tell me about Power Pistol

[targetshootr]

Everyone says it burns clean so I'm going to try it as soon as I can find some load info which ain't been easy. Does the Lee manual have any? I shoot medium to warm loads with cast boolits in 38-40, 44spl, 44 mag, and 45 colt in Ruger single actions. Unique will work but even the new stuff feels greasy. The Alliant book has some loads but all are max and most for acp. Speer shows more than any but not enough to see how it compares to Universal, etc.


:castmine:

[targetshootr]

Welp, here's what I've found out so far since I started researching this bad boy the other day: (please correct any mistakes)

Alliant said they took Bullseye and made the flakes longer to slow it down and take up more case capacity but it's smaller than Unique so it meters better in the sliding bar presses like Dillon. ln the Unique loads l did the other night l saw 1/4 gr difference from one throw to the next. And loaddata.com list data for most of the calibers l load on top of the ones l found in Speer.

The most unusual thing l read is that Alliants top Power Pistol 44 mag 240 jsp load of 13.5 gr at 1400 fps creates 3000 less psi than their top Unique load of 10.3 gr at 1250 fps. Is that even possible?

[Ricochet]

The most unusual thing l read is that Alliants top Power Pistol 44 mag 240 jsp load of 13.5 gr at 1400 fps creates 3000 less psi than their top Unique load of 10.3 gr at 1250 fps. Is that even possible?Yeah, I've been reading in my 2nd edition Lee manual (which is too old to have Power Pistol in it), and noted a number of similar examples of loads giving higher velocities with lower pressures and lighter charge weights than others in the same caliber and bullet weight. But I understand the Lee book is a compilation from various primary sources, so the testing conditions and equipment may have been significantly different.

[targetshootr]

The guy at the factory couldn't explain it either.

I have a chance to get an 8 pound jug at wholesale which started the search and it looks like it'll be PP even though most of my shooting is under 1000 fps using 44 and 45 Keiths. Looking at the loads in Speer I don't see a problem but they say it's a high performance powder, whatever that means.

[AlaskaMike]

I'm mad that I didn't buy my jug of PP earlier. My experiments in .357, .44 mag and .45 Colt have convinced me that I needn't by any more Unique. From what I've seen, PP is about 10% slower (roughly speaking) than Unique, but seems much more stable at the upper end of the pressure spectrum. However, it's also pretty nice working at lower pressures as well!

It won't be displacing my 296 for full power magnum loads, but it's my first choice now for midrange loads.

Mike

[Ricochet]

If you look at Alliant's website, every powder of theirs is rated for burning speed as a percentage of Bullseye's at 100. Power Pistol is between Unique and Herco. As we've been noting here, burning speeds vary under different conditions and they don't always maintain the same order.

It's interesting that Alliant claims three of their powders to have the same burning speed, Red Dot, E3 and Promo, all at 94.1% of Bullseye's rate. That seems to be just about ideal for 12 gauge target loads, and is for an awful lot of pistol loads as well.

[targetshootr]

On another forum someone posted he uses 8 grains under his 44 and 45 Keiths which sounds about right for a medium load in the Speer manual. As long as it meters well and burns cleaner, I don't see any downsides. And if it takes up more space in the case, even better.

[Lloyd Smale]

I use lots of it with cast bullets in the 44 mag,special and 45 colt. Ive also tried it int he 41 mag and special. Its a real good powder. Nothing will replace unique and herco on my bench but pp has a spot earned there now and i cant say the same for univeral clays.

[fecmech]

[QUOTE=targetshootr;168892

Alliant said they took Bullseye and made the flakes longer to slow it down and take up more case capacity but it's smaller than Unique so it meters better in the sliding bar presses like Dillon. ]l

Thats strange, I currently have BE in my Auto Champ (uses powder bushings like shotshell presses) and the powder bushing using 2 yr old BE throws the same amount it did 25 yrs ago. I just bought a new 4 lb keg last week so I opened it and put some on a piece of paper next to some that came from the press. Examining them both with a photo lope the grains look perfectly round and identical?? If there is a difference in grain size I sure can't see it.

[dubber123]

I think he meant that the elongated flakes are on the Power Pistol powder, not on Bullseye. I don't think Bullseye has changed except to make the flakes more uniform than years ago. Supposed to be cleaner.

