Powder for 9mm and 45acp rounds

[ShooterOnTheLine]

What would be a good all-around non-expensive powder that could be used in both the 9mm and 45acp rounds? These rounds are used for target and plinking.

[GBertolet]

Bullseye, 231 or Titegroup would do fine.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

i like Bullseye for my 9mm i dont load for 45acp yet

[timspawn]

Don't forget about Unique.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Unique is what I have used in both 9mm and 45 with good results.

[Larry Gibson]

Bullseye for both.

Larry Gibson

[Gunor]

I am using 231 on my Dillon 550.

I am using the same powder measure for 9mm, 38 Spc, and 45 ACP.

Only vary the charge a little between the different loads and calibers.

KISS principal.

Geoff in Oregon

[zomby woof]

WST for 45
WSF for 9mm
you'll never look back

[1maxhunter]

Universal Clays...!!! it has about the same burn rate as Unique but is MUCH cleaner.

[root]

Unique is very dirty, but it's what I use for both 9mm and 45acp.
and some cast loads for the 30-30.
the 30-30 is pretty funny it just goes "pop"

I started with it many moons ago and had 12 lbs given to me a few years back. still have 3 lbs I'm working through.

When it's gone I'm going with a cleaner powder. Hey it was free so I'm using it for now.

[RobS]

If you are shooting 230 grainers out of the 45 Auto then Winchester WSF is a good one for both. Win. 231 is good for the 45 auto but being a quicker powder the 9mm loads will be on the lighter side. It's going to be a compromise somewhat considering the two cartridges operate at different pressures for standard velocities.

[Awsar]

Win 231 works good for me pretty clean also. .38-.357-9mm-.45 all i use

[Moonie]

I use Unique and Clays for 45 and back when I was reloading 9mm I used Unique exclusively but wouldn't hesitate to use Clays as well today.

[GT27]

I've had great luck with Titegroup in both the 9mm & 45acp,its the most economical powder for these calibers.Think Obamaconomy!

[Shiloh]

Bullseye, Unique, 231 AA #5.

SHiloh

[Westwindmike]

I use Accurate #5 for both.

[Hamish]

10B101 has been working very well in the .38 and .45. No reason it shouldn't do just as well in a 9.

[jburris2001]

I just bought win 231 which is the same as h-38 for reloading all my pistols.

[Artful]

Checking the powder closet - Bullseye, 700X, small pounders, Unique and Red Dot Large Canisters
But I have taken to using VV N320 or N340 for 9mm heavy bullet loadings - Very Clean burning.

[Dragonheart]

What would be a good all-around non-expensive powder that could be used in both the 9mm and 45acp rounds? These rounds are used for target and plinking.

Bullseye, Unique, HP38/231 can perform well, but are extremely dirty powders that also generate a lot of smoke. If you want one reasonable accurate powder for both I would suggest Tightgroup.

[Jon]

I use Bullseye. It's inexpensive, and a pound lasts quite awhile.

[ShooterOnTheLine]

I noticed that no-one mentioned using PowerPistol for both rounds. Is this a possible product? Is it a clean or dirty burn?

[P.K.]

Checking the powder closet - Bullseye, 700X, small pounders, Unique and Red Dot Large Canisters
But I have taken to using VV N320 or N340 for 9mm heavy bullet loadings - Very Clean burning."COUGH" Been away for a bit but I'll second 700X, excellent powder and works well with both. I'd love to lay on a supply if it becomes available.....;-)

[rexherring]

Bullseye, Unique, 231 AA #5.

SHiloh

Yup, that's the four I've been using for quite awhile.

[gwpercle]

I am starting to use more Red Dot. Got it for cast boolit loads in military rifles , C. E. Harris article using 13 grs of Red Dot for 303 British , and have started using it in 38 special , 9 mm and 45 acp. Works well in all of these applications. When we were having a powder shortage awhile back three cans were on the dealers shelf so I bought 2 , glad I did now. Lyman cast boolit handbook shows a lot of applications for it.
gary

[thegatman]

Power pistol works great for me in both 9mm and 45ACP. Otherwise Unique.

[badboyparamedic]

I use 700X

[captaint]

Well, thank you gw - somebody finally mentioned Red Dot. My 45' and 9's love the stuff. Mike

[Hal]

I use Blue Dot in 9mm and 45 ACP because i have a lot of it. The old Hecules is what i have. Might be to much flash or dirty but the loads are accurate at 25Yards. Great also in my 357's. Have yet to try it in a 40 S&W with cast bullets.

