top 10 pistol powders a list

[edadmartin]

Im new to this great hobby and on top of it all pistol powders are hard to find. I went to gunbot.net and was blown away at how many powders there are and the names and part numbers are mind altering. All I know about are the main ones .AA#2 AA#5 red dot win 231 unique. Everyone on earth wants these and they are difficult to find locally or even on line. Id like you guys that have tried them all to suggest some alternate pistol powders for 9mm and 45 acp. so a guy can search more effectively and buy with confidence. How about surplus powders?? thanks

[ShooterAZ]

Bullseye & Clays and Titegroup need to be added to the list.

[RickinTN]

I use Clays for my 45 acp and 38 special loads. I already had a pretty good stock of it from loading 12 gauge target loads. I've been very pleased with it.
Rick

[seaboltm]

power pistol, blue dot

[Bzcraig]

I think the easiest way to do this is look through the reloading manuals at the type of loads you want to use to see what powders are used and compare that to what powders you can find. Also, many powders with similar names/numbers are very different so be sure to pay close attention and some powders like W231/HP38 are identical.

[fredj338]

I doubt anyone has tried them all, just too many. Stick with a medium burner, look at a burn rate chart, from W231 up thru AA#7 will work in both calibers. The problem is the slower powders don't run well in 45acp, like BlueDot, the faster powders are only good in 9mm for bunnyfart loads. I wouldn't use TG for lead bullet loads if it were free. Clays & BE in 9mm, again bunnyfart loads.

[462]

This is an instance when a few reloading manuals prove their worth. A good manual will list and describe the makeup and uses of many dozens of powders. Buy those that you think will do the best job, are available, and experiment to find out which powder(s) your gun(s) prefer(s).

I don't do 9 mm, thankfully, but for .45 ACP boolits have found Bullseye and Unique to produce the best accuracy, with WSF a close third.

[Outpost75]

When the popular pistol powders are in short supply, the 12-ga. shotshell powders having a suitable fine particle size for uniform charge metering, are useful alternatives.

Winchester Super Target, aka WST and Winchester Super Field, aka WSF come to mind.

WST is particularly good for use in .45 ACP, loading from 4.5-4.8 grs. with the H&G68 200-grain SWC at 1.25" OAL.

[375RUGER]

9 and 45, IMR 700-X and Hodgdon Universal
The surplus powders that you will find available now are way too sloooow for pistol.

[scattershot]

Bullseye, Red Dot, W231/HP38, Unique, 4756, 700x, Blue Dot, Universal Clays, Herco, and a couple of Accurate powders spring to mind. There are others, of course. I would imagine just about any of the shotshell powders would work in a pinch, but reloading data is pretty hard to come by for most of them.

[Shiloh]

Bullseye, Unique, AA #5 and 7, 2400. There is a pound and a bit more of AA#2.
Pretty much been Bullseye and Unique. I seem to go to them as my default powders.

Shiloh

[David2011]

Alliant 2400 is a versatile powder that I've used for .44 Mag, Ruger/Contender Only .45 Colt and .45/70 Govt.

Alliant lists the following cartridges for 2400 on their website:
.410, .218 Bee, .22 Hornet, .221 Fireball, 10mm Auto, 221 Fireball, 30 M1 Carbine, 32 H&R Magnum, 327 Federal Magnum, 357 Magnum, 38 Special +P, 41 Rem Magnum, 44 Rem Magnum, 44 S&W Special, 45 Colt, 454 Casull, 460 S&W Mag, 480 Ruger, 500 S&W Mag, 32 S&W Long (Cowboy Action).

The Lyman manuals list it for some other calibers. That's where I got the .45/70 Govt data.

David

[smokesahoy]

Bullseye seems to get very good performance comparable to top loads with low weights. That's just from quickload though. My favorite is 800x, power pistol, aa7, unique.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

my powders for 9mm 38 357 44mag 454
bullseye RedDot BlueDot w231 2400 H110

[MT Gianni]

Red Dot, Bullseye, Unique Herco, Green Dot, WC820, W 296, H110, power pistol and 2400 all have a place on my shelf as well as the ##s you listed.

[zomby woof]

WST
Red Dot
WSF
Bullseye

[Certaindeaf]

Don't forget Promo.. it has the same burn rate as Red Dot.. it's the same by charge weight but not by volume. It costs less than Red Dot also.

http://www.alliantpowder.com/products/powder/promo.aspx

[Mk42gunner]

I'll second looking at a burn rate chart. There are probably 30 or so different powders that will work from so-so to well in both 9mm and .45ACP; the big trick is finding reliable load data to start your load workups from, especially with a lesser used powder.

