Please select up to 3 powders that you use the most when loading for handguns

[357shooter]

The selections are heavily influenced by what I load. Sorry if your favorite is missing from the list.

By favorite, I mean the one you use the most of. You buy it more often than the others. If you really love a powder but don't buy it because it fills a niche you can vote for it if you'd like.

The reason I suggest 3 votes per person is to allow for a fast, medium and slow powder. However vote as you see fit.

Again, this is for handguns. You should be able to change your votes if you think it through and change your mind.

[RayinNH]

I use Red Dot, Unique and 2400. I load for .38/.357, .45ACP, .45 Colt, .44 Special/Mag...Ray

[357shooter]

700-x, hp38/231, 2400

[AnthonyB]

If you are trying to limit the number of powders you stock, my answers would be Unique, Unique, and Unique. I would be very happy (and am) with a good supply of Unique, 2400, and H110, but Unique serves the purpose for anything I need a handgun to do.
Tony

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

In this order:
Blue dot__Heavy magnums, my Fav.
Titegroup__all my autos
Unique__light target loads

Oh, of course there are others, these are the top three.
Jon

[Mumblypeg]

Win 231, Unique, Bluedot.

[btroj]

Hp38, H110, and AA5. I think of AA5 as a ball version of unique and I have lots of it. Otherwise it would be unique.

[MT Gianni]

Herco wasn't there but it is a very accurate 4th or 5th I use it in some of my guns that are not shot as much as smaller calibers.

[theperfessor]

I shoot a lot more non-magnum stuff than I do magnums, so I use a lot more 231, BE, and Unique. But I'm really liking Blue Dot for 9mm and some mag loads and get great loads in the straight wall magnums with 2400.

I like 296 but 2400 has a broader safe range to work with.

[509thsfs]

I use a LOT of 231 in all my non magnum loads. Recently found 4227 works great in my .41 Mag so been using it and been using 2400 in my 357 mag loads for years

[zxcvbob]

Promo, Herco, and International. (none of them on the list) When I use up all the Herco I can switch to WSF because I have a bunch of it and it works in the same applications.

I used to use a lot of Green Dot but haven't replaced it since I ran out. Also have a couple of pounds of AA-4100 I need to try... :rolleyes:

[iron mule]

well i voted for three but they were my second third and fourth choices
my first choice is black powder i use more than all the others combined , i'm talking of the entire list you posted
well to each his own //only thing that really matters is we all love to shoot
mule

[HeavyMetal]

I noted that both Green dot and WST were not on this list.

Green dot is a good pistol and 20 gauge powder while WST is the most accurate powder I have ever found for the 45 auto

[Ole]

BE, Unq, and H110.

[mike in co]

this is the us of a...i'm only limitied by my wallet and the supply.....

[454PB]

I know most handloaders consider Unique to be the universal powder, but my choice is Bluedot. I use it in everything from 9mm to 45/70.

[82nd airborne]

I use 4350 and 4320 alot in my rifles.

[jmsj]

Bullseye, unique and 2400 are the powders I use the most.

[geargnasher]

I see some examples of an interesting trend, almost like Ford Vs. Chevy: Brand loyalty. Don't know if it's coincidental or related to habit/family tradition/availability/price or something else.

I voted Titegroup/Universal/HS6 and would add a very close fourth as Longshot, all lonely and unused in the poll. Hodgdon pistol powders burn cleaner at lower loading densities, meter MUCH better than Alliant powders, are cheaper locally by a couple of bucks, and have widemouth bottles, which I like. The Alliant line of powders all have a place in my magazine, but I don't use them much anymore except for the .44 Magnum (2400), .40 (BD) and high-end .45 Colt (BD).

Gear

[MakeMineA10mm]

Just to throw a note on for the "medium-burn-rate" pistol powder I couldn't vote for:

Ramshot Silhouette

It's the same powder as Winchester Auto Pistol a.k.a. WAP, which was discontinued a few years ago. Western Powders supplied this powder to Winchester for factory loads, and Winchester finally decided to market it, since it worked so well on a broad applicatoin of high-end performance loads.

It has a flash retardent and is fairly clean-burning. Works great for defensive ammunition in auto-pistol calibers (which is why Winchester was using it) such as 9mm, 40S&W, and 45ACP, but it has applications beyond that.

The annoying thing about it, is the lack of load data for revolvers. It works just as well in them, but Ramshot doesn't support the handloader with pressure-tested and approved data...

[GSM]

Win Super Target, Win Super Target, and Bullseye.

Brand loyalty counts.

