IMR 4227?

[Nemo288]

a) ETR 7 and CSB-1 are supposed to be the same Maxam powder.
I also have some and it is working very well but is somewhat faster than Unique.
Burn rate is somewhere between Universal and Green Dot at least in shotgun loads which have been pressure tested.
See the shotgun forum for more detail.
I have just started working up loads to replace Universal.

b) The reason I have pretty much given up on ball powders is I have found they congeal into a solid mass if compressed loads are left for a few years.
In shooting some of these loads using both 296 and 680 I was getting VERY erratic results including decreasing velocity with increasing loads and velocity spreads of hundreds of fps in a given load.
The final straw was I stuck a bullet shooting a formerly full house 44 mag load in the Redhawk.
Luckily I noticed it and quit on the spot.
Upon dismantling the remaining suspects, I found I had to dig the powder out with a small crochet hook.
It was a solid lump.
4227 (or 2400) is not going to do that.
4227 is a great, if somewhat misunderstood, powder.

This is the bullet I mentioned.
It went half way into the forcing cone and stopped.
The scary part is that it was far enough in to allow the cylinder to rotate.
<shudder>
(It is, however, a good illustration that even heavy jacketed bullets do obturate or "bump up" under fire.)

ALWAYS make sure you know where those bullets are going.

===
Nemo

 

[SLT223]

I've been packing 4227 behind 240 coated slugs and the accuracy is top shelf out of all of my 629's and 29's. Only complaint is the unburned kernels left behind. Although, the hotter the charge, the fewer of them there are.

 

[ggibson511960]

Dirty

When I first started loading full power .357 mag and .44 mag, 4227 was my go to power as it seemed to always be available and cheap. The dirt factor swayed me to 2400. I'm guessing 4227, even though yielding top notch accuracy, was not fully burning due to inadequate crimp and bullet pull. You can't go wrong with it, and if it's all you can get in these crazy days of fractured availability, you shouldn't feel short changed. But if you were to suddenly gain unlimited access to a variety of cheap powders, like we used to have, there are marginally better choices.

 

[LMWIS]

Are those TMJ-TC plated or jacketed? Brand?

Campro bullets. Local company, .08" thick plate over swaged core.

 

[Nemo288]

Those look like nice bullets with the thick plating.
Like the Rainier plus more copper and a cannelure.
Buffalo Cartridge carries them in the USA but only in 38, 40 and 45.
I'd buy some 44's if they had em.

===
Nemo

 

[shil]

I think you'll like IMR4227 if you are not after screaming yellow zonker loads. Velocity is, IMHOP, adequate and the loads are not nearly as violent as those with W296/H110, or even 2400. In my humble experience, it meters pretty well, too.

 

[bluetopper]

No doubt 4227 is a good magnum handgun powder as decades of usage will point that out.
From my experience with it in 357 Mag and 44 Mag I think it burns just a tad slow for optimum velocity compared to a few other powders. Whether that is an all important factor to you is up to the individual.

The niche that 4227 really fits very well is in 357 Maximum and 500 S&W Mag.

 

[Nemo288]

The niche that 4227 really fits very well is in 357 Maximum and 500 S&W Mag.

Yep.
As I referred to above, 4227 is fantastic in all the 1.6" cartridges.
Until S&W came out with their versions, these were all wildcats with the 357 being the best known.
Starline deserves a lot of credit here too for being the only one to make brass in some of the less popular ones like the 375, 414, 445 "supermags".
Previously we had to cut off, anneal, blow out, inside neck ream and trim the appropriate rifle brass.
This is a lot of work.
I see Starline is no longer offering the 357 or 375x1.6" but I think they have in the past.
They do have in stock the 414 and 445 currently as well as the S&W numbers.

===
Nemo

 

[daniel lawecki]

What about a 250gr cast SWC in .44 mag Imr4227?

 

[Nemo288]

Should work fine.
You will not be able to get enough powder in the case to go over pressure.
Hodgdon lists 22 grains (compressed) under a 240 SWC for 1310 fps (8 1/8" barrel).
I would start at 20 or 21 and see how it goes.
You may not get past Mach 1 in a short barrel but most report tremendous accuracy.
Like the Hokey Pokey, that's what it's all about.
Staying sub-sonic does have it's advantages.

