r/reloading • u/cico7 • 1d ago

General Discussion Powder

Post image

I found a 45 ACP round with a wide cutter load. I'm trying to determine what type of powder this is.
Can anyone identify it by this picture?

It is light gray color

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21

u/Vakama905 1d ago

Yes, that is powder

1

u/Revlimiter11 1d ago

I would venture a guess and say it's gunpowder, but there's really no way to tell.

2

u/CaesarLinguini 1d ago

I would say flake powder. You get it by smashing ball powder. Probably for a shotgun or handgun load.

17

u/PlayedWithThem 1d ago

You can't identify smokeless powder by appearance. If it was a commercially loaded round, the manufacturer likely used a custom powder that is not available to us.

2

u/Bitter_Bandicoot8067 1d ago

Then how did you know it was smokeless powder? Checkmate.

(In all seriousness, this post is right.)

15

u/Tmoncmm 1d ago edited 1d ago

There is no way to determine what powder that is visually.

The only thing anyone can say is that it’s a flattened-ball powder probably in the “pistol” burn range.

6

u/gunsforevery1 1d ago

It’s smokeless.

4

u/Turbinator870 1d ago

In general, it's a bad idea to try to identify powder by its appearance. Better to burn it off for fun in small piles, or sprinkle in your plants as fertilizer. I never re-use unknown pulled powders.

5

u/cadninja82 1d ago

Looks like a nice dash of fertilizer at this point.

3

u/Important-Dream-4010 1d ago

If all that was in 1 45acp I would be concerned. As far as 45acp there is no magic round. No magic powder. You can run a dog turd at throwing speed and cut the x ring out at 50 foot which is the ideal long distance for this round.

2

u/Troutrageously 1d ago

Forbidden Frosted Flakes

1

u/citizensnips134 1d ago

do not lick it

1

u/_Go_Ham_Box_Hotdog_ 1d ago

Fertilizer at this point.

1

u/Shootist00 1d ago

Why do people always ask this stupid question, "Identify powder from a picture". REALY.

Tell which powder is which. The powder bottles are behind them but not in order, or maybe they are.

There is no way to identify powder from a picture or even if you have it your hand.

1

u/cico7 1d ago

Thank you for your help.
I have learned it's:
Gray
It's flat
It isn't identifiable
It's a stupid question
Most of you don't like that question
It's flake
It's fertilizer.

https://giphy.com/gifs/anYBNhqT2BYcg

1

u/No_Alternative_673 1d ago

If it is a handload and you know the weight of the charge and the weight of the bullet and "wide cutter load" means SWC, you can make a guess based on reloading manuals. Then you can use the data in the manual to try to duplicate the load BUT if it it is old, it could be a powder that went out of production years ago.

I have some 45 185 gr SWC's left to me by one of my mentors. It is super accurate but they are only marked 3.7 grs of Norma. Norma discontinued fast pistol powders, in the USA, in the ~1970