[saint_iverson]

+1 for CLAYS... clean, fast burning powder that will last 1lb for 1500+ rounds even in 45. Only drawback: since it burns so fast, and the qty necessarily low, you do not yield the higher velocities that the 700x, HP38/231 and many of the various "Dots" generate. Great for sil ammo, plinking with good accuracy. For faster rounds, AutoCOMP or WSF, however, you will be using over 20% more powder depending on your loadout.

[ffg]

231 works for me on both 9 and 45acp

[HighHook]

Bullseye for both...

[Bello]

Winchester WSF for full house loads

[Jamezius Maximus]

Bullseys and unique, they are both great, I load my hotter loads with unique and use bullseye for my plinking loads.

Some things to consider if you use a progressive press:::


bullseye is a fine grain, unlike unique so it will be easier to dial in you grain amounts without having accuracy issues. However it is very prone to double loads because of this. So you really have to pay attention to what you doing.

Unigue is not as fine as bullseye, but it is harder to dial in you loads and they very for example, you want a 3.5 grain bullet, it will be on the dot most of the time but then you will have varriations such as 3.4 to 3.7 grains. Also this powder is hard to get a double charge because most of the time starting loads are about to the top of your brass, and when you do get a double charge the powder will be running out of the casing, so its very obvious. With bullseye you can get a double or tripple charge and you would not catch it as easily.

I use both, and either one is fine.

[joec]

I load both and have found Bullseye, Unique, HP38, Titegroup, Universal, Clays, AA#2, AA#5 in no particular order all work well. I don't like the way the AA powders meter as both seem to leak. Oh and I load mostly cast lead but they also work with jacket stuff as well.

[baer19d]

I use HP 38

[astroskg]

i use bulls-eye for both 9mm and 45ACP i use to use power pistol on the 9mm and 40S&W but when i got the 45ACP i went looking for another powder and changed to Bullseye because i used less powder per load so more reloads per pound still have like 8 pounds of Powerpistol because i haven't reloaded 40's in awhile been shooting mostly 45 and some 9 for the wife and daughter

[wallenba]

Win 231 in all my autoloading pistols here. It seems to promote flame cutting in my 45 ACP 625 S&W though, so I use Clays in my revolvers.

[sig2009]

Power pistol works great for me in both 9mm and 45ACP. Otherwise Unique.

Because if the burn rate Power Pistol is not the most suitable powder for 45 acp. 9mm yes!

[M4bushy]

Because if the burn rate Power Pistol is not the most suitable powder for 45 acp. 9mm yes!

Why do you say that? The op didn't specify if he was loading lead or jacketed bullets.
I've never used it for lead bullets but itis a great powder for 230 gr fmj loads.

[Petrol & Powder]

WSF for 9mm. It's just about perfect for that cartridge. Meters well, burns clean, about the right volume for that casing, yields good accuracy. I've loaded & shot thousands of 9mm rounds, most with WSF. I've tried just about every powder suitable for that cartridge and I always came back to WSF. In fact, it's all I use now for 9mm. And no, I don't work for Winchester or Olin Corporation.
45ACP seems to work fine with more options. WSF works as does WST. I've also used 231. Back when WAP was available (Ramshot Silhouette) it worked well at high pressures but was expensive. If I was going to only keep 1 type of powder on hand for those two cartridges I'd go with WSF because of it performance in 9mm. But why limit yourself to just type of powder?

[captaint]

Gotta do my pitch for IMR 7625 - loads about the same as Unique. Good stuff. Mike

[DennisMcharold]

Unique

[Remyvtr15]

Has anyone used Ramshot True Blue?

[Bonz]

PowerPistol (my favorite) or Bullseye. Of course, just loaded my first rounds with Vihtavuori but have not been to the range yet and may be changing my opinion afterwards

[Recluse]

I use Accurate #5 for both.

I love AA#5. In 9mm, using jacketed rounds and AA#5, I can load ammo that easily beats any factory ammo for accuracy. I use AA#5 exclusively in my .44 Special handloads and have worked up a .38 Special +P load for 158SWC rounds that is beyond awesome in my 686.

As of late, I've been working up some loads for my .45 with a 200SWC HG68 boolit. Results are good, but the 4.6 Bullseye load set the benchmark for me and that is what I'm chasing. I'm confident I'll get there with the AA powder.

I just ordered another five pounds of it to add to the existing stock I have, along with another couple of pounds of AA#2.

:coffee:

[cylinderman]

Bullseye, matter of fact I use the same charge for both.

