Shuz
05-10-2015, 10:07 AM
I've been seeing a lot of interest in Hodgdon's Trail Boss powder and it's use in cast boolit loads, so I bought a can to try it.
First thing I noticed was that the container, while the same size as the rest of the 1 lb containers, held only 9 ounces!
That means the price per pound was really $30.20; a far cry from the $16.99 on the can!
When I opened the can I saw why there was only 9 ounces in the can. It was plumb full!
I poured some into my Dillon Square Deal B measure and was all set to try 7.1 grains behind a Lee 200RNFP for the .44 mag. The first thing I found was that the small charge bar that I was using, wouldn't get up to 7.1g, but bottomed out at 5.5. When I went to pour the Trail Boss back into the container so that I could change to the larger charge bar, found that the powder was so bulky, that I couldn't get it all back in the can! By now you are probably saying "WAA-WAA, at least you found some Trail Boss!"
I fired one round to see if the 7.1g load I chose seemed reasonable remembering the 70% of a full case starting load. It was and I proceeded to lad the rest of the 50 round box.
Yesterday, at my range, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I got absolutely no leading and the accuracy wasn't bad either. Now the velocity was only 845 fps from one 4" 629-4 Mtn Gun, and 814 fps from a 4" 329PD, but that's about what I expected, and the "recoil" was very mild, also expected. Accuracy was not on a par with my usual Green Dot load of 9.0g and this boolit, but it was acceptable, putting all shots into a 4" bull at 25 yds from a rest.
I invite others to share any experiences they have had with this powder in the .44 mag. I will try it next in my Winnie Trapper .44 mag with it's 16" bbl.
First thing I noticed was that the container, while the same size as the rest of the 1 lb containers, held only 9 ounces!
That means the price per pound was really $30.20; a far cry from the $16.99 on the can!
When I opened the can I saw why there was only 9 ounces in the can. It was plumb full!
I poured some into my Dillon Square Deal B measure and was all set to try 7.1 grains behind a Lee 200RNFP for the .44 mag. The first thing I found was that the small charge bar that I was using, wouldn't get up to 7.1g, but bottomed out at 5.5. When I went to pour the Trail Boss back into the container so that I could change to the larger charge bar, found that the powder was so bulky, that I couldn't get it all back in the can! By now you are probably saying "WAA-WAA, at least you found some Trail Boss!"
I fired one round to see if the 7.1g load I chose seemed reasonable remembering the 70% of a full case starting load. It was and I proceeded to lad the rest of the 50 round box.
Yesterday, at my range, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I got absolutely no leading and the accuracy wasn't bad either. Now the velocity was only 845 fps from one 4" 629-4 Mtn Gun, and 814 fps from a 4" 329PD, but that's about what I expected, and the "recoil" was very mild, also expected. Accuracy was not on a par with my usual Green Dot load of 9.0g and this boolit, but it was acceptable, putting all shots into a 4" bull at 25 yds from a rest.
I invite others to share any experiences they have had with this powder in the .44 mag. I will try it next in my Winnie Trapper .44 mag with it's 16" bbl.