Hodgdon Extreme
Hodgdon H4895
A broadly useful medium-burn extruded rifle powder that spans varmint, target and big-game cartridges. It is the powder Hodgdon most often names for reduced rifle loads.
The most genuinely versatile extruded rifle powder Hodgdon makes, and the first one the company ever sold to handloaders. It covers .308, .30-06, heavier bullets in .223, and it is the powder Hodgdon names for reduced rifle loads — it lights and burns consistently far down the range where most powders start misbehaving. Extreme-series stability and a broad useful window make it the standard fallback when Varget is gone, though lately it has been the harder one of the two to find in some places. Stick powder: it throws well for a stick, but weighing still pays.
- 308 Winchester
- 30-06 Springfield
- reduced rifle loads
- cast-bullet rifle loads
- service rifle ammo
Who has Hodgdon H4895 today
Checked October 10In stock at 2 stores — lowest in hand $58.43/lb (8 lb at Graf & Sons)
| Store | Size | Shelf | In hand /lb | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 8 lb | $429.99 | $58.43 | In stock ↗ |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 8 lb | $460.99 | $61.55 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 1 lb | $59.99 | $97.44 | In stock ↗ |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 1 lb | $68.99 | $100.43 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 8 lb | $386.99 | $54.24 | Out |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 8 lb | $405.95 | $54.67 est. | Out |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 1 lb | $57.95 | $89.39 est. | Out |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 1 lb | $53.99 | $100.89 | 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) | 0.0728 cc per grain · 0.89 g/cc |
| Composition | single-base |
| Temperature stable | Yes — claimed by the manufacturer |
| Burn-rate position | 112 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 30-06 Springfield, 308 Winchester, 17 Remington, 250-3000 Savage, 458 Winchester Magnum |
Grain shape
Short-cut extruded kernels with the thinnest web of the H4895/H4350/H4831 ladder — same chemistry, thinner wall, faster burn. Short kernels throw reasonably for an extruded powder, but a rotary measure will still cut a few.
Why geometry decides burn rate more than chemistry does: Shape Is the Product.
The first powder B.E. Hodgdon sold to handloaders. Extruded kernel, Extreme-series temperature stability, and Hodgdon lists it as workable for subsonic loads.
Burn rate
Medium rifle, immediately faster than IMR 4895 and Vihtavuori N135.
Chart agreement: consistent across the three charts that list it Ranked by: Hodgdon, Vihtavuori, Wolfe/LoadData.
Powders charted near it — neighbours on the chart are not substitutes, and adjacency tells you nothing about what charge either one takes:
- Alliant AR-Comp (position 109)
- Ramshot TAC (position 110)
- Alliant Power Pro Varmint (position 111)
- Vihtavuori N530 (position 113)
- IMR 4895 (position 114)
- Vihtavuori N135 (position 115)
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.
H4895 has a solid reputation as a near-do-anything extruded rifle powder and is the fallback people name when Varget is unavailable. In 2025-2026 discussion the availability picture appears to have inverted for some users, who report H4895 being harder to find than Varget in their area.
- treated as a do-it-all extruded rifle powder
- named as the usual fallback when Varget is out
- reduced-load reputation for lighter loads
Availability: Multiple users report not having seen it locally for a year or more, and at least one reports it disappearing from a major retailer's website. Other users in the same threads report having plenty — availability seems highly regional.
Consensus level: commonly held. Drawn from thread 1, thread 2, thread 3.
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.