Please educate me on the differences between these two powders. Burn rate charts rank W296 as just a tad bit slower than H110. I can never find H110 but W296 seems available everywhere I shop. I want to use this powder in some .500 S&W loads. Can I use them interchangeably?

They are the same powder sold under two different names. Any difference between the two can be attributed to lot differences.

Faster
97 H-110
98 W-296
Slower

Our Friend 9.3x62 is absolutely correct. Call Hodgdon and I'll bet they will confirm this for you. They have for me in the past. Also, the following Hodgdon and Winchester equivalents:

HP-38 is Win 231
HS-6 is Win 540
HS-7 is Win 571
H-110 is Win 296
H-335 is Win 748
H-414 is Win 760

All current Hodgdon and Winchester ball powders (pistol, shotgun, and rifle) are made by Primex (St. Marks Powder) in St. Petersburg FL (near Tampa) in a facility that used to be part of Olin.

This is NOT something new, but instead these powders have been sold for years under the two labels when they are in fact the same powder. The only differences you may see are from lot-to-lot variation.

Good Luck,
Mark in GA

Sorry, ShopCartRacing, I'll check with you in the future before I bother everyone on this forum. To the rest of you, thank you for your feedback. While working for the government in a remote location I've been off line for the past two years and have fallen far behind.

Hey Locoweed:

Don't worry, a lot of us are dumb shits, LOL!

Regards

Jerry

Mark in Ga might or probably is now right.
Back in the old days Hodgdon sold old bulk powders that were made for Gov't contracts. They were not canister grade powders like ww296 but were made to perform like 296. The old containers had labels said something like surplus can't remember exactly. Believe all of the newer powders are purchased from all over the world now. Think the extreme powders come from Aussie land. The rest from Europe. Maybe some are still from Olin/Winchester.
Just my $.02 worth and not much of a bargin.

OK.....
My .44 mag Ruger will poke shots into a raggedy hole with a near max load of H110, when loaded with equiv. W296 its mediocre at best.
Hmmmm...... How can this be?

quote:

Originally posted by WestCoaster:
OK.....
My .44 mag Ruger will poke shots into a raggedy hole with a near max load of H110, when loaded with equiv. W296 its mediocre at best.
Hmmmm...... How can this be?

Different lots. You might be surprised how much powder can differ from lot to lot, which is why I buy powder in larger quantities than 1 pound. Nothing like working up a nice load with Re19, only to run out, then replace it with a new can that doesn't seem to do quite as well as the previous can.