Thoughts on Win 748 powder

S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
A powder I'm not familiar with, my LGS has a few lbs cheap, bought out another dealer and passing the savings on. $12.50 a lb. I hate to pass it up, several cans to be had. What would be suitable uses?
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Grab it, all of it. You'll never see that price again. I've burned up more than a few 8 pounders of 748. I used it in mid capacity cartridges mostly. A bit like H-110 in that it's a ball powder and best accuracy will come from loads approaching top end, doesn't really reduce well.
 

S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
I need to make a note of some others he has, a few more I didn't recognize.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
748 is a really good mid range Powder. Good in 223 and 308. Lots of use for that stuff.

Buy all you can afford
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
List what he has and the price on it. Your near Branson aren't you? Possibly worth the drive for me depending on what all he has and if the prices are like that.
 

S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
Will do Rick. I'm north and west of Branson 30 or so miles.
 

Ian

Notorious member
One of my favorite 30-30 powders. Only issue I've had is extreme lot-to-lot variance, particularly since Hodgdon took over.
 

VZerone

Active Member
One of my favorite 30-30 powders. Only issue I've had is extreme lot-to-lot variance, particularly since Hodgdon took over.

I'm glad that we have the powder manufacturers that we have today, but Hodgdon sure has messed up a lot of good old powders like 4831, HP38, W231, and W748 such as Ian mentioned.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I've said it many times (facetiously, but only sort of) that BallC-2, WW748, and H-335 are all the same stuff made to very sloppy lot-to-lot tolerances, and when Hodgdon tests the train car load of it, it goes into whichever bottle it's closest to this week. I like all three, though, it's just that one really must buy in bulk and test each lot individually.
 

VZerone

Active Member
I've said it many times (facetiously, but only sort of) that BallC-2, WW748, and H-335 are all the same stuff made to very sloppy lot-to-lot tolerances, and when Hodgdon tests the train car load of it, it goes into whichever bottle it's closest to this week. I like all three, though, it's just that one really must buy in bulk and test each lot individually.

I read something somewhere long time ago forget who put the data out, might have been the military, but they discussed the development of 844, 846, 748, and H335. You're right that H335 and 748 are one in the same, but let's put it this way. The 748 is more refined then H335 like it was a higher grade of the same stuff....make sense? I believe these powders today (talking all powders) are something a lot different from the original. There's not much we can do about it except learn how to use it and get around it's handicaps.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
the buy big lots of the same powder is the only way to go.
I like to buy primers off the same pallet and load up on them too.
748 does not reduce well is an understatement.
I have tried and tried even with jacketed.
I'm not a huge fan but at 12.50 a lb I'd get over it pretty quick.
 

S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
I managed to snag 5 lbs of the 748, to go with 3 IMR 4895 I bought last week. About all that's left is H322 and H414. I load strictly cast so don't think these are suitable for what I do.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
H322 is a good powder too. The 414 is a little more limited but it all depends on what you shoot and want.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
I've burned up a ton of 322 also. Good stuff but again a ball powder that's not to fond of reduced loads. Faster than 748 it did well for me in the same class of mid capacity cartridges 7 BR through 308) with lighter bullets than the 748 which was better with heavier bullets.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
H322 is a fine grain extruded powder and is pretty tolerant of reduced loads. Very good in 223. I used it in 45-70 with a 415 gr plain base for a couple of black bears.

Shouldn't be too hard to find a use for it. It isn't too far off RE7 in burn rate.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
H322 is a fine grain extruded powder and is pretty tolerant of reduced loads. Very good in 223. I used it in 45-70 with a 415 gr plain base for a couple of black bears.

Shouldn't be too hard to find a use for it. It isn't too far off RE7 in burn rate.

Yep Brad is right, what was I thinking. :confused: Hhmmm . . . Seems I wasn't thinking at all.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
H-322 reduces well but it needs a filler even worse than 4895.
I love it in my 223 with jacketed bullets, and Littlegirl thinks it is the only powder made for her Argie rifle.
we have shot a lot of cast bullets with it.

Mac if you have anything in the X57 or X61 family that 414 will work just fine in them with jacketed bullets too.
414 will all but turn your 7x57 into a 280 in a strong action rifle, and it will give pretty good performance in a 308.
I don't know if you can get too much in a 308 case, and I have tried.
 

S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
Well, I bought the H322 as well. Total of 12 lbs of three different powders, $140. What a deal.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Std military rifle cartridge powder, much like Ian said. One use that I have found is for low pressure
yet high performance loads in .45-70. I can push a 405 Rem JFP at 1750 with great accuracy and yet
stay inside the trapdoor Springfield pressure limits.

Good for .308 to .223, meters beautifully. IIRC H322 was named because Bruce Hodgdon's personal
.22-250 shot especially well with 32.2 grains of it. A heck of a guy, and his kids and grand son have
been doing an outstanding job building an even bigger powder company while being nice people
at the same time. Home town powder company, and several of them are personal friends.

Bill