Hodgdon
Hodgdon US 869
A very slow spherical magnum powder for 50 BMG and heavy bullets in large overbore rifle cases, including long-range match use.
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Hodgdon |
|---|---|
| Product family | Hodgdon |
| Status | Currently produced |
| Application | rifle |
| Grain form | spherical |
| Composition | double-base |
| Temperature stable | Not marketed as temperature-stable |
| Burn-rate position | 195 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 50 BMG, 7mm Remington Ultra Magnum, 300 Remington Ultra Magnum, 30-378 Weatherby Magnum |
Notably dense, which is the point: it lets the handloader get enough powder into a large case to reach full velocity. Spherical form meters accurately.
Burn rate
The slowest Hodgdon-branded powder on the current chart, just slower than H50BMG.
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:
- Alliant Reloder 33 (position 192)
- Vihtavuori 24N41 (position 193)
- Hodgdon H50BMG (position 194)
- Shooters World SW 50BMG (position 196)
- Alliant Reloder 50 (position 197)
- Vihtavuori 20N29 (position 198)
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.