Trail Boss Powder

bgreenea3 · Post by **bgreenea3** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 2:46 pm

I just picked up a jug of Trail Boss powder to try out, I have a 44 mag 629 mountain Gun that I love to shoot but due to the light weight of the pistol it is not fun to shoot a whole lot of full magnum loads out of it (translated OUCH!

) SO, I really like to shoot 44special velocity loads out of it.

heres where Trail Boss comes in..... I've been reading a lot on this powder and figured i would give it a try. I am going to load up some 240gr swc 44mag rounds with this powder and see how it does accuracy wise...

since I only shoot paper with my 44 and my 357/38's I figure I'd give it a shot (pun intended) in those guns.... I see a couple of loads for 45acp in there too so I may try this.

has anyone used Trail Boss and do you like it? any favorite loads for 44mag? 38spl? 45acp with it?

when it I can get throught the snow to the range i will post a reposrt of my findings.

Medicine Hat · Post by **Medicine Hat** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 3:51 pm

I use Trail Boss for most of my .45 Colt reloads. One of the advantages is that because of the shape of the grains, it fills the case more than the same gr. weight of other types of powders. Also, there is more surface area on each grain for good ignition.
The residue after firing is pretty soft, so cleans fairly easy.
What I have found in my .45 Colts is that a fairly firm crimp is needed for best results. It works well in my .45 Colt cal. carbine and rifle too.

bgreenea3 · Post by **bgreenea3** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 6:20 pm

good to know. firm crimp important....

my plan is to try 6,2gr, 6.6gr, and 7.2gr and see how that goes. Hodgdon says 6.0 is min and 7.3 is max with a 240gr lswc. it looks like case capacity has ore to do with max charge than pressure so I am sure these will be safe. heck, 6.2 gr fills half the case!

this should be a fun trial....

bgreenea3 · Post by **bgreenea3** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 6:29 pm

I loaded up 20 rounds each of 6.3 6.7 and 7.2gr of trail boss with a 240 gr lswc. and a few 180 lfp and some 200gr lfp with 7.2 gr (I think that's what it was) . I shot some groups at 15yards and am very happy with the results

.

Very mild recoil out of my 629 mountain gun 4" taper barrel. no flash and no smoke. very clean burning powder, I shot 90 rounds or so and the gun only had a little soot on the cylinder.

all shot respectable groups 6.7 gr with a 240gr lswc shot the best, 10 shots in 2-2.5"

.

I think I like this powder....... I think I'll try it in 38spl next maybe 45acp. I read somewhere that it is good for target loads.... we'll see

Medicine Hat · Post by **Medicine Hat** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 6:56 pm

It sounds like you are on the right road there. I haven't tried it yet in .38 Spl. but plan to do that after my next range trip to 'unload' some brass.
My old 38/44 S&W has been complaining about being in the dark inside the safe for too long.

greener · Post by **greener** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 3:12 pm

What loads are you using with .45 Colt and which revolver(s?) do you shoot?

I have a Blackhawk and Uberti. Both do well with 6.9 gr Universal on 250 gr lfp.

Medicine Hat · Post by **Medicine Hat** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 5:09 pm

Typically I use 6.1 gr. Trail Boss for the .45 Colts. I have 2 'New Vaqueros' and 1 Uberti Cattleman (SAA clone). They all seem to prefer the 250 gr. lead flat point. Tried 200 grain but tahe 250s seem to work a little better. That is giving me about 800 FPS and just under 13.000 CUP. The Vaqueros are 4 1/2 in Bbl, and the Uberti is 4 5/8.
This also works pretty well in my 2 Rossi Mdl 92s (1 carbine, 1 rifle) for CAS shooting. Universal Powder will give about 100 fps more velocity at about the same pressure.
I use either a Vaquero, or an XD-40 for CCW, just depends on my mood for the day.
Trail Boss will work OK for light 45-70 loads but H4895 gives a lot better velocity at less pressure for that.
Other powders work OK too, this is just what I've used and it seems to work well for me.
If I were deer hunting with the .45s, it would be a different load.

bgreenea3 · Post by **bgreenea3** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 9:52 pm

the .44 mag loads did not strike me as a hunting load, but i'm sure it would work in a pinch. they were more of a plinking load, light recoil with acceptable accuracy.

