Powders with cast boolits

[armoredman]

Well, my first ever cast boolits are drying thier lube right now, and it struck me, I have a few choices in powders. I have always been an Accurate powder guy. My Simth 10-8 loves Accurate #2 with the J-word bullets. But, when it comes to soft and medium hard cast boolits, I wondered if that was a good choice. I also have some AA#5 leftover, maybe a 1/4 pound.
BUT... I went to Sportsman's Warehouse a few weeks ago, intent on getting some more AA#2, and none to be had. The last day before my move, I went back, and...zip. So I just blindly grabbed the first pound of powder that the nearby load book said would work. So, I ended up with a pound of Hi-Skor IMR 700X. OK, no big deal, we'll see how it works.
Cruising back down to Marana today, slid into SW, and lo! The heavens trumpted, and the angels sang, and let there be AA#2! Ok, maybe not quite so dramatically.:-D
Long story short, I was perusing my Loadbook on 38Spl, and in the back was the blurbs from the manufacturers on thier stuff, and the 700X said, "Clean double base for shotshell and cast bullet applications."
Did I accidentally score "the good stuff"? Or is this more marketing hype? I do enjoy experimenting, let it be known.:mrgreen:

[454PB]

I've never worried about the difference between cast boolits and jacketed bullets regarding powders. Anything that works well with jacketed works well with cast. In general, cast boolits of the same weight, bearing surface, and seating depth will produce slightly lower pressure than jacketed due to less friction.

[EMC45]

700X, 800x, Unique, Bullseye, Red Dot, Green Dot, Titegroup. I have used all these with cast and they all did fine.

[BD]

IMHO powder applications do not vary much between cast and condom loads in handguns. To EMC's list I'll add 231, HPC-18, H110, 296, WC-820, Clays, Universal and Blue Dot. All worked about the same using similar bullets whether cast or condom.
BD

[Lloyd Smale]

aa2 is a great powder with any bullet. My competition 45acps get a steady diet of it with cast and thats 1911s both 45 and 9mm. My 38 clark ppc gun and my 625. I actually use surplus pr200 but its the same thing.

[44man]

I have to agree with all said. Adjusting the alloy for the initial pressure of faster powders probably is important. But any powder listed for a caliber will work fine. All thats left is to see which is more accurate in your own gun.

[leftiye]

Armoredman, your question is fine. But it might take the rest of your life to find ALL of the answer. Powders work almost the same for bullets of the same weight- cast or jacketed. However, you might not believe all of the side trips that can be taken after that basic pronouncement. Some factors that go hand in hand with choosing a powder are desired velocity, lead hardness (or softness), economy ( less powder generally costs less), and a host of other considerations. You've entered one of the vast theatres of handloading. Enjoy!(?) For now remember that lead is soft compared to gilding metal and copper- even hard lead, and even when hardened- therefore lower pressures deform your booits less, and deliver better accuracy. If you go to slower powders to get lower pressures, be sure that the powder chosen will burn safely at those lower pressures. Confused yet? Good luck, and have fun.

[monadnock#5]

Lloyd Smale states that aa2 can be used with any bullet, and I believe him, although I've never used it myself. The two powders that I use that have the greatest all around versatility in handguns are Unique and Bullseye. There must have been a cartridge combo somewhere in my past that neither one of those powders would work in, but I can't remember what it might have been.

[Lloyd Smale]

truer words were never said. Bullseye and unique are powders a handgun loader just cant live without!! Bullseye will do anything aa2 will do and sometimes do it better. My main reason for using so much aa2 is the surplus pr200 was just to cheap to pass up. It cant be found anymore and when the 30 or so lbs of it I have left is gone ill probably be right back to bullseye in the acps. I hear all the time that hp38 231 sst and other powders are just as good and cleaner burning but looking at my load data NOTHING has beaten bullseye for accuracy in the 45s.
Lloyd Smale states that aa2 can be used with any bullet, and I believe him, although I've never used it myself. The two powders that I use that have the greatest all around versatility in handguns are Unique and Bullseye. There must have been a cartridge combo somewhere in my past that neither one of those powders would work in, but I can't remember what it might have been.

[robertbank]

I agree with Lloyd's assessment completely. To his comments I will add my total satisfaction with 231. This powder is extremely versatile working with excellent results in 9MM, .38spl, .45acp and .45Colt. I use this powder exclusiveley for 9MM and ,45acp when loading for IDPA shooting. Flows through my Dillon powder measure like poop thru a goose, a feature that some powders can't manage.

Take Care

Bob

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
I have shot 25-30# of 7OOX, in 357, 44 pistols , & 06 rifle w/ cast works fine.
Green dot, Unique & others mentioned above have worked too.
But when the last of the 700x is gone I will probibly be using only WC820 & 2400.

[shooting on a shoestring]

I've burned a couple of pounds in .38 spl, .357 and .45 Colt. Is it "the good stuff"? Well I'm not so fond of it. It meters poorly. The grains are rather large and less than symetrical. I don't weigh each charge when I load revolver rounds, but just drop them from my Lyman 55. I found 700X to vary in weight by roughly 0.2 and sometimes 0.3 grain, on 4.0 grain charges being dropped. Where as Bullseye varies only 0.1 grain. So on that basis I decided to quit using it and stick with Bullseye. But I should mention, my chronograph showed 700X to be very unsensitive to position in the case just like Bullseye. And even though I saw fairly large variances in charge weight as compared to Bullseye, the chronograph data showed only small differences in velocity shot to shot. I never saw any bad groups from it either. So it will be a useful powder to you, but just not as consistently or precisely metered as Bullseye, but your revolver won't care.

[fecmech]

"NOTHING has beaten bullseye for accuracy in the 45s."

Amen to that statement! Also from my personal experience I would add the .38 special. Both cartridges and Bullseye go together like bread and butter.

[armoredman]

Thanks, loaded my Magnificent Seven, (the only seven good boolits from my first ever casting run) with 3.2gr of 700X, and set in the range bag.
I did see what you mean about big flakes. I'l see how well the Uniflow does, or if the Lee PPM will work better.
Thanks for the answers!

[EMC45]

I'll second what Shoestring said about 700X being big. I believe 800X is even bigger. I use a Lee PPM and Bullseye meters great through it and that's all I use for . 45 ACP and 38 Spec. I couldn't get anything (pistol powder) to meter well from my Uniflow though. It works with rifle powder just fine though.

[rugerdude]

700X was the first powder I ever bought when I started loading shotshells some 20-odd years ago. It worked great, so when I started loading for my handguns, I gave it a try. It worked pretty well in my .38 Spl., .44 Spl., and .45 ACP, but as others have stated, it did not meter nearly as well as Unique through my Lee PPM. I have since tried it through my Hornady LNL measure and it does MUCH better. I really don't use it much any more, but it IS a good powder.

[armoredman]

Loaded 40 more with AA#2, we'll see, hopefully in about 2 hours, how well it does.

[Newtire]

700X was the first powder I ever bought when I started loading shotshells some 20-odd years ago. It worked great, so when I started loading for my handguns, I gave it a try. It worked pretty well in my .38 Spl., .44 Spl., and .45 ACP, but as others have stated, it did not meter nearly as well as Unique through my Lee PPM.

I used to do all my loading using Lee dippers but have been using the Pro-autodisc Lee and the PPM. I have a couple big RCBS measures a guy gave me but haven't got them going yet-rusty as hell. I have been knocking the side of the measure with a small stick and that seems to work. It has a hard time with even Bullseye and since I have been doing this knocking thing, can even use 800-X without bridging.