===
Nemo

 

[br6ppc]

I keep some IMR 4227 on hand for my Ruger Blackhawk 41 mag. That gun loves the stuff behind a 250 gr WFN bullet. I get 1150 fps and outstanding accuracy. It also works very well with a 400 gr WFNGC in my 480 Ruger. It also runs about 1150 fps. I have had about the same results as everyone is saying in my 44 mags. The heavier the bullet, the better 4227 works. It also flows for me very well through powder measures. If I was limited to just one mag powder, it would be 4227. I like heavy for caliber WFN bullets and 1100-1200 fps will kill anything I want to tackle with a revolver. 4227 will easily provide that in most mag calipers.

 

[Nemo288]

I also like the WFNGC bullets.
My Redhawk's favorite is a 260 WFNGC over a slightly less than top load of 2400.
One big advantage is that you can get them sized for your chamber throats.
That is step one on the road to awesome accuracy.
I use the big WFN's up to 310 grains in 44's.
Just starting to play with them near Mach 2 in the 444.
Unfortunately, the recoil as I go past 3000 ft-lbs is becoming a challenge to these old bones.
I have a lead sled in the mail to use next week.

Yet another advantage of 4227: It's available!
I got an 8 lb jug should see me through most of the rest of my life.

===
Nemo

 

[Frank46]

Shot a bunch of IMR 4227 in 30 caliber M1 carbines little unburned powder which didn't affect function. Then some years later got one of the 357 magnum marlin 1894's and started out with IMR 4227. Got great accuracy and no unburned powder grains in the 20" bbl. Even tried it once in an old winchester low wall in 32-20. 100 grain lead bullets with no leading and good accuracy. Haven't tried it out in the 44 special yet. best thing I like about are the case filling charges as it's easy to see an overload all the powder won't fit. Good cast bullet powder for the old lever action cartridges like 30-30,32-40,38-55. Frank

 

[Nemo288]

The only load Hodgdon lists (using the now discontinued H4227) in the 44 special is 13-15 grains under a 200 grain JHP.
I suspect you are going to have unburned powder at these pressures (9-13 KCUP).
It's more of a magnum powder.
Let us know how it works.

===
Nemo

 

[Rogeronimo]

I save my 4227 for necked down 357/45 GWM ... Use Accurate No.9 or Vihtavouri N110 for straight-cased magnums.

 

[Rollis]

Like some others who have posted, with 2400 being missing in action, I, switched to IMR4227 also. So far for my uses, and power levels it is producing very good results.

 

[txredmule]

Anyone have a pet load for the 250xtp in 45 colt? Looking for something kind of warm to be used in an old 3-screw Ruger. I used to use 2400 but ran out a couple of years ago. I'm using Reddot for cast midrange loads. Does very well with either cast 230 RN or 250 SWC.

 

[BLUEDOT37]

Anyone have a pet load for the 250xtp in 45 colt?

Do you mean using I4227?

Handloader #246 listed H4227 with a cast 270gr LSWC
22.0gr = 1116mv (from 5-1/2" Ruger NMB) ~21K cup
24.0gr = 1221mv ( <32K cup)

I've used 21 & 22gr in my 25-13 with MBC 255gr LSWC-HT. Both shot fine but left some unburnt powder, typical for loads less than full with this powder.

.

 

[RobertJ.]

I've always had such good success with H110 in the .44 Mag, in all the revolvers I've owned, that I never got around trying 4227. But recently, back when we didn't know if powder was going to make a comeback, I was able to buy a couple pounds because it was there.

So I decided to try it for a .357 Magnum carbine, a 16" Rossi Model 92. This rifle, with Blue Dot and 158 gr. JHP's, consistently groups 2" at 50 yards, and apparently it likes this new powder as much as BD.

The best part was that my 2.5" 19-5 likes it, too. While I know that it's far from the best choice for a snubby, it's pretty accurate. I actually used that load to win one of the snubby contests right here at this forum, putting 10 shots into just over 2" at 10 yards offhand.

 

[aurora40]

The only load Hodgdon lists (using the now discontinued H4227) in the 44 special is 13-15 grains under a 200 grain JHP.
I suspect you are going to have unburned powder at these pressures (9-13 KCUP).

FYI:

http://www.imrpowder.com/data/handgun/44sw-spec.php