Higginson Powders

[ShawnM]

Just did a transaction with Higginson Powders for 500x .308Win 1F brass and one Lee shell trimmer. They only had Imperial headstamp in stock which was fine with me. It's for a semi-auto so the recovery rate on the brass will be pretty low anyway.

The shipping was very fast coming from ON. I had my package within about 4 days. The brass was bundled as one package, obviously done by weight, and although I haven't bothered to count it the quantity seems pretty close if not exact. I paid by EMT with no troubles and the person on the phone was efficient and accurate if not particularly cordial. (No bitch there, it's just nice to talk to someone that knows what they're doing.)

The brass itself was FILTHY even for 1F brass. After removing all the brass there was probably 1cm of dust and particles at the bottom of the bag. I suspect they were getting close to the bottom of a container and the crap must have settled toward the bottom. Out of five hundred 1F cases I have only found seven so far that are unusable: Five that are the wrong size and two that have split necks. So that's a pretty good return for 1F. After I decapped and sonic cleaned the brass it looked just fine for Imperial head stamp. Some was nice and shiny and some was that dark muddy color it gets when it is older brass. I'll probably pick the best two hundred or so and anneal them so I can use them for a few loads.

Overall I'd give the transaction an A- and will definitely repeat. Only reason it's not an A+ is because the brass was so dirty. They had the shell trimmer I'd been looking quite a while for; so that was great. Would definitely recommend to others.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Yup they are a diamond in the rough if you are looking for something that they carry.....quick and efficient. I think for 1X fired brass, you did really well, a bit of dirt is a small price to pay for being able to have exactly what you need in 4 days.

LC

[catnthehat]

I've been dealing with Higginson's for about 30 years steady , when old Tom ran the place.
Tremendous service, for sure, and they have decent powder prices as well.
Cat

[ShawnM]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

Yup they are a diamond in the rough if you are looking for something that they carry.....quick and efficient. I think for 1X fired brass, you did really well, a bit of dirt is a small price to pay for being able to have exactly what you need in 4 days.

LC

Yeah not exactly a deal breaker but when I say filthy I mean FILTHY. I wish I'd taken a picture of it. I actually had to wash it with soapy water in a bucket before I would put it in my sonic cleaner. Otherwise it would have ruined the solution immediately. But hey it's no biggie, I'm more than satisfied with the whole transaction.

[bulletman]

I can remember my Dad getting powder from Higgonson 20-30 years back!
A friend of mine in Saskatchewan was a regular customer there also. 20 POUNDS for one guy is a lot though!

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by bulletman

I can remember my Dad getting powder from Higgonson 20-30 years back!
A friend of mine in Saskatchewan was a regular customer there also. 20 POUNDS for one guy is a lot though!

Well, the trick is to put an order in with some friends, but 20 pounds can be consumed by some of us at time, depending on the amount of shooting and the size of the cases.
The best thing I like about them is you can mix up your powder order with a few pounds of this and a few pounds of that .
Cat

[duceman]

Originally Posted by bulletman

I can remember my Dad getting powder from Higgonson 20-30 years back!
A friend of mine in Saskatchewan was a regular customer there also. 20 POUNDS for one guy is a lot though!

20 lbs is a lot! i loaded 18+ lbs in sept and oct alone. should be down another 20+ by the end of january if the weather co-operates. lee

[Au revoir, Gopher]

Originally Posted by duceman

20 lbs is a lot! i loaded 18+ lbs in sept and oct alone. should be down another 20+ by the end of january if the weather co-operates. lee

18+lbs in 2 months... at my current rate of consumption I figure 20lbs will last me about 5 years. While I am hoping to increase the amount of time I spend behind the trigger, I can't image 20 lbs in 2 months! Or are you loading for something that takes 1/4lb per cartridge?

ARG

[Dick284]

At my peak I'd consume close to 5 lbs a month.
But I also had a job and a young family then too.
Un like Lee aka duceman, I don't have my own range, own a multi national corporation, and only worry about the wife and kids on birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmas. Then there's the fact he buries 85% of what he reloads, he keeps mumbling something about being free or a free man or something like that.

