Hodgdon Clays Series
Hodgdon Universal
The broadest-application powder in the Clays series, covering a wide spread of handgun cartridges and shotgun gauges. It is Hodgdon's Clays-technology answer for 28-gauge.
The broadest powder in the Clays family and the closest thing Hodgdon has to a one-jug answer — 9mm through .44 Magnum, and 12- through 28-gauge, all on clean-burning Clays chemistry. It sits in the Alliant Unique class and behaves much like it. Being bulkier than the dense ball powders it fills a large case better, so double-charge visibility is genuinely better than with Titegroup. The trade is metering: flake does not throw as tightly as spherical, so charge checking matters more than it would with a ball powder.
- 45 ACP
- 9mm
- light 44 Remington Magnum loads
- 28 gauge target loads
- 12 gauge field loads
Who has Hodgdon Universal today
Checked October 10Out of stock at every store we track
| Store | Size | Shelf | In hand /lb | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 8 lb | $332.99 | $45.55 est. | Out |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 8 lb | $337.99 | $46.93 | Out |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 4 lb | $178.99 | $52.61 est. | Out |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 4 lb | $177.99 | $53.86 | Out |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 1 lb | $48.99 | $80.43 est. | Out |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 1 lb | $48.99 | $86.44 | 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 Clays Series |
| Status | Currently produced |
| Application | pistol, shotshell |
| Grain form | extruded |
| Lee VMD (bulk density) | 0.1099 cc per grain · 0.59 g/cc |
| Composition | single-base |
| Temperature stable | Not marketed as temperature-stable |
| Burn-rate position | 37 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 25 ACP, 9mm Luger, 45 ACP, 44 Remington Magnum, 28 gauge, 20 gauge, 12 gauge |
Grain shape
Flat flake — degressive, with surface falling away as it burns, and bulky for its weight, which fills a large revolver case better than dense ball does. Flakes bridge and settle unevenly in a measure, so verify thrown charges.
Why geometry decides burn rate more than chemistry does: Shape Is the Product.
Also seen as 'Universal Clays'. Hodgdon lists it as single base and extruded in form; burns clean and uniformly like the rest of the series. Made in Canada.
Burn rate
Medium-fast, between Alliant Unique and Alliant Power Pistol.
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 N32C Tin Star (position 34)
- Winchester WinClean 244 (position 35)
- Alliant Unique (position 36)
- Alliant Power Pistol (position 38)
- Shooters World Ultimate Pistol (position 39)
- Vihtavuori N330 (position 40)
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.