Favorite Bullseye Cast Loads

[ballistim]

2 yrs. ago I ordered an 8 lb. caddy of Bullseye from my local gun shop & it finally arrived & I picked it up today (yay!)
Since this on hand & ready to use, I thought it would be fun to see some of your favorite cast loads using it, especially reduced pistol/rifle loads and anything that will add to my knowledge and use of this valuable powder. Green Dot & Promo have served me well in its absence, so I should be able to stretch it out even further. I've only used it in .38 Special, 32/20, 30 Herrett, and .22 Hornet for light plinking cast loads before, so am looking forward to trying it in several other guns as well, hope to see all of your favorites shared here!

[marvelshooter]

4 grains under any 185 grain or heavier cast boolit in .45 ACP.

[prs]

Nah, that stuff is no good, send it to me for proper disposal; about 4.5 to 5 grain at time under 200grain SWC in factory sprung 45ACP.

prs

[ballistim]

Nah, that stuff is no good, send it to me for proper disposal; about 4.5 to 5 grain at time under 200grain SWC in factory sprung 45ACP.

prs

Thanks for the offer, think I might decide to keep it ;-)
I'll keep your load handy, have been using Green Dot with a 200 grain HP in my RIA 1911, will give it a try to compare for sure.
Appreciate it!

[ballistim]

4 grains under any 185 grain or heavier cast boolit in .45 ACP.

I know when I lived in AZ. most of the 1911 shooters I talked to used Bullseye or Unique, which I also bought 8lbs. of last year-maybe another thread on that sometime. Thanks!

[John Allen]

I use it in most of my pistol cartridges.

[ballistim]

I use it in most of my pistol cartridges.

148 grain HBWC was my first load with it in .38 Special using 2.8 grains, my practice load that I used in both a S&W Model 27 and a Ruger Blackhawk back in the early 80's. My then young son once fired 150 rounds of that load at the range with me standing over him, he ran out of cartridges or he would have kept shooting, fond memory for sure..

[guncheese]

3.8gr BE under a 200gr swc. For pure paper punching bliss

[nagantguy]

4 ish to 5 for whatever grain boolit in .45 acp.

[Outpost75]

Trying again:

Outpost Alliant Bullseye Data – These Are The Loads That I Use, Your Mileage May Vary

.32 ACP___________71 FMJ____2.2____850___Min. OAL 0.955 Do Not Reduce
___________________________2.4___905___Max, Do Not Exceed
_________________87 LFN_____1.5___620___Accurate 31-087T, Quiet for inserts, don’t reduce
___________________________1.7___720___Max. for Keltec and light alloy frames
___________________________2.0___800___Max, do not exceed, steel frames only
.32 S&W Long______87 LFN____2.5___850___Accurate 31-087t Max. I-frame S&W Hand Ejector
___________________________3.0___950___Max. Postwar J frames Models 30, 31,
_________________93 LHP____2.5___830 ___Max. S&W Hand Ejector, light alloy frames
__________________________3.0___900___Max. Postwar J frames, Postwar Colts, Rugers
__________________98 SWC__2.0___750___Saeco #325, Approximates Factory Velocity
__________________________2.5___850___Max. S&W I-frame Hand Ejector, light alloy frames
__________________114 LFN__2.5__750___Accurate 31-114D Postwar steel frames only
___________________________3.0___850___OAL 1.32” to feed in Marlin 1894 CB, OK in Rugers
.38 Specia_________148 HBWC__2.8____750___Do Not Reduce
____________________________3.2___800___Do Not Exceed with HBWC
__________________146 DEWC__3.5___830___Saeco #348, Standard pressure, OAL 1.20”
____________________________4.0___880___”Full Charge WC” Approximates +P Service
__________________160 LFN___3.0___750___Cowboy load, Do Not Reduce
____________________________4.0___850___ Approximates +P Service Min. OAL 1.50”
.357 Mag.__________180 LHP____4.0__950___Rook Rifles, quiet, accurate
____________________________4.5___1080__“adjust up to +0.5 grain as needed for best accuracy
.44-40 WCF________200 LFN____5.0___750___Revolver velocity, Accurate 43-200Q, Do Not Reduce
____________________________7.2___1270__Rifle vel. Max. for modern '73 Win, Colt SAA clones
____________________________8.5___1380__Rifle vel. Max. for Win. ’92, Marlin 1894, Ruger Vaquero
.44 Magnum_______ 200 LFN____6.0___ 850___Accurate 43-200Q Do not reduce in Mag. brass
__________________260 LFN____7.0____950__“Medium Velocity” plainbased bullet
__________________240 SJHP___8.0____1030__Revolver “Medium Velocity”
.45 ACP___________200 SWC____4.5___860___H&G68 or Accurate 45-200I
__________________230 LFN____4.5___800___Saeco #954
__________________260 LFN____4.0___900___Saeco #955
.45 Colt____________230 LFN____7.0___1000__Saeco #954
__________________255 LFN____6.5___880___Saeco #955
7.62x39____________162 NOE___5.0___1300__Lee C312-155-2R clone, manual op.
.30-30_____________152LFN_____4.0___900___RCBS 30-150CM, Do Not Reduce
_____________________________6.0___1200___Adjust up to +1.0 as accuracy indicates
___________________175LHP____7.0___1300___Do Not Exceed
.30-40 Krag________162 NOE____7.0___1200___Do not reduce
And .303 Brit._______220 CBE____8.0___1200___Do Not Exceed
.30-’06____________134 FN______4.0___1050___Accurate 31-134D, Do Not Reduce
__________________162 LFN____5.0___1080___ Do Not Reduce
__________________162 NOE____8.5___1300___Lee C312-1155-2R clone, Do Not Exceed
.375 H&H__________270FN______10.0___1000 #375449, No GC needed, Do Not Reduce
__________________270FN______13.0___1300 Do Not Exceed, USE NO FILLERS!!!!

