Winchester 296 powder

[jwb28]

Just looked at it again. According to a couple different sites. Both are made in a plant in Canada. Same powder Hodgdon markets it as h110. Winchester markets it as 296

[Tom-ADC]

Just looked at it again. According to a couple different sites. Both are made in a plant in Canada. Same powder Hodgdon markets it as h110. Winchester markets it as 296

[FLIGHT762]

Not sure of the date but Hodgdon makes both now. I think they make all the Winchester powders.

Hodgdon doesn't make smokeless powder. They source it from the manufacturers, which are defense contractors that make powders for the Military.

Just looked at it again. According to a couple different sites. Both are made in a plant in Canada. Same powder Hodgdon markets it as h110. Winchester markets it as 296

H-110 and Winchester 296 are made made by SMP (St. Marks Powder- General Dynamics) in Florida. All the US ball powders are made by St. Marks. Most of the ball powders under the Hodgdon and Winchester name come from St. Marks.

Hodgdon does make their Pyrodex & Triple 7 black powder substitutes. They bought Goex a few years ago, who makes black powder.

Hodgdon has bought the rights to sell Hodgdon, Winchester and IMR powders in the U.S.

You will see on the powder cans the Country where the powders were sourced. Most IMR powders are from Canada and their Extreme powders are sourced from Australia. I have an older can of H-4831 that was sourced from Scotland. This was after the WWII surplus 4831 used up. The latest 4831 is made by ADI in Australia.

[jwb28]

Hodgdon doesn't make smokeless powder. They source it from the manufacturers, which are defense contractors that make powders for the Military.



H-110 and Winchester 296 are made made by SMP (St. Marks Powder- General Dynamics) in Florida. All the US ball powders are made by St. Marks. Most of the ball powders under the Hodgdon and Winchester name come from St. Marks.

Hodgdon does make their Pyrodex & Triple 7 black powder substitutes. They bought Goex a few years ago, who makes black powder.

Hodgdon has bought the rights to sell Hodgdon, Winchester and IMR powders in the U.S.

You will see on the powder cans the Country where the powders were sourced. Most IMR powders are from Canada and their Extreme powders are sourced from Australia. I have an older can of H-4831 that was sourced from Scotland. This was after the WWII surplus 4831 used up. The latest 4831 is made by ADI in Australia.

Well at least I got the the same same powder part right. :}.
I started reloading around 1980 and it was rumored back then that they were the same. Charge weights were always off by a few tenths of a grain but very close for .357 mag anyway.
I've always used what the manuals say for each type, but I bought 296 most of the time. And after I got over chasing the last 50fps (when I was young and bullet proof, so to speak), it never mattered anyway. I stopped well before max for both.
I did abuse a poor model 19 with max loads back then. Never over what the manual said was max. But right up to it. Poor gun. It held up though.
Though the window between start loads and max with this powder isn't very wide. As often as not a start charge or just above it is fine with me now and that's where I stop. I doubt if I ever have to shoot something that is alive, it will notice the difference.

[Tom-ADC]

Remember when Thunderbird Cartridge Co. in AZ sold a bulk surplus powder that we used for our .223 in the Mini 14's way back when it would come in 8 pound cans and we would pour it into saved empty powder cans I think I still have some left.

jwb28 we did like you up to but backed off a tick we used the little Winchester manuals for the most part and Speer #7 for the 45 Colt Ruger/Thompson Contender only. Made those Blackhawks wake up!!

[jwb28]

Remember when Thunderbird Cartridge Co. in AZ sold a bulk surplus powder that we used for our .223 in the Mini 14's way back when it would come in 8 pound cans and we would pour it into saved empty powder cans I think I still have some left.

jwb28 we did like you up to but backed off a tick we used the little Winchester manuals for the most part and Speer #7 for the 45 Colt Ruger/Thompson Contender only. Made those Blackhawks wake up!!

I just loaded for .357 mag and 38 special for the first 20 years or so. Money was kind of tight, so powder was by the pound for me. 1000 primers was buying in bulk.

Yea, big fireballs were fun. Wish I would have used hearing protection a lot more than I did. Now I have hearing aids and say "huh" a lot. And arthritis in my wrists from broken bones. So a .357 is about all I can shoot and not pay for it later.
Oh well, glad I grew up when I did. It was way more fun. Heck I remember the "old timers" saying the same thing though. But we really did catch the last part of the good old days.

[bergmen]

W296 is my favorite powder for .357 Magnum, 45 Colt heavy loads for my Blackhawk Bisley and both of my 454 Casull single action revolvers. I have plenty for the next several decades.

Dan

[Tom-ADC]

I found 8 cans of it was surprised to see they say Made in USA.

[ironhorse1]

I checked a WW748 can possibly the first can of rifle powder I ever purchased.

It had to be between 1976-1980 and it also says Made in the U.S.A. I loaded the last of it in 2018.

Still was GTG. Anyone know how to read the date codes as it is well marked?

The label shows New Haven, Connecticut and East Alton, Illinois.

The can is metal with a screw on lid that I keep as display item along with some old Bullseye tins.

irh

[FLIGHT762]

U.S. ball powder manufacturing started in WWII and was done at the Olin plant in East Alton, Il.

Because of the metropolitan area of the plant, the plant was moved to Florida to the St. Marks plant. The plant was built in 1969 and has been there ever since.

[Tom-ADC]

I checked a WW748 can possibly the first can of rifle powder I ever purchased.

It had to be between 1976-1980 and it also says Made in the U.S.A. I loaded the last of it in 2018.

Still was GTG. Anyone know how to read the date codes as it is well marked?

The label shows New Haven, Connecticut and East Alton, Illinois.

The can is metal with a screw on lid that I keep as display item along with some old Bullseye tins.

irh

My 296 cans are marked the same way.

[W.R.Buchanan]

When did they become the same? I used both way back when and I thought they were different.

They have always been the exact same powder made by Hodgdons and the only difference is the label on the bottle.

There has been so much misinformation put out over the years about this powder it has lead to many thinking they are different.

I have been using both since 1976 and even back then there were some who thought they were different just because they were next to each other on the burn chart. However only the people who were on the inside like Elmer Keith knew they were the same. He wrote about in the 60's. That's where I originally got my info.

There are several other powders that are identical. HP38 is W231, and there are about 6-8 others which I can't remember off hand.

Randy

[mindwreck]

love using h110/296. i shoot a bunch of 357 and 44mag. The 500sw drinks the stuff like water..