I can get some 800X locally. I've never used this powder before. Anybody have any experience with it? Looking at the manufacturer's web site, I see it's listed for .357 and .44 Magnum. Not calibers I reload a lot of, but is it worth picking some up? Everything else is pretty scarce around here. Thanks.

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'Merica!

I have used a lot of 800X. It is a decent powder with good power and accuracy. The only thing you should know is that it is LARGE flakes and you will most likely need to weigh each charge.

I use 800x and have for awhile. It is a good powder for medium power level loadings IMO. If it has any faults it is that you have to watch metering. If you go to Hodgdon Reloading | Home they have loads for just about every popular caliber handgun and bullet weight for 800x (9,38/357,40sw,10,41,44,45acp).

It's the darling of the 10mm crowd, but I find it no better than say blue dot, longshot or aa#9, but meters terribly. I'll never buy more than the test # I have.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

There are better .357 & .44 Magnum powders, but it will work in both. Excellent for cartridges with less powder capacity such as .45 ACP. Meters very poorly.

As stated 800X is a weigh every charge powder .

I've used it some in 16 gauge, and a (very) little in handguns.

It seems to me to be comparable in burn rate and overall performance to Blue Dot. I don't use a lot of either for handguns(I prefer either Unique or a "true" magnum powder like 2400/296/N110)

X2 I use it for .40 S&W, .44 special and 44 mag. I use a 4 hole Lee Turret and due the flakiness of 800X, the Autodisks just did not throw consistent charges. So I simply hand measure/weigh each load. Not a powder for one wanting to load a bunch of ammo in a hurry, but I enjoy slow and steady when it comes to my reloading "therapy"

Weighing every charge....that might be OK because I use a single-stage press and probably wouldn't load more than 50 at a time.

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'Merica!

I found 800X useful in 357 and 45 acp. I originally bought it for shot gun.

David

I've used it in .380 and .45. The volume in .380 makes it hard to meter so I do that by hand but the 6.3grains or so for .45 works well enough through my Lee auto disk for my purposes. Or maybe it's 7 grains, would have to go look but the pointnis that the flames don't flow any where near as well as Aliant Power Pistol or IMR 4895 for example with smaller volumes being more problematic with flake type powders.

I use a lot of 800x (dispensed from my LNL powder measure) for my 45LCs and it is true that each charge must be measured.
It is a slow process, but there are things that can be done to 'speed' it up a bit:
1. get some powdered graphite and rub a very small portion of it into the hopper, and the bowl where the powder sits, just above the metering stem.

2. use a rubber hammer to whack the area just below where the hopper enters the dispenser.
whack frequently!

For me, this has resulted in many, many more throws that weigh in at +/- a tenth of a grain of the target weight.
BTW: be sure to use gloves when handling the graphite: it is very, very difficult to wash off your hands, clothes, etc.

One more thing: I put a couple or three of 2" washers on top of the powder stack. This helps a lot in preventing the powder from making a 'hole' just above the metering stem area.
--Nashtn--

Gmac - Get the 800X. When you find the charge you like make a dipper out of an empty casing and use a funnel in your powder through die. Almost as fast as a measure. PM me and I will share my tecnique for dippers that result in VERY consistent charges.

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Lost in Penn's Woods

I've used 800X in shotgun, 9mm, 40 S&W and reduced recoil rifle loads. Excellent performing powder, but as the others say, it meters very poorly in small narrow powder measures. In 20-25 grain shotshell bushings, it meters great.

In pistol quantities for the powder, I drop light and trickled up on a scale. A few flakes makes up 1/10th grain.

I like 800x in 10mm and .357 and 44 magnums for "mags under max"( I am of the opinion that once you get a flat nosed lead bullet moving 1000-1200 fps you have all you will ever need for punching deep holes in critturs.) Despite the endless cries about how horrible it meters I have never had difficulty getting decent consistency from the lee auto disk provided consistent technique operating the press is used including a little tap on the measure before each throw. Remember that with charges exceeding 8 grains a full tenth of a grain plus or minus will actually prove virtually undetectable in the shooting.

I appreciate all the responses. Will pick some up tomorrow.

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'Merica!

I use it mostly for 12 gauge slug loads with the water quenched cast Lee slug. I hear it gives excellent accuracy in the Saiga 12 that uses it and recoil is particularly brutal. I find that it's also acceptable in the 5.7x28 FN but the chronograph tells me that velocity is somewhat erratic. At one time it looked like a great powder for major power factor in my .40 S&W match loads but I abandoned that idea when I found that the Dilon 550B could not throw consistent powder charges with this particular powder. I have about 7 lbs. of this stuff remaining so the next avenue of exploration will be high velocity revolver loads.

Dave Sinko

Tried some in 9mm. Was accurate, but as stated, weigh every powder charge.
I am planning to only load about 100 or so every other month so weighing each charge is OK.

wyo-man

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Live free or die

The rather large flake 800-X powder can work in the 38 special,
357 magnum and 9mm pistol loads but due to its slow burn rate
it is better with medium to full pressure loads.

It will get into the +P loads with out any problem with the small
38 special case and will develop factory Dup. loads in the 357 magnum.

Although it will work in a lot of revolver and pistol loadings.......

it was actually brought out years back for reloading STEEL loads
for duck hunters when lead pellets were being banded from the fields.
SR 4756, Blue Dot and W571 had poor fps and this powder developed more fps
with extra energy and added distance, for the hunters.

It worked great for the shotgun shell loaders.................