[runfiverun]

mostly 2400, unique, and aa-2230 [yeah it's a rifle powder but the supermags like it with cast]

titegroup,aa-1680, herco and 800-x get used a lot too.
700-x, red dot and steel are used some also.
yeah, thats waaay more than three but i only voted for the first two.
i like to work up specific loads for specific gun/boolit combos.
the first two seem to work pretty well in the standard cals with cast though.

[geargnasher]

Win Super Target, Win Super Target, and Bullseye.

Brand loyalty counts.

I see that! That's why I prefer H-110 ten-to-one over Win 296! :kidding:

Gear

[casterofboolits]

231, Blue Dot, 2400

[wallenba]

Win 231 is not on the list, but it is a favorite in my autoloaders.

Oops, yes it is on the list with HP-38, my bad. Accurate Powders seem unavailable in my local area. Hazmat fees keep me from ordering them.

[59stude]

I use VihtaVuori Line of powders. N110 for magnum loads, N140 for .30-30 and .308, N320,330,340 for 9mm, 38Spl, 45LC.


59stude

[TDC]

I just checked my powder supply and counted 21 different powers I play with for both handguns and rifles.

If I had to choose only three I'd have to select 2400 (still have 5 lbs of the old), Unique, and I think I'd choose Trail Boss as among my current favorites... for pistols..

I've gotta say I'm surprised to see H110/WW296 making such a strong showing based on its mfg's suggested lack of flexibility with work-up loads...

[warf73]

By volume I use WST, Red Dot then Herco as the 3 most used for pistol.

[Bob J]

H110 for all my magnum loads and N340 for my 1911....

[winelover]

Bullseye, unique and 2400 are the powders I use the most.

Same for me. Ranked by the most used it would be 2400, Unique and then Bullseye.

Winelover

[cuzinbruce]

Herco

[klutz347]

Reddot, greendot and BE

[sljacob]

by far unique is my go to powder, bullseye sees a lot of use also as well as tight group, a very close 4th would be trailboss for "jackrabbit" type loads.

[Moonie]

Only handguns I load for are .45acp and .400 Cor-Bon. Unique (use it for everything), Clays (light loads) and AA #5.

[9.3X62AL]

My 3 most-used handgun powders were all on the list--WW231, Unique, and 2400. Herco is probably 4th place.

2400 would likely be my most-used powder in all venues, since it works in 410 shotshells and cast rifle loads so well. I go through A LOT of 2400.

[jdgabbard]

Bullseye, Unique and 2400...and from the looks of things, most people agree with me.

[WARD O]

HS-6 is a very good powder and obviously it is also underused.

Ward

[AaronJ]

i like unique for my 45 autos but the last batch i got didnt burn worth a s***. at the end of a range sesion my forearms where speckled with unburned powder. kind of turned me off of it so now the dillon is stoked up with blue dot and im gonna see if it might burn a little cleaner.

[zxcvbob]

Does anyone else use WSF in revolver cartridges? It's a wonderful powder with little or no load data. (so I substitute Herco data, and I don't try to max it out.)

[John Boy]

PR, easy answer ... original gunpowder, granualtions FFg and FFFg![smilie=1:

[AZ-Stew]

Bullseye for light loads in the smaller cartridges (.32-.357), 2400 for magnum loads and IMR 7625 (not on the list) for mid-range loads in larger cartridges (.41-.45 Colt). Why 7625 rather than Unique? I get better accuracy. This may be due to the fact that loads using 7625 that produce the same velcity as Unique fill the case closer to the boolit base. It's my go-to powder for .41 Magnum or .41 Special loads. My M-57 Smith hasn't seen a full power load for probably 30 years or more. The 900 fps 7625 load does all I need and doesn't beat the carp out of me or the gun. Several years ago Midsouth Shooter's Supply bought out the stock from a failing gun shop and sold some of the 7625 for a ridiculously low price, so I bought an equally ridiculous amount of it. When I'm gone my son will finish it.

Regards,

Stew

[fecmech]

Does anyone else use WSF in revolver cartridges? It's a wonderful powder with little or no load data. (so I substitute Herco data, and I don't try to max it out.)

I've used it in both the 9mm and .38 spl where it does great in both. Almost identical velocities in those two calibers with Herco grain for grain and meters better. If I didn't have so much Unique around I would buy a keg of WSF to fill the niche!

[Grampie not Grumpie]

I voted for H110/W296, 2400, & Unique. Another I use a lot is Herco. When powder got scarce and I couldn't get Unique I got a bottle of Herco. I contacted Alliant about using Herco and the said it was a good substitute - as it is somewhat slower use about a grain more.

