Ep. 325 | Gunpowder - An Explosive Podcast with Chris Hodgdon

[@adamthatguy454]

Excellent episode! It kills me that we don't have much powder manufacturing capability in the US. Seems like that would be an essential capability.

[@JWZelch]

That is mind blowing. Talk about an issue of National security.

[@cristianespinal9917]

Love Hodgdon. Like Ryan, I use your reloading data center at least weekly. H110 and IMR 4227 are my favorites for full-boogey .44 Mag and supersonic .300 Blackout. Longshot is like a turbocharger for .40 S&W, putting it within most factory-loaded 10mm territory without hitting max charges or seeing any pressure signs. It also makes for great mid-range .44 Mags. Trail Boss was my first powder that I used to handload .45 Colt and is still among my favorites for light loads in it and .44 Mag. Its bulk makes it so safe for beginners, and I even use it to download .223 to .22 magnum levels with .218 Bee bullets. Triple Se7en is definitely my favorite powder for muzzleloaders. IMR 4064 in a .270 Win, H110 in .300 Blk, and IMR 4227 in .44 Mag have all put venison in my freezer.

[@MrHuntermikey]

This is great. Big Thanks Vortex

[@joearledge]

33:28 Black powder is very stable, that's what makes it useful. Gun cotton has a high potential for being unstable, that was one of the biggest hang ups for the inventing of smokeless.

[@ericford8556]

If it weren't for the vast varieties of Hodgdon reloading powders I probably wouldn't be able to make my own ammo like I do. This podcast is a MUST for anyone wanting to start reloading or for someone who wants to know more about the process.

[@lmbear]

That original wwII surplus powder (4831) was excellent stuff too. I used some of it the other day in fact. A guy I know in Oregon, gave me some that his dad had canned at a local cannery, back in the 50's. I guess his dad bought a huge drum of that powder, then had it canned. That powder lasts for a dang long time, when sealed and stored properly. H powder is my favorite, I just wish prices were not going up so much. Cool to see Mr. Hodgdon here, and explain about the history of Hodgdon powders, and how its made. I love Hodgdon extreme powders because they are less temp sensitive and more temp stable than other powders. It just makes sense to use them, especially when you are shooting in temperatures from 0 degrees to 100 degrees.

[@bobborlog1677]

Please make trail boss again

[@FMDad-dm5qo]

Yes - the people miss the case-filling Cheerios

[@willo7734]

yeah, it’d be great for subsonic ammo

[@theprfesssor]

General motors already does.......... ... ... . lol

[@chipsterb4946]

Amen! I came across some jerk on a forum selling TrailBoss for $100/pound. I love TrailBoss for .45-70, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .44 Special, and .38 Special. If I leave out the dinosaur rifle, I’ve got enough TB to load a lot of pistol cases. However, I just got a rifle chambered in 8.6 Blackout and TrailBoss seems ideal for subsonic loads in that cartridge. Pluu-eeeez make TrailBoss again!

[@elkbow]

I have a 5lb keg I never opened

[@MrTacklebury]

I was almost entirely an Alliant powder reloader, but now I've switched nearly fully to Hodgdon powders. I love HS-6 for subsonics and many others including Varget for their temperature insensitivity. Great products. Should have asked what's up with Trailboss...

[@jerryware5749]

Enjoyed this podcast. My 270 just informed me that it would like to see Accurate 3100 again.

[@willo7734]

Hodgdon makes by far my favorite powders to use for handloading. Varget by itself is amazing. Great podcast!

[@Gunner40Five]

Love Varget...........just wish I could find some on the shelf.

[@jeffsiewert1258]

You know it’s not made by Hodgdon, right?

[@Gunner40Five]

Yep, but it is imported by Hodgdon. @@jeffsiewert1258

[@Gunner40Five]

Yep, but they are the ones who import it. @@jeffsiewert1258

[@14goldmedals]

Isn't Varget an Australian made powder?

[@benerdman7114]

Definitely lost track of time listening to this one....one of the best ones yet! Thank you!

[@shaunzimmerman661]

This was the best episode!

