How far does a pound of powder go?

[OARNGESI]

looking to start reloading how far will a pound of powder for38 special go? Just want to know what to expect

 

[Hokie_PhD]

What load are you using

A pound is 7000 grains
So divide your load by that.
For insatance if you have a 7 grain load and you have zero waste you’d be able to load 1000 rounds with that pound of powder.

 

[Gary Wells]

I believe 7K grs @ lb. Divide accordingly per your charge weight.

 

[OARNGESI]

Ok thanks so roughly 1 pound will do 1000rds five or take a little

 

[bbqreloader]

try this site
http://www.beartoothbullets.com/rescources/calculators/php/powder.htm?v1=6.1

 

[kcofohio]

Ok thanks so roughly 1 pound will do 1000rds five or take a little

That will depend upon what cartridge you load for. A 380 ACP can say, at 2.8 gr. of HP-38 will do almost 2,500 loads. But 357 mag. with 2400 at 14.0 gr. will yeild only 500 loads. Then there are the rifle cartridges.
Okay, I now see you stated for 38 Spl. It will vary greatly with what powder you use and bullet weight.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I load my .38Spl competition rounds with 3.2gr of Clays behind a 170gr bullet.

My last 8lb jug, how I normally buy it, loaded a few hundred over 17.5k rounds last year...I buy them in 2500 piece boxes and used a bit over 6 boxes

Some quick math indicates that a pound should load a couple of hundred over 2k rounds

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Ok thanks so roughly 1 pound will do 1000rds five or take a little

It depends on the cartridge and load. I started loading 38's today and the start load is only 5.4 grains. So I should get 1100 to 1200 rounds once I find a load I like.

My 10mm loads on the other hand require 13.3 grs of Accurate #9 so I only get about 600 rounds.

 

[OARNGESI]

Thanks guys if I remember right it was a 158 gr bullet with grains of unique is what the chart called for

 

[HB]

Bullseye max and Universal max are about 3g different... it depends on powder because each has a different power to weight ratio.

Get into reloading, its awesome. Cheap single stange, powder dropper, and basic tools will keep you entertained

 

[JimKirk]

My .380 ACP uses 3.3 grains that equals 2121 round per pound...
The .30-378 Weatherby I help load uses 106 grains per round ...or so only 66 rounds per pound ...

So 7000/your load in grains = number of rounds per pound...

 

[Texas10mm]

Math is hard!

 

[someguy2800]

This reminds me of a story I heard once. A guy told he was approached by somebody who had just started handloading rifle cartridges. The guy was dismayed that none of the ammo he had made worked and was looking for help. His loads were all puff balls that barely left the barrel. As it turns out someone had told him to load 50 grains of 4350 and he had taken that to mean 1 kernel of powder = 1 grain, like 1 grain of rice means 1 piece. So he was counting out 50 kernels of powder on the bench and dumping them in each case.

 

[reddog81]

For .38 Special you're probably looking at closer to 1,500 rounds per pound. This equals about $.01 to $.02 in powder cost per round. However this all depends on the load you're using. The bullet is the biggest variable in the cost and can range from $.06 to $.25 a piece depending on what you're buying.

 

[cheygriz]

The old "standard" load of 158 grain lead bullet and 3.5 gr of Bullseye will yield 2,000 rounds per pound.

 

[tcj]

Just don't spill any or your calculations will be way off...don't ask .

 

[JimKirk]

Just don't spill any or your calculations will be way off...don't ask .

That will match the primers that you drop and go into that "black hole" under your reloading table. ....!!!

 

[George P]

Buying powder in 4 or 8# jugs will drop your cost even more.

 

[1KPerDay]

This reminds me of a story I heard once. A guy told he was approached by somebody who had just started handloading rifle cartridges. The guy was dismayed that none of the ammo he had made worked and was looking for help. His loads were all puff balls that barely left the barrel. As it turns out someone had told him to load 50 grains of 4350 and he had taken that to mean 1 kernel of powder = 1 grain, like 1 grain of rice means 1 piece. So he was counting out 50 kernels of powder on the bench and dumping them in each case.

Wow.

 

[George P]

Wow.

I have seen that as well; it's even worse when talking about handgun rounds where they were counting out 4-5 flakes of powder for 38 and getting squibs.

 

[Texas10mm]

Some people really need to READ a reloading manual.

 

[Average Joe]

Do the math, I load 3.0 grains of Promo in my .38 spl. @ 7000 grains per pound = 2,333 rounds....

 

[someguy2800]

I have seen that as well; it's even worse when talking about handgun rounds where they were counting out 4-5 flakes of powder for 38 and getting squibs.

Would have really thrown them for loop if the data said 4.2-4.8 grains of tightgroup. Gonna need a razor blade.

 

[George P]

Do the math, I load 3.0 grains of Promo in my .38 spl. @ 7000 grains per pound = 2,333 rounds....

Hoe well does Promo do in 38? I know folks who like it (and its cousin Red Dot) for shotguns)

 

[Walkalong]

Would have really thrown them for loop if the data said 4.2-4.8 grains of tightgroup. Gonna need a razor blade.

Y'all are so funny (Yep, that's a good one), but think back to the days when we knew nothing at all about reloading. Hearing about how many "grains" could easily conjure up counting out those little granules until we read further.