Hodgdon
Hodgdon BL-C(2)
A surplus-derived spherical powder with a long track record in target and varmint loading for small to mid-size rifle cases.
A surplus-derived ball powder with no glamour and a long service record. It meters flawlessly, costs less than the fashionable extruded powders, and quietly outshoots them in some rifles in .223, .308 and the small PPC cases. It burns dirtier than a stick powder, and it carries no Extreme designation, so a load worked up in cold weather can land somewhere else in August. Buy it for high-volume varmint and target work, not for a match load you intend to shoot across a whole season.
- bulk .223 loading
- 308 Winchester target loads
- 22 PPC varmint loads
- progressive-press rifle ammo
Who has Hodgdon BL-C(2) today
Checked October 10In stock at 3 stores — lowest in hand $46.43/lb (8 lb at Lohman Arms)
| Store | Size | Shelf | In hand /lb | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 8 lb | $339.97 | $46.43 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 8 lb | $352.99 | $48.80 | In stock ↗ |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 8 lb | $370.99 | $50.30 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 1 lb | $46.34 | $77.78 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 1 lb | $51.99 | $83.43 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 1 lb | $47.99 | $85.44 | In stock ↗ |
“In hand” is the shelf price plus that store’s hazmat fee and shipping, spread over one container. Stock is checked once a day — confirm on the store’s page before ordering. Compare all powders →
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Hodgdon |
|---|---|
| Product family | Hodgdon |
| Status | Currently produced |
| Application | rifle |
| Grain form | spherical |
| Lee VMD (bulk density) | 0.0645 cc per grain · 1.00 g/cc |
| Composition | double-base |
| Temperature stable | Not marketed as temperature-stable |
| Burn-rate position | 132 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 308 Winchester, 7.62 NATO, 223 Remington, 204 Ruger, 17 Remington, 22 PPC |
Grain shape
Spherical, and therefore degressive: burning surface falls away as each grain shrinks, so gas comes out early and an overcharge is punished immediately rather than gradually. The same sphere is why it drops through a rotary measure with none of the bridging and kernel-cutting a stick powder gives you.
Why geometry decides burn rate more than chemistry does: Shape Is the Product.
Spherical geometry gives smooth, repeatable metering. Not an Extreme-series powder, so no temperature-insensitivity claim from Hodgdon.
Burn rate
Medium rifle, just slower than Winchester 748 and faster than CFE 223.
Chart agreement: MAJOR DISAGREEMENT - the single biggest conflict in this merged chart. Hodgdon and the Wolfe/LoadData compilation both rank Hodgdon BL-C(2) and Hodgdon CFE 223 as SLOWER than Hodgdon Varget, while Vihtavuori and Shooters World both band them FASTER than Varget (Vihtavuori bands BL-C(2) with N130 and CFE 223 with N133; Shooters World bands BL-C(2) with Accurate 2460/W748/N133 and CFE 223 with Accurate 2520/N140). The three powders are ordered here per Hodgdon. Treat this whole neighbourhood as unresolved. Ranked by: Hodgdon, Vihtavuori, Shooters World, Wolfe/LoadData.
Powders charted near it — neighbours on the chart are not substitutes, and adjacency tells you nothing about what charge either one takes:
- Hodgdon Varget (position 129)
- Winchester 748 (position 130)
- Winchester StaBALL Match (position 131)
- Vihtavuori N540 (position 133)
- Hodgdon CFE 223 (position 134)
- Alliant Reloder TS 15.5 (position 135)
What reloaders say about it
Unverified community anecdote. The following is a summary of what handloaders report in public forums. It is not manufacturer information, it has not been tested, it may be wrong, and it contains no load data by design. Treat it as colour, not guidance.
BL-C(2) comes up as an old, unglamorous ball powder that people buy because it is there — and then keep, because it performs. Several users report it outshooting more fashionable powders in their rifles while acknowledging it is dirtier.
- long-running, widely available ball powder
- reported as dirtier-burning than premium extruded powders
- several reports of it outperforming newer or more expensive powders in a given rifle
- domestic production is cited by users as a reason to expect continued availability
Availability: Repeatedly named as a powder that was still on the shelf when everything else was gone, and users cite ongoing domestic manufacturing investment as reason for optimism.
Consensus level: commonly mentioned. Drawn from thread 1.
Sources
The specifications above come from Hodgdon's own published documentation, linked below. The two “RCM's read” sections are ours, not theirs — our assessment of what this powder is like to load, drawn from its published characteristics and from what handloaders consistently report. No manufacturer endorses them and no source below backs them. If you think we have one wrong, tell us — we would rather fix it.