Bottom line
This is the smallest band — sixteen powders from Blue Dot through Power Pro 300-MP on the merged chart — and the calmest. Thirteen were in stock at Hodgdon direct, Graf & Sons or Lohman Arms on every day we sampled: H110 and 296, Lil'Gun, Longshot, IMR 4227, N110, Enforcer, No. 7, No. 9, No. 11FS, 4100, TCM and Shooters World Heavy Pistol. Hodgdon's share of listings in stock here is 83%, against 61% for the brand across the whole market.
The two that were never there are the two an older load book leans on: 2400 and Blue Dot, both Radford, both under the Alliant canister suspension. Power Pro 300-MP, the third Alliant in the band, came back at Graf's on the 18th and stayed, at a price that makes the point about scarcity: $61.62 a pound in the 8 lb, more than the 1 lb can.
Prices: Graf's median for the band was $44.62 in August and $44.62 on 27 September. One move at Graf's (Shooters World Heavy Pistol 8 lb, −5.2%) and one at Bruno (H110 8 lb, −4.0%).
Cheapest in stock
Shelf price per pound, cheapest in-stock listing on 27 September at Hodgdon direct, Graf & Sons and Lohman Arms. The 1 lb cans at the top of the table are Lohman's; the 8 lb jugs are where the real per-pound price lives once hazmat is paid.
- Accurate TCM
- Accurate 4100
- Hodgdon Lil'Gun
- Accurate No. 7
- Hodgdon Longshot
- Accurate No. 11FS
- Hodgdon H110
- Winchester 296
- Accurate No. 9
- Ramshot Enforcer
- Vihtavuori N110
- Shooters World Heavy Pistol
| Powder | Cheapest $/lb | Size | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accurate TCM | $24.95 | 1 lb | Lohman |
| Accurate 4100 | $35.74 | 4 lb | Lohman |
| Hodgdon Lil'Gun | $37.95 | 1 lb | Lohman (8 lb: $43.87, Hodgdon direct) |
| Accurate No. 7 | $39.00 | 1 lb | Lohman |
| Hodgdon Longshot | $39.96 | 8 lb | Lohman |
| Accurate No. 11FS | $41.37 | 8 lb | Graf's |
| Hodgdon H110 | $41.67 | 8 lb | Lohman |
| Winchester 296 | $43.25 | 8 lb | Graf's |
| Accurate No. 9 | $43.37 | 8 lb | Graf's |
| Ramshot Enforcer | $43.95 | 1 lb | Lohman |
| Vihtavuori N110 | $44.62 | 8 lb | Graf's |
| Shooters World Heavy Pistol | $46.00 | 8 lb | Graf's |
| IMR 4227 | $55.50 | 8 lb | Graf's |
| Alliant Power Pro 300-MP | $61.62 | 8 lb | Graf's (1 lb: $54.99) |
The magnum revolver loader who standardised on H110 or 296 has not had a bad month in this series yet.
TCM at $24.95 is a Lohman one-pound can and almost certainly a clearance of a slow-moving niche powder; it is real, and it is one can. H110 and 296 — the same St. Marks powder under two labels — are $41.67 and $43.25 in the jug, which is where they were in August. Longshot at $39.96 remains the cheapest 8 lb in the band.
Availability by maker
Share of each maker's Large Handgun-band listings in stock on 27 September at the three retailers. Alliant's one listing in stock is the Power Pro 300-MP.
- ○Blue Dot — never in stock
- ●No. 7 — in stock every day
- ●Longshot — in stock every day
- ●TCM — in stock every day
- ○2400 — never in stock
- ●Enforcer — in stock every day
- ●No. 9 — in stock every day
- ●4100 — in stock every day
- ●Heavy Pistol — in stock every day
- ●N110 — in stock every day
- ●Lil'Gun — in stock every day
- ●H110 — in stock every day
- ●296 — in stock every day
- ●No. 11FS — in stock every day
- ●4227 — in stock every day
- ◐Power Pro 300-MP — in stock 10 of 14 days
| Maker | Listings | In stock | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shooters World | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| Vihtavuori | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| Hodgdon | 24 | 20 | 83% |
| Winchester | 9 | 6 | 67% |
| IMR | 6 | 4 | 67% |
| Accurate | 20 | 11 | 55% |
| Ramshot | 4 | 1 | 25% |
| Alliant | 15 | 1 | 7% |
Prices and the bulk discount
The median 8 lb saving in this band is 9.6%, the thinnest of the four editions. Graf's Power Pro 300-MP is the inverted pair (the jug costs 12% more per pound than the can). Lohman's 31% discount on 2400 and 29% on 4100 are the deep ones; the 2400 is not in stock, and the 4100 only in the 4 lb. N110 at Graf's gives 19% for going to the jug, and was in stock all month.
Late in the window
Bruno's 26 September sale
Eight listings from this band went onto Bruno's sale tag on 26 September, all shown in stock by Bruno's own flag (which we are not yet using for the figures above): 296 8 lb at $32.97 a pound and 4 lb at $33.80, TCM 5 lb at $32.80, Lil'Gun 1 lb at $34.99, Longshot 1 lb at $39.19, IMR 4227 1 lb at $46.99. Bruno also listed an 8 lb jug of Accurate No. 9 at $32.87 a pound, ten dollars under Graf's $43.37. One retailer's clearance, not a market price.
What to do with this
- Loading .357 / .44 Mag / .454 on H110, 296 or Lil'Gun: nothing to do. Steady all month, $41–44 in the jug.
- Loading on 2400 or Blue Dot: Radford powders under the suspension. Cross-reference the neighbours — 4100, No. 9, Enforcer, N110 sit in the same neighbourhood on the chart — and read their published data for your cartridge before you buy anything.
- 10mm / .40 on Longshot or Power Pistol: Longshot was in stock every day at $39.96; Power Pistol was not in stock any day.
- Buying an 8 lb jug of Power Pro 300-MP: don't, at Graf's; the 1 lb is cheaper per pound.
