Favorite med/slow powder for less than max loads

[sd5782]

I was wondering what people like for moderately heavy loads; 215GC 44's, 155GC 357's etc. I like AA9 for heavies, many other standards for midrange. Was looking at burn rate between Unique and maybe HS-7 or Bluedot on the slow end. I have tried a few in that range, with OK results, but was curious about many others.
I like to run the gas-checked bullets at 1100-1300fps depending on the gun. I really like the 215 Lyman in my Superredhawk.

[454PB]

Bluedot is my powder of choice that matches your parameters. Works well in everything from 9mm Luger to .454 Casull.

[fecmech]

A +1 from me on Blue Dot. I've had excellent results in the .44mag,.357 mag and the 9mm. The charge wt to velocity ratio makes it a fairly economical magnum powder also. 16-17 grs in the .44 and 10 grs in the .357 will get you into the 1200 fps range with the Keith swc's in both calibers. Accuracy in my handguns is every bit as good as 296 or wc820, and with the prices on surplus now there is no advantage for me over BD.

[MakeMineA10mm]

Win. Action Pistol is great, but was discontinued. Luckily, Ramshot sells a duplicate of it called Silohuette.

Other good powders in that range are AA#7, Herco, Power Pistol, 800-X, and WSF are all powders I've used in that zone. Couple are less than ideal (like 800-X has HUGE flakes making it a little bit of a pain in the powder measure...), but they all shoot well.

The one I think I'll settle on is Solo 1250, because it is a dual-use powder for me. I also use it for field loads in 12ga...

[9.3X62AL]

Herco serves me as Solo 1250 serves MM10mm--medium-slow fuel for revos, field load fuel for 1-1/4 oz loads in 12 gauge. I seldom load the Magnum revolvers to full-tilt power any more, and Herco does a fine job of running "standard weight" SWC's from 950-1100 FPS. I went through a 8# caddy in 4 years' time, and just replaced it a few months ago.

[Bass Ackward]

I prefer shotgun powders of any type because they are designed to burn well at 8000 - 12,000 psi levels, so I know I am OK above that level. They minimize powder position issues. I prefer mid-range shotgun powders because they often will be difficult to throw consistent charges and therefore, the slower the powder, the less effect .1 grain difference will have.

Herco to Blue Dot depending on the bullet weight can permit soft bullets to be launched accurately for longer shooting strings between cleaning at slower velocity levels or harder bullets at closer to full power levels that are just not far enough off the slow category for 99% of shooting.

The only difference as to which one I really prefer being driven by cartridge dimensions and bullet weight within that cartridge.

[C A Plater]

Another vote for Blue Dot. It fill the bill for me on the mid level loads in my .45 Colt, .44 and .357 Magnums.

[Lloyd Smale]

dont like bluedot. It is to pressure sensitive when you start getting up to the top of the load data for it. Hs6 is a much more stable powder and has given me better luck with accuracy and meters much better too. 2400 is also hard to beat and in my opinion your allready using one of the best for top end loads. aa9. But it isnt a powder that does well downloaded. Ive only got two powders on the "I will never buy again list" they are bluedot and lilgun both for the same reason thats stated above.

[felix]

Lloyd, BlueDot is fine for light-for-bore boolits thru nominal weight. The powder does not seem appropriate for heavy payloads. When loading on the hot side, obturation of the lead will cause an overload which makes condoms the ideal projectile of choice. ... felix

[Glen]

I burn a lot of HS-6 and HS-7 for this type of loads.

[9.3X62AL]

I steered clear of Blue Dot after reading an article by the late Bob Milek that was published not long after the powder was made available (mid-late 70's). He stated that the pressures in Magnum revolvers got squirrely when loads were fired in very low temps, minus 30-35 F. Not much danger of that in most of California, but other powders did as well or better with either lighter charge weights or more consistent velocity strings. I don't know if Hercules/Alliant ever did anything about Milek's observation. Once lead shot was disallowed for waterfowl by the early 1980's, the real niche for the fuel (1-1/2 oz x 2-3/4" Mag and 1-3/4 to 1-7/8 oz 3" Mag 12 gauge loads) went away, and I am surprised to see the powder hang on like it has.

I scored a couple pounds of BD a few months back, and I'll be running some in 357 and 41 Magnum with castings fairly soon. The biggest roadblock to the re-test has been lack of time for casting or loading since the first of the year. Kinda NUTS hereabouts recently.