[@Putt89]

Technically a propelling podcast

[@michaeldoe4805]

"Controlled burn" with a flamefront😅

[@DucDNA]

@@michaeldoe4805 Rapid entropy

[@jasonweishaupt1828]

Ok nerd.

[@roblund8557]

I always enjoy The podcast and 10 minute talks, but this was a great time. Chris was an excellent wealth of knowledge.

[@clinkerclint]

Great podcast as always gents. This aspect of reloading has always fascinated me. So many different roads a person can travel to get to your destination.

[@frontlinerejects8029]

Great podcast, would like to have heard Chris's opinion on why Blackhorn 209 is so expensive and hard to find.

[@davitm1]

This is a subject that I could listen to for hours. Very interesting!

[@Rusty_Spiggle-Smith]

Never clicked on a podcast so fast! Recently I have been playing with GRT and trying to develop a light recoiling rifle loads for use in shorter barrel lengths with light for caliber projectiles and pistol powders. This is something that hasn’t been documented very well if it has been tried. My goal is to minimize recoil while keeping velocity the same in shorter barrels so guns can be more maneuverable and get faster follow up shots and still use BDC reticles that are velocity dependent. 308; 110gr projectile; 30 gr Blue Dot. M1-garand 18" barrel w/ Schuster gas plug. If this topic isn't touched on here, then can you guys meet with some engineers to discuss the physics behind the pressure curve and other aspects of the firing event that all come together in determining the optimal powder selection for a given application? I guess my main question is this, if you know a given max peak pressure for a specific rifle platform and you stay under that threshold but with a faster pistol powder is there some unobvious reason why this load could still be unsafe? Follow up How does the friction value of a projectile gets calculated? I have seen people talk about adjusting this value in GRT when using 3D printed sabots, so I thought I'd throw that in the mix too.

[@paullesho9294]

I really like these type of interviews, good job guys, keep it up

[@Pitbike65]

People talk about the feel and zero locks on turrets, but nobody ever talks about the mechanism and it's construction. Can you do a podcast discussing internals of turrets, springs, etc. The stuff you do to make your scopes track well and hold zero. A technical discussion about why an expensive scope will track better than a cheap one.

[@aquaman6081]

Love to see 8208XBR in the thumbnail, since i dont ever see it anywhere else...

[@sterlingcrroundtable8158]

Every gun has a load preference. Sometimes you get lucky and a factory round shoots the best, but 99% of the time a handload will produce more precice groups which leads to a more accurate gun. Great interview, topic, and guest. BRING BACK TRAIL BOSS!!

[@tonydevich7937]

Keep these up with this type of podcast

[@Gunner40Five]

Great podcast guys. Love Hodgdon powders.

[@Grizzwalker]

I was today years old when I discovered Hodgdon reloading data site!! I know there isn’t a demand for it, but it would be great to see some 375 SOCOM data! Definitely a plethora of information; thanks gents.

[@martinjenkins246]

Really enjoyed. Learning more and more Great Stuff. Thank You.

[@mikeperry2561]

Great show!

[@chipsterb4946]

The only way you could like 4831 over 4831SC is if you trickle every charge or use a Lee dipper and just don’t care. The first cartridge I hand loaded was .270 Winchester with H-4831. I learned the hard way to stop any time I felt my powder measure cutting a kernel (which happens often). Sometimes the drop would be OK but more often it went back in hopper for a do-over.

[@jfess1911]

I listened to a podcast a while back in which someone said that, for some odd reason, their rifle just did not like the short cut but loved the original 4831. Firearms can be weird like that. I don't even remember what cartridge, but I found it interesting. Otherwise, I agree with you. Better metering makes life easier.

[@lancerhill]

Black powder is still used for motors and ejection chargers in hobby rocketry since it out performs smokeless powder at high elevations. Smokeless powder sometimes will fail to ignite at really high altitudes.

[@jaydunbar7538]

even amongst smokeless powders there are different primers for ignition requirements

[@pevelyhomeowner327]

Another fine show! 🙏

[@user-jc7bg8hh1w]

Great episode y'all

[@m444ss]

also seems important to note the, just as every rifle doesn't "love" the same factory ammo, every rifle wouldn't "love" the same handload... so having a wide variety of powders is better to meet everyone's needs

[@walkercustoms]

For my black powder hunting i use solely Hodgdon Pyrodex 50/50 black powder substitute pellets. Super reliable, fast to use, always very accurate. Along with PowerBelt bullets.

