Powder identification

[Win1892]

I've been loading subsonic .308 for a friend using Trail Boss. A coworker of his bought some loaded 308 subsonics at a gun show and has been shooting them with no problem.
I acquired one from him and knocked it apart and the powder looks like very small confetti. Flat like paper and about 1/8" square.
I've never seen a canister powder like this .
Any ideas as to what it might be?

 

[Wreck-n-Crew]

Alcan use to make a square powder if I recall correctly but are they still around? Maybe it was Sipe? If it is that big it probably was Alcan #8 or AL-8. Yet that's a rifle cartridge and I believe AL was for pistol and shotgun. Possible they had another square flake powder?

 

[rcmodel]

Yes, it could be old Alcan shotgun powder if memory serves me correctly?

But the thing is though, unless it's Alliiant Red Dot, Green Dot, or Blue Dot powder?

You cannot safely ID powder from a photo on the internet.

So don't even try too!!!

rc

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I agree, it's never a good idea to try and ID a powder from a photo, if it's ever a good idea.

OP, what makes you thing that ammo is any better than your ammo?
Maybe the guy who made that ammo should be trying to copy your ammo instead.

 

[ironworkerwill]

Fertilizer.

Or really dull glitter.

 

[clearcut]

you can't copy that load if you don't know what the powder is so make some from a good load chart with known powder.Put that one back together and give it back to the guy's coworker.
CC

 

[RugerOldArmy]

You cannot safely ID powder from a photo on the internet.

Fertilizer.

+1 on the wisdom of this.

Then again, if the OP was trying to use this picture, of what is truly a distinctive powder: green, grey, and black extruded polygons/squares, to identify a candidate powder, for further experimentation, and subsequently sought load data on, and suitability for proposed loads, to experiment with a workup of the powder, it isn't such a bad question.

I've not seen many such powders. I'm curious as to what this powder would be, given the extruded squares/(cut sheets?) in green, grey, and black. I see a lot more cylindrical extrusions, and ball, or flake powders, ignoring oddballs like Trail Boss. (Why squares? is this an older powder?)

You're just giving him a powder to research, not condoning the creation of a 'guessed replica' of a load, without the necessary due diligence.

Have lawyers impacted us too much already?

 

[gamestalker]

Ya, I recall a friend of mine gave me some Alcan back in "79" or "80", and it was in fact square flakes.

But as others have stated, don't ever try to identify powder by it's physical appearance. About the only exception would be the colored Dot powders, kind of hard to get that wrong.

GS

 

[Reloadron]

We can do the looks like it, smells like it and taste like it but that don't mean it's really it and when it isn't it we open the door for really bad things to happen. I like the dull glitter, pretty creative thinking there.

Ron

 

[au_prospector]

Cool looking powder, I would ask about it too!

Go to the website below, search database, search by physical characteristics, enter color grey, enter luster dull, enter lamel shape, press enter and viola! Alcan 8

I believe the OP is simply curious with no intention of trying to match a reload. Because of my simple quest for knowledge I have in the past run into this very cool website which I will share here. Looks like Alcan 8 to me just by the picture. Of course one would have to send a sample in and have it run on a mass spectrometer just to be sure.

Also main database website where one can search powders by physical characteristics and see closeup detailed pics of your fav powders!

http://www.ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/

 

[Alliant Reloading]

It is certainly not our powder, and it would be very difficult to reverse engineer.
Several European manufacturers produce powders with that cut ribbon geometry. Bofors, Maxam, Nobel Sport, Explosia, to name a few.
Please save yourself the risk and leave the reverse engineering to professionals.
Be safe.
Paul

 

[KansasSasquatch]

Its probaby a Maxam PSB series powder or a Vectan product. You aren't likely to find any Vectan powders in the US for sale as no one imports it anymore. And Maxam powders arent widely available but are imported. But make sure you use published data for any powder you try.

 

[moxie]

When in doubt throw it out!

Alliant Reloading,

Welcome to the board. Hadn't seen you here before. I looked at your earlier posts and can see your expertise will be invaluable around here.

 

[Win1892]

Not trying to reverse engineer, copy, duplicate, or reuse this load or powder in any way. My Trailboss load works great.

Curiosity is part of my nature. Odd looking powder.

Thanks

 

[Jesse Heywood]

Curiosity is part of my nature. Odd looking powder.

Has me wondering, too. Never saw a square cut powder.

 

[Jim Watson]

You are just too young and too American.
Cut sheet powder goes all the way back to Ballistite in 1887, made here by DuPont from 1908 til WWII.

 

[Sunray]

The only thing you can tell by looking at it is the colour and its odd shape. Anything else is a wild guess. And if it's a factory load, you can't get it anyway. If it's reloads, tell your buddy to tell the guy about what can happen if you shoot other people's reloads.