Running out of PB POWDER
 

I am about out of PB POWDER
I AM LOOKING FOR A GOOD LOW PRESSURE LOAD FOR WINCHESTER
AND REMINGTON GOLD HULLS, SHOOTING 1 1/8 OZ LOADS AND MAYBE 6000 PSI FOR SEVERAL
DAMASCUS AND TWIST BARELLS
THEY ALL HAVE HAD WALL THICKNESSES CHECKED BY DAVE PURNELL AKA HAMMER GUN DAVE
THANKS IN ADVANCE

PAT

You can still find "PB" and the other single-base powders 7625 and 4756 here and there. Whenever I get into a sporting store I'll look and ask. Just snagged a fresh 8 pounder coded to 2016 a few weeks ago. Lighter target loads aside, from the standpoint of heavier shot charges at higher velocity and with relatively low pressure those three powders will fit the bill.

Go to the Hodgdon online reloading center and look at those 12ga hulls using 1 1/8 ounce of shot and 800-X powder. There are many loads in the 6200 to 6900 psi range that should be quite safe in a composite barrel with sufficient wall thickness.

Pat, you'll have a lot more success finding low pressure loads if you'd go to 1oz or even 7/8oz loads. I've been loading just 3/4oz 12ga loads for a couple of years and they work just great. Looking at my Hodgdon and Alliant manuals there are only a couple of loads under 7000psi with a 1 1/8oz load. At 1oz there are quite a few loads in the 6 to 7000psi range. One with Clays is at 5500psi. Same with 7/8oz loads. I'd like to ask why you think you have to keep loads under 6000psi. Most of us feel 7500 to 8000psi and under is safe. I personally don't worry if they're under 8000psi and I shoot about 15 different Damascus guns. I think you're worrying more than necessary about pressures. Do a little research on Sherman Bell and his trying to blow up 20 or so Damascus barreled SxS's. It took around 30,000psi to do it. That's not to say all Damascus guns are safe, but they're not as dangerous as some would have us believe. Good luck. Paul

Well thanks, I will adjust my thoughts to a little higher pressure loads and
Maybe less shot. I just want an easy
To buy powder that works well that would replace the PB

I hear you Pat. I'm glad I stocked up on PB and 7625 years ago with a combined special order of 62# total. I'm about out of 7625 but scored a large tin in a private shop in Denver two yrs ago that was finally delivered by a friend driving up last year. I can tell you I had a death grip on that tin until it was in our car outside that shop. I doubt I'll ever run out of PB. My lowest pressure load for that is a 24gr 12ga load @ 4200psi - good for targets and grouse. Not good for cold weather but shoots like one of those old lever action "pop guns" we had as kids and is a great load to start young or recoil-aversion shooters on.

All Remington shells reload the same, and probably Winchester included. They're the only tapered wall shell out there. Everything else is straight walled. Anyways, in a Rem hull using 17grs of American Select with a 1oz load and a TGT 12 wad you'll get 6900psi, with a WAA12L wad 7500psi. 16.5 of Promo or Red Dot with a CB-1100 wad has 7400psi. 18grs of Green Dot and a WAA12L wad has 6300psi. There are too many loads to list from Hodgdons in the 6 to 7000psi range using Titewad, Titegroup, Clays, or International. I find it easier to compare loads using one of the manuals you can get for free. Contact Alliant or Hodgdons on the internet and just ask for one. Then you can sit down and look at many, many loads and get a idea what and where you want to go. Primers - Fed 209A and CCI209M are hot primers. All the rest are pretty much interchangeable. At least at low pressure loads. Wads - after market like ClayBusters are half the price of factory wads - if you reload enough and that would make a difference. JMHO

A one ounce load of clays and CB4100-12B in Remington or Winchester hulls with Winchester primers is easy to get and I believe is near or below 7K pressure. Check the Hodgdon site.

Pat, I'm about to use up the last of my 7625 and facing the same problem. Had my favorite recipe and now I've got to find a substitute. Don't like change. And it's not just finding easily accessible powder. There's also the problem of locating the right wads and primers. Not so easy when you live in a rural area.