[@jasonweishaupt1828]

Had a can of 4320 go bad on me. Huge orange cloud went up as I poured the powder. It wouldn’t measure either. My set load was over filling the case. Checked with the old timers and they told me the powder was bad and to flare it off. I wish you all would start making 4320 again.

[@InfamousTactical]

Reloading is my zen. My happy place. Pick one…. Varget then h4350. Most loading I do is for precision rifle stuff. But, Right now I’m doing load development for 35 Remington. It’s not just about the perfect load. It’s about keeping those old classics running when you can’t buy loaded ammo at the store.

[@jmgates09]

H4350 and H4831 my 2 favs for my short mags

[@Sinisterspy]

Was painful to hear that a majority of powders were made in Australia. In Australia we struggle to get powders we want from ADI / Thales. Pistol powders in Australia are nearly a relic of old times.

[@garrybrischke53]

And then there's primers , now that's another sad story .😏🇦🇺

[@propertypreparedness6846]

Awesome.

[@donm2067]

Please send powder to Canada, we enjoy nice things too!

[@jaydunbar7538]

Your going to have to deal with your dictator if you want nice things again

[@donm2067]

@@jaydunbar7538 oh Buddy, why do you think I want powder. I want a lifetime supply before it gets banned.

[@14goldmedals]

You know it!

[@Winkler_B_Rudolf_1911]

I would like to know, if it's good to mix different powders. I've heard that some countries, used black and smokeless powders mixed together. The first example that comes to my mind is Switzerland, in 1927, their 7.5x55mm GP11 military cartridge, was of this type, it was called semi-smokeless.

[@waynemayle865]

Blackhorn 209 79.99 for 8 oz or 10 oz is insane

[@DanielReyes-hz1qk]

The Hodgdon Extreme Extruded line are among my favorite powders. Aside from a 6.5 Grendel load that really likes 8208XBR, every load I've ever worked up in any rifle caliber has always ended up being Hodgdon Extreme or Vihtavuori. I played with a bunch of Winchester, Ramshot and Alliant powders, but eventually stopped buying them because it always came back to the aforementioned two. I haven't tried, but am curious about, the Staball line, otherwise I'll stick to what's worked for me for well over 10 years now

[@chevyon37s]

I just picked up some staball 6.5 and first load I tried with it proved to be great! 3 shots, one hole. Good velocity too. That was 42gr in a 6.5cm with a 140gr Hornady BTHP match bullet. 2757fps, and room to go up. But every single bullet I’ve put over H4350 in that same rifle has shot well too.

[@ShockerMain2124]

Ryan over here asking this man to pick his favorite child

[@solomongrundy9735]

I reload a lot of WW1 and WW2 military cartridges, so I love IMR4895, it works great for those.

[@CompetitionChris]

Just think, that guy never has to get overcharged trying to buy powder at a local store like the rest of us do.

[@TheIamfrustrated]

I would have loved to have heard from Chris if there was any involvement from Hodgdon regarding the caseless ammunition trials.

[@tonydevich7937]

Ausies .....love you folks

[@TMFShooting]

Great Podcast 💯💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

[@kevinelliott9679]

So for people that really like Ramshot TAC for it's flow properties in a powder measure, especially in 5.56 with 60 gr bullets, what would be the best H powder to use instead

[@davecollins6113]

Would have liked to hear more about the powder industry and some of the issues they encounter, some of how they decide to release a new powder and the relationships with the mfgrs in EU as well.. Maybe some of what Hodgdon plans to do for European market share that they lost.

[@ALovelyBunchOfDragonballz]

Im getting into reloading for ammo availability reasons. I shoot 300BLK subs and 9x19 subs, both of which are available but not nearly as much as i want them to be and theyre costly. Subsonic ammo is probably the most expensive thing about my silencers 😅

[@DucDNA]

I was also wondering why cordite propellents are no longer used or why was it used in the first place?

