By Jeff Brown
Recently I was discussing some experiments I was carrying out with ADI/IMR Trail Boss powder. I had bought the powder many months prior and finally got around to doing some testing in my .30-30 WCF single shot bolt action Husqvarna. Posting the results on a forum I share with a few like minded shooting cranks one of said cranks commented that he had been 'duped' when he bought his canister of Trail Boss as it was only 9oz and not the 'usual' 1 pound. Another member was surprised when I mentioned the Hodgdon Titewad I load in my 12g loads is sold per 14oz unit. That got me to thinking.
Due to the relative density of sporting propellants they, per given weight, will occupy more of less of the internal space of the supplier's canister. Ball powders for example tend to run rather dense so in a given sales unit canister from 'X' vendor 1lb/16oz may only fill the bottle 3/4 the way up. Stick powders may be similar in bulk density but when we get to pistol and shotgun powders as the faster burning end of the spectrum we find they manifest themselves as a significantly more fluffy material and a full 1lb/16oz dose near fills the can. To complicate things even more we run into vendors who distribute in metric amounts so shooters in the EU, Australia and New Zealand will buy domestic products in 500 gram lots (1.1lb).
I cursory search of Hodgdon's range of products reveals a range from 9 to 16oz(1lb). The bottom line is buyer beware. Don't assume that each 'pound' of powder is actually 1lb. In many cases it simply is not.
Recently I was discussing some experiments I was carrying out with ADI/IMR Trail Boss powder. I had bought the powder many months prior and finally got around to doing some testing in my .30-30 WCF single shot bolt action Husqvarna. Posting the results on a forum I share with a few like minded shooting cranks one of said cranks commented that he had been 'duped' when he bought his canister of Trail Boss as it was only 9oz and not the 'usual' 1 pound. Another member was surprised when I mentioned the Hodgdon Titewad I load in my 12g loads is sold per 14oz unit. That got me to thinking.
Due to the relative density of sporting propellants they, per given weight, will occupy more of less of the internal space of the supplier's canister. Ball powders for example tend to run rather dense so in a given sales unit canister from 'X' vendor 1lb/16oz may only fill the bottle 3/4 the way up. Stick powders may be similar in bulk density but when we get to pistol and shotgun powders as the faster burning end of the spectrum we find they manifest themselves as a significantly more fluffy material and a full 1lb/16oz dose near fills the can. To complicate things even more we run into vendors who distribute in metric amounts so shooters in the EU, Australia and New Zealand will buy domestic products in 500 gram lots (1.1lb).
I cursory search of Hodgdon's range of products reveals a range from 9 to 16oz(1lb). The bottom line is buyer beware. Don't assume that each 'pound' of powder is actually 1lb. In many cases it simply is not.