Hodgdon Announces New Super Powders

[pressonregardless]

Hodgdon Announces New Super Powders
Handloaders can now safely duplicate the performance of Hornady Superformance and Leverevolution ammunition.
By Scott E. Mayer

Today, Hodgdon Powder Company shared with a small group of InterMedia's writers an announcement that beginning in January 2011 it will offer two new canister powders that allow handloaders to safely duplicate the velocities of Hornady's Superformance and Leverevolution lines of premium ammunition.

According to Hodgdon's Chris Hodgdon, Superformance and Leverevolution powders essentially duplicate the proprietary blends currently being used by Hornady, and previously unavailable to handloaders.

This is welcome news to handloaders who until now have had to sit by and watch as factories make the best use of new bullets such as Hornady's FTX and mass-produced loads that handloaders couldn't safely duplicate. This should also be welcome news to shooters who until now have avoided new high performance cartridges over concerns about future high performance ammunition availability.




http://www.shootingtimes.com/ammunition/ST_superpowders_081710WO/index.html#cont

[BD]

You have to wonder what these actually are. The Leverevolution line covers a lot of ground, from the .308 to the .450B.
BD

[ktw]

You have to wonder what these actually are.

I'm willing to bet they're $5 more per pound. ;-)

-ktw

[82nd airborne]

I'm perfectly happy with the performance of the loads I already have. An exta hundred fps or so does absolutely nothing for me or the critters I shoot with it.

[EOD3]

I don't know about factory LeverEvolution ammunition BUT, specifications for reloading the .357 Magnum call for "shortened" .357 cases. Comparing them to standard .357 is apples and oranges.

[Larry Gibson]

I'm looking forward to trying the new powders with the Hornady 160 LeveRevolution bullets in my M94AE 30-30 with 24" barrel. The factory loads produce 2452 fps (that is 40-50 fps faster than advertised) with 37,800 psi(M43). I am duplicating that with 150 gr bullets but at 42,000 psi(M43) which is a max SAAMI MAP. The 160 FTX bullets at that velocity with a measured .304 BC provide ballistics to make the 30-30 a genuine 300 yard cartridge for deer with 1700+ fps remaining at that range. The accuracy is there also with 7 shots into 1.3" at 100 yards.

I'm also wondering about the new powders potential in my M91 Argie .35 Rem with 26" barrel. Then again what is the potential with that 160 gr FTX and that powder in an older low pressure cartridge like the 30-40? Or even in the .308W? Frankly it remains to be seen if there is any potential for cast bullets but forr J bullets the potential seems to be quite promissing.

Larry Gibson

[Buckshot]

..............Gee, great news :-) There are already so many powders out there I can't keep track of'em now!

..............Buckshot

[44man]

I had some problems with the fast 30-06 Hornady loads in a friends rifle. Every now and then we got a drastic change in recoil and POI.
I didn't like them and there is no need for that fast a bullet.

[Harter66]

So we can make our rifles step up 1 case size ? If I need more rifle than my 06' I reckn' I'll screw a Whelen bbl on my Sav 110LH.

I bet Whelen said the same thing about all that surplus 20mm canon powder , was it 4831?

Intrigued by the bullets not so much by the powders .

[EOD3]

Come-on guys, where's your sense of adventure? Maybe we could compress powder into a star grain configuration that increases the burn surface and gas volume in a linear fashion to maximize velocity while minimizing peak pressure. [smilie=w:

[10 ga]

I think duplexing has been used by "handloaders" for a VVVEEEERRRYYY long time. The commercial guys are acting like they discovered electricity and bottled gas all at the same time. BFD 10 ga

[Larry Gibson]

The Super Perfomance and LeveRevolution loads do not use "duplex" loads. They use a specially manufactured powder that has a slower time pressure curve and burns much more completely in longer barrels than current powders. Granted they probably aren't going to be much benifit in regular cast bullet loads. I do see a real potential for HV cast bullet loads for hunting and longer range target shooting. One of the main things to do for accurate HV cast bullet loads is to use a slower powder so these newer powders may be a real benifit here.

I also am very pleased with my current J bullet loads in my '06. However I have never subscribed to the quip about "deer not knowing the differnce of 200 fps" or something like that. If I didn't mind 200 fps less in my hunting loads I'd be using a .300 Savage in stead of the '06. But then if I settled for 200 fps less then why not just use the 30-30 anyway? Now if I can get another 150 - 200 fps out of my '06 and put it up into the 300 H&H level with J bullets at safe pressures I'll do it. Where I hunt elk with my '06 shots can come from 20 yards to as far away as you care to shoot. Yes I can get a magnum if I want one but I don't need one. However, if I can increase the performance of the '06 and maintain accuracy I'll certainly do it. Some may not want to but I do.

Now as I've mentioned the real benifit using these newer powders with cast bullets or PP'd bullets may come with better accuracy at HV. I'm looking forward to finding out.

Larry Gibson

[NVcurmudgeon]

..............Gee, great news :-) There are already so many powders out there I can't keep track of'em now!

