Tim Oltersdorf
Active member
I have two jugs of Thunderbird powder labeled T 322. It came in white plastic 8 pound jugs. There is no lot number. It is a dark grey extruded powder with small kernels. Is this the same as "T powder"? Tim
Dr Tim,
You need to talk to Walt Berger, I had some a couple of years ago and Walt told me a starting load and he was right on . When Thunderbird shut down, I believe Walt bought all they had and that’s when it became T-32.
I read some old posts, remembered ancient rumors and recalled shooting it in AZ. and TX. myself about the time of the Cretaceous period. From what I can gather it was the most precise powder used in benchrest at the time. Tony shot a lot of it before he ran out of it and switched to V133. BTW the switch didn't seem to hurt his shooting any. I remembered it as shooting well in the dry Phoenix and some dry Texas conditions. It was a powder you didn't have to keep chasing the load with as much as 133. My experience was that, yes it was a good powder, but it would not automatically turn you into a great shooter. If you were a great shooter and knew the powder well it could give you a slight edge in competition. What confused me was the T322 designation. The T powder I remembered shooting was T32 not T322. I saw in an old post that T powder was initially labeled as T322 but after complaints by the Hodgkin powder company the name was changed to T32. That is the labeling I remember. Supposedly T322 is the same powder as T32. I plan to take 2 pounds to the Cactus as well as V133 to try out. Tim
Walt Berger was shooting at the Cactus. He told me he was 91. He also told me this T 322 was not T powder but some lot of 8208. Holy cow, 91 and still shooting! This defies normal human physiology. I suspect some mystic pharmacological elixir like Monkey Gland Extract, Dr. Xeno's life prolonging syrup or most likely the occult. I am going to the nearest cemetery, get a dead skunk, twirl it around and sling it over a fresh grave, shouting "skunk, skunk, spin, spin, make that 5th. shot go in." The result would probably smell similar to the final group; but it just might work. Tim
Far be it from me to question Walt, but didn't T-32 come from three lots of military 8208? Walt and Don Geraci found one of the three to shoot best and that become T-32. The other 2 lots were jugged as Thunderbird 8208...and they were labeled "8208".
My dad has an unopened jug of T-32 from the 80's (same container as yours).
-Lee
www.singleactions.com
Walt Berger was shooting at the Cactus. He told me he was 91. He also told me this T 322 was not T powder but some lot of 8208. Holy cow, 91 and still shooting! This defies normal human physiology. I suspect some mystic pharmacological elixir like Monkey Gland Extract, Dr. Xeno's life prolonging syrup or most likely the occult. I am going to the nearest cemetery, get a dead skunk, twirl it around and sling it over a fresh grave, shouting "skunk, skunk, spin, spin, make that 5th. shot go in." The result would probably smell similar to the final group; but it just might work. Tim
Yes,I've heard that T powder story before.Makes you wonder,How much of the notoriety of This old powder can be mostly attributed To the shooting skills of Walt Berger, Don Geraci and others.
Wish I had a private shooting range in my backyard.
Glenn