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I read the following post from 2016 on another forum today. The poster seemed knowledgeable on the subject. Can anybody here verify that there are no extruded powders being made in the US right now?
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The basic issue is that no US company makes extruded powders in the lower 48 states anymore. (A health & safety / cost issue.) Even IMR is no longer made in the USA, but in Canada (General Dynamics, Valleyfield, Quebec on an island in the St. Lawrence River). In fact, America only has one mainstream plant now - the old Olin Corp factory at St, Marks in Florida now also part of General Dynamics Corp. It only makes ball powders or those like Hodgdon H100V that use the same production processes.
So ... Hodgdon gets all its 'spherical' grades from St. Marks, some of which are the same as Winchester with a new name. eg Win 760 = Hodgdon H414.
As Danpd says, Hodgdon's extruded grades are all from Australia (Thales / ADI in Mulwala, New South Wales). That's one reason why there is a big shortage of ADI / Hodgdon powders as there is limited shipping capacity for explosives between Australia to New Zealand to America with restrictions on the amounts allowed into berths in Christchurch Harbour, all ships on the line routed via NZ
Also as Dan says, most Alliant rifle powders come from Bofors in Sweden which are also sold as Norma and as Bofors powders in Europe. eg Norma 203B = Re15 IIRC. Some come from St Marks such as the new MR ball powders. Some recent additions (Re17, Re33, and a 50 BMG powder) come from Nitrochemie Wimmins AG which makes Reload Swiss. The only one which affects UK handloaders to any great extent is the Re17 / RS60 duplication.
Then PB Clermont in Belgium, part of the Eurenco group, sells ball powders to Western Powders in Montana which repackages them for the retail canister handloading market as Ramshot and Accurate brands, although Western likely gets some from St. Marks too, and also gets extruded grades from GD's Vallefield, Quebec plant in Canada (the IMR outfit). Some likely duplicate existing IMR grades.
............. and so on and so forth. Thanks to health and safety, and also the post cold war peace dividend there are fewer and fewer western manufacturers of powders and propellants. Viht is only just holding on and nearly closed a couple of years back being saved by Lapua / Nammo by the skin of its teeth at one minute to midnight.
The EU is about to ban most IMR (not the new Enduron grades) and Hodgdon extruded grades because they have various modifiers starting with 'Di' in the their mix that are allegedly 'unsafe' to human health.
So, the stuff come from almost everywhere but also fewer and fewer places, China and Russia aside who're not (so far) in the international market. That may of course be that the Russians and Chinese see these as strategic factories and products unlike the short-termists in Europe and Washington. If we carry on as we are going, we'll lose any future large conventional war with these countries if it lasts longer than six or so weeks as we won't be able to replace ammunition and weapons as they're used up"
Source: https://ukvarminting.com/topic/34948-swissreloader-powders/
"
The basic issue is that no US company makes extruded powders in the lower 48 states anymore. (A health & safety / cost issue.) Even IMR is no longer made in the USA, but in Canada (General Dynamics, Valleyfield, Quebec on an island in the St. Lawrence River). In fact, America only has one mainstream plant now - the old Olin Corp factory at St, Marks in Florida now also part of General Dynamics Corp. It only makes ball powders or those like Hodgdon H100V that use the same production processes.
So ... Hodgdon gets all its 'spherical' grades from St. Marks, some of which are the same as Winchester with a new name. eg Win 760 = Hodgdon H414.
As Danpd says, Hodgdon's extruded grades are all from Australia (Thales / ADI in Mulwala, New South Wales). That's one reason why there is a big shortage of ADI / Hodgdon powders as there is limited shipping capacity for explosives between Australia to New Zealand to America with restrictions on the amounts allowed into berths in Christchurch Harbour, all ships on the line routed via NZ
Also as Dan says, most Alliant rifle powders come from Bofors in Sweden which are also sold as Norma and as Bofors powders in Europe. eg Norma 203B = Re15 IIRC. Some come from St Marks such as the new MR ball powders. Some recent additions (Re17, Re33, and a 50 BMG powder) come from Nitrochemie Wimmins AG which makes Reload Swiss. The only one which affects UK handloaders to any great extent is the Re17 / RS60 duplication.
Then PB Clermont in Belgium, part of the Eurenco group, sells ball powders to Western Powders in Montana which repackages them for the retail canister handloading market as Ramshot and Accurate brands, although Western likely gets some from St. Marks too, and also gets extruded grades from GD's Vallefield, Quebec plant in Canada (the IMR outfit). Some likely duplicate existing IMR grades.
............. and so on and so forth. Thanks to health and safety, and also the post cold war peace dividend there are fewer and fewer western manufacturers of powders and propellants. Viht is only just holding on and nearly closed a couple of years back being saved by Lapua / Nammo by the skin of its teeth at one minute to midnight.
The EU is about to ban most IMR (not the new Enduron grades) and Hodgdon extruded grades because they have various modifiers starting with 'Di' in the their mix that are allegedly 'unsafe' to human health.
So, the stuff come from almost everywhere but also fewer and fewer places, China and Russia aside who're not (so far) in the international market. That may of course be that the Russians and Chinese see these as strategic factories and products unlike the short-termists in Europe and Washington. If we carry on as we are going, we'll lose any future large conventional war with these countries if it lasts longer than six or so weeks as we won't be able to replace ammunition and weapons as they're used up"
Source: https://ukvarminting.com/topic/34948-swissreloader-powders/
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