..............Buckshot



I heartily endorse the above post by Buckshot. I am happily loading 23 calibers (if I count right, and counting one caliber twice for both rifle and pistol) with eight powders. I am considering adding a ninth powder because one rarely used pistol is not quite up to its velocity potential.

I would be much better served by Hodgdon getting all the varieties and package sizes of current powders in full inventory before adding new products. ARRRRRGH!

[looseprojectile]

powder companies made a modern smokeless black powder substitute.
They almost had it with Dupont bulk smokeless shotgun powder. I have had the pleasure of using some of the left over Dupont bulk smokeless powder in several calibers and was favorably impressed with the performance of those loads.
With todays technology it should be possible to make a smokeless powder that can not be overloaded in any cartridge.
Regarding the proposed NEW powders I can only revert to a quote of Robert Ruark. " Use enough gun" . 4,300 fps should be fast enough for any one. I like accuracy. I have been there done that with maximum loads and don't go there any more. I am older and more careful in my reloading these days and this new powder seems to be an effort to get reloaders to try to load to max. Cast boolit shooters don't need any new high intensity powder. To back up what Buckshot said, there must be several dozen powders that I have not used. [can't have it all]
I am sure that an enterprising powder manufacturer could sell a mountain of smokeless powder that could be loaded the same as black and have the same pressure and velocity. I know I am comparing black powder cartriges to modern high intensity cartriges, but still!!
Am I weird?

Life is good

[500bfrman]

what a bunch of crybabies. by reading the replies here I would have thought hodgdon would have said we are not going to sell to the little man anymore, but actually they said the opposite.

[Harter66]

I've this 1960 sav 06' with factory ammo saying "no loss of accuracy" means nothing to me as 4" hundred yard groups were as good as it ever shot (LC42),some of the factories shot in it missed the 24" backer all together at 50yds. I've several loads now that that put 5 inside a quarter barring operater error (happens often)and itshoots 200fps faster than published . Yes its an 06' w/150gn BT ,but to 300yds if you hold middle of the deer ribs you have meat in the freezer. Responceably why would I want to shoot any farther ? Oh yes the once in a lifetime trophy hunt closing minutes of closing day ,that might be it.

Isn't there a fellow in here someplace getting 2900fps w/a PP 180gn boolit in a 300WM? Think I read him in here. Maybe not.

[376Steyr]

"And furthermore, who needs these dang-nabbed, high-falootin', fancy-pants, new-fangled powders like IMR 4064 to load up the 30-06, when everbody knows that Dupont 15 1/2 will get a 150 grain bullet up to 2700 fps and that's all a fella needs." -Some old coot in 1935

[AZ-Stew]

I'm with the "yea" sayers here. It's hard telling what new options these powders will open up to us. We'll have to wait and see what the data says and some folks start experimenting with them. They're just another tool in the tool box. I'm sure we could all get along with Nosler Partition 150 and 180 grain .30 cal bullets, along with a Barnes copper slug of about 165 gr, but what fun would that be?

There have to be about three times as many powders (if not more) available to us now than when I started loading. I ignore most of them, but when something potentially useful comes along, I try a can. It keeps the powder manufacturer's R&D departments running. That's where the breakthroughs come from.

I find it interesting that the Shooting Times web site shows this info, but Hodgdon's doesn't mention it.

Regards,

Stew

[jlchucker]

Super powders??? LeverRevolution bullets???? What's the matter with 3031, RL7, or 4198 and a home-made cast boolit???? Or, if casting scares you and you're merely prowling around and are a member of some other website focusing on superpowders and whizzybang condom boolits, then why not a plain ole Coreloct? Are game animals now so evolved that boolits and Corelocts bounce off???

[EOD3]

"And furthermore, who needs these dang-nabbed, high-falootin', fancy-pants, new-fangled powders like IMR 4064 to load up the 30-06, when everbody knows that Dupont 15 1/2 will get a 150 grain bullet up to 2700 fps and that's all a fella needs." -Some old coot in 1935

So, what gun-rag were you writing for Steyr?? :kidding:

[ammohead]

I can see both points. I have a 30-30, 300 sav, 308, and a 30-06. The 06 is the only one that could bring me anything I don't have with another 150 fps. And if I need more power than the 06 I can use my 338-06. However....it would be fun to try to get another 150 fps out of the 338-06! Or maybe my other go to jword rifle my 257 ackley, and then there is always the savage 99 in 284. Another 150 - 200 fps out of it with 150 gr partitions would make it a real elk rifle.

Come on Buckshot, we are all tinkerers here. What's the harm in one more thing to tinker with. OOh I just remembered, my 9.3x62 with 250 gr accubonds....now were talkin' lol

ammohead

[AZ-Stew]

Super powders??? LeverRevolution bullets???? What's the matter with 3031, RL7, or 4198 and a home-made cast boolit???? Or, if casting scares you and you're merely prowling around and are a member of some other website focusing on superpowders and whizzybang condom boolits, then why not a plain ole Coreloct? Are game animals now so evolved that boolits and Corelocts bounce off???