[@briansupermag3918]

Hey Mr H can you please sprinkle that temp INsensitivity dust on US869. PLEASE

[@DucDNA]

I don't think we ever got an answer from Mr. Hodgdon about what are the differences, aside from metering, between the flake, extruded, and ball powders? In what applications would one or the other be advantageous? Or would it have more to do with legacy manufacturing and being cost prohibitive to change over? If ball powder meters better, wouldn't it make sense to develop new powders to replace the extruded and flake powders?

[@sethperry1323]

So is there a differnce between imr 4198 an H 4198🤔 the inter web has conflicting info 🎉

[@jerrymartin5100]

The powder is made at Radford Arsenal, a military complex that let's civilian contractors ply their trade, some of the largest whitetail deer in Virginia, live on this compound, if your lucky to draw a tag, you're one lucky person. They make nitro glycerin, and still use the same wooden wheelbarrow style carts that are called angel buggies, if you tip one over you become an angel.

[@Eggomania86]

Make Blackhorn 209 more available!

[@johnkeisterelquattro2553]

So I see the 9x25 Dillon is crossed off the grocery list behind y’all….. did one of y’all pick one up?!?! 😁😁😁

[@billsharko3007]

Years ago people got into reloading for pride of doing it and saving a quite a bit of money. Now days if you have to buy all the components needed to load your favorite cartridge at the todays crazy prices you can buy factory ammo cheaper. All the components today are at least three times what they were 3 or 4 years ago if you can find them. Its crazy how they are ripping everybody off now day!

[@VitalArms]

Supply and demand

[@VitalArms]

People are getting into firearms at a historically record rate. So it makes sense although it sucks for us who have been in the game and seen prices that were previously reasonable at times

[@ryanfry390]

As an avid sporting clays and trap shooter. Please make more Hi-Skor 700x. It’s my favorite do-all powder, I’ve gotten away with so many different loads on 700x. A little dirty, but hey! that’s why they make cleaning kits lol 😂

[@michaeldoe4805]

I had good luck with WST as a do-all also. Clean, easy to measure, shotgun,9,45...

[@amym828]

Really need to talk about Hodgdon's inability to supply powder and them buying up all their competitors and monopolizing the powder market. If their Aussie buddies can't make enough powder, then it's time to start looking for additional suppliers.

[@DanielReyes-hz1qk]

I don't think there are any. It's a highly regulated trade and, like so many other companies, when times get hard the little guys or failing guys get bought out by the larger or more successful companies. Just how it goes. That being said I think we need US based manufacture of gunpowder, and I think these big companies need to lead the way in that regards. No one else is going to do it, it's not exactly something a person or company can reasonably 'get into' from scratch

[@lisaannaallen6283]

always remember the E P A has alot to say about what gets made in the US@@DanielReyes-hz1qk

[@WayStedYou]

We were making abunch but most of it got swallowed up by military restocking ammo, and then the US market gets priority before we do in our own market.

[@albertlemont5471]

Please make more powder! I need 4064 h1000 and 4350. So hard to find

[@naturalcauses7351]

Would love to see cfe in h1000 and h4350

[@bjetmech]

I love the powders available from Hodgdon. But they have changed the load data page on their website and it is not as user friendly as the old one. Of all the powder websites the Winchester/Hodgdon website was the best. I have only been reloading since the pandemic and appreciate the resource. I have books and other documentation but seem to always check online.

[@michaelmason7591]

Ramshot used to import Norma powders. Can Hodgdon bring them back to the U.S?

[@rideswift]

Alot of powders being discontinued. IMR 4166, H414, and I heard Varget is done. Rumor is that the plant in Australia is closing?? I would hate to have to redo my load testing because powders are no longer available.

[@14goldmedals]

Industrial rumours used to keep the prices sky high. Reloader 15 and IMR4064 get me higher velocities in the short action rounds like the 308 Win. Don't let them panic you.

[@45-70Guy]

The smelling of ether being an indication of it being on the downfall seems odd since it smells like that brand new. I must be missing something

[@Wickedtrucker75]

All I have on my shelf is Hodgdon products..

[@OGBRADASS]

Who's ready for March? Election year and all.... Stock up people!