[ballistim]

Table lost format in the editor, sorry, giving up.

Thanks for trying, have got a lot of information from your posts before, and appreciate your efforts on the Ed Harris mold GB, great mold!

[Boolseye]

These are some of my favs:
4.0 in .223, 55-62 gr. FN (for squirrel)
2.8 gr. in .380 ACP, 95-105 gr.
3.5 gr. in 9mm. 120-130 gr.
4.0 gr. in .45 ACP, 200 gr. SWC
4.5 gr. " " ", 230 gr. RN
5.3 grains under a 158 gr. RF or SWC in .357 mag is a great mild/moderate load (1000 fps+/-)

[paul h]

4 ish to 5 for whatever grain boolit in .45 acp.

Dittos, as well as 3-5 under various weight bullets in the .38, and works slick with the lee 105 in a 9mm (don't recall the charge weight)

I hope it won't take 2 years to get an 8# caddy :shock: I just polished off my 1# jug and discovered the great powder shortage of 2012 has yet to abate.

[williamwaco]

.38 Special. I have used 2.5 to 3.5 grains with 148 to 160 grain bullets.
My go to load is 3.2 grains. You will not like anything below 3.0 unless recoil is your primary consideration.

I use 5 grains in .44 Special and Magnum with 250 grain cast.

4.2 gr in 9mm with 124gr.

[skeettx]

45 ACP 200 grain semi-wad 3.5 grains, nice light target load
45 ACP 230 grain round nose 4.5 grains, equal to military hard ball load

38 Special 148 grain wadcutter 2.7 grains, the all time winning load for middle caliber

Have fun and use it wisely
Mike

[sghart3578]

I use it in 38 spl, 9mm, 45 Colt, 45 ACP. Even loaded it hot in 357 mag (didn't like it).

Just today I shot 100 rounds of 30-30 with a Lee C309-113-F bullet over 4 gr of Bullseye in my Marlin Texan. I then shot 20-30 rounds of 7X57 with a Lyman 287641 over 4 gr of Bullseye in my VZ24.

It is a good powder overall but shines in 45 ACP and 45 Colt.

P.S. Those 30-30 rounds are very, very accurate out to 60 yards at least, the limit of the range I was at today.

[35remington]

With all due respect, and having used and chronographed a lot of 45 ACP's in that time, I find it takes 5 grains Bullseye to equal a military ball load with most 230 lead RN's. 4.5 grains is noticeably below that level.

[ballistim]

I use it in 38 spl, 9mm, 45 Colt, 45 ACP. Even loaded it hot in 357 mag (didn't like it).

