Hodgdon
Hodgdon HS-6
A dual-purpose powder covering higher-performance handgun loads and heavy shotshell field loads across several gauges.
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Hodgdon |
|---|---|
| Product family | Hodgdon |
| Status | Currently produced |
| Application | pistol, shotshell |
| Grain form | spherical |
| Composition | double-base |
| Temperature stable | Not marketed as temperature-stable |
| Burn-rate position | 47 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 9mm Luger, 38 Super, 40 S&W, 10mm Auto, 12 gauge, 20 gauge, 28 gauge, 10 gauge |
Fine spherical granules, so metering is very consistent. Hodgdon states it is the same propellant as Winchester's discontinued 540.
Burn rate
Medium pistol, between Accurate No. 5 and Winchester AutoComp.
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 N340 (position 44)
- Alliant BE-86 (position 45)
- Accurate No. 5 (position 46)
- Winchester AutoComp (position 48)
- Hodgdon CFE Pistol (position 49)
- Ramshot True Blue (position 50)
Sources
Other Hodgdon powders
Verify the charge, not just the recipe
Good data gets you a safe starting point. It does not tell you what actually went into the case on stroke 340 — a bridged measure, a double charge, a squib. That is what an RCM Laser Powder Check is for.