Rifle powder for handguns?

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UncleUwe

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I own a S&W 686 and a Winchester 1873 which is also .357 Magnum.
With handgun powder so hard to get these days, would it be a good choice to use the fastest burning rifle powder you can get to make adequate rounds for both guns? What are your thoughts?
 
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I have a 686, 627 and a Marlin 1894C. I use Alliant 2400. I get what I consider loading that works adequately in both the revolver and the carbine. I use 158 grain JHP bullets.
 
Yes, I shoot 158 gr, too, but 2400 is a pistol powder and hard to come by. Rifle powder seems to be more readily available.
 
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I'm not sure you can get enough of any rifle powder in a .357 Magnum case to get it to go boom. Enforcer/4100 and Lil'Gun are probably the slowest powders you can use but those are not rifle powders.
 
The skhort answer is no. The reason is that out of a revolver using rifle powder will result is really excessive muzzle flash, muzzle blast, and B/C gap flash with increased gas cutting. I love H110 for 357 Magnum rifle loads but avoid it for handgun loads because it's just too slow for a 4 or 6 inch revolver, using something even slower just isn't a good idea.

If you need pistol powder I can tell you that it can be found. However, you will have to accept that today pistol powders cost more than they did 5 years ago, so plan on spending as much as 30 dollars per pound. Then start attending every single gun show in your area. Because I've found they have been one of the most consistent sources of powder. Also, if you are within about 400 miles of Ashland/Shelby, Ohio plan on making a long drive to Fin Feather, & Fur in Ashland and the Sportsmans Den In Shelby. Because they have been another bright spot for finding powder.
 
scooter123 said:
Then start attending every single gun show in your area. Because I've found they have been one of the most consistent sources of powder.
Click to expand...

Many of the gun show sellers are the very ones cleaning off the retail shelves on a daily basis as soon as the shipment comes in, then flipping their hoarded stash at an inflated price. I absolutely refuse to help them profit from that, even if it means I can't shoot as much right now.
 
Rifle powder for pistols or..........
Pistol powders for rifles...............

will only provide "Bloopers" or high pressures in 98% of the loads.
You can, MAYBE find a load that shoots but why, when it will
probably be a wasted powder for both ?
 
David R said:
Screw the rifle powder, use shotgun powder. Loads are available.
I use a lot of Red Dot. (Promo)

David
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Bingo. It's also very economical as you will not really be using more than 6gr. per round. Just manage your expectations on velocity.
 
rumor has it ... it's been tried.
The results are unacceptable with an ES of over 400 FPS on a less than top velocity load.
this invites squibs and other assorted bad juju.
Availability of proper powders has vastly improved from just a few months ago, and should continue to improve.
It's a pay now or pay later deal with your patience and effort budget.
Pay now, and wait for powder, while making an actual effort to get it.
Pay later, pulling all those rifle powder loads down to recover your brass.

I'll wait for the right powder for the job, Your yardage may vary
 
Most people know....

MN2944 said:
Many of the gun show sellers are the very ones cleaning off the retail shelves on a daily basis as soon as the shipment comes in, then flipping their hoarded stash at an inflated price. I absolutely refuse to help them profit from that, even if it means I can't shoot as much right now.
Click to expand...

Most people know that many of the same powders are used for shotguns and pistols. The only thing on the shelf is rifle powder.:(
 
They are not making SR 4759 any more.....

SR 4759 was a fast rifle powder that could be used in pistols, though there was no big advantage. There must be a powder that is similar to SR 4759 out there now.

Accurate 5744 can be used for magnum handguns.

Acc 1680 Big bore guns .45 and above

Vihtavuori has a full range of pistol powder but it's expensive
 
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Vihtavuori N110 and N105 "rifle" powders work really well in both my 357 carbine and revolver.

As stated IMR4227 is an option as well, but I get alot of unburnt powder and less than extraordinary velocities.
 
My rule of thumb is to only use the specific powder that is listed in a reloading manual. Also, do not start out with the maximum load. When I first started reloading, those who opinions I trust always recommended reducing any maximum load by at least ten percent.

Not adhering to load data risks a great deal more than a damaged/destroyed firearm.

JPJ
 
UncleUwe said:
With handgun powder so hard to get these days, would it be a good choice to use the fastest burning rifle powder you can get to make adequate rounds for both guns?
Click to expand...

I think it's been said fairly clearly, but no that would not be a good choice. A good choice would be to spend a little more time looking for appropriate powders. There is a thread right in this forum that lists available pistol powders on a daily or greater basis. Several stay available for a day or more after being posted, so you don't have to be checking every hour to score some.

If you are so hard up that even a rifle powder would do, then almost any of the posted pistol powders should do.
 
Some rifle powders can be used in the 44 Magnum but performance is not that great. Not sure on the 357 Magnum. You might want to do a search or ask on one of the reloading forums.

IMR4227 and 2400 are rifle powders designed for the pistol cartridge sized rounds like the 44-40 and 38-40. You can find loads for them down to the 38 Special.

IMR4227 will work just fine in your revolver and carbine.
 
MN2944 said:
Many of the gun show sellers are the very ones cleaning off the retail shelves on a daily basis as soon as the shipment comes in, then flipping their hoarded stash at an inflated price. I absolutely refuse to help them profit from that, even if it means I can't shoot as much right now.
Click to expand...

have you actually witnessed this or are you repeating something you read on the Net? I ask because in my area the gun shops that deal in powder are selling for just about the same price as the reloading dealers who do the gun shows. It's kind of hard to make a profit when your markup is zero or negative. In addition the local gun shops are currently enforcing a 1 lbs. limit on powder purchases. I've also asked the reloading dealers where they get their powder and in most cases it's from Distributors on orders placed 2 or 3 years ago. Another source has been Widener's and they'll make the drive down their to pick up an order.

So, today I hit a local show and picked up 2 lbs. of Varget and 2 lbs. of CFE223. I paid 27 dollars per for the Varget and 25 per for the CFE223. Now, that is higher than what Powder Valley lists but both powders are out of stock at Powder Valley and any order would have that HAZMAT shipping added on. So I consider the price I paid to be quite fair. I can also tell you that I saw a whole LOT of Handgun Powders at one dealer, everything from Titegroup all the way up to Win 296 and H110. He even had 8 lbs. kegs of H110, Unique, HS-6, and Bullseye. Since I didn't need any Handgun powders all I bought was the Varget. Another dealer had the CFE223 and 1000 count bags of cleaned, deprimed, and sized Lake City .223 brass, so bought 2 lbs. of the CFE for 25 bucks each and one bag of brass for 60 bucks. One huge plus on that brass is that when I gaged it once I got home I found that it's headspaced right smack in the middle of the tolerance so the only thing I may have to do is a bit of sorting for length and trimming.
 
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