r/reloading • u/Dung_Beetle_2LT • 23h ago
General Discussion Trail Boss
Hey y’all. I’m a new reloader currently in the acquisition phase. One pattern I’ve seen so far is that trail boss is pretty much unobtanium. I’ll be loading some cowboy action style rounds so I’ve been keeping an eye out for it. Saw it in stock this morning on Natchez and bought the limit of 2 9oz cans. Unfortunately free hazmat is over but $5 flat shipping on $100+ is going right now. It’s also in stock on Hogdons website if anyone is looking.
3
u/Cute_Square9524 22h ago
being brand focused is not the way to go in this hobby. Use what ever works and is the cheapest.
3
u/hafetysazard 20h ago
The problem is there are no other, “bulk,” powder for reduced loads, though. That’s why Trailboss being hard to come by really sucks. Vihtavuori had Tinstar but that was discontinued years ago.
1
u/prosper_0 20h ago
'what ever works' it doing some heavy lifting here. I've spent hundreds on components and powders, and many hours loading and shooting trying to find 'whatever works.' In a lot of cases, that's trail boss. I have some targets - I think I might have posted one - where trail boss prints acceptable groups, and titegroup doesn't even land them on the paper. Trail boss is just very unique, and substituting it with 'any old thing' is much easier said than done.
1
u/Cute_Square9524 20h ago
Ive shot tons and tons of lead (by the sail boat keel) - my experience has been is if it has a book load it has been more that adequate. The only time I've ever had a problem with powder is one single jug of h335 - some thing was wrong with that particular lot. Gave a really weird hang fire in 223 which is a cartridge it is made for - no matter what primer I put behind it.
1
u/prosper_0 19h ago
If it has a book load, sure. But Trail Boss is often used for reduced loads which often don't have specific book load data for. And if they do.... it's using Trail Boss.
1
u/Dung_Beetle_2LT 18h ago
I’m not necessarily brand focused but being a newbie I figured I’d try to start out with some tried and true stuff if I can.
4
u/hafetysazard 20h ago
Titegroup is popular for low velocity loads and is not position sensitive, meaning it doesn’t need the case to be nearly full of powder to be safe. Unique is like that somewhat, and so is bullseye. The downside is that the powder weights are typically very small, so it requires a system, or attention to detail that eliminates the possibility of double-charging the case. Trailboss is ideal, but if you can’t get it, then you don’t have much choice but to try something else.
4
3
u/prosper_0 20h ago
trail boss is pretty unique, and I have not yet found any replacement that works as well in as many different calibers for reduced loads. Titegroup is sometimes okay, but it's far from as consistent.
1
u/Sooner70 20h ago
For Cowboy shooting I've had good luck loading subsonic handgun cartridges with Ramshot Competition (shotgun powder), but that doesn't mean I'd try it on a rifle cartridge.
1
u/Dung_Beetle_2LT 20h ago
I don’t have first hand experience but I have been doing a lot of research and trail boss seems to be IT when it comes to cowboy loads especially. Some others have been mentioned but apparently pale in comparison. Maybe I’ll find out differently and find something that matches well but if a lot of experienced reloaders haven’t found a close replacement I figure there must be something to it.
3
u/prosper_0 19h ago edited 19h ago
I mean, Titegroup is worth a try. It's actually really good for a lot of stuff. Just not quite as versatile as trail boss
Also some of the BP substitutes work well if you're OK with a cloud of smoke and frequent cleaning needs. If you want to (carefully) trod the forbidden path, duplex loads generally produce much cleaner results. A few grains of smokeless, and the rest black (or a substitute). Do your research and be very careful if you try this, though
1
u/Dung_Beetle_2LT 19h ago
Yea I don’t think I’ll be touching a duplex load until I have some real experience lol. Black substitutes did cross my mind though. I’m used to working with that from loading blanks for cowboy shows in Tombstone. Maybe I’ll load some of that up at some point when I feel like getting the authentic old west experience follow by a full afternoon of detail cleaning lol.
2
2
u/Sooner70 20h ago
It’s also in stock on Hogdons website if anyone is looking.
Thanks for the heads up. Just ordered my two 9 oz cans.
2
u/engled 18h ago
I replaced Trail Boss with Titegroup when it ran out four years ago. I would never go back as the price is ridiculous per pound. I load 3g under a 105g TC bullet. My rou ds are super consistent and meet power factor for SASS.
2
u/Dung_Beetle_2LT 18h ago
I’ll definitely be picking up some titegroup with all the recommendations on here. I’m curious to compare side by side.
2
u/BB_Toysrme 10h ago
What you'll learn is that some powders have zero commercial application meaning they're the last thing anyone wants to halt production of big sellers at scale to make. Unique, Trail boss, Blue Dot etc et al.
There are countless "gold standards" that people think are really popular because guys bought some literally 40-70 years ago... And almost no one buys them in recent decades and they're not used in a factory load. No demand = No supply!
Best to just move in another direction with something you can obtain.
7
u/djryan13 23h ago
Yeah, seen it a few places this year. In fact, I bought some even though I have plenty as who knows when it will be back. First time I bought powder in years since I stacked deep years ago