WWII Surplus Hodgdon 4831

[nowarningshot]

Believe this was the beginning of hodgedon. Original 4831 was recovered, several pounds at a time, from surplus 20(?)mm bofors AA shells.

For years, this was, the, slow rifle powder available. My only problem with using it would be, how much it would cost, at today's projectile cost.

 

[209jones]

Interesting, I'd always understood that the WW2 surplus was repackaged as H4831 by Hodgdon in the first 20 yrs or so of what they sold. And IMR packaged 4831 didn't come out til the late 60's. Assuming it was all made by Dupont before IMR came about in the market, was it packaged by Dupont at all, as plain 4831, before IMR4831 showed up? I see where it was once called 4350data powder and then called 4831 afterward in the 50's. So, I guess it is start low and work your way up.

 

[Ganderite]

I loaded some of this old 4831 in a 300 mag. It was much hotter than current 4831. So much so that I disassembled the handloads after two blown primers... should have been more cautious.

There are 2 issues:

A given lot of powder can be slower or faster that the standard speed.

If a can has been opened, it can dry out and this speeds it up. This is why a fresh can of powder seems to be slower than the one we just finished.

 

[Varmit]

Probably the same stuff Jack O'Connor used.

 

[Buckmastr]

There are 2 issues:

A given lot of powder can be slower or faster that the standard speed.

If a can has been opened, it can dry out and this speeds it up. This is why a fresh can of powder seems to be slower than the one we just finished.

This lot I used to blow primers was open for many years before I got my hands on it.

 

[Ganderite]

This lot I used to blow primers was open for many years before I got my hands on it.

This is why powder should not be left in the powder thrower hopper for weeks at a time.

 

[bearhunter]

Believe this was the beginning of hodgedon. Original 4831 was recovered, several pounds at a time, from surplus 20(?)mm bofors AA shells.

For years, this was, the, slow rifle powder available. My only problem with using it would be, how much it would cost, at today's projectile cost.

There are all sorts of stories about where the powder came from. The 25-50 pound, paper kegs I purchased back in the day, by the full pick up load, were all new old stock and came out of large wooden crates that were lined with heavy paper made with two layers sandwiching tar in between them. They were marked with manufacturer's codes and stocking codes, along with a bit of other information.

I bought them directly from the Hodgdon storage facility, which was mostly just several roofed over, open sided, long sheds with wooden floors. Very similar to what we see hay stored in today.

Joyce Hodgdon was there and I did get to meet him once. Nice guy, good businessman and knew his stuff. He had a fellow working for him that was the real propellant expert who's name slips my mind at the moment. Tall skinny guy that didn't say much about anything but took about 15 minutes of his precious time to explain the speed variations between different lots. I had purchased a bunch of different lots that trip simply because they were odd kegs that were from broken crates or?? The cost was $10 for a 50 pound keg and $5 for 25 pound kegs. They just wanted them gone.

A lot of stores in my area got a hell of a deal on powder to pass onto their customers.

 

[bearhunter]

This lot I used to blow primers was open for many years before I got my hands on it.

Opening the container and leaving it open is when problems occur such as those Ganderite mentioned. If the containers have their lids screwed down tight or the press fit lids are properly reinstalled, you aren't likely to get any issues.

Ganderites message reminds me of a fellow hand loader that was complaining he couldn't get consistent speeds out of his hand loads from one hunting season to another. He only loaded 10 to 20 rounds per year.

He bought a 7 pound bag of WC867 powder from Higginson's, along with a thousand bullets and primers. His goal was a lifetime supply for himself and his son. This stuff was supposed to be close to H450 but a bit faster. It was a lot faster, and got faster yet as time went on. The reason he couldn't get consistent loads was that the container he had dumped the bag into didn't have a sealed lid.