I Like Bullseye

[koehlerrk]

Went on a powder hunt today. Left NY and went just across the PA border to a new shooting supply store in the middle of nowhere. Was looking for a fast handgun powder consisting of any of the following: 700X, Red Dot, W231/HP38, or Bullseye. They didn't have any of the first 3, but lo and behold, they had Bullseye. Price was even cheaper than Widener's price ($17.99#), so I bought 5 pounds. This will now replace the 700X I have been using for .380 ACP, 9mm, .38 Spl, .45 ACP, and .45 Colt cast bullet loads. I am a happy camper.

Don

OK, so are you talking about the new Beikirchs in Elkland PA? Hasn't been there 6 months yet... If that's the one, I work in Corning NY. So, are we close, or not? Let me know, either here or by PM.

[telebasher]

Bullseye...Unique...2400....
The holy trinity of gunpowder!!!

Amen to that!

[bedbugbilly]

Well said! I love Bulls Eye and use it in all my pistol cartridges. I try to keep some on hand depending on the supply at the LGS. I do have Red Dot, Unique and 700X on hand "just in case" but if I can find it and keep it on my shelf - the others rarely get used.

As far as BE going a "long way" - I like loading and shooting 38 Colt Shorts (a nice plinking roundup of my 3" Smith Model 36) - using 1.8 gr. of BE under a Lyman/Ideal 358242 120 grain RN makes a pound of BE go a looooooong waaaaaay!

[Horace]

''Bullseye...Unique...2400....
The holy trinity of gunpowder!!! ''

My favorites!

Horace

[Horace]

.....and Red Dot....IMR 4759....

Horace

[snoopy]

Amen on the bullseye, one of the first powders I found after starting to reload with this shortage in full swing. Very economical for 38s

[StrawHat]

I don't even know how much Bullseye I have shot since I started shooting. I still have some left but need more. I load it mostly for the 38 Special but have used it in others. Bullseye, Unique and 2400 were my first three and remain my mainstays for smokeless stuff.

[ballistim]

I just recently picked up my 8lbs. of Bullseye that I ordered 2 years ago from my LGS, was down to my last pound before that. Posted when I got it and asked for favorite loads with Bullseye & 45acp was the clear cut winner.

[rintinglen]

Well, Laflin and Rand were selling Bullseye 114 years ago, not 103, but other than that, I find no flaw in Chargar's thesis. Bullseye is one of the best powders for target loads ever made. I weren't there, but I've read that every round of 45 ACP fired by a Doughboy or GI in both World Wars was loaded with it. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of matches have been won with cartridges loaded with it. Now I've moved to WW-231 for most of the same purposes, but I still have a bottle or two on standby, just in case. It's a dandy! Though these days, you can't often find it, buy it if you do. It will not disappoint.

[prs]

I've been trying to secure a supply of Bullseye for several years. Several weeks ago Cabelas was selling it at high prices and I bit the boolit and purchased the max they would ship on one hazmat. So what I had been doing with 700X and Red Dot and Tight Group I am doing as well or better with Bullseye. As it turns-out, my charges for 45ACP 200gr 68 SWC are spot on with what CharGar has settled upon. I expected it to shoot dirt, being an ages-old recipe, but it does not. Only a wisp of smoke and the gun stays clean when using coated boolits instead of lobe. Now, if I only had one powder, it would be Unique as it serves my 16ga to perfection and everything else I need well enough. But, glad we do have so much choice.

prs
prs

[Michael J. Spangler]

i love bullseye.
super versatile from light loads to semi warm loads. it can be used in so many cartridges.
i never saw the need to run 4.7 grains of unique in a 38 cases with a 158 bullet when i can get the same velocity of out 3.5 grains of bullseye.
maybe i'm just cheap.
here's to another 101 years

[18Bravo]

It's always been a favorite of mine. Even the new kids on the block like Tight Group just can't quite compete with it.

Welcome to the forum 18 Bravo. Your user name is my favorite MOS, although I retired an 18 Zulu. There's a couple other SF 'ers here.

Scharfschuetz,
Well met and welcome home. I was never smart enough for operations so had to stick with weapons! Back in the day, my MOS was 11B4S/11C4S but have adopted the newer equivalent 18 Bravo to keep things simple. Yes, I've noticed a few other SF'ers on this forum. It was one of the contributing factors in my decision to join. Thanks for the welcome!

De oppresso liber

[Char-Gar]

Well, Laflin and Rand were selling Bullseye 114 years ago, not 103, but other than that, I find no flaw in Chargar's thesis. Bullseye is one of the best powders for target loads ever made. I weren't there, but I've read that every round of 45 ACP fired by a Doughboy or GI in both World Wars was loaded with it. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of matches have been won with cartridges loaded with it. Now I've moved to WW-231 for most of the same purposes, but I still have a bottle or two on standby, just in case. It's a dandy! Though these days, you can't often find it, buy it if you do. It will not disappoint.

