HiVEL No 2 Military Powder

[dh1633pm]

Got a box of powder from my dad today. It contained two tins of HiVEL. I looked it up and it must be 60 years old or more. Not all the powder he gave me was that old. Was thinking of loading something with it, but can find any data. I guess my manuals are not old enough. One of the cans appears unopened. Seems it works well with 30-06.

 

[Blue68f100]

You need to find the older load data from manuals from the same era of the powder.

 

[dh1633pm]

I would agree.

 

[FLIGHT762]

You'll need to scour the net for HV 2 Data. My 1954 Speer #1 Manual shows HV 2 Data for the 30/06. With a 150 gr. bullet it shows a starting load of 48
grs. to a max of 52 grs. HV 2 looks to be very close to IMR 3031, just a tad slower, but faster than 4064- 4320.

If you intend to try the powder, look it over good and check for any deterioration like and acid smell with rusty colored dust. If it shows any of that, dump it.

I actually salvaged a couple hundred 1918 US Cart. Co. USGI M1906 ball ammo cartridges. The ammo had hang fires. I pulled the bullets and powder. I weighed the powder from a number of cases and came up with an average. I took the bullets and powder and reloaded them into newer cases with new primers.

The ammo shot fine out of my 1943 1903 A3.

I've used up a lot of very old powders that showed no deterioration.

 

[Laphroaig]

Here's the 30-06 page from the 1937 Belding and Mull Handbook.