Surplus WWII gun powder?
Anybody know what powder it was?
I'm thinking Bruce Hodgdon?
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Surplus WWII gun powder?
Anybody know what powder it was?
I'm thinking Bruce Hodgdon?
I believe you're right.
I believe you're right. H4895?
It were Bruce "B. E. " Hodgdon ... started in 1947 selling U.S. military surplus 4895 gun powder ...
and the rest is History !
Gary
It was Bruce Hodgdon, Started with rail cars of 4895 and 4831 then was H 380 named after his favorite load in the 22-250 which was a wildcatt then.
I've got some of that surplus powder, cans with no zip code, which puts them pre-63. My understanding is the surplus powder lasted until the late 60's, early 70's. 4831, H380 and perhaps 4895.
If I can find it I'll post a price list from early 60's. Silliness like 100 pound keg of 4831 for $61.
And I believe the mailman would deliver it.
I can remember the one local shop had a keg of h4895 and h4831 on a table with a scales and stack of brown paper lunch bags. sold by the pound weigh out what you want.
Would be interesting to see the impact of a person buying powders by the rail car or the above
I bought Red Dot and Green Dot out of a similar keg. The local guy upped the bags by going to double walled bags with the attached fold over wire closures. Grind your own coffee style bags. He was still doing it into the nineties. Then Clinton's war on "kitchen table" FFL holders finished him off. He was operating out of his garage in a residential neighborhood. It was just too dangerous even though he had been in business for decades.Quote:
Originally Posted by country gent
The bags were a nice dark blue.
My local gun shop named Mahoney's had a big barrel of 4895 and 4831 way back in the early 60's. He would sell to you in a paper bag as little as a half a lb.. It was the only way I could afford to shoot back then. I still have a 1 lb. carboard can I keep for nostalgia and I believe the sticker on it says $.79. And yes it was Hodgdon. james
I've heard that H4831 was originally surplus 20mm cannon powder.
I have an older friend that went in with another guy and split I think a 100 lbs. of 4831 at 60 cents a pound. That was in the mid 60's. He shot out two or three 25-06 barrels shooting crows with the powder. Several years ago he had several pounds left and gave me one to play with. I didn't shoot it over the chrony but shot it alongside the new H4831 and couldn't tell the difference. I know there is some of the stuff still around and still does fine but was stored properly.
Yes, 4831 was used originally in the 20mm oerlok(spelling) AA weapons. james
Every answer in this thread was perfect!
Thanks for the replies.
I miss the old days.
The first several pounds of H4831 I bought were being sold in coffee sacks.
Here is the story from the Hodgdon website:
https://hodgdonpowderco.com/about-us/
You have to remember that $61 was a lot of money for most people back then, in the late 70's I was working for $1.25/HR making a wopping $50 A week getting ready to get married, no way I could afford that.
I always remember Jack Stacey ...he had a small shop that once was an ice cream parlour .......he sold three kinds of powder,and kept them in the ice cream tubs ....he always had a cigarette in his mouth ,but when he sold blackpowder ,he put the cigarette on the shelf behind the counter ......you would get a dipper full of powder in a brown paper bag for 1/6d ......15 cents,........and a paper tray of primers ......150 for 1/- ...10 cents.
I really enjoy reading the story's from years ago ..Thanks for sharing
God Bless
JDAS
Rotten clinton, at the same time he killed the reloading company market with cheap foreign ammo.
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by 35 Rem
James I also got powder at Mahoney's (I was in Carter co.then) back in the day when you could get it by the pound:wink:Quote:
Originally Posted by TNsailorman
I sure miss the informal atmosphere of those old time gunshops. The one I grew up close to had more guns than any of the big stores such as Bass Pro or Cabela's AND all the long guns were on racks around all the outer store walls. You could pick up any gun you wanted and work the action, look through the scope, etc. I never saw powder being sold in sacks though or any of the surplus powder at all. I didn't start loading ammo until 1976 so apparently that was all gone by then but I've heard of it for years from older shooters. Makes sense considering that powder was WWII surplus!
My cousin had a gun shop just outside of Bangor, Me. Morrison's, he was also a gunsmith. Anyway, the Shop was in a converted barn with racks of guns like 50 of feet long. Must have been four of more racks that long behind the counter and very many of the nicer guns out in a showroom area in front of the counter. My dad bought me a Win MDL 94 30-30 there in the early 70's
Tim
I was buying bulk shot gun powder into the mid-90's here in SE Michigan. Red Dot and Green Dot.Quote:
Originally Posted by 35 Rem
My dad had lots of that stuff, we loaded it up for years and years. Can't remember where he got it..
Old man I hung around with in the late 1970s told me about buying 100 pound kegs of 4831 from Hodgdon back in the 1950s and having it delivered by train at the local depot. He would sell it for $1.00 / pound in paper bags and said he made enough to pay for all his shooting supplies.
Another story, but I was given a 3 pound keg of a flake powder by this older gentleman and the only information was that he remembered getting it with one of the 100 pound kegs of 4831. I called the Hodgdon factory hoping to get some kind of info on it, but was told that there wasn't anyone there at the time who could help me. She took my name and phone number and I figured that would be the end of it. About 6:00 that night while we were eating supper my phone rings and a voice said "This is Bruce Hodgdon and I understand you have a question about some old powder that I sold". Needless to say that after I stuttered and stammered for a few minutes describing the powder as best I could, he asked me if I or any of my friends shot a .38 special. Upon answering that of course we all did, he said to put 3.0 grains under 150 to 158 grain swc and shoot it up. We did and many thousands of rounds later it was all gone. Much simpler and younger in the late 1970s.
Kinda reminds me of the time, back in the mid-1980s, when I called Dillon with a question about setting up my then-new Square Deal and Mike Dillon answered the phone. He said everyone else was out to lunch.Quote:
Originally Posted by curiousgeorge
Bill
SSG, I have hunted in Carter Co., many, many years ago. That was in the 50's though and I doubt if the places I hunted would be open to hunting now. East Tennessee vacant land is disappearing at an alarming rate. The long and wide valley I live in only had about 5 large farms in it when we built our house in it. Now the whole valley is built up to the point that there is only one section of land in the valley that has over 5 acres of land. AS I remember Carter County; back in the 50's they had some really good football teams over there. Take Care and God Bless, james
Morrison did some nice work. Amazing smith he was.Quote:
Originally Posted by dtknowles
I remember buying W748 in a waxed cardboard container that the top folded over like how you would get a large milkshake in, back in the mid 80's. Was about $5 a pound then!
Plenty of wars going on and plenty of surplus powder, you can thank our leaders for none of it coming our way.
My dad had two 1 gallon mayo jars of the 4831 and I still have about half a jar left, still shoots as good as new.Quote:
Originally Posted by country gent
Tom
found this in Oct.2018 American rifleman -