JD45 Posted March 5, 2005 Share Posted March 5, 2005 IMR (which Hodgdon now owns) has introduced a new powder mainly for the SASS crowd. It is supposed to be so bulky that super-light charges fill 50% of the case and a double charge should either overflow or be within SAAMI specs. (for cowboy cartridges). This powder may end up having a place in IPSC minor and IDPA (especially the Glock .40 mousefart loads). I've got to try some. http://www.imrpowder.com/data/handgun/trailboss-feb2005.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted March 5, 2005 Share Posted March 5, 2005 I'm very interested in .40 S&W Major applications because I think velocity variations are due in large part to the powder position. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem applicable. Any idea of its burn rate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD45 Posted March 7, 2005 Author Share Posted March 7, 2005 I don't know the burn rate, but here is a link describing it. http://www.imrpowder.com/trailboss.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 Burn rate unknown, but I know that the SASS shooters tend to use light charges of very fast powders like Titegroup and Clays so one would imagine the new powder would duplicate the performace of their favored heavy bullet/minor or sub minor loads (only with more bulk). Looks promising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe D Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 If it is as bulky as they say how does it throw? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madone Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 Joe D, According to this page http://www.imrpowder.com/trailboss.html Many people wonder how a powder so fluffy with such unusually shaped granules can flow well through a powder measure. Well, flow was an absolute must with this product during development. Powder drop to powder drop consistency with Trail Boss is at least as good as other flake powders. Due to the volume occupied by Trail Boss charges, users of Dillon measures will want to change from their pistol powder charge bar to their rifle powder charge bar for any charge over 5.0 gr of Trail Boss. If anyone tries it..post back here and let us know how it measures.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmon Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 might make a good 45 acp powder.. no mention of how clean it is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafsob Posted March 16, 2005 Share Posted March 16, 2005 I shoot Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS). CAS is an activity, SASS is not an activity, but is a for-profit shooting organziation. Many people make that mistake. Now on to other things. I shoot a pair of .45 Colt RV's and will be very interested in this new product. I can't tell you how much of a problem the reloading of the .45 Colt can be for a CAS shooter. More bulk can help with this problem and stop with double loads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Ellis Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 Called IMR Ballistics Lab. The tech stated that the burn rate is hard to pin down as it uses different technology to get the results desired. But if you had to pin him down it would be closest to IMR Green Dot. He also stated that testing with semi-auto arms has been very limited. Their testing with jacketed bullets revealed very poor results. The tech said, don't waste your time trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dillon Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 I just tested some of this powder for possible ICORE revolver application. I wasn't able to get within 100 FPS of the published velocity specs in 38 Special. The powder is very bulky, meters within +/- .1 grain, and is very clean burning( it is a single base powder). For CAS it is fantastic, but I couldn't make a 120 PF using 135 gr, 152 gr or 158 gr bullets. I have some 44 magnum ammo loaded with TB powder, but won't have a chance to chronograph it for a few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paradox Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 I found an internet article on the powder as I am curious about it as well. Lots of good info so far, but check this out http://www.gunblast.com/IMR_TrailBoss.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 The author of the article above is a lot more optimistic about the versatility of "Trail Boss" (not to be confused with "TB" powder - or "True Blue" ). If the tech at IMR is to be believed, then the immediate use for trailboss would appear to be maybe those .45 ACP shooters using either lead 230s or coated/polymer/moly 230s. I just checked the latest IMR website data and NO autoloader calibers are listed; however, the .45ACP w/ heavy lead bullets would appear to most resemble the current IMR data. The podwer is really weird looking - sort of like miniature cheerios only more flat. Imagine the look of Hodgdon Clays with a much larger hole & 2 to 3x the outside diameter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesrc Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 Well guys I got a chance to try the Trail boss in 45 ACP. I used 5.0 grs and 200 swc gr Rainier bullet. Not very powerful but damn its accurate. I think I've found the plinking load of a lifetime. 