[runfiverun]

blue-dot does not like temp variations found that out in shotguns.
800x is a pain to meter but shoots very well
sr-4756 meters well and shoots well
unique same as 800x
titegroup will easily get you some velocity and meters well
you can down load it to cowboy levels also.

[Naphtali]

I have .480 Rugers and .475 Linebaugh revolvers. Bullets tend to be those with higher sectional densities than other big bore cartridges. When using 325-to-360-grain cast bullets, what powders to use for safe reloading at 750-900 fps? What reloading manuals other than Hodgdon's supplies these data?

[AlaskaMike]

I prefer shotgun powders of any type because they are designed to burn well at 8000 - 12,000 psi levels, so I know I am OK above that level.

This may be a dangerous assumption. I agree about them being designed for use in that pressure range, but there are no guarantees when you go outside of that range. In my experience Blue Dot spikes violently in pressure after a certain point, but granted it's significantly higher than 12k psi.

Mike

[Newtire]

I was surprised at how well HS-6 works since I had two cans and decided to try it. I had heard it was a dirty powder but loading it up near the top range, it isn't anymore dirty than anything else. I also had great luck with HS-7 and AA #7 in my .32/20-32 H & R. No more HS-7 being made though. I guess they figure we have enough good powders to choose from. I am liking the Win 296 alot for full power in both .44 & .32.

[Three44s]

My favorite goto powder for medium field mag revo loads is HS-6 ....... hands down.

Three 44s

[Bass Ackward]

This may be a dangerous assumption. I agree about them being designed for use in that pressure range, but there are no guarantees when you go outside of that range. In my experience Blue Dot spikes violently in pressure after a certain point, but granted it's significantly higher than 12k psi.

Mike


Mike,

Dangerous assumptions are why we always start low and work up no matter what the reputation of the powder happens to be. All powders burn differently under different cartridge conditions. And the big knock on Blue Dot is supposed to be temperature. I don't see it and I have shot it for decades in a lot of cartridges.

Here is the problem. And it happens with hard cast or jacketed. Why? Because of the pressures required to obturate them. As guys start out low for safety, when the charge goes off the bullet is moving before enough pressure comes up to obturate and seal a throat. Some of this gas is lost and is known for gas cutting. They feel one recoil level and maybe they go up 25 fps on the chronograph as they add another 1/2 grain. They do this for a couple of grains and establish a pattern in their mind.

All of a sudden the next 1/2 grain brings pressure up fast enough that the bullet obturates right away sealing much more gas that normally escaped in the passed and then the velocity jumps say 100 or 150 fps. All of a sudden the powder is spiky, when really the issue was one of misunderstood obturation.

Blue Dot, and a powder that was pulled off the market called Win 630, are particularly vulnerable to this. This was why W630 was dumped. But it was also a ball powder that was hard to ignite where Blue Dot is a flake. This was what I meant by being safe.

Most victims of this effect occur with people used to slow end stuff for magnum velocity use and then the fast end stuff for shooting cheap. See with fast powders, obturation happens quick enough at low pressures that this is seldom seen because the effect from recoil and on the chrono is much less. Max pressure occurs before the bullet leaves the case. With the slow stuff end, most people wouldn't consider trying to load squib loads cause they just don't get good enough ignition and it is expensive. Course wide open it works properly.

H-110 / 296 is famous for this but not with hand gunners because they use the powder for faster loads in handgun cartridges at high densities. But people using it in the 308 Win for reduced loads, did produce poor ignition. They blew enough guns back in the 70s, that the now famous warning is well known.

Powder companies must designate every powder into a category for use whether or not that be for handgun, shotgun, or rifle. Any time that we use use " ANY " powder, regardless of speed, at reduced enough load density levels for which a powder was designed, we incur and accept risk based on historical odds. But accidents happen all the time with every powder and the warning is position sensitivity.

[xtimberman]

Herco has already been mentioned, but it's my favorite in this range. If Unique seems too fast and 2400 seems too slow, I'll always give Herco a shot before I try BlueDot or HS-7.

Much has been said about how "dirty" Herco is and that is usually the case for small charges in low-pressure large-capacity cases like .45 Colt. In high-pressure smaller-capacity cases such a 9mm Luger, Herco is a fairly clean-burning powder.

xtm