IMR PB powder is it good or bad for use in a1894C 357 may MG bbl?

[Follow Me]

Greetings
I am out of town and for something to do I went to a yard sale. I was two steps away from Lyman 450 with 7 dies. The guy just ahead of me put his paws on it with a death grip. He smiled and moved off quickly. I did, however, latch onto 2 containers of IMR PB powder. The yard sale lady said that her late husband used it for his shotgunning. Will this powder work in my 357 mag cal 1894C w/MG bbl? Your experience and load info is invaluabe and appreciated greatly.

Thank you
Col C
"I am the Infantry, Queen of Battle, Follow Me"

[Outpost75]

In my experience, as long as you stay below max. loads, PB tracks fairly close to Unique data, in my 1894C I used 5 grains in .357 brass with 190-grain FN for 1050 fps.

[runfiverun]

I think PB is closer to green-dot or American Select than Unique.
either way it should be pretty useful in the 357.

[Mohawk Daddy]

I have used PB successfully in 9mm with 4.1 grains/Lee 124 TC cast. (From Lyman #46. Load is a little warm.) Same Load is ok for 357/158 cast according to current Lee book. Range for 357 is 3.5 to 5.0 grains per Lee. (This is a handgun load.) Velocity is listed as 845 to 1098. I don't know how much velocity you would pick up shooting these loads through an 1894C since I foolishly sold mine some years ago.

[Kraschenbirn]

Dunno 'bout your 1894C, but can state that PB works pretty good for 'mid-range' (1100-1150 fps) loads in a 10" TC. Number of years back, I obtained (very cheaply!) a couple pounds from a shotgunner who was leaving the area and, for some reason, didn't want to pack it in with his household goods. As I recall, load was 5.0 gr under a 160-something Keith boolit cast from straight COWW which I used, mostly, for 'Hunter Pistol' silhouettes. (This was back in the day when tire shops and gas stations would almost pay someone to haul their WWs away and I was only casting for handguns and hadn't a clue 'bout alloys beyond adding a bit of 50/50 solder to obtain better mold fill-out.)

Bill

[sigep1764]

I liked the powder for 9mm cast loads. Soft shooting, a little dirty, but a useful powder. 2.8 to 3.2 grains depending on boolit. I believe they quit making it about a year ago and have since switched to Promo or Red Dot.