What's the Deal on 231 Powder?

[dovehunter]

Everyone at my shooting club has been accusing me of being a dinosaur for using UNIQUE and SR-4756 powders for most of my handgun loads and said I should try some of the newer stuff. I was just about out of SR-4756 anyway so I checked my loading manuals and saw that Win. 231 looked pretty good for all the calibers for which I reload. I went out yesterday to get some. I ended up going to two gunshops, Gander Mountain, and Bass Pro Shop. No one had any Win. 231. I noticed that Bass Pro Shop didn't even have a shelf end tab for this powder. What's happening? Has 231 been discontinued or something? Nearly every other loading component I use is back in stock and on the shelves these days.

[Jack]

Good question. I just looked at Midway, Midsouth and Powder Valley- they are all out of 231.
I really, really doubt that Hodgdon would get rid of 231- it's far too popular.

[twomoons]

I looked last night and I still have two cans left so they aren't disappearing. Me I use Bullseye, Unique and IMR 4227. THOSE disappear.

[jmarriott]

Pick up a pound of lil gun.

Might just surprise you. Might be the best 22 hornet powder ever and is great in 357 and 44 mag round velosity without pressure spikes.

[dovehunter]

Lil'Gun is very selective as to its applicability in handgun cartridges. Not that many loads listed for it in most popular calibers and/or bullet weights. It works great for .44 mag. equivalent loads in the .45 Colt (as shot in a Blackhawk) but did terrible for me when I tried it in .357 magnum 158 gr. bullet loads - hit all over the place. Most of the loading manuals don't even show loads for it for .38 Special, .45 ACP or lighter bullet loads in .357 magnum. I did try it with Sierra .22 cal. 45 gr. blitz bullets in the Hornet barrel of my Handi-Rifle and it produced very good groups.

[jmarriott]

Made up a few more rounds of 44 mag with lil gun. Going to wait till cooler weather to shoot them. I also made some up with H110 and both seem to rock in a rifle. I was given a set of rcbs 22 hornet dies,

Don't have 38/ 357 die yet. don't have 222 rem dies yet, or 35 rem. Been concentrating on 44 mag deer rounds. Nice easy one to learn on. Time has not been kind to me this summer and large mag pistol primers still somewhat hard to get.

Lil gun burns best when contained a bit. That's why it performs much better with heavier bullets. try the 180 grain pills in 357's

22 hornet load in my contender super 16 barrel.

Rem 6 1/2 (NOT 7 1/2) - OR small pistol primer
FL-sized brass (your choice)
13.0 Lil Gun
45-grain bullet designed for the Hornet. Been using seirra's
Moderate Factory Crimp

Most rifles will shoot this load at 2800 fps.


I think of handguns a little different since I shoot from the bench mainly my contender pistol. The 22 hornet in a 16 inch barrel rocks little critters. I can shoot it as a rifle or pistol legally. I think of 35 rem as a handgun round also.

[jmarriott]

Plainfield Shooting Supply
3735 Shady Lane, Suite C
Plainfield,IN
46168
317-839-6095

I believe they have win 231 in stock. If you don;t have free long distance I can call them monday. Great product and prices but the customer services skill could use a little tweaking.

[dovehunter]

I think I'll just stick with UNIQUE. It works well with all my handgun cartridges and I have plenty of it on hand since I use it for virtually all my shotshell reloading. I don't like to buy stuff through the mail or over the Internet unless I absolutely have to. Aside from the absolutely outrageous shipping costs (often more than the cost of the item), I have this thing about wanting to see what I am buying. I'll just wait until one of the local places has 231.

[jmarriott]

If you have unique powder try about 5 grains of unique with the same bullets for a tree rat load. Should be just under 2000 fps and a accurate reduced load for the hornet.

I forgot about the hazmat fee.

[jmarriott]

Dovehunter you are correct. I found one pound of win 231 (behind some other powder) at plainfield shooter supply. I got it, Out the door was 20.49 plus tax. When I brought it to the counter he asked where in the heck I found that. He stated he can't get it and has not had any himself for some time. I am surprised he sold it to me.

[dovehunter]

I went to my favorite gunshop yesterday and. low and behold, they had two cans of 231! I bought one and probably should have bought the other too.

I used it for loading up some .45 ACP rounds yesterday. It sure meters nice through my powder measure and is very consistent from charge to charge. Of course, the bottom line is how it does at the range. I'll probably have to wait until next week now to try it out.

[jmarriott]

It will be a while before I use any my wife just whipped up a big honey do list before deer season.

[Jack]

I sure do like the way ball powder meters through a measure. I haven't used 231 only because my local shop stocks all the Accurate Arms powders all the time. Accurate #2 or #5 do the same kind of things 231 does, so I use those for my 45.
More and more, I try to use ball powders whenever I can. Used to be that there weren't a lot of slow powders in ball configuration, but that's changing. Hodgdon 414 or Winchester 760 are quite useful in a number of rifle cartridges, and there are some new slow ball powders appearing. Accurate Arms Magpro for one. Another interesting powder is Hodgdon 100V. Technically, it's not a ball powder- the grains are the typical cylindrical type we've all seen before- with one huge exception.. The grains are so small you'd think it was ball powder, and it meters like ball powder.

[dovehunter]

Jack:

I expected W231 to be a ball powder, particularly since it was originally a Winchester product. It's not however. Surprisingly it's a very (I do mean very) fine flake powder. It does however meter as good as say H380, which is the only ball powder I have used in recent years. Years ago Winchester used to make another pistol powder which, as I recall, was 630P. If memory serves me it was also a ball powder, but I used it back in the days before I had a powder measure and weighed every charge. I know, I've only recently evolved from the stone age.

[dovehunter]

Aug 24, 2010 19:40:25 GMT -5 jmarriott said:

It will be a while before I use any my wife just whipped up a big honey do list before deer season.

Wives have this bad habit of doing that sort of thing. Dove season starts Saturday a week and I am practically holding my breath for fear that she will come up with some (unnecessary) extended project before then. I have been groundhog hunting and/or going to my shooting club, at least once or twice a week this whole summer and, up to this point, no grief of any kind. I am just waiting for axe to fall.