Thread: 30-40 Krag load conundrums

In 1969 Winchester relocated it's factory to St Marks? It had been making powders prior to that from the late 1920's but what sort I don't know. Originally they may have been made from recycled stick powders. In 1969? they started offering 748 BR and 760 BR It is possible they had been producing powder for the military prior to that as 760 seems to be ideal for the .30-06. H414 was introduced in 1967 so it predates the shift and possibly 760 BR (certainly it predates 760) but is likely a surplus powder, production for the Korean war perhaps. The Speer data shows H414 as slightly slower than 760. Comparing a few loads of 760 BR with 760 shows that the BR version is slower as you would expect if that is what H414 is.
GPM.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

In 1969 Winchester relocated it's factory to St Marks? It had been making powders prior to that from the late 1920's but what sort I don't know. Originally they may have been made from recycled stick powders. In 1969? they started offering 748 BR and 760 BR It is possible they had been producing powder for the military prior to that as 760 seems to be ideal for the .30-06. H414 was introduced in 1967 so it predates the shift and possibly 760 BR (certainly it predates 760) but is likely a surplus powder, production for the Korean war perhaps. The Speer data shows H414 as slightly slower than 760. Comparing a few loads of 760 BR with 760 shows that the BR version is slower as you would expect if that is what H414 is.
GPM.

@grandpamac I had an interesting experience with an unknown ball powder. Back in the 70s I purchased a couple of thousand milsurp 30-06. Mostly Denver and Twin Cities. I think it ran at around 2c a shot.
I stripped the cartridges and repurposed the 4895, hollow pointed the projectiles, shortened the cases and sized to fit my 308. Reloaded as 308W it made excellent fodder for the goat culls my NZDA branch used to do.
I was busy using an inertia puller (hard work) to pull the projectiles and tipping the powder into an old Erinmore tobacco tin. I wasn't taking much notice but then saw a quantity of ball powder added to the stick 4895.
Sorted out the last projectiles pulled and found them to be tracer. Hadn't noticed that when I put them into the inertial puller.
The 20 round carboard packets were unopened. I never ran into any more tracer rounds but certainly kept a better eye out. Quite bizarre.

Originally Posted by zimmer

@grandpamac I had an interesting experience with an unknown ball powder. Back in the 70s I purchased a couple of thousand milsurp 30-06. Mostly Denver and Twin Cities. I think it ran at around 2c a shot.
I stripped the cartridges and repurposed the 4895, hollow pointed the projectiles, shortened the cases and sized to fit my 308. Reloaded as 308W it made excellent fodder for the goat culls my NZDA branch used to do.
I was busy using an inertia puller (hard work) to pull the projectiles and tipping the powder into an old Erinmore tobacco tin. I wasn't taking much notice but then saw a quantity of ball powder added to the stick 4895.
Sorted out the last projectiles pulled and found them to be tracer. Hadn't noticed that when I put them into the inertial puller.
The 20 round carboard packets were unopened. I never ran into any more tracer rounds but certainly kept a better eye out. Quite bizarre.

Greetings @zimmer and all,
The Ball powder may have been WC846. This was used in .303 ammo and possibly others during WW2 and was later marketed as Western BL-Type C by Hodgdon. I used some of that salvaged 4895 and the 150 grain M2 projectiles for target loads in my .308 in which they shot better than anything 150 grain with a boat tail. The components came from a friend whose father had used the salvaged .30-06 cases reformed for his 8mm in the 1960's. Handloaders in those days used a minimum of kit and whatever they could get to keep their rifles going. A different time.
Regards Grandpamac.