Jack D · Post by **Jack D** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 12:54 pm

I had an opportunity to try a few rounds of .38 spl. loads with Trail Boss powder and was impressed by less noise and low recoil. Don't know what the load was. I just bought some to try in my two snubbies. I'm hoping I can keep the noise level down when I practice in my home indoor range so as not to antagonize the neighbors. Do you Trail Boss users find it less noisy? With my muffs on, it was more a "pop" than a "Bang". But, again, maybe they were very light loads.

Yleefox · Post by **Yleefox** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 5:51 pm

I know this is kind of an old thread but still thought I would toss in my .02.

I've been using 6.8 grains of TB in my .44 Magnum loads for my Marlin 1894 and the results are quite satisfying as far as powder-puff recoil is concerned. I can't quite comment on the noise because I haven't paid any attention to the sound level, but I wouldn't be surprise if the report is less than more powerful loads. I use these for practice at 25 yds (I'm trying to build some speed into my sight, fire, and reload tech.) and they are great for this purpose. I don't think I would use them to hunt, at least for anything tougher or bigger than say a good size raccoon. Oh yeah, and I'm using 240 gr lead bullets.

Yleefox

bgreenea3 · Post by **bgreenea3** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:17 am

SOUNDS LIKE THE LOAD i LIKED...... NICE PLINKING LOAD.

bearandoldman · Post by **bearandoldman** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:19 am

Ylee, how much power do you need to get a hole punched through a sheet of paper. My 1894C ins in .38/.357, I have some loads with a 148 wadcutter and 3.5 grains of Green Dot and they group fairly well at 25 yard. Also used a 158 round nose flat point with 4.6 of Green Dot and they work well also. Both are fun to shoot.

bgreenea3 · Post by **bgreenea3** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:20 pm

this is "fluffy powder" prettty much replicates a black powder charge from what I can figure.

Yleefox · Post by **Yleefox** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:58 am

bearandoldman wrote:Ylee, how much power do you need to get a hole punched through a sheet of paper. My 1894C ins in .38/.357, I have some loads with a 148 wadcutter and 3.5 grains of Green Dot and they group fairly well at 25 yard. Also used a 158 round nose flat point with 4.6 of Green Dot and they work well also. Both are fun to shoot.

Not much BAOM, that paper is pretty easy to kill. On a different note, I've been wanting one of those 1894C Marlins for a while now and I've stumbled onto a Stainless model for 795.00 that I would love to own, but the price is causing my wallet to slam shut every time I pull it outta my pocket. Good info on the loads....thanks.

Y

bearandoldman · Post by **bearandoldman** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:38 am

Little Greener, I discovered the more bulky or as you say the fluffier powders are very forgiving as you can not double load a case and still get the projectile loaded too. Really got into Green Dot in my old sporting clays shooting days as it will load a good load in 12, 16, 20 or 28 gage, and the slower burning provides a softer recoil band still gets you all the velocity and a even pattern for clay targets. The softer shooting was really appreciated as in those days I normally shot at least 300 to more like 500 rounds a week on the clay birds, plus shot the .410 also but needed Win 296 powder for that.
Ylee, at $745.00, I think my wallet would grow shut. Got TAZ, my 1894C a few years ago at my local pawn shop. Shop is owned by one of out gun club members and I stop in and snoop now and then. Happened to ask him if he had a .38or.44 lever gun and he said, hang on, it's in the back room as it just came in. He wanted $325.0 but we made a deal for $300.00 including tax and I sprained my wrest reaching for my wallet for sure.