[tincansailor]

:? I have been reloading shotgun for over 40 years. I have been given 5 pounds of Win. 231. I won't load that many pistols as long as I live. I was wondering if anyone has used 231 in 20 or 28ga. ? Powder burning charts show it's burning speed is close to 20/28.

 

[6thMichCav]

While in my "crazier" days I have downloaded factory shells, reducing powder and shot, I have never tried a powder not designed for a shotgun. I would not try it.

231 is closer in burn speed to Bullseye, Red Dot and Promo, rather than 20/28, and my guess is that it has too high a pressure curve to use for consistent, safe use in any shotgun. I think if Winchester could have gotten away with marketing 231 as a shotgun powder, they would have listed loads for it by now.

The manuals don't even list Bullseye any more, so I would stick with an established shotgun powder. My advice is to find a fellow shotgunner who loads for pistols and see if they want to trade with you. You may even find a local trade by posting it on the SGW classifieds.

 

[tincansailor]

I can not say your wrong. I have ask local shooters but there are all old like and can see pistol sight any longer, so no one wants the powder. Hodgdon relative burn rate cart shows SR 7625 and HP-38 as faster, 20/28 and unique as slower. 231 could be to dense for shotguns thats why Winchester never sold it as a shotgun powder? I have oaded ammo for a long time an have done one or two dumb things, that why I am asking so I won't be the first to try 231 in a shotgun.

 

[D L Marcum]

W-231 is almost the same burning speed as Bullseye. Bullseye was listed as a low recoil load in Lymans book for years. Listed in #4 Lymans. They showed using 16.5 grs with 7/8 oz. loads, and had a chamber pressure of about 7000 PSI.

I would call Winchester and ask. I don't think there would be anything wrong with doing it at all. There are of course better powders for this use now, but thats exactly how I used up about 14 lbs. of Bullseye I had, with no other use for it. Broke targets as well as any other load.

DLM

 

[Shoot2reload]

I have lots of 231 onhand myself, but wouldn't dream of using it for shotshells. Why? If I can't find published data for it, I'm certainly not going to trust anybody on the internet. YMMV.

 

[D L Marcum]

S2R,
I wouldn't do it either without checking with the manufacturer, but I'll bet it is very similar to the Bullseye deal and judging from that, It's likely a very low pressure load as is Bullseye.

 

[goatskin]

The manuals don't even list Bullseye any more, so I would stick with an established shotgun powder.

Not to hijack this 231 thread, but ...

A couple of whiles ago, I had the occasion to talk to Ben at Alliant about a couple of loads and powders, and asked, specifically, abt Bullseye for light 12s, and if it had gotten caught up in the 'cleaner-burning reformulation' craze and was now chemically unsuited for 12ga use now.

He said, "Naw, it works just like it always has, but Bullseye was an 'old' powder and there was both: less demand and, frankly, Alliant marketing the newest.big.thing. certainly affected it. Lyman's and ABC's space is at a premium, and their pages are demand-driven, and ATK makes a lot more money on e3 and American Select than Bullseye ... besides, the pistol shooters buy all the Bullseye we can make ..."

I told him I was pretty conscientious abt tilting my barrels down after I shot a Bullseye load to let the cinders and clinkers fall out, and he told me that Alliant still recommended cleaning a shotgun once a year whether it needed it or not.

GS

 

[redmudd]

Stick to handgun loads with it. Even if it would work in a shotgun, you wouldn't won't to clean the mess out of your barrel every 25 rounds or so. I'm sure you could find a pistol shooter in your area that would buy it from you as it's pretty hard to find right now like so many other popular powders.