Hey you Aussies!

[earlmck]

What are you fellows doing with all that ADI AS 25 BP?

Our Hodgdon powder company imports it from over there and labels it as IMR "TrailBoss". I would like to get some of this stuff, but haven't seen any on the shelf, or advertised by my favorite sellers, in at least two years. Even my LGS, who has more powders on the shelf than any other gun store in the area (and maybe in the state) just shakes his head when I ask for TrailBoss.

How much of this flammable popcorn can you guys burn?

[gundownunder]

ADI markets it as trailboss as well.
I bought a 1.5kg (3.3lb) bottle about 5 years ago and am still using it in my Marlin 357. I like 5gr behind a 175gr 360640 which I use for pistol caliber silhouette. That's all I use it for as accuracy is only about 2" at 50 and I can't improve on it. I tried it in my 32-20 behind a 115gr but found that you have to run alongside the bullet and hold your hand under it so it don't hit the ground before it reaches the target There are several guys at my local club that like 16gr of it in their 45-70s behind something in the region of 300gr - 350gr. That is a very pleasant load to shoot.
One of the bigger shops over here is listing it as available at $118 for the 1.5kg bottle, which isn't bad, I paid $112 when I got mine.

[Chuck 100 yd]

I bought a pound when it first came out and a few weeks later bought a 5 lb. ( I think that is what it is) jug.
I mostly use it for CAS and try to keep a good supply ready to go. I like 6 gr. In the .45 Colt under a
230 gr. RCBS 45-230-CA cast of 20:1 alloy. I have 1500 loaded an ready to go. About the same amount loaded for the .357/.38 . Trail Boss also works in everything I have tried it in from the
.30-30 to the .50-95 for plinking loads.
Not being able to find any TB to put in reserve, I have stashed a fair supply of Red Dot, just in case.

[JFE]

ADI have had some supply issues due to a fire but according to their latest news Trailboss supply is not affected.

http://www.adi-powders.com.au/handloade ... .asp#item0

[earlmck]

ADI have had some supply issues due to a fire but according to their latest news Trailboss supply is not affected.

That is quite interesting, JFE. Reading through the ADI literature in your link I gather they make a habit of trying out a new powder over here and then if it sells well they'll let you fellows have a go at it. They write about Trailboss being one such.

A large part of the Hodgdon line is ADI powders, though for some reason Hodgdon can't use the ADI numbers but instead comes up with funny names such as "Retumbo" or "Varget".

I think Trailboss is just about the only ADI-manufactured-for-Hodgdon powder that my normal retailers don't once again have available (after quite a long dry spell for all powders). I can only conclude that it has become so popular in its home country that there is not enough left over to ship across the pond.

[JFE]

Trailboss is used here but our use would be quite small compared to US demand. Plus I would imagine that ADI would likely keep the US market supplied as well as it could. We don't have many alternatives down here whereas there are several alternative gun powder suppliers in the US.

[earlmck]

There appears to be some sort of a mystery here in the "Trailboss" situation. The ADI web site shows Trailboss as easily available. JFE assures me the Australian use would be minor in comparison to the US/Canada consumption and I'm sure that is right. I haven't made an exhaustive search, but I believe all the other ADI powders that Hodgdon imports are once again reasonably available in both 1lb and 8# containers. And yet no Trailboss shows up at either my LGS or the places I would order from such as Grafs, Powder Valley, etc.

Every other powder out there has several direct competitors, but Trailboss does its thing way better than the other powders in its burning rate (dang fast). Now I have used Red Dot or Green Dot for years for the low-velocity "plinking" loads from hunting rifles so they can be shot by grandkids getting used to the rifle before graduating to big game hunting. And maybe even for us other folks who enjoy shooting the "big guns" at tin cans without much in the way of noise or recoil. (Think Ed Harris' "The Load" except more flexible because I am not married to 13 grains and can go up or down as the cartridge/bullet dictates).

Red Dot is fairly "poofy" and generally occupies close to half a case full in most of these loads. But Trailboss is at least 50% "poofier" than Red Dot and usually comes real close to filling the case in these applications. The Red Dot loads are decent shooters but the Trailboss loads are the ones that tend toward being real "tack drivers". Yes, not always, but any load may take a little playing around to find what that particular rifle considers the "sweet spot". Vihtavouri markets its "Tin Star" for the same applications. I've never tried "Tin Star", but investigating it via "QuickLoad" it looks like it might occupy a bit more case volume than Red Dot for an equivalent load, but still only about 2/3 the volume that Trailboss would occupy. Plus Tin Star doesn't seem any more available than Trailboss...

So -- this kid continues to scan the horizon periodically to see if any Trailboss is headed this way...

[Old Ironsights]

I like using it in my .22 NAA C&B pistol. A heck of a lot easier to mess with in that tiny gun, and under a .22 pellet gun pellet it gets things moving right quick...