[ShawnM]

Originally Posted by dick284

at my peak i'd consume close to 5 lbs a month.
But i also had a job and a young family then too.
Un like lee aka duceman, i don't have my own range, own a multi national corporation, and only worry about the wife and kids on birthdays, anniversaries, and christmas. Then there's the fact he buries 85% of what he reloads, he keeps mumbling something about being free or a free man or something like that.

lmao

[wwbirds]

without naming names (you know who you are) some of the above participated in our October bulk Higginson powder order of 49 pounds. Now I wondered when I needed powder again in December if we could get enough interest for another order and wasn't disappointed when some of you decided you needed another 67 pounds.
So some people from North south and East of Calgary are burning up a lot of powder! By March we should have another group bulk buy!!!
Happy New Year!!!! happiness is a smoking gun!

Rob

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by wwbirds

without naming names (you know who you are) some of the above participated in our October bulk Higginson powder order of 49 pounds. Now I wondered when I needed powder again in December if we could get enough interest for another order and wasn't disappointed when some of you decided you needed another 67 pounds.
So some people from North south and East of Calgary are burning up a lot of powder! By March we should have another group bulk buy!!!
Happy New Year!!!! happiness is a smoking gun!

Rob

I want to say thanks again for being the man with the plan and the guy who puts this all together. No doubt when another order needs to be placed and we are looking to consolidate, I will be having some of your excellent home brew coffee again

LC

[bulletman]

20 pounds is a lot! That would just about write off my entire CPP cheque! I wouldn't have any money for bullets, and they don't call me the ''bulletman'' for nothing!

[duceman]

just done the math on the requirement for the brass i have now for my buddy's and my garands; 30-06, 49.5 lbs. better put some extra lube on the dillon ram!
not quite half as may 222 brass to fill, but will take another 6.5 lbs.
got 2 6br's to feed, and target 223 that i hope to burn the barrel out of within the year practicing and shooting f-class.
got a pretty good deal on a package of powder from an old timer getting out of the game that will keep me going for a while.
now, down to my last 12,000 primers, any one got any deals on cci 450's and win large and small rifle, lee

[duceman]

Originally Posted by bulletman

20 pounds is a lot! That would just about write off my entire CPP cheque! I wouldn't have any money for bullets, and they don't call me the ''bulletman'' for nothing!

if i was on cpp income, i could roast that new 223 in no time!! lee

[bulletman]

We wouldn't want you to be roasting your .223! Buy another. In real estate it's location, location, location! At the range it's rotation, rotation, rotation!

[Comstar]

Originally Posted by duceman

just done the math on the requirement for the brass i have now for my buddy's and my garands; 30-06, 49.5 lbs. better put some extra lube on the dillon ram!
not quite half as may 222 brass to fill, but will take another 6.5 lbs.
got 2 6br's to feed, and target 223 that i hope to burn the barrel out of within the year practicing and shooting f-class.
got a pretty good deal on a package of powder from an old timer getting out of the game that will keep me going for a while.
now, down to my last 12,000 primers, any one got any deals on cci 450's and win large and small rifle, lee

At least whenever you buy more components your "saving" money. Lol

You probably can't wait to save some more!

[Big Thumper]

Been buying their repacked powders in Lloyd for over a year now.

no complaints. best part, I can got back in 6 months and get the same lot #. They must buy in BULK...

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Big Thumper

Been buying their repacked powders in Lloyd for over a year now.

no complaints. best part, I can got back in 6 months and get the same lot #. They must buy in BULK...

I was talking with old Tom a few years before Andrew took over, and he told me of a conversation with Hodgdon one year that went something like this
"Hello, I'm inquiring about the availability of your surplus stock of H4831"
"Yes, we have XXXX number of pounds in stock"
"Great, I would like to buy it, ship t please by rail"
"How much , Sir"
"All of it!!"
IIRC, it was in the neighbourhood of 5,000 lbs or so!!

Cat

[Faststeel]

Originally Posted by duceman

just done the math on the requirement for the brass i have now for my buddy's and my garands; 30-06, 49.5 lbs. better put some extra lube on the dillon ram!
not quite half as may 222 brass to fill, but will take another 6.5 lbs.
got 2 6br's to feed, and target 223 that i hope to burn the barrel out of within the year practicing and shooting f-class.
got a pretty good deal on a package of powder from an old timer getting out of the game that will keep me going for a while.
now, down to my last 12,000 primers, any one got any deals on cci 450's and win large and small rifle, lee

Yikes that is more than 1900 rounds of 222, you must have several gopher patches to use that up in? Do you use the 450's in 222? FS

[duceman]

the 450's are for the br's. i can seem to get everything loaded at once. brass sorting is gettin better now; home depot has clear 'shoeboxes' on sale for .94 now