Robert

[guncheese]

red dot was easy to find here a couple months ago but now.......
ive been looking for some promo but no luck yet
but i use BE or RD in most loads
but i seem to have a soft spot for WSF in 9mm

tried some 9gr blue dot loads in .45acp with a 200gr swc big woof plenty of push and unburnt powder all over the snow
maybe i should try some green dot........

[John Allen]

My favorites are bullseye and unique. For hotter stuff 2400.

[osteodoc08]

The ones I use the most are

296
231
BlueDot
TrailBoss
PowerPistol

[lt250r_86]

WST for .40 45acp and 9mm
Bullseye for .38's

[jmort]

Unique, Unique, Unique, Unique, Unique, Unique, Unique, Unique, Unique, and Unique

[captaint]

We can google "powder burn rate chart" and print the whole thing. Very handy. Always lets you know what "speed" neighborhood you're in. I feel like it helps avoid mistakes. Mike

[357shooter]

I did a poll on this some time ago, and added the results together from mupliple forums. Here's the resulting chart. I have another around for the most accurate handgun powder, cant put my hands on it yet.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wbcOEGqGVL8/TQqXQDnUFqI/AAAAAAAAAAM/IOHefIaTY5I/s1600/BigPoll1.jpg

[357shooter]

Found the poll results from the Most Accurate Handgun Powder poll too. This poll asked people which powder was most accurate in their handguns.

http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/ab341/prgallo/AccuratePowderPoll10-2-11.png

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

I don't see how you could have such a list without Unique and H-110 on it. And Trail Boss; it is just an unusual powder that it needs to be in there. Great for a round/projectile that you have no load data for. I personally like HS-6 (I actually found a can of it yesterday $25.50 + tax (ouch)). I have never tried Bullseye, but I plan on adding it to my repertoire.

357shooter: Nice work!

[DeanWinchester]

I haven't seen much of nuthin AA#5 won't do well.
I also use a lot of AA nitro 100 NF.
Titegroup is my go to powder for cheap blastin ammo.

I love unique and use a lot of it....funny thing, I never use it in any pistol cartridges.

[edadmartin]

wow my heads in a whirl now. Love the graphs, that will get me looking at my manuals too. Interesting that shot shell powder works well for 45 acp also.

[jonp]

red dot was easy to find here a couple months ago but now.......
ive been looking for some promo but no luck yet
but i use BE or RD in most loads
but i seem to have a soft spot for WSF in 9mm

tried some 9gr blue dot loads in .45acp with a 200gr swc big woof plenty of push and unburnt powder all over the snow
maybe i should try some green dot........
I discovered the Promo/Red Dot sub awhile ago. Ive had no trouble getting 16lbs of it for the shelf. As mentioned its is a direct sub by weight not volume

[smokeywolf]

Seems like folks frequently forget the first and oldest tried and true performer: the holy black. Yep, more cleaning, but doggone easy to clean a pistol. And, black go BOOM and make lots of smoke; that equals more fun.

My smokeless preferences? Unique and Bullseye. No magnums or plus Ps, so no 2400 loads.

smokeywolf

[Artful]

I would say I burn more Unique and Red Dot than anything else - 2400 for Magnum loads - TrailBoss is for sub sonic rifle rounds
VV N320 or N340 for subsonic heavy 9mm loads - I still have 700x, Bullseye, WSF, Blue Dot, 296
and some others on the shelf but at this point they are also rans

- Not that they aren't good but I just find it easier to concentrate on buying 8-10 lbs of same lot of a standard powder.

or more... 15 pounder of Red Dot
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/FAL/th_RedDotKey.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rowdyfisk/media/FAL/RedDotKey.jpg.html)

Just remember no matter how much you buy - you'll have to resupply

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/FAL/th_RedDotKegEndofthefun.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rowdyfisk/media/FAL/RedDotKegEndofthefun.jpg.html)

:(

But lots of good memories from it.

[leeggen]

http://www.lapua.com/upload/reloading/reloadingburningratechart2011.pdf
Here is a chart that shows powders from several makers in compareson to each other. Just remember this is just a reference chart not a holly bible chart. It aleast gives a loader something to see how each compares to one another.
CD

[brown bass hunter]

Titegroup
WST
W231

[Oreo]

I can't believe WSF isn't on those graphs at all when its already been mentioned several times in this thread alone.

[357shooter]

The polls for the graphs were done about 2 years ago and contained the powders I was aware of at the time. I did miss a few that people use. However my guess is the ones mentioned (like WSF) wouldnt impact the highest results, but would be mid pack. The results there are pretty flat. Just my opinion.

[jonp]

Unique, Red Dot, 2400 and H110/W296 covers about everything I do.
Actually, Unique and 2400 would do everything for me. I like the graphs and find it very interesting that a powder invented over 100yrs ago still tops the list.

