Any experience with CFE BLK in magnum revolvers?

[John Ross]

I've been involved with other projects and haven't stayed on top of everything new in the shooting world. Hodgdon has released this new powder for .300 Blackout (.300 Whisper clone) and it appears to be very similar in burn rate to 1680/WC680, which makes it an excellent powder for heavy, long-nose bullets in .500 S&W magnum.

My question is, has anyone loaded this powder down to more modest pressure levels in magnum revolvers? Does it suffer from the same ills as 296/H110 in that you get squibs that leave a bullet in the barrel if you go much below 30,000 PSI?

SR4759 is an ideal powder for people who want mid-power (stouter than Trail Boss) loads in the .500, but it's discontinued AFAIK. Perhaps CFE BLK can fill that role?

JR

[BHill]

Interested as well. I'm a long way from using up my stash of SR4759 but if this is a viable alternative I wouldn't be as frugal with it!

[John Ross]

The info on the Hodgdon site looks promising. They show "starting loads" with CFE BLK in the 22,000 PSI range for the lighter .500 bullets, when H110/296 loads start around 40,000 PSI for the same slugs.

I'll see if Hodgdon will answer the question about the lower pressure threshold for uniform performance with this powder.

JR

[308Jeff]

I'm glad you posted this, because I have a keg of it and have been wondering the same thing myself. It can't be good for only the small handful of cartridges that Hodgdon lists.

[BHill]

Just a quick look at 300 blkout data shows it working down at 13,400 psi. Smaller volume but promising.

[BHill]

[TMenezes]

I am glad you brought this up, I immediately jumped on this load data awhile back when I first saw it for the 500 S&W. However no one around here stocks this powder and didn't want to pay hazardous fee's for a keg of untried powder.

I did forum searches of this site and several others with no results. The threads I started also got little response as those that had tried it only used it for 300 BO. I believe one of the threads dissolved into a debate about whether or not the powder was considered "bulky".

In my mind it is, for the simple fact that the case runs out of space before you run into pressure issues. Others disagreed, so didn't get the information I was looking for.

So I am glad to see the father of the S&W 500 taking an interest in this powder as well. Things are slowing down at work so hopefully I will have time to track this powder down and do some testing as well.

[John Ross]

I don't have a sample to look at, but IMO CFE BLK is not "bulky." From the data, it looks like it's denser than H110/296, but enough slower that you need to use a lot more of it to approach max loads.

As an example, with the 500 grain Hornady JSP, According to Hodgdon 33 grains of H110 and 48 grains (compressed) of CFE BLK give close to the same pressure (~51,000 PSI). A charge of 48 grains is a lot of powder to fit under a 500 grain bullet loaded to an OAL of 2.065".

If CFE BLK does indeed work well at 13,000 PSI and in cold weather, this may be THE powder for all .500 loads at EVERY power level, especially with the long-nose slugs I prefer. Time to dust off the chronograph...

JR

[missionary5155]

Good morning
If it will work well in the .500 then I can see it working well in the Supermags and other long straights wall brass with heavy for caliber projectiles. Have to think about the 50 Alaskan and 405 JES as well.
Mike in Peru

[John Ross]

The .50 Alaskan has enough powder space that slower powders such as 4198/H322/3031 are better suited. Agree with you about the Supermags, I am unfamiliar with the .405 JESS.

JR

[kweidner]

I have an aquaintance who in fact tried it and had a resulting squib. I can verify this as I helped him remove it. It was a jacketed bullet now and I dont recall the specifics as it was a year ago. I know this doesn’t add much to the conversation but there you have it.

[Warhawk]

I picked up 2 pounds of CFE BLK today. I'm hoping it turns out to be a versatile powder for the 500 Mag.

[TMenezes]

Any results with this powder in the 500 yet? Waiting anxiously lol...

[waco]

I have only used it with a 230gr NOE boolit in the 300blk using 10.8gr. Right around 1" groups at 100.

[Moonie]

I've been looking at this powder for our 300 BO guns. I hadn't considered using it in my 500 S&W Encore but I'm certainly interested as I'm in on the 700gr mold from Mihec to add to the Lee 440gr I cast for it now.

[John Ross]

I suspect you can use 1680 data for it in the .500, but I don't think you'll be able to get a max load with the 700 gr. Mihec with it in a S&W revolver. Your Encore is another matter, not limited to 2.32" OAL...

26 296 was 100% load density and gave 1100 FPS in my gun. S&W pressure tested my loads at 57,100 PSI. I'm predicting 26 CFE BLK will give about 960 FPS@46,000 PSI, which might be all you want...

[Moonie]

I suspect you can use 1680 data for it in the .500, but I don't think you'll be able to get a max load with the 700 gr. Mihec with it in a S&W revolver. Your Encore is another matter, not limited to 2.32" OAL...

26 296 was 100% load density and gave 1100 FPS in my gun. S&W pressure tested my loads at 57,100 PSI. I'm predicting 26 CFE BLK will give about 960 FPS@46,000 PSI, which might be all you want...

I've found the upper charges of W296/H110 I've loaded with the Lee 440gr are brutal in the 15" Encore. Ripped open my trigger finger, I think it was from hitting the frame, I use shooting gloves now.

[Michael J. Spangler]

Subscribed.
I don’t have a 500 but since I started playing with CFE BLK in my blackout I’ve been convinced it would be awesome in 45/70 and I’m dying for a quick load profile so I can run some numbers.

[boatswainsmate]

I've loaded these four different bullets in 500 Magnum with CFE Black so far. The Hp's are weighing in at 390 grains on average, solids from the same mold are 400 grains. The John Ross inspired Mountain Mold I had made are coming in at 460 grains. All the bullets were powder coated. The 460 grain bullets were all I wanted since they bruised my hand. The others were manageable after my hand was numb. If you want the charge weights send me a PM. Sorry I didn't have a chronograph at the time.

[JSH]

Cartridge caliber?