Original Smokeless Powder for the 44-40

"Sharpshooter and SR80"

By 1900 - Much information by John Kort

By the early 1900's, Sharpshooter replaced Dupont #2. 

Unlike Dupont #2, L&R Sharpshooter was specifically used in black powder frame firearms. I assume this must be because of the addition of the flame-deterrent coatings that would retard burning allowing lower pressure curves even lower than black powder. In 1903 the High Velocity .44-40 cartridge was introduced. It to used "Sharpshooter" powder in larger doses to achieve its 1,570 f.p.s. velocity. (note Sharpshooter powder can photograph below) They were discontinued by the mid 1940's.

In 1913, DuPont introduced SR80 (Sporting Rifle) . It was a granular type powder, similar in appearance to DuPont No.2 Bulk Smokeless but was a bit faster burning and was not a "bulk" type powder. It's burning rate was in the same range as "Sharpshooter".

“Sharpshooter” and "SR80" fueled millions of .44-40 smokeless factory cartridges up until at least the 1950’s (SR80 was discontinued in 1939) when ball powders began appearing on the scene. Winchester switched to a ball powder similar to the old W630 which also has a similar burning rate to 2400. Remington continued to use “Sharpshooter”. 

During all that time,factory ballistics for the standard cartridge remained at 1,300 f.p.s. with a 200 gr. jacketed bullet.
John had the opportunity to find and shoot cartridges of the period and they equaled and sometimes slightly exceeded the 1,300 f.p.s. cataloged velocity.

By the early 1970’s, factory ballistics had been reduced to 1,190 f.p.s. in the catalogs. The reason? It would appear faster burning powders in smaller 7 to 8 gr doses had replaced the slower burning powders. Thus, to keep the pressures within the specified SAAMI limits for the .44-40, the velocity was reduced. I still do not know what the early pressure were for the 44-40. My testings find that some black powder loads in early semi-balloonhead case produces 12,000psi to 14,000psi pending which powder I used. I used Swiss FFG and Goex FFFg, Swill being the hottest.

Unlike the earlier smokeless cartridges that produced catalog ballistics, John also found that in testing the current Winchester and Remington JSP cartridges, they fell a bit short of the 1,190 f.p.s.specification ( closer to 1,150 f.p.s. average). My testing resulted in a consistent 1,050fps @ 8,000psi. Most of my factory smokeless powder testings resulted in pressures 10%-20% lower than SAAMI MAP.

By the 1990’s a new class of 44-40 cartridges were introduced called “Cowboy”. This was due to the interest in Cowboy Action Shooting. Bullets were lead or lead alloy going at around 900-1000 f.p.s.(rifle). Ballistics are 30+% reduced from the original smokeless (and black powder) cartridge and are just fine for recreational shooting. 

Some more information from John....

there is SR80 "more dense" and there is SR80 "less dense". I say that because I have had the pleasure of working with 5 different lots of SR80 and found that some are more dense than others.

It was one of the powders used in factory ammunition for many of the low pressure factory cartridges.... .22 W.C.F., .32-20, .32-40, .38-40, .38-55, .44-40, etc. 

It is considered to be a gelentanized powder and thus pretty impervious to moisture which was not true of the old DuPont No. 1 & No. 2 bulk smokeless powders. 

I currently use what I have in the .22 W.C.F., .44-40 and .30-30 SR (Short Range) cartridges. It produces accuracy as good as any other powders I have tried in those applications. 14 grs. in the least dense lot of SR80 that I have, is a capacity load in the .44-40 and produces very good groups @ 1,290 f.p.s. 

17 grs. of 4759 is the equivalent to 14 grs. of SR80 in my .44-40. That is with the lots of powder I have and doesn't necessarily mean that the % difference would be the same with different lots and/or different cartridges.

Regarding the smell, Frank Marshall ("Speaking Frankly" column - CBA) said it was the "perfume" powder. I would describe the smell as "barnyard". Since it was around from 1913 to 1939, no doubt, tons of it were used by the factories and reloaders. 

Historic SR80.....a vintage powder from the past........ 
(SR - Sporting Rifle)

A good bulk powder, impervious to moisture, with a burning rate of, say, 4227 (Dupont No. 2) or 4198 (DuPont No.1) would be fantastic!~ John Kort 

Early Smokeless Powder was sold in Kegs just like black powder. The kegs came in various sizes...some not much bigger than a can of beans. Below are some examples of kegs and flask type containers.

Note that Dupont #5 was also used but only for Pistols.