Powders for the .30 Carbine?

J

jski

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I've been using Hodgdon's H110 exclusively for my .30 Carbine Blackhawk and rifles (M1 Carbine). It's a great powder and there's plenty of data on its application with the .30 Carbine for both the rifle and Blackhawk.

I'd like to try something non-Hodgdon in addition. What about AA#9 v. AA4100? Is there data for these powders for my application?

BTW, I have plenty of TiteGroup for my .45 Colt reloading. Is that applicable to the .30 Carbine?

And one other point, most of my .30 Carbine reloading in targeted for my Blackhawk.
 
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Definitely skip Titegroup in .30 Carbine in any platform. Too fast burning and would be dangerous in this round.

Certainly is published data for AA#9 available from Ramshot/Western.

My favorite .30 Carbine powder is Alliant 2400.
 
AA#9 is the first I would go with. If I could not get that then it would be H110/Win29 .30 carbine in the semi auto needs to run on the hot end to cycle reliably.
 
IMR 4227 is a long time favorite for the carbine and charges are almost identical to 110. At the bullet seating station you can observe the powder height in the case.
 
iirc, the original use for h110 was carbine. It was designed as the military round, introduced by winchester/olin , then released as h110 in 69, later released by Winchester, reformulated and released in a different name, but used as ammunition powder for a long time before releasing it to the public.

Regardless, h110/296 are reported to be identical. 296 was probably used in almost all military and commercial 39 carbine loads in the fifties up, in American manufacturing. Several others are appropriate. For a pistol, I don't know if it's the best, just look at the data.

I don't believe that accurate 9 is identical. It is certainly similar and intended for the same uses.

There's a short summary of what I know and can find. It's probably mostly correct.
 
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"296 was probably used in almost all military and commercial 39 carbine loads in the fifties up, in American manufacturing."

Actually, no.

296 is a commercial canister powder that is a blend of multiple lots of the same powder designed to give a uniform ballistic profile. Factory and arsenal ammunition does not use canister powders. Loading information is tweeked powder lot by powder lot.

296 was introduced commercially in the early 1970s as a reformulation of 295, which itself was discontinued in the 1960s. 295 appears to have been developed completely commercially for use in the heavy magnum cartridges that were introduced after World War II.

Additionally, there's some speculation that the original Winchester powders developed for .30 Carbine were not related to 296, but were early versions of what would become 680. That's speculation I've seen, but I have no proof for it.

What is known for certain, however, is that Hodgdon originally brought out H110 quite a few years before 296 was offered commercially, and that H110 was itself surplus .30 Carbine ball powder likely manufactured by Winchester.

It wasn't until the 1980s, when the supply of surplus .30 carbine powders began to dry up, that H110 and 296 started coming off the same Winchester production line.
 
What about AA 4100? Is the a "new" powder?

I've gone with the maxim that anything that's good for the .357 Mag. is good for the .30 Carbine.
 
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According to Accurate's site, 4100 is made in Belgium.

That may mean that it's a rebranded European specification powder, or it may mean that it's a newly developed powder.

My understanding is that it is a newly developed powder for the super-capacity magnum cartridges like the .480 Ruger and .500 S&W.

Seems to me that it would be right in the wheelhouse for the .30 Carbine.
 
IMR4227 gives better accuracy with a 110 grain HP, SP or FMJ than H110/Win 296 out of my Carbine.
IMR4227 maxes a half grain less than H110/Win 296 start loads. Max loads have been dropped a tick since I worked up the load eons ago too. They're also compressed loads. Not that it matters. Compressed loads are nothing to be concerned about.
In any case, the whole thing is about what your Carbine likes. Not somebody else's.
"...for the .357 Mag. is good for the .30 Carbine..." Nope. Except for IMR4227 loads, .357 rifle loads are higher pressures and velocities than any Carbine load. The .30 Carbine is not a .357.
 
T.O'Heir , Nope.

.30 Carbine SAAMI spec: Max pressure - 40,000 psi
.357 Mag SAAMI spec: Max pressure - 35,000 psi
 
The maximum average SAAMI pressure fir the 30 carbine is 40,000 psi and the SAAMI maximum average pressure for the 357 magnum is 33,000 psi

Interestingly the old data I have shows the 30 carbine at 40,000 CUP and the 357 magnum at 46,000 CUP. I believe this was before the 357 pressures were dropped to the lower levels by SAAMI.

The CUP and PSI units of measurements can not be compared or mathematically translated because in some cases they are higher and sometimes they are lower and sometimes they are the same. There is no proportionality to the two methods.
 
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