Where’s the Herco

358156 hp said:
During one of the previous famines I made the rounds in town looking for powder. At one store I was behind a couple of younger fellas looking for Unique. They were a bit surly when all that store had left was two lbs of Herco. The clerk was playing it straight with them, all they had left were the two lbs of Herco. The fellas left in a huff, not exactly the best way to treat a gun shop clerk when you need something. I knew the guy pretty well and he was telling the truth about their stock, so I looked at him and smiled and said "two pounds of Herco please". He laughed really hard and sold them to me at a discount even though it wasn't necessary. I think I paid something like $18.00/lb for them.
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I had a similar deal during primer shortage #1 .I was at a shop and a young fellow was returning primers because his friend said they were the wrong brand and his load would be unsafe. The guy took the primers back then politely told him good luck finding the primers he wanted and he should be happy to have any at all.
Then he explained reloading and component variables.The guy left and I walked away with 5000 Winchester LR primers ...
 
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A recent purchase from an estate. My LGS bought it all with a large collection of single shots.
Bad news is it all belonged to a friend whom I’ve bought firewood from for many years. He was working on a mower and it fell on him and killed him.
The tub and bag beside it are some 12 gauge AA hulls I bought in Sd while out there.
 
Rally said:
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A recent purchase from an estate. My LGS bought it all with a large collection of single shots.
Bad news is it all belonged to a friend whom I’ve bought firewood from for many years. He was working on a mower and it fell on him and killed him.
The tub and bag beside it are some 12 gauge AA hulls I bought in Sd while out there.
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Well that's just a damned shame. A good reminder for all of us to be careful. Lots of ways to meet a premature end out there.
 
I ordered 16 pounds each of Herco , H110 and 2400 the last time I bought from Graf. I was down to 8 pounds of herco and H110 and both were in stock so I figured why not ? The 2400 is like Unique and Red Dot , I buy it when I find it regardless of amount on hand if the price is right .
 
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Well, I've been looking everywhere for Herco. Today, I was on the Alliant website and here's an advertisement for new and improved Herco. Now, I don't mind being jacked around but Alliant could have put that out in the first place.
My philosophy on improved products, "if it ain't broke don't fix it."/beagle
 
My cynical perspective on "new and improved" is that what is new and improved is the bottom line for the manufacturer.

Once in a while, the change might prove to be a genuine improvement for the end-used, but mostly by coincidence.
 
If you remember "new and improved" Bullseye, Unique and 2400, it became a little cleaner burning. But Alliant's process also made it cheaper to make with less haz-mat cost disposal at the end.
 
RicinYakima said:
If you remember "new and improved" Bullseye, Unique and 2400, it became a little cleaner burning. But Alliant's process also made it cheaper to make with less haz-mat cost disposal at the end.
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There's that happy coincidence of it sometimes being mutually beneficial. Sometimes the benefit to the end user is simply that it remains available.
 
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it's the base product and the waste product that usually changes, bringing a 'new and improved' product with a higher price attached to it.
whether the latter is warranted or not the ''selling points'' usually trick the consumer into thinking so.
 
I'm still reservedly hopeful about the e-mail I got from Alliant saying they intended to keep producing/selling Alliant powders.

For several years... a few decades, actually, I've played with figuring out what all I could do with Unique, should the day come when I couldn't get the most optimum powder for an application. It's kept me shooting over the past few years, but I'd love to have some Bullseye, 2400 and some Herco on hand. I can make do (rather well) with Unique, but the others still will go where Unique cannot.
 
i've never understood the fascination of unique and the total [okay not total] disregard for herco which is just it's big brother and will do everything unique will.

it also baffled me when they come out with bulls-eye 86 which flip flops between the two but never got tested as a cast bullet powder.
 
fiver said:
i've never understood the fascination of unique and the total [okay not total] disregard for herco which is just it's big brother and will do everything unique will.

it also baffled me when they come out with bulls-eye 86 which flip flops between the two but never got tested as a cast bullet powder.
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Guessing, regarding how the masses might think, but Unique load data seems much more abundant and actual cans on shelves as well. I'd say for every twenty pound of Unique I've seen on shelves, there might have been one pound of Herco.

As for myself, I'm not sure I could efficiently load Herco down as far as I do Unique, and I need a lot more loads like that than the stiffer ones.
 
Adding on with Jeff H, I think they sold 100 pounds of Unique over the last 120 years for every pound of Herco. Nothing wrong with Herco, just not much data or write ups in the gun rags.
 
waco said:
I have never seen a can of Herco in real life. Not sold here in the PNW. At least not to my knowledge.
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I picked up about 12 pounds of it a few years back. Because Sportsman’s Warehouse had decided to discontinue stocking four pounders of Herco. I paid 15 bucks a pound for it on clearance. Had to drive to two different stores in western Washington too get it.

There is plenty of cast data out there for it.
 
Just a few examples of data that can be found out there for Herco.

Lyman third edition cast manual has Herco data listed for the 311291 in 30-30, .308, and 30-06.

The 1995 Alliant Reloader’s Guide has Herco data listed for 25 Auto, 32 Auto, 32 H&R Mag, 9mm, 38 Super, 38 Special, 38 Special +P, 357 Mag, 380 Auto, .38/40, 40 S&W, 10mm, 41 Mag, 44 Special, 44 Mag, .44/40, 45 Auto, and 45 Colt.

However by 2020 the Alliant Reloader’s Guide was only listing Herco Data for 45 Acp, and 45 Colt.

And, their online guide still shows 45Acp, and 45 Colt data.
 
I remember Felix telling me one time that he loaded Herco like a 'slow Unique'. Pretty much my observation over the years. I've got only two 1# canisters of Herco left, 1 in the newer plastic Alliant container ($19.99), and 1 just open Hercules in the older cardboard. Hope it lasts until more is available.

Oh, wait. One of the old 11 oz tins, still unopened. Price tag $1.98. It will be the last to go.

Lucked into a couple pounds of Unique a couple years ago, cheap -- estate sale. Still have one of the old and unopened 13 oz tin of that, too. Price tag has been peeled off. Imagine it probable went for about the same as the Unique mentioned above.

I guess the newer powders are okay. It's just fuel to make the bullet go down the barrel. Problem will be getting it to work like you want it to. Change is inevitable..., but mostly manageable!
 
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