Winchester
Winchester 748
Winchester's designated choice for the 223 Remington and a broad-coverage centrefire rifle powder spanning small varmint cases through large-bore magnums.
Winchester's designated .223 powder and a broad-coverage rifle ball powder that also does real work in .222 Remington, .30-30 and even .458 Winchester Magnum. Its two selling points are metering, which is flawless through a progressive and matters enormously if you load .223 in volume, and a low flame temperature that is genuinely easier on throats than extruded powders of similar speed. Against it: no temperature-stability claim, and ball powders of this generation are known to get cranky about ignition in the cold, so a magnum primer and a winter function check is not paranoia.
- high-volume .223 loading
- .222 Remington
- .30-30 Winchester
- .458 Winchester Magnum
Who has Winchester 748 today
Checked October 10In stock at 2 stores — lowest in hand $49.93/lb (8 lb at Graf & Sons)
| Store | Size | Shelf | In hand /lb | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 8 lb | $361.99 | $49.93 | In stock ↗ |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 8 lb | $380.99 | $51.55 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 1 lb | $52.99 | $84.43 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 1 lb | $49.99 | $87.44 | In stock ↗ |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 8 lb | $225.95 | $32.17 est. | Out |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 8 lb | $327.99 | $46.86 | Out |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 1 lb | $46.95 | $78.39 est. | 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 | rifle |
| Grain form | spherical |
| Lee VMD (bulk density) | 0.0655 cc per grain · 0.99 g/cc |
| Composition | double-base |
| Temperature stable | Not marketed as temperature-stable |
| Burn-rate position | 130 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 223 Remington, 222 Remington, 30-30 Winchester, 458 Winchester Magnum |
Grain shape
Spherical, degressive and dense; it meters better than any stick powder in the same burn window and fills a small case well. Degressive means burning surface is greatest at the start, so it is less forgiving of a heavy charge than a neutral-burning tube.
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. Winchester states the low flame temperature extends barrel life relative to other powders of similar burn speed. Not listed as temperature stable.
Burn rate
Medium rifle speed, just slower than Hodgdon Varget and alongside Winchester StaBALL Match.
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 N140 (position 127)
- Shooters World Precision Rifle (position 128)
- Hodgdon Varget (position 129)
- Winchester StaBALL Match (position 131)
- Hodgdon BL-C(2) (position 132)
- Vihtavuori N540 (position 133)
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.