What can you tell me about Herco?

The Sierra books shows loads for the .38 Special, .357 Mag, .44 Special & Magnum, 40 S&W, and the .45 ACP.

Here's what Alliant says...

Smokeless heavy shotshell and handgun powder

Since 1920, a proven powder for heavy shotshell loads, including 10, 12, 16, 20 and 28 gauge target loads. The ultimate in 12 gauge, 1-1/4 oz. upland game loads.

• Excellent hi-base hunting loads
• Great for magnum handguns
• Versatile

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Dave
SWCA #2465

IMHO, heavy bullets in magnum cartridges, good.
Heaviest loads in hunting shotgun, excellent.
Light loads in handgun cartridges, too slow, like flaming dirt residue..
Heavy bullets at top velocity, good.

Much better choices are available for light handgun loads.

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Science plus Art

Great powder, superbly accurate in 9mm, think Unique's bigger and tougher cousin. Go to Alliants data sight and click on the powder then show all loads.
If I could buy any powder in that burn range it would probably be AA #5 but Herco is a good one. Like many flake powders it doesn't flow as well as ball powders.

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Front sight and squeeze

I use herco in these calibers for bowling pin loads, 38 special, 10mm, 45,and 44mag usually bullets are on the heavy side of loading data charts. works great for me!

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Always look for the Blue Box

Great for filling larger cases to capacity (38/357, 44/44m). Excellent 9mm load I even tried it in .380 with 102gr Golden Sabre and got good results. Like Unique but a little slower.

It is an oldie but goodie that the old timers used but has sort of slid to the side with all the new powders coming out...........
Same with Green Dot.......... good stuff for lots of loads but just not talked about a lot.

Many new data books don't list them so they fade from the spot light but many of us that know of their uses are happy that they are still around.

Each powder has its place ............
good luck.

There was a period of maybe 8 years where it was the "go to" powder for 1911 pistols in 45ACP. this matches what the others have already stated that Herco is a very good powder for heavier bullets. Used it for years then it sort of just slipped away. I still have about 3/4 of a lb sitting in my reloading cubby.

it's kinda orphaned.
I've used a good amount of the stuff in the past, but ultimately it got chopped in the great streamlining of 2004 where I dropped my inventory from something like 35 different powders down to a more coherent selection of 10 to address everything from pistols to rifles, with shotguns in between.
Of the 10, a few powders stick around for specialty loads and the go to group is more like a band of six

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it just needs more voltage

Until recently I used two handgun and one rifle go to powders along with two specialty rifle powders. Since powder became hard to get, I've been loading what's available. Last month 8 lbs. of IMR 4895 followed me home from a gun show... passed on 8 lbs. of Herco since I had heard/read nothing about it and have no experience with it.

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Dave
SWCA #2465

in retrospect .. I'm kinda envious.
I was going through the early latest and greatest phase when all the stuff was plentiful, resulting in a 35+ powder inventory that I pared down from.
I learned a lot, but mostly I learned how expensive that phase is

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it just needs more voltage

I went through the multi-multi powder phase in the 70s and early 80s when I owned many firearms of different calibers and was striving for maximum accuracy from each. Very expensive indeed. I recently ran across several cans of properly stored powder from those days and I've been loading it before my go to powders.

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Dave
SWCA #2465

I have 8 lbs of Herco on the bench right now. I am about to work up a ladder test from 6.0 to 6.7 grns with a 158 LSWC for my 38/44's. My source of data is the Sierra Manuals and some articles on the 38/44 from Handloader.

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SWCA 1646

My favorite for 9mm; 6.3 grains and a 115 grain JHP.

started with herco and still have half pound in a round green can with hercules on the front. It got shoved to the back of the shelf with new powders until i recently got a 44mag and dug it out I have used it in 44 mag, 45 colt 45 acp 40 s &W,357, the downside lots of flash and possibly unburnt powder in my records 1983 I had great success with my 357 using herco with 158 and 155 gr cast and jhp 7.8 grs

The nice thing about testing multiple powders is that when you find a great deal or when things are scarce, you can buy what you find available with confidence because you have already tested it in your calibers. If I would have come across that 8# of Herco it would have been mine in a heartbeat.