[@EedsJevsvav]

My dad won’t buy a new rifle in a cartridge till he sees load data with imr 4350…… that said…. He won’t use internet…..and only buy a new load data book every 20 years or so 😂

[@MrHf4l]

Haven’t seen H4895 is 4.5 years.

[@chipsterb4946]

I did see some somewhere in the past 6 months; however, the 44th President taught me not to run out of THAT so I’m ok.

[@lenzadlberger]

You Americans have a big plus when it comes to Powders you can have as many as you want / we in Germany have to really look what we have in our Stock cause most of us only can have 3.5kg at once at home, only if you have a second Building where nobody Lifes in you can have up to 11kg .... So most of us need to look what powders are the most versatile for the Calibers you load / i have settled on Lovex D073.5 and D073.6 / Vihtavouri N130 and Reload Swiss RS60, Hodgdon and many other American Powders are not really available in Germany

[@codyandrus4441]

I used to have over 100 pounds of different powders.

[@jaydunbar7538]

Technically we have limits in residential buildings as well, but most people don’t even know that they exist let alone know what the limit is lol

[@alwinbury6334]

🌺 *promosm*

[@jolebole-yt]

H are great powders. I just dont know why most H powders are now $50/lb

[@DrewEdwardBacklas]

Where’s the Varget!?

[@aaronwilcox6417]

So basically Hodgdon doesnt actually make powder, they peddle powder as a middleman? Its amazing we dont have this manufacturing infrastructure in the US. No wonder theres shortages and prices are terrible high, it has to be shipped outside the country. What a joke, everyone is getting severely gouged.

[@14goldmedals]

Hey I think like you my friend. I posted a similar opinion plus these obvious facts before reading your reply. Yup, I realized the same thing that Hodgdon makes nothing at all. They as you said "peddle" others products and it's been three generations of flim-flam men. They must offer the best percentages to the factories to get a contract set up. Gotta love your description of them as peddlers. Now they're controlling the artificially high prices across most of the spectrum known and used in North America.

[@northwesternflyways5126]

Please make superformance reloading data for the 308 win 😅

[@tjgrossman]

This guy doesn’t make ANY powder!

[@14goldmedals]

I know! This interview has exposed his entire family as a bunch of damn peddlers trying to control the entire market while never making a single thing except huge profits. Shysters.

[@keithbelz2952]

So many cartridges are not on your load data page or in your magazine one example 6.5-300 weatherby

[@jaydunbar7538]

Except the one example you provided is in the hodgdon data center, so why are you on here making verifiably false statements? It took me less then 30sec to pull it up, so you clearly didn’t even check before making the comment.

[@keithbelz2952]

@@jaydunbar7538 for the simple fact that was claimed that hodgdon has load data for everything and they test for new cartridges as soon as sammi accepts them and it's not true simple as that , go look in the new 2024 hodgdon manual magazine and find 6.5-300 wby ,,oh that's right a 0ver 10 year old sammi cartridge has nothing published

[@keithbelz2952]

@@jaydunbar7538 up last week couldn't even get on the online load data at hodgdon,page was just a sit and spin, but yes you are correct, I have not tried to open their page since the last time it just sat there never opening,might very well have something online but it's not in the 2023 manual magazine,and I don't believe it will be in 2024 either and that cartridge is well over a 10 year sammi approved

[@14goldmedals]

If you mean Hogdon himself it's because he was born to a peddler/salesman into a family of peddler that don't make a single thing but get real makers under contract then sell their powders under their name. This video opened my eyes!

[@jacobwilbert1018]

Ryan, Sam and Jake Hawken were not building rifles in 1865. Jake was dead and Sam sold the business to his protégé

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

I like triple 7's.

[@bungusmagoo1328]

Here first 😏

[@zackw9292]

Beat me by 28 seconds!!!!

[@propertypreparedness6846]

Damn … you beat me! lol

[@Zacharykconrad]

Make IMR powder affordable again #vihtavuori2024

[@solomongrundy9735]

Please make moar.

[@MrHf4l]

Make some 8208xbr. This is getting ridiculous!

[@diggernash1]

Perhaps they used gun cotton.

[@chrisnat6467]

It would great to use just 5 powders if powders are available 🫤