powders given to me

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iluvmy300

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A fellow reloader has some powder that he will never use and wants to give them to me. He has some Win540, Herco, Unique, Universal, and IMR 4157. Of these I'm pretty sure the 540, Herco, and Unique I will be able to use for my 45ACP.

Any of you fellas use those powders in your 45? Are these clean burning powders?

Also, the powders are about 5 years old but have been stored cool and dry. How do I know if the powders have gone bad?
 
Winchester 540 has been discontinued for more than 5 years, I think. I used to run it in the super back when I first started IPSC. I still have a lb or two kicking around. As I recall it was not the cleanest powder around but not too bad. At least at the pressure levels in a major 38super load.

I have never heard of IMR 4157, must be way before my time.

The other powders are all still in production so load data for your 45 should be easy to find.

Powder that has gone bad, often has a redish tinge to it. Most often it has a strong acetonish smell to it, although don't keep your face over the can for great lengths of time. If it was kept cool and dry, I would be the most leary of the 4157. You sure that is the right number?
 
The powders will develop a strong sharp smell when they deteriorate.

A few days ago I loaded some old powder which I received some time ago, and decided to use up. I suspect it could be 20-25 years old, but it had been stored in acceptable conditions and my test rounds fired normally.

I am unfamiliar with IMR-4157, and it does not appear on the IMR web page. Are you sure this container is properly marked?

Winchester 540 is not reccomended for use in handgun cartridges.
 
Winchester 540 is not reccomended for use in handgun cartridges.
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My manuals are not right in front of me, but off the top of my head I think W540 in listed in the older Sierra handgun manual. Where did you get this info? Just curious.
 
4756 was my second last powder for the 38 super. Still have a substantial supply on hand.

It can be used in a 45acp. Very bulky powder but compresses nicely.
 
I was given 3lbs pf 4756, 1lb of herco, 1lb of unique, .5lb of Universal, and another 3.5lbs of Win 540. I should be set for a while.
 
joe-nwt said:
My manuals are not right in front of me, but off the top of my head I think W540 in listed in the older Sierra handgun manual. Where did you get this info? Just curious.
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From the 3rd Edition of Propellants Profile (1991):

"Most shotshell powders do a great job on the handgun side of the coin, yet Winchester's loading data makes no recommendation for 540 in this use. The same can be said in regard to the Lyman and Speer publications. silence. This is somewhat puzzling as the latter two manuals show Hodgdon's HS-6 as suitable for certain bullet weights, and the two powders are really not that far apartin terms of density, burning speed, and energy content."

Bottom line is that at the time of publication, Winchester did not recommend 540 for anything other than shotshell loading. If one chooses to use HS-6 pistol data with 540 powder, that is a slippery slope to get started on.
 
Bottom line is that at the time of publication, Winchester did not recommend 540 for anything other than shotshell loading. If one chooses to use HS-6 pistol data with 540 powder, that is a slippery slope to get started on.
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What about this claim from the hodgdon website?;

HS-6 is the same powder as Winchester® 540, and HS-7 is the same powder as Winchester 571. Winchester discontinued these powders, but they are still available through Hodgdon.

That's why I recommended an HS-6 starting load for the 540..
 
Hodgdon is saying is that the Winchester product no longer exists. Winchester published the data for the product they manufactured, and that is the data that "I" think should be followed for Winchester 540.

I warn folks not to use old manuals for loading data with new powders, but it could also be argued that one should not use new data with powder which was manufactured when the old data was published.

Edited to add -

Probably all is safe as the burning rates are very close if not the same, and as we know there are small differences between powder lots of any given type, at any given time. As long as we work up our loads every time something changes all is well.
 
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