Grampie not Grumpie,

[fredj338]

I noted that both Green dot and WST were not on this list.

Green dot is a good pistol and 20 gauge powder while WST is the most accurate powder I have ever found for the 45 auto
Exactly! WSF was also not on the list. It is quickly replacing Unique in my 9mm & 40 loads.

[Char-Gar]

The results of your poll was predictable. Show the users of this site have good sense when it comes to powder choice.

296/110 and 2400 for full snort magnum type loads
Bullseye and 231/HP38 for target loads
Unique was the multi purpose powder for standard loads.

[357shooter]

I posted the info below in a new thread, then thought it should have gone here.

FYI:
So the poll on the handgun powders was actually put on a few forums. It turns out that the vast majority of the votes came from CastBoolits.

Even though the poll hasn't aged much, the past 100 people that voted haven't changed the sequence that the powders are in.

The voting is still goin on, however I don't think the results will change much at this point.

So with 220 people casting 638 votes total (not everyone voted 3 times) the results are at the following link: http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/ab341/prgallo/UpdatedHandgunPowder9-24-2.jpg

[MGySgt]

Unique and 2400 -

They may not be the best for super target or highest velocity - but with those 2 powders I load:
.38, 9mm, 357, 40, 45acp, 45 colt, 44 spl, 44 mag and 475 Linbaugh.

Soon I will add .380 to that list.

Keeps the different powders down that I need to store.

Of course all that I load are boolit's none of the fancy jacketed stuff for me!

[357shooter]

The newly updated chart with HP38 fixed is at http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=94081

[tonyjones]

I voted for (by volume used, most used to least) H110, Universal Clays and Bullseye. When loading shotshells the order would be reversed.
Regards,
Tony

[David2011]

I've used a lot of Titegroup the last few years. WST gets the nod for my light .45ACP loads. After than, there are a lot of powders I use a little of- 231, Unique, Bullseye, 2400, Clays, SR4756. Been meaning to try HS-6.

There seems to be a lot of SD with SR4756 which is disconcerting at the chrono stage at meets. In .40 S&W I've had extreme spreads as high as 105 fps over 10 rounds with weighed charges in the 6.0 grain range. That's enough to cause a failure to make Major if I got 3 low velocities in a row. Spreads seem to be about the same with volume thrown charges. I haven't tried SR4756 with any other cartridge. I started using it for its reputation of higher velocities at lower pressures but I'm not thrilled with it yet.

David

[frankenfab]

H110, Blue Dot,


And LOTS of WC 820

[dogbert41]

Last couple of months I've been thinking of narrowing down my repository to as few powders as possible. I bought my first 4 pound jug of Unique and started using up all the other powders I have to clear my shelves. But as I get more into 12 gauge shotshell, I find that I need more powders again because I cannot find any load data other than heavy field loads and slugs that use Unique.

Do anyone have any light 7/8 to 1oz 12 gauge target load data using Unique???

I guess I'll just have to up my lead usage to 1 and 1/8 oz, because I still want to go down to one single powder, and that's going to be Unique.

[Shooter6br]

I see unique is very popular. Universal is almost identical to unique.i would use either .Depends on what is available.I like the burning rate of the powders

[Edubya]

I voted pretty much in line with most of you because of the volume that I have used, but I've used some AA5 and I really liked it. It is a ball powder and meters very well. It was accurate in 9mm, .357 and .38. It did not create a lot of smoke or residue in the gun. What more could you ask for? ...AVAILABILITY!

EW

[Lloyd Smale]

bullseye, power pistol/unigue is a toss up and aa9/wc820

[357shooter]

I voted Bullseye, Unqiue, 2400.
In over 100 years of making smokeless powders, and any advancements in chemistry,
the poll results show the three oldest 100 year old powders to be the top three !

Pretty amazing when you put it that way.

[monadnock#5]

I bought an 8lb jug of Unique in '07. Didn't much like the stink brought in by the political winds at the time. Sort of a pre panic, panic purchase. Still got some, and will buy more when the time comes. I just checked Powder Valley inventory, and they have 8lb'ers of BOTH Bulls Eye and 231 in stock for the first time that I've seen in a long while. Hmm, decisions decisions.

When I feel the need for speed, 4227 and magnum primers gets my attention. That doesn't happen often enough for quantity purchases of either though.

[Blammer]

can I vote 3 times for the same powder? :)

[sirgknight]

I voted Unique, Bullseye and Titegroup, but I use more Russian Salut than any other powder. Primarily because of cost in the past. Salut uses the same load data as unique, and it meters extremely well....it kinda looks like a tan colored fine cat litter. Anyway, unique has my vote for most used powder.

