Hodgdon (Hornady)
Hodgdon Superformance
The canister version of the propellant used in Hornady Superformance factory ammunition, intended for high-velocity loads in a deliberately limited list of cartridges and bullets.
The canister version of Hornady's Superformance propellant, and it genuinely delivers factory-Superformance performance in the handful of cartridges Hodgdon lists. That list is short on purpose: the powder is tuned to specific cartridge and bullet combinations and does not extrapolate, so treat anything outside the published data as unknown territory rather than an obvious next step. Ball form means it meters cleanly, though it is not an Extreme powder, so it moves with temperature — worth remembering in a hunting load. As a general-purpose medium-slow powder it is a poor choice; as a way to duplicate a specific factory load it is the right tool.
- 22-250 Remington
- 243 Winchester
- 300 WSM
- duplicating factory hunting loads
Who has Hodgdon Superformance today
Checked October 10In stock at 2 stores — lowest in hand $45.18/lb (8 lb at Lohman Arms)
| Store | Size | Shelf | In hand /lb | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 8 lb | $330.02 | $45.18 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 8 lb | $360.99 | $49.05 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 1 lb | $44.99 | $76.43 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 1 lb | $50.99 | $82.43 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 8 lb | $309.99 | $44.61 | Out |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 1 lb | $41.99 | $88.89 | 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 (Hornady) |
| Status | Currently produced |
| Application | rifle |
| Grain form | spherical |
| Lee VMD (bulk density) | 0.0658 cc per grain · 0.98 g/cc |
| Composition | double-base |
| Temperature stable | Not marketed as temperature-stable |
| Burn-rate position | 158 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 22-250 Remington, 243 Winchester, 300 WSM |
Grain shape
Spherical and degressive, metering cleanly through any measure. Ball density is part of the trick: it fits enough charge into a standard case to reach those velocities without the compressed column a stick powder would need.
Why geometry decides burn rate more than chemistry does: Shape Is the Product.
Hodgdon states the powder is tailored to specific applications, so the published cartridge and bullet list is narrow — stay inside the published data rather than extrapolating. Spherical, so it meters well.
Burn rate
Medium-slow rifle, near Winchester StaBALL 6.5 and Alliant Reloder 19.
Chart agreement: mostly consistent - Hodgdon and Wolfe both place Superformance faster than H4831, but Vihtavuori bands 'H4831 SuperPerformance' together with H4831 as one step. 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:
- Norma 204 (position 155)
- Hodgdon Hybrid 100V (position 156)
- Winchester StaBALL 6.5 (position 157)
- Alliant Reloder 19 (position 159)
- IMR 4831 (position 160)
- Ramshot Hunter (position 161)
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.