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W231 and HP-38 interchangability

5K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  mustanger 
#1 ·
Ok guys I've heard Hp38 is the same as 231. Is this true? I couldn't get any 231 and got 1lb of hp38 to try in my .45acp and .380acp. Any suggestions on me being able to substitute data for one or the other?
 
#5 ·
Even more reassurance. You guys are awesome. I hope this stuff is a Lil cleaner than unique. It gets a little overwhelming at the indoor range
 
#6 ·
The biggest difference you will see in the two is how HP-38 meters through your measure. It does not flow as well as 231. When you look at it you will see the difference. HP-38 hangs up in my RCBS anyway. I tried it once a long time ago and went back to 231 to stay. You may feel differently.........
 
#9 ·
35remington said:
Mustanger, they can't flow differently.

They are the exact same powder. This is pretty well known. It has been known for some time. Hodgdon will confirm it for you, should you doubt.
I stand corrected. I did not know that Hodgdon now owns and operates Winchester and IMR powders. And I did not know that sometime in the past HP38 was changed to the same ball type powder as 231. In fact, it is 231. I had to educate myself on these developments that ,according to which website you read, happened in 2006 or 2009.

But 25yrs ago when Hodgdon was by itself, HP38 was a flake powder that was a pain to meter through the measure. Little flat discs. The flakes would jam up and not cut off clean when closing. That is my experience and that is what I shared, not knowing things had changed. It was a flake powder back then and that's why I quit using it. Looking at the old manuals you can see that the burn rate of the two was not exactly the same but so close it did not much matter except on certain loads where pressure variance got a little too wide.

Thanks for educating me. Now I can feel comfortable buying HP38.
 
#10 ·
yep it is a tiny little ball powder. crazy looking to me compared to unique like im use to. excited to try something that meters well. also picked up some H110 to try in the 44mag
 
#11 ·
This has got my curiosity up, so I emailed Hodgdon to find out if they just started pouring 231 into the HP38 cans when they took over Winchester in '06. I'll see what they say, if they answer me back.

If memory serves me right HP38 used to look a little like Unique only smaller little discs. It didn't take much static to have them sticking to everything.
 
#12 ·
Some powders are worse than others when it comes to "static cling" in the powder hopper. Every now and then, especially in the winter when our humidity in the house drops significantly, I will wipe the interior of my hopper with a used dryer sheet. That does help, as does simply tapping on the side of the hopper with a non-conductive, non-sparking article.

Even wiping the outside of the powder hopper with a bare hand can cause some grains of powder to 'jump' and cling to the interior side of the hopper when the humidity is low. Sort of a curious thing.
 
#13 ·
Well I guess I have to eat a little crow for breakfast this morning. Got any salt and pepper?

I got a quick, detailed reply from Hodgdon and I was wrong. I guess I can't trust my memory anymore. This is the email......

HP-38 was brought out by Hodgdon in the late ‘60s. It was produced by Olin in their ball powder plant. Olin was making the powder for the commercial reloading business and they were not selling it under the Winchester name to reloaders. That powder was W231. About a year later, Olin reviewed the situation and dropped W230 from the Winchester line of powder available to the public and brought out W231 under the Winchester brand. Winchester 231 and Hodgdon HP-38 have been the exact same powder since that time. Once Winchester 231 was brought out to the public, it has never had a change in format or formula. It has always been a flattened ball just exactly like HP-38.

I can't explain why I quit using HP38 for metering problems and switched to 231 and had no problems for 20yrs. All I know is it happened.
 
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