[StratsMan]

If you want the 'best', you have to specify the parameters your testing... If you just want to K.I.S.S. (my personal preference), then Bullseye works for everything... Really... Just look through this forum, and you'll find guys shooting Bullseye in just about every caliber... There's a Bullseye recipe for every handgun caliber, tho maybe not the highest velocity recipe or most accurate recipe, but you'll find one... And it's commonly used for "mouse-fart" loads in rifles too... Gotta love that flexibility...

[marc257]

I use Solo 1000 for 9 and 45.

[mikeyd23]

Accurate #2 works for both and I have used it for .38 as well.

[DxieLandMan]

Been having great results with Unique.

[zxcvbob]

Bullseye would be my first choice. If you can't find that, look for Green Dot, Red Dot, or Promo. I haven't tried 231 yet but a lot of people like it.
Unique or Universal for full-power loads. Power Pistol, WSF, HS-6, or AA#7 for barn-burners.

[astroskg]

bullseye 10k plus of 9mm and 45acp if my memory recalls correctly i changed to Bullseye because i used almost half the amount per round than i did using power pistol at the time i was doing 9mm and 40S&W so i got more reloads per pound of powder was my thinking , helped bring down the price/round a cent or 2

[astroskg]

so do i, 4.1 gn i think great easy shooting round that cycles thru every gun i have shot it thru

[garym1a2]

Funny thing is you can use 4 grs and get decent results with it for 9mm, 40s&W and 45 acp.

Since my Lee discs measure one size at 3.8gr and the next disc is 4.2 gr the 9mm gets 3.8gr and the other two get 4.2gr.


so do i, 4.1 gn i think great easy shooting round that cycles thru every gun i have shot it thru

[saintdel]

i've used most mentioned except for the Winchester powders. My favorite for general use is 700x in place of Bullseye, much cleaner burning. For full loads in .45 I use Unique despite its soot and smoke. 7625 in 9mm has been very good at full power.

[Bonz]

I prefer PowerPistol for my 9mm. After hearing so much about Vihtavuori powder, I decided to try some for myself and it just arrived. Bought N320, N340 and 3N37 to try out in 9mm, 38 special and .40 S&W.

[xacex]

Universal. Works well for my shotgun loads too. ;). I used to use quite a bit of blue dot, but accuracy tests show the Universal gave tighter groups for my loads.

[Kydaddy]

I use Bullseye for 45ACP and Power Pistol for 9mm both to great results. Have to be very attentive with Bullseye in 45ACP because you won't get overflow with a double charge. 4.9 grains don't that up a lot of space. Very economical though due to the low grains needed. Can use it in 9mm as well

If you reload shotguns, I've used both green and blue dot which you may have already around and at $105 for 8 lbs is pretty inexpensive also

[Wal']

AP70 or as sold USA, Hodgdon Universal, 9mm, 3.7 to 4.1, 25-50 yd target loads, depending on gun used & boolit weight.

[bear67]

I have been reloading pistol with Bullseye and Unique since dirt was new, but find myself using 700x for a while and it is clean and meters fine. I traded for a Dillon 550 ( traded loaded ammo for it as the original owner could never get it set up correctly and even had "misplaced" lost some parts) and it came with 8 or so pounds of new Win 231 and set up for 45acp. I am running .45 ACP and auto rim with 231 right now, but got a good supply of 700X back in the fall. I like loading with fewer powders, but when you get a bargain, you adapt.

[rfd]

w231 or bullseye - old school and still the best for me.

[TuxAir]

For a good all-around powder, I suggest Red Dot. It's a very versatile, economical and clean burning powder. It's my primary powder. I use it in .380, 9mm & 45ACP plinking loads. W231/HP38 is my second choice.

[ak_milsurp]

231 good stuff , been using it for over 30 years.....

[ShootR]

I also use Unique for both.

[jonp]

I echo the comments here. I use Unique, Bullseye, 231 and Universal in them. I havn't found Unique to be that dirty. I interchange them as suits my fancy but for some reason am just really fond of Unique.

[nouseforaname1246]

bullseye

[Area Man]

Am I understanding correct HP38 and 231 are the same thing?

[jethunter]

Unique works well in both 9mm and 45.

[zxcvbob]

Am I understanding correct HP38 and 231 are the same thing?

Yes. They've always been close; maybe the same, maybe not. Hodgdon now distributes Winchester powder and they have said both powders are exactly the same.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

Red Dot.

[Lucky Joe]

Red Dot.