Just today I shot 100 rounds of 30-30 with a Lee C309-113-F bullet over 4 gr of Bullseye in my Marlin Texan. I then shot 20-30 rounds of 7X57 with a Lyman 287641 over 4 gr of Bullseye in my VZ24.

It is a good powder overall but shines in 45 ACP and 45 Colt.

P.S. Those 30-30 rounds are very, very accurate out to 60 yards at least, the limit of the range I was at today.

Will be trying the 30-30 load since I have that mold & my 336, and it's clearly an overwhelming favorite here in 45 acp.

[JWFilips]

Geeze....All my BE loads are my favorites ( many calibers):bigsmyl2:

[sghart3578]

Geeze....All my BE loads are my favorites ( many calibers):bigsmyl2:


This +1!!

[jaysouth]

here is a site that lists dozens of BE in reduced loads: http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm

[ballistim]

here is a site that lists dozens of BE in reduced loads: http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm

Excellent resource! I use many of the other powders listed, especially Red Dot, Green Dot, Unique, & 700X. I'll keep this handy, and appreciate you adding this to the thread.

[jaysouth]

In ALL of my .30 cals, my best plinking load is a 165 gr soft lead bullet, tumble lubed, over 7-8 grs. of Green Dot. When the green dot is gone, I am sure I can find a good replacement load with Red Dot or HP-38(listed in that load data as 231).

[ballistim]

In ALL of my .30 cals, my best plinking load is a 165 gr soft lead bullet, tumble lubed, over 7-8 grs. of Green Dot. When the green dot is gone, I am sure I can find a good replacement load with Red Dot or HP-38(listed in that load data as 231).

I bought a 4 pounder of Green Dot when there was no powder available left on the shelves a while back & it was the only thing available at the time to try for pistol loads. Cast loads in both 9mm & 45acp using it really impressed me having never used it before. I've planned on trying it out on rifle cartridges seeing a thread using it in place of Red Dot for "The Load" of 13 grains for a cast rifle load for several cartridges. Green Dot seems to be a nice underrated powder choice that is well worth having on hand.

[ballistim]

In ALL of my .30 cals, my best plinking load is a 165 gr soft lead bullet, tumble lubed, over 7-8 grs. of Green Dot. When the green dot is gone, I am sure I can find a good replacement load with Red Dot or HP-38(listed in that load data as 231).

BTW another powder I was able to get when not much was available was "Promo" in an 8 lb. keg, didn't know much about it but found out it is very comparable to Red Dot in my loads, it has the same burn speed but is more dense, so same RD loads can be used by weight but not by volume.

[sandman228]

my favorite bullseye load is 45acp 4.0gr under a 230 gr lrn bullet . ive used the same 4.0 gr with a 230 gr tc bullet and a 200 gr swc with good results too .

[bart55]

I use the 4.5 bullseye under a 230 lee rn and 5 gr under same bullet for a snappy 45auto load.Also use the H&G 200gr with 3.5 gr for a very accurate and mild load .and of course my absolute favorite 2,7gr under a 148gr lwc in the 38sp.I shoot that load more than any other and probably more than all the others combined.

[JeffG]

For 45LC, 6.3 gr of BE under 452-255-RF. One of the Lee dippers does this load perfectly, scoop it, shave off the top with the finger and dump in the case, easy, no weighing.

[georgerkahn]

My tried and true Bullseye shooting recipe is 2.75 grains of Bullseye Powder behind a flush with case rim seated Hensley & Gibbs #50 148gr wadcutter in my Smith & Wesson Model 52. In addition to it being both a fairly accurate, and easy on pistol vis recoil/shock, one gets more than 2,500 rounds out of one pound of powder, making it quite the inexpensive choice.
BEST!

[Eddie2002]

Here's an interesting article about light loads in full sized cases. For all my 30 caliber rifles I'm shooting a 100 grain .312 boolit over 5-6 grains of bullseye which works well out to 50yds.
http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/small_charges.htm

[ballistim]

Here's an interesting article about light loads in full sized cases. For all my 30 caliber rifles I'm shooting a 100 grain .312 boolit over 5-6 grains of bullseye which works well out to 50yds.
http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/small_charges.htm

This is a very interesting read, and reminds me of Paco Kelly that he refers to throughout this. I like many of his opinions on calibers and load descriptions.

[Virginia John]

Bullseye is great in any straight wall pistol case.