WC867 Military 8lb Keg

[trapper300RUM]

I have seen this on Wideners reloading & i wonder if it would shoot flat in my 300 RUM .It says on Wideners to use the loaddata for the Accurate 8700 it's new powder not pulled or reclaimed have any of you fella reloaders ever used any WC867 .RETUMBO has thus been the best powder for my 300RUM & if the WC867 would shoot good in my rifle it would last for a good spell . Guys tell everything any of ya know about this WC867 . When i first got my 300RUM i thought it was defective i have used the Ramshot MAGNUM for years but it gave me no accuracy & caused the primers to back out & puddle badly here is the load i started out with the MAGNUM 90.0 grains the start charge is 87.8 & the max load is 97.5 so i know that the loads werent hot at all a fella told me to get that Hodgdon RETUMBO & it's shot as good as a old 22lr eversince .What do ya fellas think about me trying the WC867 i know it's up to me i just want some who has used this powder WC867 in there loadsgun)

 

[Kennibear]

trapper300RUM

Understand that when the government, or more properly the contractors fulfilling an ammo order, get powder from the manufacturer it is not identical or consistent with any other order from the same source. They test it and adjust their loads accordingly.

We handloaders are benefiting from an industry (SAAMI) that keeps our canister grade powders extraordinarily consistent batch to batch and year to year. Next time you look in the mirror tell yourself, "you lucky dawg..."

I have used Mil Surplus powder for years but each batch is a creature unto itself. You absolutely must do ground up load development on each batch!!!! If the supplier cannot guarantee that all the powder he is shipping you is pulled down from the very same lot of ammo (I don't think they can) then you develop (from scratch!) loads for each keg! The only work around is to buy 6- 8lb kegs and dump them in a very large container (plastic or glass) and mix it all thoroughly with a wooden spoon and hope you do a good job of it.

The Milspec # (WC 844, WC867, etc.) is a general specification. It is close but that's all. The Milspec is pretty broad. If it's pull down, how long has the ammo been stored before they sold it to you?

I use Mil Surplus powder for practice ammo and the 556 NATO stuff I load is pretty durn good. But off the shelf powder is all I ever use for Hunting and long term storage SDS loads.

 

[trapper300RUM]

I see i have heard this on other forums about having to start all over if you happen to order any from a different shipment they get it from where ever. There is a saying a teacher said to me once "If it's not broke don't fix it " my 300RUM is shooting just the way i love it to & i don't shoot it everyday to justify buying a 8 lb keg of powder . Ill just leave things as they are thanks for the input gun)

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I'm using wc872 (sister powder to 867) at present in my 300 rum with 190's and my 270 with a compressed charge with 130's.

It's a fair powder but rl25 and retumbo are better. The driving factor for you to switch is cost; if you can get retumbo and can afford it, I'm not so sure I'd go with the mil-surp powder.

It acts like any other slow speed ball powder, odd. My 300rum eats it but my stw nearly slapped me for feeding it to the rifle.

 

[Kennibear]

trapper300RUM & Lefty7mmstw

the 300RUM does not have enough barrel life (maybe 1000 rnds of top notch groups) to justify the cost savings with these powders. How much practice are you going to do? An 8lb keg contains about 560 shots, and a 8lb keg of Retumbo or H1000 runs about $175. So the savings is about $100.... for 560 rounds. I can save more on the bullets than that.

This group of powders is in the right burning rate range. There are new manufactured MilSpec (WC8XX) powders from these same sources and they are not a lot more. But they are not canister grade powders so the same development applies but all the kegs will be from the same lot. One set of development loads for all of it.

When ball powder starts to deteriorate the pressure and velocities began to display wide fluctuation. This may be why Lefty had his problems.

If you want to practice with another rifle in say 300 WinMag I would say go for it. Just dip the case into a jar of powder and scrape it off level with the case mouth. Seat a 165gr - 180gr bullet (maybe over-runs or factory blemished) and a Mag primer and have at it. No exaggeration, this really works in 300 WinMag. The powder is too slow to build excess pressure and they shoot pretty good. A 300 WinMag has a barrel life of about 3000 - 5000 rounds so you can use up a shipment of 8lb kegs.

Just MHO...

 

[Kennibear]

BTW Lefty:

Which cheek did that ungrateful rifle slap you on? Above or below the belt? LOL!!!

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

trapper300RUM & Lefty7mmstw

When ball powder starts to deteriorate the pressure and velocities began to display wide fluctuation. This may be why Lefty had his problems.

More of an accuracy spread between rifles I think ( both the300 rum and my 270 are eating from the same kegs as the 7stw ate from).... But you may also be correct. Wideners did sell me some I5010 that eventually had to be turned into fertilizer. The stuff is mil surp. for a reason most of the time.

Lefty

 

[Kennibear]

Not that this helps but an unnamed supplier of Milsurplus powders mentioned that a particular lot they were selling was from a foreign arsenal. Most US Mil sourced reclaimed powders are stored properly- I would hope- but one never knows the true history of Milsurplus stuff. Foreign nations don't have high standards like our military.

I have purchased foreign sourced pistol/ subgun ammo that was truly bad and degenerating. Had to pay close attention or shooting a full power round after one stuck halfway down the barrel ringed the barrel then and there. On a registered Title II Thompson M1A worth $18k the money saved didn't seem a prudent choice....