Hope y'all can give me some help. Many years ago I bought an 8lb jug of WC852 in a white milk type jug. I no longer remember where I got it, but it was from one of the internet sources of surplus powder. The label had a hand written lot # on it.....'A230 SL 7254'. I kinda lost track of it in the back of my shop and recently pulled it out to use it. I had written “use H380 data” on the jug with a felt tip pen.
Googling load data for it turned up the fact that there are at least two different versions of this surplus, a 'slow' and a 'fast' WC852.In attempting to verify what I had, I visually compared the surplus to commercial H380 and AA2700. Both of the commercial powders appear to be round shiny black balls where the WC852 appears duller and flattened. One source said the slower version of this powder was about H450 speed. Indeed, it looks very much like the old H450 I have on hand.
If your experience has given you any insight into what data levels I should start from, I'd greatly appreciate some input. Presently, lacking a chronograph, I plan to start with H380 data. I guess there is a reason I wrote what I did on the jug.
Also, if you think the possible burn rates are wide enough to just trash the powder in the name of safety, let me know. That would seriously dent my Scots heritage mindset, but better safe than sorry!