[jonp]

http://www.lapua.com/upload/reloading/reloadingburningratechart2011.pdf
Here is a chart that shows powders from several makers in compareson to each other. Just remember this is just a reference chart not a holly bible chart. It aleast gives a loader something to see how each compares to one another.
CD
Thats a great chart and I have one similar saved on the comp. I find it easier to use than the others for quick reference.

[dverna]

In most cases, pistol powders are easy to substitute. Most are not loading to maximum velocity and most cannot discern the accuracy difference - especially as most pistol rounds are shot as blasting/practice ammo.

It is one reason I have about 100 lb of Promo. It is not the "best" powder in any of my pistols (They get Bullseye, Clays, N320, HP38, Longshot); but it WILL work in all of them. Plus it will do a good job in light rifle loads and target 12 ga loads.

You will never go wrong with having two or three 8lb jugs of Promo/RD in your inventory. If/when your favorite powder is unavailable, or over priced, you can still shoot with Promo/RD.

For ultimate performance (velocity and/or accuracy) you can find "better" powders. But how often do you need that level of performance? I see so many people complaining about lack of powder who would be able to shoot if they had invested $250 in three jugs of Promo. BTW, that is enough for over 40,000 rounds of most pistol loads.

Don Verna

[bobthenailer]

My most used pistol powder is Tight group & Bullseye .

[Bonz]

Just tried some W231 in .40 S&W and loved it, removed quite a bit of the snappy recoil. Wife loves Win Autocomp and Ramshot Silhouette in .45 Problem is that Autocomp and Silhouette are some of the preferred powders for competing pro shooters. One of the LGS that I buy powder in allocates all Autocomp and Silhouette for their pro shooting customers. Autocomp is starting to appear more and more in online stores but Ramshot Silhouette is still tough to get. Just picked up some Hodgdon Longshot to try, also high velocity and low pressure. Wife bought me a Sig P220 Equinox for Xmas and its really picky on COL. With Autocomp, Silhouette and Longshot, I'm able to load 230gr .45acp down to 1.20" COL, normally seat to 1.23" and still feeds without issues. And PowerPistol, 24gr under a 350gr chunk of lead for my S&W 500 magnum is just great.

[DavZee]

I guess I'm fortunate that my one of my local GS got a truck load of powder a few weeks back. There were up to their elbows in 1,4 & 8 lb. containers of Unique. I love using it and it shoots great in everything I load. :Fire:
I am going to be looking for some 2400 for the S&W Model 57 that recently moved into my safe. [smilie=w:

[Bonz]

I load a lot of different pistol calibers but have never tried Unique. Guess I should give it a try

[Sig]

WSF
WST
2400
Blue Dot
Win 296

[Oreo]

I don't understand the popularity of unique. It meters like **** compared to so many others. WSF meters great and often compared to unique.

[Artful]

I don't understand the popularity of unique. It meters like **** compared to so many others.
WSF meters great and often compared to unique.

Lets see, Unique works well for many of us in many calibers.... It just WORKS.

[edadmartin]

Hi, the graphs hold lot of meaningful info. For example Ive been trying to find red dot and AA#2 for months , nada so far. but I did find online 4 lbs of IMR 800x. Those graphs !!!! keep the great inf coming. thanks

[old gunner]

blue dot in the 9mm, with a 124 gr. cast boolit works very well for me

Bill

[edadmartin]

so Ive settled on Accurite #2 and #5------IMR 700x----red dot

[ColColt]

HS-6 works well for me in the 44 Mag and 45 ACP. I've gotten the best groups I've shot with that powder in the 44 Magnum and a 260 gr boolit. That's 12 shots at 15 yards.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x220/ColColt/My%20Targets/_DEF4420a.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/ColColt/media/My%20Targets/_DEF4420a.jpg.html)

6 gr of Universal in the 45 Auto with a 200 gr SWC has been superb as well.

[ohland]

I use Clays Rick

I thought I saw where the Clays plant had a bad fire.

[nylocmik]

Ask a simple question and you get a simple answer, I've been told. Unfortunately, in this case, each simple answer is different. So the once simple question becomes very confusing to the person asking it. Hence you are no closer to an answer now than you were when you ask the question. This leads me to say there is no cut and dry answer to which is best, due to the multitude of variables (i.e. caliber, bullet weight, firearm use, personal likes and dislikes, availability and so forth) present. Each answer given here is valuable information to combine with reading all you can in books devoted to hand loading and bullet casting. So when, worse comes to worse, and you have no options left to try, lay your gun down and throw the biggest rocks as hard as you can.

[QIDPlb]

I prefer:
Unique
Herco
700X