I use 24.5 gr. with a 60 gr HP for 3057 fps.and with a 55 gr I use 26.9 gr. haven't clocked that load.

I have shot many scores of pounds of surplus powder over the past 40 years, and never encountered a problem with any of it. Some of it gives very high velocity and very accurate loads with the same charge.

WC852 is one the powders that accomplishes this in my 270, 280 and 270 Wby and 7X57 rifles. In my 280 Ackley it was the most accurate powder with velocity at just under 3000 fps with 160 gr partitions.

It is also a very good powder in the 30-06 with 220 gr bullets, which I load for a friend of mine for hunting wood bison.

Ted

Sounds about right to me. I load 22 - 23gr behind a 75 in .223.

You may have misunderstood what I was saying.

All the surplus powders I am currently using are high quality, and are comparable to commercial lots in quality, however, they vary in burn rate. My comments were about current US pricing.

If it's working out for you guys up there price wise that's great, but in the states, the difference in cost between using WC 846 and BLC-2 in the 223 only works out to about a penny a round.

Actually, neither one of those two are the best choice for 223, so for the extra penny I can run 4895 or Varget that are better all-around powders.

TC

My experiences with surplus powder has been very good. So much so that in the 90s I had a chance to pick up a 200 pound keg of surplus ball WC852 I did so quickly...

Its run very well in 223, 308,3006.... is it the most accurate or fastest always... nope... its a bit temp sensitive too, like most ball... but I've won more than a few matches shooting it in highpower... I have a 300 yard match out of 800 possible points I shot a 794 with it... IE it works.

I have a jug of 846 myself.. I use it to run 55 tracers.. for play. I wish I had the chance to buy a 200 pounder of that too at some point at a reasonable price...(the other jug was 3.00 a pound.... ie 600 bucks basically...)

Jeff

I have buned a lot of WC872 and Thunderbird 870 but have never tried any of the faster powders. Anybody know of a surplus powder that would be a general equivelant of VV550? I have been having great luck with VV550 in 6br with lighter bullets for PD hunting. I need at least 16 lbs so swapping over could save me a few bucks.

I'd love to have 200lbs of that stuff. It works great in the 270.


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Surplus means that the manufacture made more than the military is using and is selling the extra. they can't shut down the plant when there is a lull in using powder they still have to keep it running.