Hodgdon CFE 223

[Dark Skies]

Apparently, according to Hodgdon, CFE 223 is a good all-rounder for 223 Remington (as the name suggests) and for heavier bullets in 7.62x54R and .303 British.
A cursory glance at data figures places it conveniently applicable to the stocks of bullets I have on my shelves 55gr 224 and 180gr .311 (for my Moist Nugget).
Seems too good to be true that I can use it across my most shot calibres (albeit my fave go to H4895 was).
Has anybody had good experience with the stuff in 7.62x54R and .303 British?

[Individual]

I've heard Hodgdon powders are no longer being imported into the UK, so when current stocks run out there will be no more.
Same for Alliant.

So you might have to look elsewhere.

[Mauserbill]

I've heard Hodgdon powders are no longer being imported into the UK, so when current stocks run out there will be no more.
Same for Alliant.

So you might have to look elsewhere.

Hello
Is that true about Hodgdon and Alliant powders, any body else heard that story, In a short while the MAN will not have to ban firearms as there will be nothing available to load them with !

[phaedra1106]

Alliant's parent company announced they were suspending/stopping powder production due to the current shortages of nitrocellulose.

Vista Outdoors (the parent company of Alliant Powders):
"Due to the worldwide shortage of nitrocellulose, the Vista Outdoor supply agreement for the sale of Alliant Powder canisters has been suspended for an unknown period. At this time, we have no timeline for the fulfilment and will be canceling outstanding Alliant orders in our system"

[Graham M]

Reloder 7 is good for .223 and it''s REACH compliant

[Individual]

Alliant's parent company announced they were suspending/stopping powder production due to the current shortages of nitrocellulose.

Vista Outdoors (the parent company of Alliant Powders):
"Due to the worldwide shortage of nitrocellulose, the Vista Outdoor supply agreement for the sale of Alliant Powder canisters has been suspended for an unknown period. At this time, we have no timeline for the fulfilment and will be canceling outstanding Alliant orders in our system"

I'm only just starting to investigate the relationships between powder 'Brands' like Alliant and Hodgdon and actual powder manufacturers.
e.g. quite a bit of Alliant's powder is made by Bofors in Sweden and isn't 'merican at all.

Although some of the powder shortages are because of the war in Ukraine, some is also due to the on-going affects of the REACH legislation.

Frustratingly, it seems that even "REACH compliant" powders from US brands may not be available over here, I guess because they can't be bothered with the hassle for such a small market.

I'm looking at using Viht or RS for my loads because it looks like both will be available here.

either way it's all eye-wateringly expensive....

[Dark Skies]

It's becoming increasingly difficult to marry up powders I can get with data for cartridges / projectiles I have. If it's not flat out unavailable now, it's halfway up the country, overpriced, with a whopping fee on top for transportation. We keep being told supplies are short because of the war in Ukraine etc. etc. I think it's just an excuse to mug us, for the most part. Caps for bp firearms, for example, £4.50 per 100 are now in excess of £18. I spent the best part of £100 on a thousand large pistol primers last week! When the war ends, as all wars do, don't hold your breath the prices will come back down to a realistic price, even allowing for inflation. It's like shooters are being continually groomed by predators to take it up the a*** without flinching.
'Show me on your wallet how deeply the bad man touched you.'

[dromia]

I moved to The Vihtavuori range of powders 20 years ago due to the unreliable availability of the yanque powders.

It covers all calibres and I have been in no way disadvantaged by stopping using the yanque propellants.

I am no fan of the .223 but shoot an awful lot of .222 and find N120 gives me all the velocity and accuracy I need.

Look up the Vihtavuori data site.

As for prices we now live in a world that exists soley for people to shaft each other.

[Dark Skies]

An update. I'd run up a batch of 7.62x54R using Hodgdon's data for 180 grain bullets pushed by CFE 223 to put through my Mossies at Bisley yesterday. I wanted to compare it to a batch of rounds using H4895 and IMR 4451. The experiment didn't last long at all - none of the CFE 223 reloads would ignite properly. The primer would go off with a healthy deep ding in to signify a sound strike, but the powder would only partially burn or not at all, the bullet would get stuck on the lands about a quarter of an inch up the barrel, requiring drifting out, driven as it was, pretty much solely by the primer. This happened with a dozen or more rounds in both rifles. I had about four rounds actually fire - albeit it with a strange lag sensation I'd associate with black powder muskets. Works fine in the .223 Remington Southern Gun I'd taken along. A really disappointing outcome - as it's supposed to be a great all-rounder and is readily available near me at the moment. I'd adhered strictly to Hodgdon's data online too.

[billgatese30]

What primers were you running?