Winchester
Winchester 296
A magnum handgun powder for full-power revolver loads, and the recommended choice for 410-bore shotshell including Winchester AA 410 loads. Its high loading density is what Winchester credits for its velocity.
Official Winchester load data →
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Winchester |
|---|---|
| Product family | Winchester |
| Status | Currently produced |
| Application | pistol, shotshell |
| Grain form | spherical |
| Composition | double-base |
| Temperature stable | Not marketed as temperature-stable |
| Burn-rate position | 74 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 357 Magnum, 44 Remington Magnum, 410 Bore |
Winchester canister propellants are spherical BALL POWDER products made in the USA; the round kernels meter precisely through volumetric powder measures. Hodgdon flags it as an extra-clean-burn and subsonic-capable powder, and does not list it as temperature stable. It is widely understood to be the same propellant as Hodgdon H110. Powders in this class are not suited to heavily reduced charges - follow the published minimums exactly.
Burn rate
Slow for a handgun powder — magnum revolver speed, essentially alongside Hodgdon H110.
Chart agreement: consistent; published as the same powder as Hodgdon H110 - Wolfe/LoadData lists each as the other's equivalent. 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 N110 (position 71)
- Hodgdon Lil'Gun (position 72)
- Hodgdon H110 (position 73)
- Accurate No. 11FS (position 75)
- IMR 4227 (position 76)
- Hodgdon H4227 (position 77)
Sources
Other Winchester 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.