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Canister and Bulk

Home > Small Arms Ammunition > Components > Canister and Bulk

A canister propellant is sold in small quantities to hobbyists who reload ammunition. Each cartridge is limited as to how much powder can be safely loaded behind a particular bullet weight or style. Most bullet and propellant manufacturers have tested a range of cartridges with many propellant and bullet combinations and published the data in reloading manuals.

135 gr SPEER Short Barrel Gold Dot HP
Coal Tested 1.450"
Part Number 4014 BC=0.141 SD=0.151
Propellant
Start Charge,
gr
Start Charge Velocity
Max Charge,
gr
Max. Charge Velocity
Power Pistol® 6.0 983 6.4 1065
AA #5 6.6 1000 7.0 1052
AA #7 7.8 954 8.2 1030
HS-6 6.8 944 7.2 1027
Viht. 3N37 6.0 969 6.4 1007
Unique® 4.8 867 5.2 988
H. Universal 5.0 937 5.2 977
PB 4.3 818 4.7 936

Bold type denotes MAXIMUM loads; use with caution.

Test Conditions—Case: SPEER; Primer: CCI® 500; Test Firearm: S&W M14; Barrel: 6" 1-18 ¾" twist;

Bulk propellants are sold to manufacturers that possess standard pressure-testing equipment making reliance on published data unnecessary. Based on concurrent testing, the lot control for bulk propellants can be less rigorous because the ammunition manufacturer determines the proper charge weight at the time of loading.

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