Alcan 7 Powder Loading

[smokemjoe]

Cant find my old loading date on AL 7 powder, Looking for loads using it in 44 Mag. with Cast 300 Gr. plus bullets , using this as a starter for 41 Swiss, Thanks- Joe

[RayinNH]

Joe, the Lyman Cast Bullet Manual has load data for Alcan powder IIRC...Ray

[Cherokee]

Been a long time since I've used AL-7, was a good powder.

[Rocky Raab]

I like the Alcan series, and wish they still made them.

My copy of "Propellant Profiles" (reprints from Handloader magazine) has an article by John Wooters. He quotes Alcan recommended loads for the 44 Magnum as follows:

19.0/170 Cast -- 1,795 fps
16.5/225 Speer HP -- 1,590 fps
16.0/240 Speer or Hornady -- 1,465 fps
15.5 250 Cast -- 1,460 fps

There's no data for heavier bullets, which were largely unknown back then.

I my own use (I have and use all the Alcan powders) I'd rate it as being in the same general range as Blue Dot. It is definitely slower than Unique and faster than 2400, but that's as close as I'd care to pin it down.

Because it is very dense and "non-fluffy" I don't use it in reduced rifle loads. I save it for 3/4 throttle handgun loads in several cartridges.

[DLCTEX]

I have been using Alcan 7 powder for 7 years now since buying a large quanity at an estate auction. I have used it almost exclusively in 45 ACP. I also found one pound of Alcan 8 at a small sporting goods store in a rural town a few years ago that I used loading 255 gr. boolits in the same cal. I did use it loading some 12 ga. buckshot loads. Wish I had more of it.

[bgokk]

I really miss the Alcan powders. :( Al-5 burned cleaner than Unique in my experience.
Al-5 was very good in .38 Spl. I checked through some of my old notes and found Speer 146 Gr. SJHP, CCI 500 Primer, 7.5 Gr Al-5, heavy crimp on front of jacket, Case whatever was available. This load burned clean in a 4" M-10. I show a muzz. vel. of 1025 probably interpolated based on data from Speer #7. I have about 3# of AL-5 left.

I did not load much with Al-7. Never used Al-120.

Loaded 12.0 gr. AL-8, CCI 500, Remington 158 gr. SJHP, in .357 Mag. Est. 1310 fps very accurate in a M-19 I had at the time.

Al-8 17.0gr behind Sierra 210gr JHC, CCI300 primer, chrono 1258 fps, to date was my most accurate load in .41 Mag. Still have about 75 left with that load. Never had a deer run when shot with that load. There is about 1/4 of a can of AL-8 left. :(

[Rocky Raab]

Amen to all.

I use AL-120 in the Makarov and 38 Special - or anywhere one might use Bullseye or RedDot.
AL-5 is good for "Unique" applications, AL-7 stands in for Blue Dot in handgun loads, and I use AL-8 in heavy 45 Colt loads in place of 2400. Charge weights are not identical to those other powders, of course.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I thought I'd wake up this thread...I still have a few lbs of AL-7 on the shelf and I have a batch of 41 mag I'm about to load using the Saeco 411 (230gr SWC). I can find data for 44 mag and 38spl (I thought I had some 357mag data but can't find it?).
Anyone have any comments?

I'd love to hear from you Rocky Raab (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?8476-Rocky-Raab), but I see you haven't logged in since 2013 :(