Winchester
Winchester WinClean 244
A medium handgun powder covering the same standard-pressure target and general-purpose ground as Winchester 231, with a cleaner-burning additive package.
WinClean 244 covers the same ground as W231, meaning standard-pressure .38 Special, 9mm and .45 ACP, with a cleaner-burning additive package and a copper-fouling reducer. That last part is where the reputation splits: the decoppering chemistry is the same family as the CFE powders, and users report guns coming home visibly black after a session, which is the standard complaint about that whole family. It works fine for competition minor loads, but most people who tried it went back to something cleaner rather than rebuying.
- 9mm competition minor
- practice .45 ACP
- .38 Special range loads
Who has Winchester WinClean 244 today
Checked October 10In stock at 1 store — lowest in hand $53.86/lb (4 lb at Hodgdon (direct))
| Store | Size | Shelf | In hand /lb | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 4 lb | $183.99 | $53.86 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 | 4 lb | $156.99 | $50.97 | Out |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 1 lb | $42.99 | $89.89 | 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 →
Official Winchester load data →
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Winchester |
|---|---|
| Product family | Winchester |
| Status | Currently produced |
| Application | pistol |
| Grain form | spherical |
| Lee VMD (bulk density) | 0.0787 cc per grain · 0.82 g/cc |
| Composition | double-base |
| Temperature stable | Not marketed as temperature-stable |
| Flash suppressant | Yes |
| Burn-rate position | 35 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 38 Special, 45 ACP, 9mm Luger |
Grain shape
Spherical, degressive, and it meters beautifully through a progressive; the ball geometry is not the problem here, the additive package is. As with all fast ball pistol powders, the small charge volume means an overcharge does not announce itself in the case.
Why geometry decides burn rate more than chemistry does: Shape Is the Product.
Winchester canister propellants are spherical BALL POWDER products made in the USA; the round kernels meter precisely through volumetric powder measures. The WinClean additive is stated to burn cleaner and reduce copper fouling; Hodgdon flags the powder as an extra-clean-burn product. Sold both as Winchester 244 and as Winchester WinClean 244 - the same propellant.
Burn rate
Fast handgun speed, marginally slower than Winchester 231.
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:
- Winchester 231 (position 32)
- Alliant 20/28 (position 33)
- Vihtavuori N32C Tin Star (position 34)
- Alliant Unique (position 36)
- Hodgdon Universal (position 37)
- Alliant Power Pistol (position 38)
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.
Win 244 gets modest, mixed reviews. The recurring specific complaint is that its copper-fouling-removal chemistry — the same family of additives as the CFE line — leaves guns visibly black over a range session.
- copper-eraser additive blamed for dirty burning
- functionally adequate for competition minor loads
- several users report switching away from it once they tried a cleaner alternative
Availability: Reported as findable but not a first choice; users describe working through existing stock rather than rebuying.
Consensus level: single report to commonly mentioned. Drawn from thread 1, thread 2.
Sources
The specifications above come from Winchester'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.