[home in oz]

Red Dot, Bullseye, Unique work well.

[shootingbuff]

If you are trying to limit the number of powders you stock, my answers would be Unique, Unique, and Unique. I would be very happy (and am) with a good supply of Unique, 2400, and H110, but Unique serves the purpose for anything I need a handgun to do.
Tony

I agree with the unique if I had to have only one powder for "everything".

sb

[Kraschenbirn]

+1 on Herco. I use it for both "heavy" .44 Spls and "Moderate" .44 Mags.

Bill

[Elkins45]

I use a ton of Promo because I have a ton of Promo.

[Crash_Corrigan]

Unique is the first powder I ever used. It worked great in my .38 and 357's and does a decent job in my .45 ACP. I found better results and cleaner burning in the .45's with W 231. It also is a great powder for lite loads in the .38's when I make some rounds for newbies and the ladies for the .38's.

Clays is a very good powder for my .45 ACp when I trying to duplicate factory defensive rounds.

I presently have 3 8# jugs of Unique, one of W 231 and a four pounder of Clays.

I presently have over 20 different powders in my stash that I have accumulated over the years. Red Dot I use for making up "the load" that CE Harris devised for military cast bullet shooting. I also have a decent supply of Swiss #1 for my BPCR rifle and for messing around with my .44 Special CA Bulldog.

I figure with black powder in the Bulldog if I miss my BG at least there is enuf smoke that I can escape with my hide intact. Seriously it is just a fun time to shoot blackpowder out of a short barrelled pistol. You get a very loud bellowing sound, major flames and sparks and an excellent white cloud of smoke. It never fails to summon a crowd on the firing line.

[EMC45]

Bullseye, Unique, 2400.

[winelover]

Bullseye, Unique, 2400.

And the winner is!

Winelover:drinks:

[Oldtimer]

Been using BE and Unique for over 35 years. Tried Clays and never looked back.
So much cleaner. 3.7 gr in both .40, and .45 make great low power plinking loads.
Bob

[EMC45]

And the winner is!

Winelover:drinks:

I won? AWESOME!!! Now where do I pick up my Lipsey's 44 Special Blackhawk? That was the prize for this contest right?

[winelover]

I won? AWESOME!!! Now where do I pick up my Lipsey's 44 Special Blackhawk? That was the prize for this contest right?

Whatever you've been smoking, I want some!:bigsmyl2:

Winelover

[357shooter]

I won? AWESOME!!! Now where do I pick up my Lipsey's 44 Special Blackhawk? That was the prize for this contest right?LOL

It's in the mail. If it doesn't arrive later today (Sunday) I don't know what happened. Really.;)

[BrianB]

Unique for some loads
Clays for various .38 and .45 loads (very clean)
Lil' Gun for heavy .357 Mag hunting loads (operates at lower pressures than its competitors)

[TripletDad]

I voted for AA#2, #5 and #7. Mostly #5 in 9mm and 45ACP. Sure there are more economical choices for those calibers, but I like ball powder and I like enough of it to make a double charge obvious.

I also like HP38 & Bluedot.

[evan price]

Titegroup for nearly everything nonmagnum.
AA#9 for the magnums.
800-X is the best 40 S&W powder out there but meters like Unique.
Promo- great for cheap 45 cast boolit loads.
WST- good clean burning powder, and if I wasn't using Titegroup I'd be using WST.
231/HP38- about usable in any pistol cartridge.

[Railbuggy]

I picked Red Dot, Bullseye, and Unique becouse that is what I had been useing
for my 12ga since 1986.I started reloading 45acp in 2004.

[Wally]

I use Red Dot, Unique and 2400. I load for .38/.357, .45ACP, .45 Colt, .44 Special/Mag...Ray

I have started to experiment w/ Red Dot in all the calibers that you mentioned..if I might ask, what loads have worked out well for you using it? I like Red Dot because it is fluffier & fills cases better than Bullseye, Unique, & W-231/HP-38

[BD]

None of the three powders I burn the most of were listed? WC820, HPC-18 and 297. I suppose when I run out of surplus I'd be looking at #9, 231 (or Titegroup) and 296/H110. I do keep a pound of Unique on the shelf for lite loads, but don't even burn a pound a year like that.
BD

[.357]

Unique- it's the first powder i ever got my hands on and it still work for light/standard load
Blue dot- plain based boomin loads
h110- gas checked boomin loads

[prs]

ffg was not lised and my favorite

prs

[Bullshop Junior]

Alliant Steel

[357shooter]

Alliant SteelI've gotta ask, what kind of handgun do you load w/Steel??