[fecmech]

I guess I just read it wrong, I was'nt thinking in terms of making Bullseye into Power Pistol.

[45r]

power pistol works so well in my 45 colts I don't even try anything else anymore for mid-level loads.9.5 grains under my 270 saa bullets shoot great in my redhawk.

[targetshootr]

Now I'm pumped about trying it out. Most of my shooting is a notch or two above cowboy loads so I think it'll work great. Does anyone else think the new Unique feels greasy? I just loaded and shot some the other day for the first time in several years.

[targetshootr]

I looked back several years on the The Firing Line and it sounds like Power Pistol might have accuracy issues and lots of flash in certain calibers at medium velocities. Did you see any of those, 45r?

[45r]

I haven't noticed any flash that is any different than other powders and I think that would only be a concern at night with a self defence caliber like 45 acp and I use vitt 330 in my kimber for that reason and I shot a 2 and a half inch group at 50 yards with that powder under a 200 grain xtp at 1080 fps.thats a hot load but bad guys would be hurtin if I had to use it for defending myself.power pistol shoots very well in my colt 45 also at 8.6 grains under the 270 saa.look at this months issue of handloader and see the group that brian pierce shot with power pistol in his ruger 45 colt and it is a small one.My redhawk shoots 1 inch groups consistantly also at 25 yards and 2 and a half to 3 at 50 yards sized .455 and lubed with carnuba red.Its hard to do better than that unless your shooting a line bored revolver like a F/A or a custom gun.

[targetshootr]

Late today l bought a pound and loaded some 44 250Ks with 8.3 gr and also some with 9.0 gr. Also loaded some 255K 45s in colt brass with 8.0 gr and tomorrow they'll get to the range. One thing for sure, it's smaller and meters a lot better than Unique. A case of primers cost $109 though, so l need to do something about that too.

[targetshootr]

Got to the range and those PP loads seemed to smoke a lot more than the Unique loads I used to compare. Flash is a non-issue for me so all things considered, I could live with Unique if it metered as well as PP in a Dillon.

[Edward429451]

I'm on my first LB of PP. It's given me excellant results in 45acp and I've wondered about trying it in 44 special/mag.

Lloyd, how much PP have you been loading in 44's? (180's, 245's, 250's, 300's...etc..)

Thx.

[Lloyd Smale]

I load it in the 44 mag and special using 240-270 grain bullets. For the special try 7.5 grains and for the mag 9.5 to 10 works great. Basically it can be loaded using unique data. My 44 bisley shoots 10 grains and a rcbs 240swcgc into one hole at 25 yards and even with my pour eyes ive shot inch 50 yard groups with it.
I'm on my first LB of PP. It's given me excellant results in 45acp and I've wondered about trying it in 44 special/mag.

Lloyd, how much PP have you been loading in 44's? (180's, 245's, 250's, 300's...etc..)

Thx.

[targetshootr]

Tonight I called and asked for a jug of Unique. It was the safest pick and the price is beyond sweet. Still can't figure the smoke that PP put out but it meters well and I still have most of a pound to fiddle with. And I called Dillon about the metering and he said if the press is working right it should only vary by 1/10 grain with any powder. Not sure if I believe it though.

[IcerUSA]

My experiance with PP was with J-word bullets, had a talk with my powder guy when I ran out and he said it has a temp problem as it does get a little chilly here in Michigan, he recomended Titegroup and so far I'm likeing it in both the 9mm and 45 Auto. Power Pistol did shoot good in the summer tho, definantly can tell when I shot some of my HP J-words out of the 45 hehe

[Ricochet]

"Should" and "does" are different words, all right.

[targetshootr]

Yep. This week I looked over several years of posts on The Firing line, Smith forum, Ruger forum, and any other I could find and most people said sliding bars don't meter big flakes very well. But l'll do the couple of things he mentioned and see if it helps. Someone posted to tape an electric razor near the powder funnel to vibrate it for consistant drops.

[Ricochet]

A junk cell phone or beeper will contain a vibrator motor with an unbalanced weight on the shaft.

So will one of those, uh, bullet-shaped vibrators the ladies like to keep around. :lol:

[targetshootr]

Good idea. I'm heading to Gander Mountain so I'll see what the sales ladies use and report back.

[smilie=1: