Hodgdon Extreme
Hodgdon H4831
A long-standing slow-burning big-game powder for standard and magnum cartridges with heavier bullets.
A long-standing slow big-game powder for .270 Winchester, .25-06, .280 Remington and heavy bullets in .300 Winchester Magnum. Extreme-series stability and a good burn in those cases make it a dependable hunting powder that has never really been bettered for the job. Its one real drawback is mechanical: full-length kernels bridge and get cut in measures, which is precisely why H4831SC exists. If both are on the shelf there is no argument for buying this one.
- 270 Winchester
- 25-06 Remington
- 280 Remington
- heavy bullets in 300 Winchester Magnum
Who has Hodgdon H4831 today
Checked October 10Out of stock at every store we track
| Store | Size | Shelf | In hand /lb | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 8 lb | $377.99 | $53.11 | Out |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 8 lb | $405.95 | $54.67 est. | Out |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 8 lb | $440.99 | $59.05 est. | Out |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 8 lb | $435.99 | $59.18 | Out |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 1 lb | $57.95 | $89.39 est. | Out |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 1 lb | $62.99 | $94.43 est. | Out |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 1 lb | $52.99 | $99.89 | Out |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 1 lb | $62.99 | $100.44 | Out |
“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 Extreme |
| Status | Currently produced |
| Application | rifle |
| Grain form | extruded |
| Lee VMD (bulk density) | 0.0725 cc per grain · 0.89 g/cc |
| Composition | single-base |
| Temperature stable | Yes — claimed by the manufacturer |
| Burn-rate position | 166 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 270 Winchester, 25-06 Remington, 280 Remington, 300 Winchester Magnum |
Grain shape
Full-length extruded sticks with a thick web — the thick wall is what makes it slow, and the length is what makes it awkward. Long kernels bridge in the drop tube and get sheared by a rotary measure, so thrown charges scatter noticeably.
Why geometry decides burn rate more than chemistry does: Shape Is the Product.
Full-length extruded kernels. Extreme-series: temperature insensitive with tight lot-to-lot uniformity. The full-length kernels can bridge or get cut in some measures — H4831SC is the short-cut alternative.
Burn rate
Slow rifle, near Norma 205 and Vihtavuori N560; charted together with H4831SC.
Chart agreement: consistent across charts - listed in the same relative neighbourhood by every publisher that carries it 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:
- Vihtavuori N555 (position 164)
- Hodgdon H4831SC (position 166)
- Vihtavuori N560 (position 167)
- IMR Enduron 4955 (position 168)
- Norma MRP (position 169)
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.