HS6 vs H110/296 chrony results for 357mag revolver & Rifles

[R.W.Dale]

I dont remember the exact thread but a few weeks ago a poster had posted his results using faster powders to get most of the velocity at half the charge of the usual standby "magnum" propellants.

Today I tested the same theory using two firearms and two powders.

Firearms used: S&W 60-18 5"bbl and a Uberti rolling block with a 22" barrel

Load details: Brass Norma, magtech SR primer, Montana Gold 158g JHP

The propellants were HS6 and H110/296 loaded to "MAX" loads/ 9.5g for HS6 and 16.0g for h110/296

HS6 22"bbl
1430
1451
1471
1456
1454
average 1452 FPS

h110/296 22"bbl
1775
1809
1788
1771
1803
average 1789 FPS

H110/296 advantage over HS6 in the Rifle 337 fps



HS6 5"revolver
1160
1143
1135
1142
1171
average 1150 FPS

h110/296 5"revolver
1213
1206
1247
1262
1244
average 1234 FPS

advantage h110/296 84FPS

Conclusion; it would appear as though for handguns there is little velocity gain to justify the added expense and blast of the "magnum" powders, but with longer barrels this narrow performance gap becomes a chasm. Its worth noting though that even though the performance increase is small the slower propellant still delivers top velocity in the short bbl.

also chronographed was Hornady's 140g Leverevolution factory loads. they averaged 1378 and 1845fps respectively


all readings taken at 10 feet, sunny day, temp 84

 

[357 Terms]

You used SR (small rifle) primers with the h110/296?

I use SR with n110, but not with any other magnum powders.

Have you used SR with h110/296 exclusivly?

 

[R.W.Dale]

I used SR primers for both loads. Primarily because I had 1000 magtech primers that never did group well in rifles. Once gone I'll replace em with a pistol primer.

 

[RalphS]

Run the test again with the correct primers. Use magnum pistol primers for H110 and standard primers for HS-6. It would be interesting to see what the difference would be between SR primers and the correct ones.

Thanks for posting the results. It's always interesting to study chrono results.

I get 1305 fps out of a 4 inch barrel using 16.5 gr of H110. The same load does 1760 out of an 18.5 inch Marlin. It's in the same ballpark as what you got.

 

[Four Knives]

Dangit, I'm sittin on 8lbs of HS6...I was hoping you had good news for me

 

[R.W.Dale]

Dangit, I'm sittin on 8lbs of HS6...I was hoping you had good news for me

I think if all you load for is handguns then this is pretty good news half the powder burnt to get 90% of the velocity.

but if you have a carbine then yeah hs6 would just be for making plinking ammo.

as to primers I've used SR primers for years in lieu of SPM in terms of bruisance the SPM is probably slightly hotter with the primary diffrence being a harder cup on the rifle primers

 

[joneb]

I have been using AA#9 with 158gr jacked for a 2.75" revolver. The accuracy is better with standard primers vs mag. primers I suspect if the temperature of the ammunition is cold enough the mag primers might be a better choice. I have not tried SR primers yet but I may give them a try, thanks for sharing.

 

[J_McLeod]

I think if all you load for is handguns then this is pretty good news half the powder burnt to get 90% of the velocity.

but if you have a carbine then yeah hs6 would just be for making plinking ammo.

as to primers I've used SR primers for years in lieu of SPM in terms of bruisance the SPM is probably slightly hotter with the primary diffrence being a harder cup on the rifle primers

I only own an SP 101 and HS-6 is one of my favorites, so this is good news for me. Thanks for posting.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I agree the results are good but then again, I've always been a fan of HS-6.

Run the test again with the correct primers. Use magnum pistol primers for H110 and standard primers for HS-6. It would be interesting to see what the difference would be between SR primers and the correct ones.

I'm sorry to disagree with you but HS-6 works much better with a Magnum primer than a standard primer. That is the correct primer for HS-6.

Current manuals list only standard primers for none magnum loads and only magnum primers for magnum loads. Even the same powder use different primers in different calibers but in the past HS-5, HS-6 and HS-7 were listed with magnum primers for all calibers and loads. Testers are getting lazy and that's a shame because they are cheating the end user of the manual. (an expensive manual)

 

[R.W.Dale]

I should add that the old speer #11 manual shows using another full grain of hs6 compared to the current hodgdon data I used.