[StrawHat]

If I had responded to this twenty years ago, it would have been Bullseye, Unique and 2400. Since then, blackpowder has been replacing many of the powders I used.

I stil have Bullseye and Unique but use less and less of them. I load for the 38 Special, 44 Colt, 45 long Colt, 45 S&W.

[Landric]

HS-6, Trail Boss, & 2400. Titegroup is a close 4th.

[NoDakJak]

I began loading with Bullseye, Unique and 2400 almost fifty years ago and if they were the only powders available I certainly could live with the fact. Right now I have probably most of the pistol powders but they are used mostly for test purposes.
My most used powders are 231 / Ramshot Zip. Burn rate and loading daa for these two are virtually identical. Unique / PB PB has a burn rate close to Unique and measures great, something that can't always be said about Unique. It may just be the cleanest burning powder that I have used in handguns. I like it well enough that I just purchased an eight pounder. 2400 is probably my most used powder as I use it in both rifle and handguns.
Neil

[oldhickory]

2400, Unique, and Bullseye for a very long time, though, Red Dot, Herco, and 231 are always in my powder cabinet also. The handgun calibers I load are, .38spl, .44spl, .44mag, .45auto, and .45Colt.

[RobS]

I voted for what was closest. I prefer Herco, but voted Unique as it would be my next substitute. I also voted for Red Dot, but use Promo as a replacement since it is $20 or so cheaper. 2400 is my slow burner that I use most often in handguns/revolvers, but do use AA#9 and H110 when I want to "up a notch".

[UNIQUEDOT]

Unique, blue dot, 2400.

[Shooter6br]

i pick Universal( cant tell a lick of differance between it and Unique) Red dot and that's it. Cant name a third.

[BlueSmoke]

My three picks are Ramshot Zip, Unique, and Accurate No. 9.

Regards,

BlueSmoke

[MtGun44]

How high is up?

Bill

[shooterchris]

Bullseye, 231, and 2400, but I have 8 lbs of Unique too. Not really my favorite in anything, but works in just about everything.

[44 flattop]

W296, AA#9 and UNIQUE! I would venture a guess I burn up around 15+lbs per year in rifles, shotguns and pistols.

I use 296 for heavy pistol loads but I don't shoot a large volume of it. #9 is a fantastic mid-range powder as good or better than 2400.

But Unique. It is truly Unique. I have said for decades I could live the rest of my life with just Unique. Luckily I haven't needed to do it. But dagnab it, it is just a fantastic all around powder.

44

[shootingbuff]

W296, AA#9 and UNIQUE! I would venture a guess I burn up around 15+lbs per year in rifles, shotguns and pistols.

I use 296 for heavy pistol loads but I don't shoot a large volume of it. #9 is a fantastic mid-range powder as good or better than 2400.

But Unique. It is truly Unique. I have said for decades I could live the rest of my life with just Unique. Luckily I haven't needed to do it. But dagnab it, it is just a fantastic all around powder.

44

[smilie=s: Hey, I agree :bigsmyl2:

[.357]

How high is up?

Bill

twice halfway.


in all seriousness i've greatly enjoyed this thread seeing everyone's powder choices has been really fun/informative.

[wizard93]

I had to go with HP38, Unique, and 2400.

I was using Bullseye for a while, but it was my dad's can of powder and he ended back up with it. I went to buy another can, but the retailer didn't have it in stock, so I decided on the HP38. The Unique works great in my cartridges like 38 special, light 44 magnum loads, heavy 16 gauge shotshell loads, and cast rifle loads in 8x57mm, 303, 30-06, and 7.62x54. The 2400 is the most accurate powder I've used in the RSBH 44 magnum, and I use it to load my B-I-L's 357 Taurus snubbie.

BTW, I noticed the Win 540 powder isn't listed. Apparently it hasn't been made for a long time, and I'm down to about 1/3 can. Someone told me that it's the same powder as HS-6. If that's true, then it's my go-to powder for my Hi Point 995 carbine with 125 grain cast RN boolits.

wizard93

[dagger dog]

I voted, H110, Aliant 2400, and Unique. I shoot Ruger +P+.45 Colt, which all three have a place with mutiple weight bullets, 2400 for heavy .357 Mag loadings,and Unique for .38 S&W Special.

[Shooter6br]

oops three HANDGUN POWDERS not 4759 ( I thought it was all cast bullet powders) I would then say Universal (Unique) Red Dot and 2400