Mistery Powder

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pacobillie

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Does anyone know for a fact what powder Hornady used in its 375 Ruger 300 Gr. Interlock RN ammo?

I just pulled some bullets from factory ammo, because I could not ship the ammo to the guy who bought my rifle. I kept the powder, but have no idea what it is.

Here is what I know: It is a ball powder. There was 83.5 gr. of it in the case, behind a 300 gr. bullet. The kernels are flattish, not round. They are about the same size and shape as H414/W760, but darker and shinier. They are definitely bigger and less round than H380.
 
You can just about bet that powder is not a readily available cannister grade powder, with reliable load tables in any manual.

Hornady likely purchased a proprietary to them, type of powder with a special burn rate. Likely very close to W760.

Unless you have a lot of this powder, it's hardly worth wasting time or bullets/primers on it, trying to find a load for it that works in a different cartridge.

However, you should be able to use that powder in other 375 Ruger cartridges with bullets of the same weight or lighter, without issues.
 
No ammo manufacturer use canister grade - commercial powder. They use bulk powder and add - enhance it for the desired velocity and accuracy or specify characteristics to powder manufacturer to meet their specs.

For factory loading, it is impossible to know what they use - and the name of the powder and it’s designation is most likely a number not a commercial canister grade name.

You are on the wrong path - get a reloading manual and do your load development with published data.
 
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It's probably not any retail canister powder. And if it is then that's probably a coincidence. Commercial ammo makers dont tell us what powder they use because it can change in lot to lot. They buy a batch of powder, develop load data for it and when that batch of powder is gone they start over again.
 
Over 30 years ago I pulled the bullets of five different lots of WW 150 grain bullets and weighed the powder from each.
3.5 Grain variation over all and one lot varied 2.1 grains.
It appeared to be something similar to IMR 4895 and the loads were reconstructed using the the powder and brass with Hornady 168 grain Match bullets.
The powder charge was calculated based on 4895 loads for 150 grain and for 168 grain bullets and adjusted accordingly to a best guess or an "USWAG"!
Testing in four rifles at 200 yards produced five shot groups from 0.85" to under 2".
When ammunition companies buy powder is it by the ton, Tonnes, barrels or box cars . . . it ain't in one or eight pound canisters.
 
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Janeau said:
You are on the wrong path - get a reloading manual and do your load development with published data.
Click to expand...

With all due respect, I do own multiple reloading manuals and am an experienced reloader. The point of my query was: if we know what this powder is, then it can be re-used. If we do not, then using it for load development, even knowing the approximate burn rate, makes no sense, since when it is gone, it is gone.
 
I'm not sure if it has already been mentioned but it's probably not canister grade powder.
 
I give my "mystery powder" to an Indigenous friend who uses it in ceremonies. I just gave him a small jar the other day. He's tickled to get it and I am tickled to know that it is being used. I have used "mystery flake powder" from some shotgun shells in pistol cartridges to be fired in a rifle.
 
tazzman said:
It's fertilizer now...
Click to expand...

Maybe in 20 years or so.

I dumped a bunch of powder that came out of an estate sale. It was in jars and plastic bags and some had obviously been mixed with other types. There was a couple of pounds of this stuff.

I threw it into my wife's flower beds, thinking it would really help to bring out the colors. That was close to ten years ago. NADA. If you dig around a bit, some of the kernels are still visible.

Now, I just burn it.

The coatings on modern smokeless powder work very well to keep it sealed. IMHO, black powder, which breaks down easily in moist conditions is where the fertilizer from powder came from.

By the way, getting rid of a small lot of unknown powder is not only expedient but smart IMHO.

Good on you
 
I wonder about all the surplus WW2 shells, charges and mines dumped at sea will take take to decompose.
Just and a Show last night about how much was dumped into the Baltic sea on the new Mysteries of the Deep show with Jeremy Wade.
Apparently TNT is very Toxic/Cancer inducing as it decomposed. Baltic Countries are working together to do a cleanup.
 
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