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After being decidely indecisive for months, I finally made Midway a touch richer. I'd welcome powder suggestions for .45, 9mm, .38 and .357. Seems like every one has a favorite or three.

I think the big prompt for getting of the dime on this was that I've been saving brass and throwing it in a box in the garage. Went through the box over Thanksgiving. I didn't think I shot that much centerfire. Sneaks up on you.

I'm a big fan of Alliant Bullseye for my .45 loads. Sometimes I use IMR 700X but it doesn't burn as clean as Bullseye does.

R,
Bullseye

I like the Alliant powders also and have used a lot of Green Dot in shot shells because it works well in 12, 16, 20 and 28 gage, so I only need another powder for .410. Well got to looking and trying things out and about 5.8 grains of Green Dot with a 200 LSWC leda bullet makes a real nice .45ACP load. Burns clean and runs the gun fine. Use it in my SA Loaded, my SQ Micro Compact and my SA v-10 with no problems. Thee are a lot of others but this one works for me.

For the calibers you mentioned I like Bullseye, 2400, and Unique.

wlambert

I've got in a rut with Hodgdon.
HP-38 for 9mm and .38 (not to be confused with HP-380/Rifle Pwdr)
HP-335 for .223 and .308

they have a nice WebPage for Load-lookup on:
http://Data.Hodgdon.com/

Oldman: take care when "Bear" helps with that Red/Green DoT...

toyfj40 wrote:I've got in a rut with Hodgdon.
HP-38 for 9mm and .38 (not to be confused with HP-380/Rifle Pwdr)
HP-335 for .223 and .308

they have a nice WebPage for Load-lookup on:
http://Data.Hodgdon.com/

Oldman: take care when "Bear" helps with that Red/Green DoT...

Got thst covered, we do not keep any Red Dot in the house, although it is another good powder for .45 ACP, a little more bulky and taking up more room in the case.

Thanks. Sounds like I'm buying a variety in small quantities.

I used to load Bullseye for .45 and .38. But unlike our forum host, also going by the handle Bullseye, I find it to be a very dirty burning powder. I switched to Tite Group awhile back and my personal impression is that it is much cleaner burning than Bullseye. Tite group seems to be just as efficient as Bullseye according to my Hornady manual. And I don't have to wait near as long for the cloud of smoke to disappear after shooting a magazine full.

DWS

Well if you think Bullseye burns dirty then you definitely don't want to try 700X. Bullseye is a little smoky but not overly dirty as I see it.

On the other hand I had a close friend make some match reloads for me using 4.2 grains of WST powder and 200gr cast LSWC bullets. I like it. It shoots very accurately and burns cleaner than Bullseye powder.

R,
Bullseye

Bullseye,

I loaded Bullseye for quite a while without having any real complaints. Then one day I was at the range shooting my .45 along side of another handloader with a .45. I noticed how much less of cloud was hanging over his head after emptying a magazine. I also noticed that the powder and gas residue on the outside of his pistol was a good bit less for about the same amount of shooting. When I asked what he was shooting he told me he loaded with Tite Group. The difference was more than enough to make me switch.

I guess there are other powders both dirtier and cleaner than Tite Group. But when it comes to my handguns I tend to find something that works to my satisfaction and stick with it. I'm not near as much of an experimenter as I am with my centerfire rifle reloading. For my .45 I've settled on a load of 5.1 grains of Tite Group with a 200 grain LSWC for my everyday practice load. It gives me the power factor I need for IDPA and shoots great in both my Ruger P345 and my Sig P220.

From your comment I definetely won't be looking at trying 700X.

DWS

DancesWithSquirrels wrote:I used to load Bullseye for .45 and .38. But unlike our forum host, also going by the handle Bullseye, I find it to be a very dirty burning powder. I switched to Tite Group awhile back and my personal impression is that it is much cleaner burning than Bullseye. Tite group seems to be just as efficient as Bullseye according to my Hornady manual. And I don't have to wait near as long for the cloud of smoke to disappear after shooting a magazine full.

DWS

You took the words out of my mouth, DWS!!!

I cut my teeth on Bullseye, and for several months, I lived with the smudgy brass and the smoke. Till I discovered W231, and I've gone through two 8-lb kegs of the stuff already since then. I gave away my left-over Bullseye to my shooting buddy, until, after two years of shooting beside me and hearing my endless crack about rebs and Union soldiers shooting in front of us because of the smoke he was producing- AND, seeing the clear air before my stall, he finally switched to W231.

I hear you guys, that's why I stay with the Bullseye powder, I'm a traditionalist too. It works great for me and I stick with it. Most of the ranges I shoot at are very well ventillated and I don't notice the smoke. I will say that the WST is clean with little smoke evident. I don't use loads that are up on the power scale for Conventional Pistol (Bullseye) competition. I'm looking for the best accuracy with the lowest recoil - that gives me more time on target for those sustained strings of fire.

R,
Bullseye

I stay with the Green Dot mainly because T have it around for the shot shells. Have got soma Unique also but never found a load that would run the gun properly. The Green Dot is a little smoky, but I normally shoot at a pretty much state of the art indoor range that is less than 5 years old, so the ventilation is very good. I have found that due to the lower pressures and the pressure curve that it is a softer shooting load in 12 and 2 gage shotguns and works that way as well in the .45ACP. J shoot my carry guns a lot, an SA Micro and a V-10, and both these guns run we;; with this load and rarely will have malfunction. As you know the short barrel .45's can be a little finicky.

At the moment I load 45acp, 45 colt, and 44 mag. Used to load 357 until a few months ago, when I sold my last one. Anyway, I use Unique for everything. Keeps it simple, and for the loads I shoot it works just fine. Normally use 8 grains over cast 255's and 240's for the 45 and 44, and either 5 or 6 grains over a cast 230 for the 45 acp. Have been thinking about buying another 45 blackhawk and selling the 44, then I would only have to cast and reload 2 calibers.

Speaking of powders, one of the guys at my gun club gave me a full one pound can of Winchester 452 AA. Unfortunately this powder isn't being made any more. I've tried to do a little research on the web but I'm not turning up much. Supposedly it can be used for .45 ACP. Various sources that turned up have equated it to WST and a couple of other powders being made today. But I'd rather try and find someone with some older manuals that might have actual load data specific to this powder. Anyone have any older manuals around that can take a look?

DWS