Hodgdon Powders has so many powders under it’s wings for the hobby and professional handloader.
I got a chance to check out some great Hodgdon Powder products that you should certainly try.
If you are a handloader you know the importance of having the right, high quality powder for each load you are making. Follow the reloading manuals correctly and you will have made your own ammo that can even beat commercially made ones. There is a certain pride in making your own ammunition you just have to experience.
Who has been a huge provider of quality powder since 1947? Bruce Hodgdon originally bought 50,000 pounds of surplus 4895 powder. He then took out an ad in the National Rifle Association January 1948 American Rifleman Magazine. The rest is history and a great company for reloading enthusiasts was born.
Let’s take a look at some great powders offered by my friends at Hodgdon. First off the Hodgdon HIGH GUN Shotgun Powder.
Here are the specifics right from Hodgdon:
High Gun is a flattened, spherical shotshell powder designed for light-target, handicap and super handicap loads in a 12-gauge shotgun. This powder also closely duplicates Remington Nitro 27 factory loads. High Gun’s geometry results in a powder that meters consistently, has excellent ignition and burns clean enough to throw uniform patterns clay after clay. Made in the USA.
If you are a 12 gauge shooter, this powder is a great match for your needs. With reloading recipes right on the bottle, you are certainly well covered for loading your favorite shotshells for sporting clays, skeet and hunting loads.
What about a favorite of rifle shooters: VARGET Rifle Powder.
Check out these great characteristics of this well known powder:
Varget is an extruded propellant in the Hodgdon line of Extreme series of powders. Varget features small, extruded grains for uniform metering, is insensitive to hot and cold temperatures and produces higher energy for improved velocities over other powders in its burning-speed class.
The powder ignites quickly and burns clean, translating into superb accuracy, higher scores and more clean, one-shot kills.
Varget is the perfect powder for shooting the 223 Remington with heavy bullets in competitive matches. Outstanding performance and velocity can be obtained in such popular cartridges as the 22-250 Remington, 308 Winchester, 30-06, 375 H&H and many more.
Made in Australia.
Looking at loading handgun cartridges? Titegroup has a lot to offer:
As the name implies, this spherical propellant was designed for accuracy. Titegroup’s unique design provides flawless ignition with all types of primers, including lead-free versions.
Unlike pistol powders of the past, powder position in large cases (45 Colt, 357 Magnum and others) has virtually no effect on velocity and performance. Cowboy Action, Bullseye and Combat Shooters should love this one!
Titegroup has it all – low charge weight, burns clean, mild muzzle report and superb, uniform ballistics.
Made in the USA.
Titegroup has been a long favorite of my reloading mentors. It is a proven powder ready to perform well for you also.
What about the Hodgdon CFE Pistol powder?
This is a great powder for jacketed projectiles.
This spherical pistol propellant was designed for competitive shooters and handloaders seeking the perfect powder for target or self-defense loads.
CFE Pistol contains our Copper Fouling Eraser ingredient, originally used in military propellant, which greatly deters copper fouling and contributes to longer periods of top accuracy with less barrel cleaning time.
CFE Pistol provides optimum performance in cartridges like the 9mm Luger, 38 Super, 40 S&W, the 45 ACP and many more.
Made in the USA.
The Winchester StaBALL Match Ball Powder is certainly a favorite of military origin rifle cartridges and more.
Let’s take a closer look at this great powder choice:
Winchester® StaBALL™ Match is a temperature-insensitive, double-base, BALL® Powder, stable in extreme-hot or -cold conditions. This powder provides optimal loading density in cartridges appropriate for the burn speed, which is ideal for high-BC heavy for caliber bullets in 223 Remington, 224 Valkyrie, 22-250 Remington, 308 Winchester, 30-06 and many more. Typical of a BALL powder, precise metering contributes to consistent velocity and pressure with lower standard deviations, ingredients that are paramount to match grade accuracy!
This REACH-compliant, “environmentally green” propellant has copper fouling reducer additives, which contribute to shooting sessions without cleaning the bore. Velocity levels obtainable, depending on the cartridge, are 50-75fps greater than other propellants in its class. Thus, the StaBALL family provides Stability, Precision and Speed. Made in the USA.
Need a shotgun powder that can also be used for handgun cartridges? The Winchester 572 Ball Powder is all about flexibility!
Winchester 572 is a ball powder strategically designed to optimize a myriad of shotshell and handgun loads. First, 572 has the correct burn rate to create the famous 3-¼-dram equivalent, 1-¼ oz, (1330 FPS) 12-gauge factory Winchester load with any brand case! Back Fence competitors and pheasant hunters will be delighted. Winchester 572 also provides superb clay target or field loads in 20- and 28-gauge, and, outstanding field loads for the wonderful 16 gauge. In addition, 572 has a vast number of pistol applications, ranging from the 25 ACP to 45 ACP, and all popular calibers in between.
Made in the USA.
Well Mr. Bruce Hodgdon, your great legacy continues with incredible products that are well received in the handloader world. I have preferred your powders for years and certainly will continue to for many more. Hats off to your memory and a huge kudos to the new generation of Hodgdon!
As for my fellow reloading enthusiasts, you can be well assured Hodgdon is here to stay for the long haul and will continue offering great products for all of our powder needs. We will all continue living the good life at our reloading benches with their superb powders!