Winchester
Winchester 540
A dual-purpose shotshell and handgun BALL POWDER covering heavier shotshell target and field loads plus a range of autoloading handgun cartridges.
Discontinued, and effectively replaced in the line by Winchester Super Field. It was a dual-purpose ball powder for heavier shotshell target and field loads and for autoloading handgun cartridges, a competent generalist rather than anything special, which is why WSF took its place without much protest. Archived data only.
- 12 gauge field loads
- 9mm range loads
- .40 S&W
Who has Winchester 540 today
Checked October 10None of the retailers we track list Winchester 540 right now. See what is in stock.
Discontinued. Canisters still circulate, but the maker no longer produces it — and load data for it may be withdrawn or archived.
Official Winchester load data →
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Winchester |
|---|---|
| Product family | Winchester |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Application | shotshell, pistol |
| Grain form | spherical |
| Composition | double-base |
| Typical cartridges | 12 Gauge, 20 Gauge, 9mm Luger, 40 S&W |
Grain shape
Spherical ball: degressive, and it meters cleanly by volume, which is what made it workable as a shotshell and pistol powder through the same kind of measure. Fast enough that the margin at the top is thin.
Why geometry decides burn rate more than chemistry does: Shape Is the Product.
Discontinued. Winchester and Hodgdon no longer list this powder among current Winchester canister products and it does not appear on Hodgdon's current relative burn rate chart. It was effectively superseded in the line by Winchester Super Field. No manufacturer product page remains.
This powder is obscure enough in the US that its practical character is thinly documented. The note above is deliberately short rather than padded.
Data confidence
We flag entries we could not fully verify rather than presenting them as solid:
- Discontinued — no live manufacturer product page; details drawn from archived or secondary manufacturer material.
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.