opinions on H 450 ???

[Dand]

The only shop selling reloading stuff in town just shut down.  I didn't hear about it until late and the remaining powder selection was poor.  I grabbed a can of H 450 hoping to use it in 30-06, 300 win mag, maybe 348, as I have been going through my 4831 supplies.

Do any of you use this powder much?

What is your opinion of it?

Recommend loads for the above cartridges?

Comments welcome.  Its a $250 to $400 plane ride to Anchorage and its become a huge hassle to ship powder home so I had to grab what I could.  Thanks.

[Dave in WV]

It is the best powder for a .243 using 100gr bullets IMHO. That's all I've used it for. I wish I could get more. Dave

[Graybeard]

One of my all time favorites but sadly was discontinud several years ago and is pretty much impossible to find. It's hardly worth developing loads if all you have is one pound as you'll use it up figuring out just what loads to use and then can't get more. Like the old and discontinued W680 it really was a great choice and I do not know why it was dropped.

[Harry Snippe]

The only shop selling reloading stuff in town just shut down.  I didn't hear about it until late and the remaining powder selection was poor.  I grabbed a can of H 450 hoping to use it in 30-06, 300 win mag, maybe 348, as I have been going through my 4831 supplies.

Do any of you use this powder much?

What is your opinion of it?

Recommend loads for the above cartridges?

Comments welcome.  Its a $250 to $400 plane ride to Anchorage and its become a huge hassle to ship powder home so I had to grab what I could.  Thanks.

Load Data for the 3006 150 gr Rem BP  Win/ pp case  cci 250 mag primer (61.3)
3006 180  gr.  Win./pp case CCi 250 mag primers (56.7)

Now I used these loads in my 3006 Ruger and found them hot.  I used imperial bullets and Winchester Mag primers . Change the componets and pressure is up So follow the rule and start 10% down.

Tried this powder with the 170 30/30 bullet with (55 Gr). got 1" groups  Case's eject cool.

Now I use this powder mostly in the 6.5x55 ( 45.5) with the 160 rn

Hornady bullet.Federal primer.  good performance clean case's


Hope this gets you going . If you run up some WC 852  which is a surplus powder, use the same data as H450.

I manage to be able to buy powder in bulk  from Higginson powder in Hawesbury Canada. He is on the Web . Not sure if they can export to you ,but , if you need to have it shipped to you better have in a 7 pound container .
Military Surplus powders by the way has kept me shooting on the cheap for many years. Never heard an animal scream that I was using the wrong " stuff" before it died.

[BCB]

Many years ago, I got two 1-pound canisters of this powder free.  Hodgdon had a promotion on the stuff.  If one purchased 1 pound of any Hodgdon powder, a free pound of H-450 was thrown in.  I purchased two 1-pound canisters, at different locations, and ended up with two pounds of H-450.  I have about a pound of the stuff left.  It meters with precision.  It was no really big find for me.  Others may have also found it only as good as other powders at the same burning rate.  Maybe that is why it went away.  I tried it in places where I used H-4831, and it really done no better.  Metering was the only advantage I could see with it, other than it was free…

I think since you are so isolated, your best bet would be to try to purchase 6 kegs of surplus powder from some supplier.  Less than 50 pounds can be shipped.  Most suppliers will pay the Hazmet fee if you order that much.  You could get a “variety pac” of different burning rate powders—from fast to slow burners.  That way you would have a powder for most applications.  Also note that WC-852 comes in several burning rates so to use it with H-4831 (or H-450) data is NOT always correct.  The supplier will indicate the burning rate of the powders.  I presently have 16 different surplus powders, and I shoot nearly 95% of my reloads using surplus powders and cast bullets…Commercial powders and bullets are just too dang expensive anymore.  Good-luck…BCB

[Dand]

thanks for the help folks your posts and some old Hodgdon handouts should get me going.  I might be able to get a little more. I'll have to try it out and see if I want it.  Might be good for practice work and to save my 4831 supplies for serious hunting loads.  The easy metering sure appeals compared to all the versions of 4831 except SC.

I'm open to more advice / loads.  Think I'll email Hodgdon for their suggestions.

[ricciardelli]

H-450...why is it that all the powders I like are discontinued.

I found H-450 the powder of choice in 16 different loadings, and "usable" in another 392!

[old06]

I'll ring in with Dave in WV I had a affliction with a Winchester featherweight in 243and wanted to get a 100 grain out at a respectable velocity and decent group and that was the only one that filled the bill. To back up Steve why is it that powders I like get the corporate ax

[Kingfish]

Another powder that was discontinued around the same time and may be the same is the Winchester WMR. If you're looking for the H450 and see a can of this, you might do about the same with this powder. Winchester's newer powder for this burn speed is WXR which is extruded and made in Sweden. The WMR is ball.

Bill

[Dand]

Hey Steve R., thanks for your post. I had briefly checked your site before making my original post here but I wan't very thorough.  After your post I rechecked your whole site and found the "complete loading data" pages.  Found quite a bit of H 450 data to go on.  Great and thank you.

BTW you have an excellent site, I should check it more often.

Snowing out.  Maybe I'll fill up some cases later today.

[ricciardelli]

Glad you found it useful...that's why I have it there...

[glock29]

This powder was my favorite for 7x57, 270, and 300 Win Mag.
I found it to meter EXTREMELY well & I found it was more forgiving than 4350.
Unfortunately Hodgdon discontinued it about 10 years ago. I still use it sparingly as I have a couple of pounds on hand.
Every once in a while someone has some at a gun show & I usually snap it up if offered at a reasonable (under $20) price

[Dand]

glock29 - any loads or suggestions you can share for the 300 win Mag?  That's my main hunting rifle, and the one that gobbles up most of my powder.

I usually use a 180 gr bullet - Partition, Speer FB, and lately Barnes XLC.

thanks

[glock29]

Dand,
I'll have to consult my loading notes; I'm sure I'll be able to find something for the 180 Partition, the Speer should be similar to the partition. The data that I dig up will NOT be usable with the barnes XLC.
The Barnes "X" bullets have much more bearing surface than a 'regular' lead core 180, thus creating higher pressures. Although I have not tried them, supposedly the "Triple Shock X" eliminates this extra bearing surface by the machined grooves in the shank.
This may take me a couple of days to dig up as I will have to find my old Hodgdon pamphlet for their starting load/max load for a 180gr with H450.

[glock29]

Dand;

This is what I found in my load notes for H450 using 180 grain bullets:
Start Load: 70.0gr; Max Load 74.0gr with 180gr Nosler Partition
Start Load: 70.0gr; Max Load 74.0gr with 180gr Hornady Spire Point
Start Load: 70.0gr; Max Load 75.0gr with 180gr Nosler Ballistic Tip

According to Modern Reloading by Richard Lee, the proper start load for H450 with traditional (NOT Barnes "X" or Winchester Fail-Safe) bullets is 69.5gr ; Max Load of 75.0gr.

In my rifle 75.0gr is too warm for my liking (primer slightly cratered) except with the Ballistic tip, according to my notes. Your rifle may be different, so approach the max charge cautiously. Also note, that this data is NOT usable for the Barnes X bullet. This bullet has an entirely different bearing surface than other 180's, thus the pressure curve is totally different. You would be on your own to work up a load for that one.

At any rate, for the Nosler Partition and the Speer 180, you should start with the 69.5 grains recc. by Lee and work your way up in 1 grain increments.