Printable View
Does anyone have any experience with WC844 Powder?
Made by Saint Marks (General Dynamics).
They have a web site but not as much info as I would like.
https://www.gd-ots.com/propellant-an...r-propellants/
It lists there powder in order of burn rate but little other info.
https://www.gd-ots.com/propellant-an...r-propellants/
It’s commercial military powder, manufactured in enormous amounts.
Most folks suggest you start with H335 data, at the lowest data and work up slowly. Every batch is different, so if you have more than one keg you’ll need to start again with the other keg.
It’s made for the military M193 and M856 5.56 ammunition but can be used for.223 loads.
Accuracies vary, depends on the batch you get.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
What caliber are you looking to reload it in?
I’ve used it some, it’s an older powder not particularly temp stable.
I am look to use it for both 223/5.56 & 308/7.62
It is CLOSE to H335 for all intensive purposes
It is a bit hotter so start low and work up
WC844 is the OEM for H335. The only differences between the two are lot to lot variations. (Had to look up at my St. Marks cross reference chart)
With that said, it will work for both 5.56/7.62. It’s just on the fast side for both. Though I have used faster powders WC-730 in my 308 Win M1A and had satisfactory results.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My reloading buddies tell me that it IS NOT the same a H335 . . . but close. (I do not have first hand expierance with it.)
Please just don't automatically substitute or you could see pressure spikes.
"Let's all stay safe out there." --- SAWMAN
I worked fairly closely with St. Marks powder. Who makes WC 844 and H335. They are owned by GD and are based out of Florida.
They provided me with their OEM list of powders and what the canister version is. I’ve played with both versions in equipment that measures pressure, can say from experience it’s the same powder.
With that said I am all for playing it safe and treating a powder as faster burning then it actually is.
There is one important note, powder manufactures will sometimes make special lots of powder, which are an OEM only powder tailored to a specific companies needs. They will often label these powders with the parent powder. So it might be WC 844 Lot: X1234....that is a complete unknown and may be faster burning or slower burning.
Reloading...it’s like knitting for men.
I have 16# of WC844. In my loading, I have found it to be slightly slower than H335 and is more similar to Ramshot Tac. In 223/556 loads I need about .8-.9 grs more than my H335 loads to attain similar velocity. But again, that pertains to my particular lot.
How much difference in accuracy do you all that have used it notice in different temps. I shoot in temps from teens to upper 90s and am curious about how it does at different temps.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You likely won’t see much of a difference in accuracy. It’ll shoot nice groups at -25deg F or 150deg f.
What you will likely see is a POI shift the magnitude of which is going to depend on how far your shooting. I can’t remember off the top of my head how many FPS gain/loss you get at hot/cold temp with this powder or its commercial equivalent H335.
If you have a Chrony graph I’d try sticking some rounds in the freezer and then firing them. Then warm up some rounds, stick them on your dash for a few hours on a hot day. Use the same load, but make sure the load your using isn’t a max load.
You should be able to graph it out and get a rough idea of FPS/degree which will show you the temp sensitivity of the powder.
Reloading...it’s like knitting for men.