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Anyone Remember Alcan AL-7 Powder?

S

STG38

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Anyone know if AL-7 is still available under another name? It was discontinued 25-30 years ago, but what I have left makes very accurate reloads with 125 to 140 grain jacketed bullets in 38 Special. Thanks!
 
Anyone know if AL-7 is still available under another name? It was discontinued 25-30 years ago, but what I have left makes very accurate reloads with 125 to 140 grain jacketed bullets in 38 Special. Thanks!
 
Back in the 1960s I was doing a lot of reloading and tried a lot of different powders for 38 special. I found out my AL-7 loads were the most accurate for both 158 gr lead bullets and worked best of all the powders I tried in any weight bullet. and my notes say that it beat out 6 different powders. I was very sad when it was announced that AL-7 and the other Alcan powders were being discontinued.
 
The Alcan powders were made in Sweden by Bofors and are distinguished by their square cut flakes. I still have just a little bit of AL-5, but I haven't seen anything else that even comes close to resembling it.

Here's a little history on Alcan.
ALCAN (Alcan Cartridge Company)
1951 - 1971 purchased by Fiocchi and S&W

During the early 1950s, Homer Clark Jr. and his company, the Alcan Corp., changed all this. Son of one of the game's greatest Winchester- Western professional shooters, Homer was virtually born and reared at gun clubs. During the 1930s, he was among the most dominant junior trapshooters in the country. And he went on from there to win many state and Grand American championships. Twice he won the World Flyer (live pigeon) Championship. An unbelievably fast shooter, he was blessed with extraordinary vision and foresight.

Clark is the man credited with starting shotgun shell reloading in America. He formed the Alcan Corp.of Alton, lll., in 1951 and began showing people how they could reload traploads at home for half the cost of factory loads. And he started to sell reloading components. The Remingtons and Winchesters of the world had fits and tried everything possible to prevent Clark's company from being successful. Personal injury cases started to multiply when reloaders ' guns began to come apart due to high pressure handloads. For a period of time the big ammunition companies intentionally made the mouth of paper hulls thinner so, once shot, they couldn't be reloaded. Eventually the Alcan Corp. offered a factory- loaded shotgun shell that sold for substantially less than the red and green ones offered by major manufacturers.

Reloading brought thousands of new shooters into the game, but it pretty much eliminated the big ammunition and powder company professionals from doing much work at tournaments. Factory-loaded shell sales at gun clubs were reduced to practically nothing, and the big gun companies spent more time in court defending their product in liability suits started by careless handloaders. Companies could no longer justify sending more than a couple of professionals to a state or zone shoot when most of the shells shot were reloads. The Grand American was an exception as shells used there must be purchased from the ATA.
Click to expand...
 
Got a little AL-7 left and some AL-5 as well. Bought them back around 1972. Been hanging on to it because if I don't use it then I'll still have it. (Does that make any sense?)

The Alcan powder that I really miss is AL-8. I used it in my .41 mag AND my 10 gauge. It was a wonderful propellant - such a pity that it's now long gone.

I read somewhere that Blue Dot comes close to duplicating the performance of AL-8. But now we have been cautioned by the maker to avoid using Blue Dot in the .41 Mag.

And so, much like Guinness and the search for the perfect pint - my quest for the perfect powder continues...
 
Well, it just so happens that I have a Lyman manual published in 1970 that includes Alcan loading data.

Out of curiosity, since I remember good things about Alcan, no AL listings for .38Spcl, .38Super, .357mag, .41mag, .44Special; but AL 8 is listed for .44mag and .30 Carbine during a quick check.

However not all is lost, 2nd Sierra edition includes AL-5 and AL-7 data also.

.38Special 125gr JSP/JHP;
AL-7, 9.2grs to 9.8grs.


Bob
 
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