Some opinions needed.

[NSP64]

If you were only going to get 1 powder to shoot cast. In everything from .380 to 44 and .223 - .308 what one would it be? 2400? Unique? Reddot? I find myself shooting no Jword thingys anymore and I am not into pain so, I shoot the most accurate load I can find for the caliber, but hate having 14 cans of powder laying around.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

2400 will be tough in the 380 I'd think . . . Unique could work in all, but obviously would not be "best" for all, why not try to limit yourself to three powders?

[RayinNH]

2400? Unique? Reddot?

Three sounds more practical. Those three are the ones I use most often. Red Dot for lower end target type handgun loads. Unique for mid range handgun loads, and 2400 for upper handgun loads. They all work well for cast boolit rifle loads. These are not ideal for all applications but do cover a lot of bases.

My only concern would be for the .380, Red Dot doesn't meter well for the tiny charges that would be needed...Ray

[NSP64]

I know 231 is hard to beat in the 380. Also forgot 12ga.

[Guesser]

I agree, those three will cover the bases for you. I have used Unique in 380 with 100 gr. cast RN in a Walther. Nice thing about the three is that if you ever take up shotgun loading all of them are very good for that too. 2400 in 410 and the other two in the rest up thru 12 ga., I've never loaded 10 ga. so I can't comment on it.

[Firebricker]

If I could only have one powder it would be Unique hands down. FB

[Bass Ackward]

I tried to play that game and I gotta tellya, one kind of powder is like one sheet of toilet paper. It might get the job done good enough for some folks, but I wasn't happy.

[geargnasher]

Universal, HS6, and 2400 would cover it for me, but I'd sure like to keep a few pounds of 748 or 3031 around, too. If only one was available, I'd sure hope it was Unique. Unique really is more versatile than Universal, but it meters like crushed rocks so I never replaced the last of it that I used.

Gear

[runfiverun]

the 2400 is a far better rifle powder than unique will ever be and
for the 38 through 45 it's versatile enough.
something like 231 or titegroup would handle the low to middle well enough in the pistols.

[shunka]

I already have three and only three; for me these do it all:
Unique
4895
3F BP

yhs
shunka

[Doby45]

Thats like having 34 varieties of ice cream and telling yourself you could only have 1 for the rest of your days. :( Now if your simply trying to stock up on a SHTF powder I would go with Unique.

[Heavy lead]

I've got 19 on hand right now, I could probably go to 15, but what fun would that be? In reality though, I could go to 10 and be fine, but no less, I just load for too many things and both boolits, and bullets.

[noylj]

For three powders, you could just limit yourself to Alliant's three handgun powders: Bullseye, Power Pistol, and 2400. I see that, after I complained to them (well, I did!), they now have Unique listed as a handgun powder.
Personally, for the shooting I do, where I never need max loads, I could live with just 231. Another powder that can work in many calibers is AA5, but of the calibers that I reload for, 231 would work fine.

[lwknight]

I cannot imagine only 1 powder for all occasions.
pistol , rifle , large case , small case , heavy bullet , and light bullets are all different animals with different needs.

[a.squibload]

I tried to play that game and I gotta tellya, one kind of powder is like one sheet of toilet paper. It might get the job done good enough for some folks, but I wasn't happy.

A great analogy!


If I need to fill out an order (to make the Hazmat fee worth it) I'll add a can of Unique.

[Moonie]

Personally I could probably cut it down to 2 powders but not less than that.

Unique (duh)
H4895 for the higher power rifle loads.

I load 400 Cor-Bon, .45 ACP, 5.56, 8x57 and 30-06.

Thank $DEITY I don't have to.

[Harter66]

With the 12ga in the mix ,no doubt about it Unique. Though I don't have a .380 I do have a 9mm , 357,38,45Colts,308/30-06',couple of x57s & several 12s a 20 and a 16 all of which get by just fine on Unique.
Though now that steel shot is a must I burn a bit of 4756 and the MLs get a substitute but will soon be back on a BP only diet.

[MtGun44]

Only Unique could do it, but not very well at the top end rifle calibers.

I agree that with 4895 added you'd do pretty well across the range.

Bill

[home in oz]

I think you are "on target" with those three powders

[bobthenailer]

good luck in you quest! for pistols up to 1100 fps i use tight group as my go to powder with excellent results in most cases. 380, 9mm, 38 super , 38 special, 357 mag , 44 mag, 45 acp, and 454 casull. but every pistol has a sweet powder that my be a little more accurate than another . i usually let the gun tell me what it likes and use that powder for that pistol . accuracy is my # 1 goal. i guess thats why i have over 20 different cans of powder.

[Cowboy T]

Thank $DEITY I don't have to.

As a UNIX admin, I couldn't help but enjoy that variable reference. :-D

+1 to the previous posters who said not to limit yourself to just one powder. That's not necessary, nor is it optimal. Here's what I use.


.38 Spl, light .357M: Bullseye
.44 Spl, 45 Colt: Titegroup, for its position-insensitivity in bigger cases
Hot .357M, hot .45LC: 2400
Rifle rounds: H322, because I use reduced charges