Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Straight scoop on "Surplus powders"

Dr.Howell,
<br>Thanks to Klinton there is a bunch of "Pull down" powder on the market.
<br>Hodgdon gained it's place in our world selling surplus powders.
<br>There is also a great deal of "Surplus" powder available,in many burn rates.
<br>I have been told that Hodgdon is still doing the re-label thing on certain propellents.
<br>Is there a caveat to keep in mind here?
<br>I realize that one MUST start low and find individual pressure limits on each lot,but what about the "Pull down" powders where different lots may end up being mixed?
<br>If I am outside your loop on info,I apologize,but I have come to trust your insight.
<br>The prospect of H-335 in bulk at surplus prices has me interested.I just gotta be sure.
<br>Thanks!
<br>E4E

The old, reliable general dependability of canister powders seems to be going to Hell in a hurry. I can't speak to your question with any precise focus, but I've been getting disturbing reports about certain powders and at least one powder company's contracting practices.
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<br>Some powders do indeed seem, according to some reports, to vary more from lot to lot than used to be considered normal lot-to-lot variation.
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<br>I'm TOLD that one certain importer-repackager of canister powders (no, not Hodgdon) has one carload of its "XYZ-4000" powder made under contract with one manufacturer in one country one time, then by another manufacturer in another country another time.
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<br>Both powder chemistry and powder manufacturing can be dependable enough for this to work as well as having one manufacturer make carload after carload of the same stuff month after month and year after year. But trotting around the globe with a sheaf of mimeographed copies of the same specs and the same contract strikes me as asking for wild variations in different carloads of "the same" powder.
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<br>The best thing, I suppose, is to buy your powder in as large a quantity as you can manage, then drop your charges 'way back and test it as cautiously as a turpentined tomcat before you settle on any load with it.
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<br>I hope to spend some time with Bob Hodgdon next week. I'll try to remember to bring this up, to see what he can tell me.

Dr,Howell,
<br>Thanks.There is surplus 844 on the market,and I was wondering if the good folks at Hodgdon are still relabeling,or they have contracted the manufacture of their H-335.They have all of the "Extreme" line made for them by Mulwex in Australia.That leaves the 870,414,and 335 to be possibly surplus...
<br>I know of the importer you speak of.I used to swear by one of their powders in .308 Win,untill I opened a new 8lb jug and loaded up my regular load (that is about middle of the chart on the companys own literature.)
<br>And got recoil similar to a .300H&H! The primers were flattened,and several had smeared case head markings.
<br>That's when I noticed the label that said"Made in China" where previously it was "Made in Czech".
<br>I tried reducing the loads from 40 gr to 37gr with 175gr bullets,and still got all sorts of wierd spikes,and accuracy went to dood doo.I even tried the stuff in 6.5 Swede for light bullets in attempt to find a use.Using the Sierra 85's the stuff refused to light off no matter the neck tension or magnum primer.The Garden grew well that year.I went back to H-4895ext,and I ain't gonna stray...except maybe to Varget now and again.
<br>For bulk .223 loads however...
<br>Thanks again!
<br>E4E

E4E
<br> I use a fair bit of surplus powder. My thoery on it is that if a powder lot suitable to a use with which you are very familiar is available, and you can find someone who will let you try a little, or has already done the load work up/correlation to a known canister powder, then buy enough to use for a few years and work up your loads carefully. I would not advise anyone to start into load development with a surplus lot. I feel you really need some experience with the cartridge involved and a good bit of chrony data for a number of canister powders in that cartridge before you can safely start into a surplus powder. While any given load may correlate to some canister powder very well, I have yet to find a surplus powder which tracked my lot of it's supposed canister "equivalent" over the entire range of a load work up. I would also consider each different lot # as a totally different powder for load developement.
<br>The lot to lot variation can be as broad as the difference between 3031 and 4831 (WC852) or AA#9 and H110, (WC820).
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