The 1913 date is Hercules/Alliant. I have used quite a bit of 231 over the years, but have never found it superior to Bullseye so I stick with my old favorite. I am not fickle when it comes to either powder or much of anything else. When I find something that works for me, I tend to stick with it. Some folks call that being in a rut, but I prefer to think of it as tradition.

Many of the younger set of reloaders and shooters think that anything more than a few years old just can't be of any value. They hold the theory, that new must be better or else why would it have been made? The mere fact that somebody made a much newer powder, is strong proof that the older powders were not up to snuff. These folks are raw meat for the marketers of the world.

However, many folks must still think Bulleye is a good think to have, as proved by the fact that is is so hard to come by these days.

[Scharfschuetze]

Scharfschuetz,
Well met and welcome home. I was never smart enough for operations so had to stick with weapons! Back in the day, my MOS was 11B4S/11C4S but have adopted the newer equivalent 18 Bravo to keep things simple. Yes, I've noticed a few other SF'ers on this forum. It was one of the contributing factors in my decision to join. Thanks for the welcome!

You're an old timer! I used to be an 11C3S as well as 11B4S and 11F4S before they gave SF its own branch and we all became 18 series troopers.

De oppresso liber!

And to stay on topic, while I do use 231 and Tightgroup in certain applications, I could just as well use Bullseye and not notice much difference, whether in the 32 S&W or the 45/70.

[gunoil]

Bullseye popped up here, have not seen in a while. l have some now. its great.

[USSR]

What gets me is, you see guys complain about this old powder or that old powder being "dirty", and they go on and on about that, and I finally have to ask them, "so, how's the accuracy?", to which they have no answer.

Don

[18Bravo]

What gets me is, you see guys complain about this old powder or that old powder being "dirty", and they go on and on about that, and I finally have to ask them, "so, how's the accuracy?", to which they have no answer.

Don


Two weeks ago, on a whim, I loaded 100 rounds of 148 DEWC in .38 Special. This was broken down in to ten rounds each of ten different powders. The goal was to find out which powder performed best in regards to accuracy. The powders were CFE Pistol, 231, HP38, Trail Boss, Red Dot, Bullseye, S1000, A#5, WSF and Power Pistol. To keep things fair all loads were exactly charged half way between published minimum and maximum. When the smoke cleared (pun intended) Bullseye had significantly outperformed the other powders. Five shot groups fired at ten yards off hand where, on the average, .325 inches better than the next closest competitor Trail Boss. While this was not a controlled scientific test taking all variables into consideration it was enough to convince me that Bullseye was still the "go to" powder for accurate WC shooting.

[Char-Gar]

What gets me is, you see guys complain about this old powder or that old powder being "dirty", and they go on and on about that, and I finally have to ask them, "so, how's the accuracy?", to which they have no answer.

Don

Don, the accuracy of handgun loads with Bullseye powder is outstanding/excellent and great. It was the go to powder for Bullseye competition shooters for many generations and has been tested over and over again. There may be some powders that equal it in accuracy, but none have been demonstrated as better.

I am not one to complain about Bullseye or any powder being "dirty". I wash my hands and clean my guns as I have done for over a half century. The dirty powder complaint seems to be of fairly recent origin, from shooters who were not trained to clean their weapons after each firings. You won't find us old guys with that issue. I find the dirty powder complaints to be utterly without substance or merit.

Correct cleaning will not harm any weapon, nor reduce it's longevity. Folks can mess up anything if they are careless or don't pay attention to what they are doing. There are folks who can break an anvil.

[Catshooter]

Char-Gar,

You're an old fuddy-duddy! Next thing you'll be telling us that you still use the Lyman 310 dies and tools.

Oh wait . . .















Cat

[tazman]

Don, the accuracy of handgun loads with Bullseye powder is outstanding/excellent and great. It was the go to powder for Bullseye competition shooters for many generations and has been tested over and over again. There may be some powders that equal it in accuracy, but none have been demonstrated as better.

I am not one to complain about Bullseye or any powder being "dirty". I wash my hands and clean my guns as I have done for over a half century. The dirty powder complaint seems to be of fairly recent origin, from shooters who were not trained to clean their weapons after each firings. You won't find us old guys with that issue. I find the dirty powder complaints to be utterly without substance or merit.

Correct cleaning will not harm any weapon, nor reduce it's longevity. Folks can mess up anything if they are careless or don't pay attention to what they are doing. There are folks who can break an anvil.

All true. There are some powders in use that burn cleaner and leave considerably less residue than Bullseye does. They don't improve on the accuracy though. I will always trade having to clean my gun(which I will do anyway) for better accuracy.