sierra bullets/450BM

[Clipity]

Wildcatter, thanks for the reply, is the factory powder you mentioned commercially available ?

I'm not Wildcatter but the powder WC is refering to is WC297 (Wildcatter=WC then WC297 powder used for 450b coincidence, don't know ) it can be found on the net. I found a few places selling 8lb. jugs for around $148.

[wildcatter]

Wildcatter, thanks for the reply, is the factory powder you mentioned commercially available ?

I'm not Wildcatter but the powder WC is refering to is WC297 (Wildcatter=WC then WC297 powder used for 450b coincidence, don't know ) it can be found on the net. I found a few places selling 8lb. jugs for around $148.

$89.99/8lb @ http://www.patsreloading.com/patsrel/pr ... ory=Powder ..

..t

[pitted bore]

... Just wondering, Is there any such thing as getting a bad can of powder ?

hogbuster-
Could you clarify what you might describe as a "bad can of powder"? The powder manufacturers have very, very infrequently had to issue a recall on some lots of powder which did not conform to their standards of cannister powder for sale to reloaders. Also very rarely, some lots of powder have more problems than usual with decomposition. Nitrocellulose, the main component of smokeless powder, will deteriorate through time, releasing some acidic compounds. Stabilizers are usually added to the powders and prevent the deterioration. Perhaps you meant something else.

... is the factory powder you mentioned commercially available ?

As mentioned, the powder Hornady uses is 297, and you can buy it at prices usually less than the per pound price of the usual powders used for reloading.

However, CAUTION is required with 297 and other powders sold similarly. These powders can vary a great deal between manufacturing lots. From lot to to lot, they can be much less uniform than the usual "cannister grade" powders sold to reloaders. This is not a big deal for Hornady, because they'll buy a boxcar load of a single lot and adjust their powder drops as needed go get the velocities and pressures they want; they have the pressure testing labs to do this. This variation means that safe-load data one person gets for their lot of WC844, for example, may blow up another person's gun with a different lot.

Powder manufacturers work hard to make sure the powders sold for reloading have very uniform burning rates among different lots. Here's an ad that Alliant put out in the mid-1990s to emphasize that point. (The powder is an early form of Unique, but as the ad says, it doesn't have the stabilizers that were included in later versions, so it''s stored under water)
--Bob

[Hoot]

"Store in a cool, dry location..."

Hoot

[Clipity]

Wildcatter, thanks for the reply, is the factory powder you mentioned commercially available ?

I'm not Wildcatter but the powder WC is refering to is WC297 (Wildcatter=WC then WC297 powder used for 450b coincidence, don't know ) it can be found on the net. I found a few places selling 8lb. jugs for around $148.

$89.99/8lb @ http://www.patsreloading.com/patsrel/pr ... ory=Powder ..

..t

Glad I was just surfing the web for the powder and not buying it......Doh!

[wildcatter]

... Just wondering, Is there any such thing as getting a bad can of powder ?

hogbuster-
Could you clarify what you might describe as a "bad can of powder"? The powder manufacturers have very, very infrequently had to issue a recall on some lots of powder which did not conform to their standards of cannister powder for sale to reloaders. Also very rarely, some lots of powder have more problems than usual with decomposition. Nitrocellulose, the main component of smokeless powder, will deteriorate through time, releasing some acidic compounds. Stabilizers are usually added to the powders and prevent the deterioration. Perhaps you meant something else.

... is the factory powder you mentioned commercially available ?

As mentioned, the powder Hornady uses is 297, and you can buy it at prices usually less than the per pound price of the usual powders used for reloading.

However, CAUTION is required with 297 and other powders sold similarly. These powders can vary a great deal between manufacturing lots. From lot to to lot, they can be much less uniform than the usual "cannister grade" powders sold to reloaders. This is not a big deal for Hornady, because they'll buy a boxcar load of a single lot and adjust their powder drops as needed go get the velocities and pressures they want; they have the pressure testing labs to do this. This variation means that safe-load data one person gets for their lot of WC844, for example, may blow up another person's gun with a different lot.

Powder manufacturers work hard to make sure the powders sold for reloading have very uniform burning rates among different lots. Here's an ad that Alliant put out in the mid-1990s to emphasize that point. (The powder is an early form of Unique, but as the ad says, it doesn't have the stabilizers that were included in later versions, so it''s stored under water)
--Bob

Thanks Bob...Ok Guys, heed his advice. When I buy the bulk/military type powders, I buy enough of ONE Lot, so that I can work up loads, for only that Lot, and have powder for them, for years..

..t