1badmagnum
New member
I'm considering some surplus pistol powder wc820(h110) for $55 per 8 pound keg and a chronograph for testing purposes.anyone have any experience with surplus powder?
surplus powder
- Thread starter 1badmagnum
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dgibson
New member
1bad, I have some WC852s from Jeff Bartlett. It works fine, but it seems to be quite a bit slower than suggested. He says it's similar to IMR4831, but it's slower still.
Danr55 tells me it's not good for much other than the big magnums, and one fellow has even told me it was made for large capacity machine gun rounds. Anyway, you should probably ask around about the particular powder you're looking at before you buy it to be sure it will do what you want.
1badmagnum
New member
I'm considering purchasing it from gibrass,its supposedly uses h110 loading data.my handloads for my 50 ae desert eagle require 29.5-32.5 grains of h110,they recommend not reducing loads as high pressure will result.I'm planning on starting at 28-29 grains and use a chronograph to make sure my velocities are close to 1400-1500 where my current loads are.I've heard people loading way above 32.5 grains,although this makes no sense to me.since each lot has a variation in the burn rate I will need to test each lot which doesnt really bother me,my range is 10 minutes away.what do you think about starting at 28 grains?
dgibson
New member
GIbrass.com is Jeff Bartlett's joint. You should see his "shop." I'd hate for someone to drop a match in there!
If it were me, and I'm no expert, since it's advised not to reduce loads, I would start at the minimum 29.5 grains and see where I'm at. Unless his estimate is way off base you should be safe, and then you'll have a feel for what you need to do to get where you want to be.
I know another guy who uses Bartlett's powders; let me see if he knows anything about the WC820.
If it were me, and I'm no expert, since it's advised not to reduce loads, I would start at the minimum 29.5 grains and see where I'm at. Unless his estimate is way off base you should be safe, and then you'll have a feel for what you need to do to get where you want to be.
I know another guy who uses Bartlett's powders; let me see if he knows anything about the WC820.
I've used several surplus powders and have found some that perform as advertised, and many more that are quite different.. One trick I've found that works is to obtain the loading information for that particular powder from the manufacturer. If you can find out who made the powder, many times you can find a web site for them.
As for powder lots.. I wouldn't be overly concerned with changes. You'll find that most military powder is manufactured in lots that are measured in tons rather than in pounds... The differences you see in lot numbers are differences in packaging dates.
I would stick with the minimum advertised loadings and see how the powder performs. Watch the way the firearm handles the loadings and watch for erattic behaviour relative to point of impact and time of flight. You don't neccisarily need to buy a chrono, but it's a great excuse..... By the way,, I have a chrono I want to sell if anyone is interested...
As for powder lots.. I wouldn't be overly concerned with changes. You'll find that most military powder is manufactured in lots that are measured in tons rather than in pounds... The differences you see in lot numbers are differences in packaging dates.
I would stick with the minimum advertised loadings and see how the powder performs. Watch the way the firearm handles the loadings and watch for erattic behaviour relative to point of impact and time of flight. You don't neccisarily need to buy a chrono, but it's a great excuse..... By the way,, I have a chrono I want to sell if anyone is interested...
snuffy1
New member
1 bad, I'm the guy Darren mentioned. I have been using surplus popwder from gibrass.com and hitech for over 5 years. www.hi-techammo.com
As to your question concerning WC820, I and others have found this particular powder is slightly faster burning than H-110 or w 296. Others have been using accurate arms # 9 data with good results. I use it in my .44 Ruger SBH, my .357 black hawk, my nephew's GP 100. What I would do is load using H-110 data and approach maximum VERY carefully. In my Ruger SBH, I had to back off 1.0 grain from the max load for H-110, I was experiencing pressure signs and more velocity than I was supposed to be getting. These were 240 and 250 grain cast lead semi wad cutters, cast in a lee gang mold.
Jeff Bartlet may have a messy shop, but the powders I've gotten from him are top notch. He must have feelers out all over the world. I tried some of his NM-04 powder he got from a chineese powder co. It was an over run on an order they had completed. It burns right in there with green dot and imr PB. I used up a 5 pounder in 9MM and 40 S&W. He said he had all there was and there would'nt be any more. I called to replace my used up bottle, he said lucky you called, I'm just about out of it! I got the last 4 bottles he had!
He then told me of some pull down powder he called WC-814. It was loaded in 45 auto hardball and was almost identical to WW 231. I got 2 5# bottles and am using it in 45 acp and 40 S&W, works super. I especially like his WC-844. It uses H-335 data, I've used it in 7-08, .308, .223, and a 30-06 for my M-1 garrand.
Let us know how it works.
As to your question concerning WC820, I and others have found this particular powder is slightly faster burning than H-110 or w 296. Others have been using accurate arms # 9 data with good results. I use it in my .44 Ruger SBH, my .357 black hawk, my nephew's GP 100. What I would do is load using H-110 data and approach maximum VERY carefully. In my Ruger SBH, I had to back off 1.0 grain from the max load for H-110, I was experiencing pressure signs and more velocity than I was supposed to be getting. These were 240 and 250 grain cast lead semi wad cutters, cast in a lee gang mold.
Jeff Bartlet may have a messy shop, but the powders I've gotten from him are top notch. He must have feelers out all over the world. I tried some of his NM-04 powder he got from a chineese powder co. It was an over run on an order they had completed. It burns right in there with green dot and imr PB. I used up a 5 pounder in 9MM and 40 S&W. He said he had all there was and there would'nt be any more. I called to replace my used up bottle, he said lucky you called, I'm just about out of it! I got the last 4 bottles he had!
Let us know how it works.
dgibson
New member
Thanks Snuffy! I knew you'd have something good to say!
1badmagnum
New member
thanks for the help guys.nobody has told me any horror stories so I guess I will order some very soon.my loads are usually best at around 30 grains.I kinda felt splitting the difference would be safe,since the powder is supposedly 10 % faster.I'll start at the lowest published data which is 29 grains.even if it is 10% faster this would be somewhere around 32-33 grains which should be ok in the de.I'll hollar back with data shortly.thanks again for the replies.
also what type of chrono do you have for sale and what are you asking?
also what type of chrono do you have for sale and what are you asking?