5.0 grs is compressed a little. No way in hell can you over charge a case. Wish I had a chorno. I would quess its 750-800 or there abouts Mike In OKC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 We need chrono data man! If anyone wants to take a look at the developed data by IMR, here is the website: http://www.imrpowder.com/data/handgun/trailboss-feb2005.php I also loaded up some .45 ACP though I will not be able to test fire until tomorrow. I took a much more careful approach; good to know that you had no pressure issues at 5 grains. I used the 185s from Berry's that have an outer profile/size of a 230 grn; these bullets effectively INCREASE case capacity dramatically. Even so, I based my starting charge on IMR's data for the .44 Russian considering bullet weight & OAL (even though its .43 cal vs .45 cal) and decided on 3.0 grn of Trail Boss w/ an OAL of 1.260". Just to be safe, I will test this first out of a 625 revolver- a gun known to handle .45 Super without modification. Will let you know how it turns out. D.C. Johnson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 Bryce M. Towsley wrote up Trail Boss in the July, 2005 issue of American Rifleman. According to the article... - It is fluffy enough that a bottle that holds 1lb. of other powder only holds 9oz of Trail Boss. - It meters well. - IMR says, that for loads over 5.0g, Dillon loaders should use the rifle charge bars. - 5.5g of Trail Boss = 14.0g of TiteGroup = 18.0g of H414 - 3.0g of Trail Boss = 7.9g of Tite Group = 9.8g of H414 (The above weights are for the same volume setting on the powder measure. These are NOT load equivalents.) Hard to tell how it performs. The article shows a cowgirl (lady) shooting...don't know if she is shooting this powder or not. Besides...she might be a tough test...as she is shooting barefoot in rocks. And, by her grip and stance...she could handle whatever recoil was thrown at her anyway (she's looks like a shooter...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 Update: The 3.00 grns load worked but was TOO light; recoil wiht the HOLLOW BASE 185s was somewhere between a .22 and a .38 full wadcutter out of a heavy revolver. Pressures were too low to properly seal the case mouth; ther was primer soot down the sides of the case from the lack of case mouth sealing. Oddly, even at this low pressure, the stuff left the insides of the cases very very clean. Accuracy OK. I used Federal primers (required with a S&W 625) and I have NEVER seen Federals in such fine shape after firing. Usually, any of my Major loads of .45 will flatten the soft Federals quite a bit. Not the 3.00 grn load. Due to the round edge primers and the lack of case sealing and lack of any appreciable recoil, I feel safe in carefully increasing the charge with the 625 (a gun known for its strength and case support). D.C. Johnson Hopefully next time I will be able to set up the chrono. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD45 Posted August 15, 2005 Author Share Posted August 15, 2005 ...as she is shooting barefoot in rocks That's just too funny of a picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paradox Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 Well guys I got a chance to try the Trail boss in 45 ACP. I used 5.0 grs and 200 swc gr Rainier bullet. Not very powerful but damn its accurate. I think I've found the plinking load of a lifetime. 5.0 grs is compressed a little. No way in hell can you over charge a case. Wish I had a chorno. I would quess its 750-800 or there aboutsMike In OKC <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This has peaked my intrest. My local powder dealer happens to have a few pounds in stock for the Cowboy Action shooters. If 5gr under a 200 moly-coated pill gives 830 or so fps... Carlos - If you get the chrono setup please post the results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revchuck Posted August 17, 2005 Share Posted August 17, 2005 Folks - Be careful working up loads with Trail Boss. I've been thinking about trying it for .38 Special minor loads. I checked IMR's website for the data, and noticed that the charges for max loads for 158 grain LSWCs were the same for both .38 Special and .357 Magnum, but the pressure for the .357 was 50% higher than for the .38. I emailed them, and got a reply back from Mike Daly that the figures were accurate; the difference between the loads was the primer used. Think about it - even though there was about a 10% increase in case capacity, there was a 50% increase in pressure, due solely to a change in primers. Y'all are grown men and women - just be careful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted August 17, 2005 Share Posted August 17, 2005 Thanks for the heads up! From your inquiry, it looks like Trail Boss is very primer sensitive. Some of us commonly use Magnum or rifle primers without a second thought. With many powders, apparently that is OK. With Trail Boss, one had better stick with non magnum pistol primers until we know more about this powder. A switch to the new non-tox primers could really cause problems. I think I am going to confine my testing to the super strong 625 for right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revchuck Posted August 17, 2005 Share Posted August 17, 2005 Folks - FYI, I just got another email from Mike Daly about Trail Boss. Here it is: The deal here is, we are working with a whole new technology and there is no history to fall back on. We thought it would work well with jacketed bullets but it does not like them. We thought it should work in a shotshell but the results were not good. Every time we think we can predict the use in regard to new technology, we find out differently.Mike Daly Customer Satisfaction Manager Hodgdon Powder Company/ IMR Powder Company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now