Hi,

Some years back I used a lot of W/W 630 pistol powder. It was excellent in +P 38 Special loads, along with light to moderate 357 Mag loads. I shot the heck out of it! Then I got out of shooting and loading for some years and am just now returning. I noticed right away that 630 was gone! W/W apparently discontinued this superb powder. Does anyone know about this?
Richard

Hi,

Some years back I used a lot of W/W 630 pistol powder. It was excellent in +P 38 Special loads, along with light to moderate 357 Mag loads. I shot the heck out of it! Then I got out of shooting and loading for some years and am just now returning. I noticed right away that 630 was gone! W/W apparently discontinued this superb powder. Does anyone know about this?
Richard

Great...you're the guy that was buying it...bet Winchester wondered. (if I could get this machine to accept those little smilie faces, would put one in right about here...but the machine doesn't, so will just have to tell you I'm kidding).

Close to that...seemed to have a limited market. Worked exceptionally well in some applications (but the .38specail never had a lot of 630 fans...other than you, I've not met another revolver loader that sung it's praises). Nearly always took more grains of 630 to achieve teh velocity that could be had with fewer grains of another powder...and as powders are sold by weight, made it the least economical choice...but would occasionally run across a load that had exceptional accuracy (the .22hornet was one caliber that seemed to like it).

Gone...old stocks, perhaps less than perfectly stored, is found once in awhile....is time to look at alternatives. If you look long and hard, may trun up some...had a friend turn up with a couple of cans of HiVel No.2 that seemd to work as old loading data claimes it would, so it's possible that if you just have to find a few of the last cans of 630, you could do it.

Ribbonstone, i figured as much! Yes, it was a bit slow for 38 Special, but I had a light load shooting a 158 gr. lead rn bullet, in 357, that made superb holes in targets. It was a delight to shoot and delivered high end 38 Special velocities, just fast enough to shoot somewhat flat, yet not lead and easy on the ears! I`ll go out in search of a replacemrnt!! Maybe Blue Dot or the new 2400???
Thanks,

Long gone. I thought the stuff was supposed to be rough on forcing cones.... or am I confusing it with something else?

Long gone. I thought the stuff was supposed to be rough on forcing cones.... or am I confusing it with something else?

Don't remember that reputaion...it could have been.

Dug out the old data and found the .38special listings for 630. In the 158gr. lead catagory, used the highest charge weight of any powder listed (8.9gr.) to achieve a velocity that could be had with several powders in the 4 to 5gr. catagory.

IN the .357, charges are all less than with 2400, 296, AA9, H110...and vel. is also less.

So evidently what we have is the combination of heavy powder weights (and expense) for medium performance...not real economical or high perfomanace, so not much to recommend it as a powder for handguns.

Yes, all that has been said is true, but in my Ruger 3 Screw Blackhawk this powder drove tacks! How can ya forget that!?

Richard

If you will look at the old books you will find that 630 has been gone since the '70's, it was replaced by 630P which was also discontinued.

The problem with both of these powders was that they were too similar to H-110/296. By that I mean that they did not take to reduced loads at all and many guns were blown up using them. Even Dick Casull and Neil Wheeler blew up some guns unintentionally with loads which should have been fine.

In the early to mid '70's I had a S&W 58 that I was trying to use the 630 in. Beginning at the starting loads in the then current Speer book I would experience shot-to shot variation so extreme that one shot would be a squib and the next you would have to drive out of the chamber! Same charge, and, no, not a double charge.

It seems in retrospect that increasing the charge would have produced better consistency, but at the time we didn't go up to reduce pressures!

In short, with the knowledge of the day these two powder were extremely dangerous and that is the why of it.

I used Win 630 in the late 70's and early 80's for my .357 loads. With this powder I quickly burned out the forcing cones of a blued Python and a Mdl 28. That was the worst powder for erosion I've ever used.
It did produce excellent accuracy however, but the accuracy was over shadowed by the damage it caused.

I for one am glad it's gone.

Joe