That seals it! I'm goin' back to throwin' spears! Much better sectional density than any of those damned ol' Core-Lokts. Penetration, man!! That's the name of the game!!

Regards,

Stew
Ludite-in-Chief

[izzyjoe]

i used to work with an old gent, and this was his take on things like this.(you can either get on the train,or watch'er pass on by. it's your choice!) we have a lot of good powders today, cause somebody said let's try this. some are better some not. i was talking to an ol' reloader once, and i told him i was having good luck with varget. he give me the strangest look ,and said what the heck is that. heck i thought he knew, thought everybody should know. but he wanted none of it. oh' well. like i said watch'er pass on by. it's your choice. :razz:

[82nd airborne]

I say we try an ounce of RDX or symntex in a case instead of new powder....now we are talkin some serious velocity!

[EOD3]

I say we try an ounce of RDX or symntex in a case instead of new powder....now we are talkin some serious velocity!

Well, sorta-kinda... I have serious reservations about the bullet actually leaving the barrel but, I'm pretty sure the barrel will leave the rifle. :holysheep

[hpdrifter]

I can see both points. I have a 30-30, 300 sav, 308, and a 30-06. The 06 is the only one that could bring me anything I don't have with another 150 fps. And if I need more power than the 06 I can use my 338-06. However....it would be fun to try to get another 150 fps out of the 338-06! Or maybe my other go to jword rifle my 257 ackley, and then there is always the savage 99 in 284. Another 150 - 200 fps out of it with 150 gr partitions would make it a real elk rifle.

Come on Buckshot, we are all tinkerers here. What's the harm in one more thing to tinker with. OOh I just remembered, my 9.3x62 with 250 gr accubonds....now were talkin' lol

ammohead

seems like with the super powder and leverevol.....whatever in the 30WCF, that the 308 and 3006 maybe be endangered. Just step up to the 338-06 fer a little heavier boolit.

[82nd airborne]

Well, sorta-kinda... I have serious reservations about the bullet actually leaving the barrel but, I'm pretty sure the barrel will leave the rifle. :holysheep

long as somethin leaves, right? I've eaten some nasty stuff, but never a rifles bolt.

[Frosty Boolit]

I started to have to many powders so I started IMR 4064 for all my rifles and AA#5 for all pistols with AA#7 for magnum loads. For shotgun it's red dot for target and longshot or herco for hunting loads. Damn, that's still six different jugs!

[leadman]

It is nice to have a choice of powders for different cartridges. An example is my Contender 6.5 TCU I want to use for antelope.
Been using 129gr Hornady J-word with WC 845, about 1,900 fps. Switched to 120gr. Nosler BT, with WC 845 about 1,950 fps. Switched to Win 748, now getting 2,100 fps.
In a marginal cartridge like this the extra velocity might make a difference in bullet expansion.
Yes, I am going to test expansion as soon as I settle on the exact powder charge.

[1Shirt]

Like a lot of others, will just HAVE to try it! It's kind of a curse I think, but I am kind of like Buckshot, and I probably need another powder like I need hemorides. Every time I think about getting back to just a half dozen powders seems like I have the same problem with thinking about one blt and load for one rifle and handgun so I can simplify the number of molds I have. And then I just can't seem to be satisfied, and have to start playing around again with a different mold, pdr, etc.etc.etc. I will however NEVER be without 2400, Unique, 4064, Ball C and 4831. If I can't load'um for sure with those 5 pdrs, I probably don't need'um. But then again, seems like I gotta have a jug of Varget, Trail Boss, 4579, 4350, etc.etc.etc., just in case don't ya know. And there are a lot of pdrs out there that I have just resisted even trying don't ya know. Ah yes, for the good old days when I could buy 4831 surplus at Shawnee Mission for about 50 cents a pound! Only needed about 3 pdrs back then, and probably shot more than I do now!
1Shirt!:coffee:

[kennisondan]

bring it on... I hate when they make something and then call it proprietary and regular dudes or even irregular dudes cannot get it... if it is safe sell it.. I may like it for some of my bottlenecked cases I keep swearing I am going to reload for.... with those wild new thangs I could be persuaded to shoot a new powder and go even faster with less pressure, etc.. etc..
Makes me want to break out that not to trot new fangled 270 winchester ... lol..
I love it.. truly... if someone wants to make the ammunition factory duplicated and save some money to continue shooting someting he likes and has confidence in.. lets have him be able to shake and bake it .. I know I was not going to buy one of the sst or other speciallty bullets or even consider them before factory duplicated loads could be acheived safely....
I will likely stay confused enough on what I am doing now... but .. with a new manual a new powder and if I stay sober and carefull... shoot I can make those specialty cartridges too... COOL.
DK

[dromia]

I know this isn't in the interest of powder manufacturers so unlikely to happen but I'd like to see propellant research into developing powders that will give you top notch performance per calibre only needing a maximum of 5gns of powder, you'd get some really sort action rifles then, that retails at half the current price per lb of powder.

One can dream. :-)