Winchester 452AA and 473AA

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nrobe50

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Years ago I was shooting a lot of skeet and have 452AA and 473AA. I can't find loading data for revolvers. Looking for loads for 38-40, 44-40 and 44 special. Other shotgun powder has handgun loading information but this is old powder and maybe someone with old loading manuals could find some info.
 

wwb

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A bit of searching turns up no load data, but here's a burn rate chart. AA452 is #45 on the chart, and AA473 is #62. As long as you're not pushing the limit, data from a powder with a comparable burn rate should be okay. I was surprised to see how slow these powders are, considering they were for shotshell use... did you load 20 gauge or 12 gauge? 20 would require a slower powder.

http://www.castpics.net/LoadData/BurnRates.pdf
 

Dan in MI

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The 1985 version of the Winchester Components catalog (the 5x9" freebie book) lists some 38 special and 45 acp loads or 452AA, but nothing for 473AA. !973 and 1991 version have no info, so there's the era you need to look for.

This what I have. https://www.ebay.com/itm/WINCHESTER-RELOADING-COMPONENTS-CATALOG-DATED-1985/310433185883?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item484742805b:g:rlQAAOxyUQpRFcy-&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACgBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%252Fn%252BzU5L90Z278x5ickkRjLZq23gAR%252BKma9gM2Z1hu8a4ZX%252F0ru6SZaL%252Br1xGT6PTiON2mnoTp8iMVf%252Bk5c60ynbNddSXUpV1KASiaZEhlLfzXKlFLRN59NEfc4sNiFz4HjGKEUmxxO9IR8%252BxFB%252FG1NTeW56h%252BtfHPuF9nU0ov0PgdZ%252Bs9YKwhBJXebLEUYDUxF3dNOErNaP80NsCXOYlV0RoFTeMtdnl0ISD4Iuzfy4XJ98ku%252FRSx2L%252B%252FmUYdqVH6Xm9f%252FBe0MApAn4xTPXnko0iciFVvBJJFeSJjESB29uMlUj7Lpbm1vsGSOqnQtPERZNizk0p7rcDCcMcGgVj8BbyQe8e7HNKu59zLRFIC%252Fx7N7UbZ97Xkj%252BFrvrjmBLmQPW5uq2%252BWKNoCbx56ah%252FVTUNAI1sfziDCCxR%252BGhRfKW4mfbJfJWEYlBJSbyHPfZ%252BE3uXnOHyhDZBifEbr6F5aQ9Xv45lM7d2RhTmZP6oMWBRKvbiKYDkyYGqd0RJVreQWNYQ3z6Xxdyfx2%252Fi6gHXwP%252BcGznNl69Y7ZCeJ1TgQLLO7cb5JbU0haE%252FZlHxHVYt41HeA6syCDlrw6mQJXz2chQcN%252FXPlzO2V%252F8kPrZksq3ccmPzF9pwhx4cSt3R4c78VmsGynNTASb1ltP2ix6jQqwku245yTn7gYzLoZIkPXmn6ZcCulKGfaPbg2xVbjit5Bkll6CiaTV8veqzSyJyvWv22wHCgW5rm5ZPDi8nHmLIXt6pa80PRuqZZ9oPOdl0UZDyIW2TepEQ%252FLKSrBw8OMRBhqe3lF7HgcpD0R9gPB1e25XTuWII9IRmrtFihg%253D%7Ccksum%3A31043318588344f699d7a7ec4611aa0b6fb508098e6c%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524
 

nrobe50

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473AA looks close to Herco. I have been using 8 gr of Herco in 38-40 with a cast 180 grain bullet. I am thinking of trying 6 of 7 gr of 473aa. I am shooting a 357 size old model Blackhawk converted to 38-40.
 

wwb

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To err on the side of caution, I would look up the loads for Unique and use that data... it's slightly faster than AA473, where Herco is a bit slower.
 

Rick Courtright

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Hi,

Back thru the end of the '80s I used 452 for all my 12 ga trap loads, and 473 for 20 ga skeet and field loads. I wasn't loading metallic cartridges at the time. If memory serves, 452 was replaced by WST and 473 was replaced by WSF.

I'm not advocating any "Well it looks kinda like this one on the chart" substitutions, but you might want to see what those two "newer" powders are used for besides shotshells. One thing that bothered me about Winchester back then was their continual changes, in powder names if not formulations. While they weren't the powders used in factory ammo, there were notations in the books that "this load duplicates the factory AA-whatever ballistics." Dunno if WST and WSF loads carry that same notation, as I went back to Alliant, with Red Dot and Unique still my most used standbys.

Rick C
 

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