 

[336A]

I too have become a fan of using medium burn rate powders for my revolvers as well. The only difference though is I prefer Unique. I keep all of my .41 magnum ammo to 1100fps and Unique does this easily and economically. I don't even need a max load of Unique to hit that velocity either.

As far as magnum primers are concerned I'll have to respectfully disagree. Magnum primers aren't required for magnum powders such as 2400 or AA#9. The latest Speer manual even advises against the use of magnum primers with 2400. Accurate Arms lists the use of magnum primers with AA#9 because they feel that some reloaders (inexperienced) may think just because they have a magnum pistol cartridge they must use magnum primers.

HS6 isn't even close to either of the above mentioned powders so I don't feel a magnum primer is required for this powder. I don't have any experience with HS6 and I'm sure it is a good powder but it don't require a magnum primer any more than Blue Dot which is slower yet.

 

[Hammerdown77]

You picked the two magnum powders (powders that are typically used in magnum level applications) that DON'T require a magnum primer, PER THE MANUFACTURER'S ADVICE. Those are 2400, and AA #9.

HS-6 often performs best with a magnum primer, although it may not always be needed, depending on load and ambient temperature and application. HOWEVER, Hodgdon's own data for 357 lists a small pistol MAGNUM primer for use in documented HS-6 loads.


Hodgdon Powder Company
Cartridge Load Recipe Report - 4/11/2012
data.hodgdon.com
357 Magnum
Load Type: Pistol Powder: HS-6
Cartridge Information
Case: Winchester Barrel Length: 10"
Twist: 1:18.75" Trim Length: 1.285"
Primer: Winchester SPM

357 Magnum
Cartridge Load Data Starting Loads
Maximum Loads
Bullet Weight (Gr.) Powder Bullet Diam. C.O.L. Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure
110 GR. HDY XTP HS-6 .357" 1.590" 10.3 1614 32,600 CUP 11.5 1776 42,300 CUP
125 GR. HDY XTP HS-6 .357" 1.590" 9.8 1493 34,400 CUP 10.9 1629 42,100 CUP
140 GR. HDY XTP HS-6 .357" 1.590" 9.5 1411 35,800 CUP 10.5 1539 43,000 CUP
140 GR. HDY FTX HS-6 .357" 1.600" 6.0 1046 22,500 PSI 7.7 1326 33,400 PSI
146 GR. SPR JHP HS-6 .357" 1.535" 8.5 1330 32,900 CUP 9.5 1461 41,800 CUP
158 GR. CAST LSWC HS-6 .358" 1.610" 6.0 990 12,900 CUP 7.0 1106 15,500 CUP
158 GR. HDY XTP HS-6 .357" 1.580" 8.0 1182 28,000 CUP 9.5 1375 41,900 CUP
170 GR. SIE JHC HS-6 .357" 1.580" 8.0 1181 30,900 CUP 9.2 1321 42,900 CUP

NEVER EXCEED MAXIMUM LOADS

 

[627PCFan]

I use SR primers for all my 38 and 357 loads, and shoot exclusively hs6 in my 38 and aa9 in my 357. When I had some sp primers had little effect on chronoed velocity in both calibers and normal temps. I did note hs6 is dirtier with alot of soot at min loads and aa9 has unburnt kernels unless pushed hard.

 

[Hammerdown77]

I have found AA9 to be an EXCELLENT choice for 357 magnum. I much prefer it to H110 as it is less sensitive to temp and primer choice. And it has proven much more accurate when used with 158 grain lead projectiles.

 

[336A]

You picked the two magnum powders (powders that are typically used in magnum level applications) that DON'T require a magnum primer, PER THE MANUFACTURER'S ADVICE. Those are 2400, and AA #9.

Of all the powders suitable for handgun cartridges there are only three that come to mind that REQUIRE a magnum primer. They are H110/296, Lil' Gun, and IMR4227. 627PCFAN even noted little effect on chronoed velocity when using SP primers with HS6 in his post. I find it hard to beleive that a medium burn rate powder such as HS6 requires a magnum primer; when a much slower powder like AA#9 does not.

AA#5 is right next to HS6 on the burn rate chart #35 and #36 respectively, and AA#5 don't even require a magnum primer.