How Hodgdon Powder Co. Started — With a Life Insurance Loan
Here’s an interesting factoid from Hodgdon Powder’s new Facebook Page:
The story of Hodgdon Powders begins with one number: 4895. Founder Bruce Hodgdon, a handloader and U.S. Navy veteran, knew that after WWI tons of surplus powder were dumped at sea. After WWII, rather than let it all go to waste, Bruce borrowed against his life insurance and bought 25 tons of 4895 from the U.S. Government. It was the perfect powder for the flood of surplus M1903 Springfield rifles chambered in .30-06. The rest is reloading history.
Shown below is the life insurance loan contract that funded Bruce Hodgdon’s Purchase of 25 Tons of 4895 Surplus Powder:
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Tags: Bruce Hodgdon, H4895, Hodgdon Powder, M1903, Surplus
Holy crap!
25 tons for $1,500………and we’re paying $20/lb for the stuff now.
Editor: If you do the math, 25 tons = 50,000 pounds. 1500 divided by 50,000 = .03. So, the U.S. Government received $0.03 (three cents) per pound for its surplus 4895! Still that was better for the U.S. Treasury than dumping it at sea!
Lucky thing for all of us actually. Now we have great powders from his company.
According to http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm 3 cents in 1945 would be the equivalent of 38 cents today. But still an incredible deal.