Favorite Go-To Powder for Handgun and Reduced Rifle Loads

[clearwater]

Medium Bore 375 ruger- so far 5744 for 1800 fps, IMR Green and Unique for 1200 fps.

Finally found a use for Trail Boss after 10 years of trying. 308 Winchester, 10 Grains Trail Boss, 168 grains Nosler Custom Competition. Sub MOA.

[racepres]

I am gravitating to AANitro100 NF, for reduced loads especially using lighter Boolits. Alliant/Hercules Powder is Not readily available around here anymore, and if Found, or Ordered, the Price is getting almost as Bad as Trail Boss!
Note that Nitro-100NF is quite bulky, tho Not quite Trail Boss...it still does Not fit a Pound of Powder into a regular Pound Can..so, be aware. But last I got, the Price was Right! It does reduce the chance of a Double Charge...But, Still not as Likely as either Bullseye or Red Dot, to double charge! Since I visually inspect in the loading Block..I have Not had any problems, that were Not Identified!!!
Shame about the Unavailable status, and Price on Trail Boss...tho I have Never preferred it...Much preferring Red Dot/Promo, which is as rare around these parts.

[max it]

Universal for me 'cause i got a 8# jug free!
Someone here suggested that Unique behaves similar. Is that so?
[I looked and saw differences in loads between the two.]
much obliged, Max

[Shasta]

I'm a little late to the party, but my vote goes to Trail Boss. As a long time metallic silhouette competitor, my S&W 629 .44 Magnum revolver and my 1886 Winchester .45-70 lever action rifle are both much more pleasant to shoot thanks to light for caliber bullets and a proper charge of Trail Boss.

[Noah Zark]

Unique, followed by HP38/W231. Some of my most accurate rifle loads in 38-55, 405W, 45-60, 45-70, and 50-70 are powered by Unique. The trajectories might mimic a rainbow, but the boolits all hit in virtually the same spot.

Noah

[gwpercle]

I use a lot of Unique ... it is so versatile with lots of load data ...
But ... There is always a but ...
... 13 grains of Red Dot ... gets shot in a lot of cast boolit rifle loads .
And I'm starting to use it in place of Bullseye with good results .

So is it OK if I vote for ... Unique and Red Dot
Gary

[Tracy]

I use a lot of Unique ... it is so versatile with lots of load data ...
But ... There is always a but ...
... 13 grains of Red Dot ... gets shot in a lot of cast boolit rifle loads .
And I'm starting to use it in place of Bullseye with good results .

So is it OK if I vote for ... Unique and Red Dot
Gary

Sure! Just wish I could find some, of both. Actually I have some of both, but not enough.

[Plinkmeister]

Unique. I've been using it since 1960's. By now it's just habit.

[sargenv]

I took this poll probably when it came out and I picked "other" since I've done a lot of research over the years and it's really hard to beat Titegroup. It is sooty, sort of dirty, and by all means pretty hot (high nitro) but I've not found ANYTHING more consistent than Titegroup in all of the calibers I've tried it in. It is not, by far, a magnum powder. But for target loads, it performs the same whether it is in a large case or a small case. There is even reloading data for Titegroup in the .223 Rem on the Hodgdon web site (or at least there was). It is temperature and position insensitive.

When I was looking for a nice target load for my 657, I tried Unique, Bullseye, Red Dot, Clays, Titegroup, and I think PB. Of all of the powder I tried, Titegroup was the most consistent. I tested with the gun tilted up (powder by the primer), tilted down (away from the primer) and sort of random (laying on the side of the case) and of all of the powders tested, Titegroup was the most consistent by far.

I wanted to hate it, but I could not once I ran the loads over the chronograph. So the load I use is a cast lead 180 gr RN (Mold by LBT) sized .411", Winchester Large pistol primers, Starline 41 Mag brass, and 5.3 gr of Titegroup for an avg Vel of 950 fps with an 8.1 Standard Deviation and a 24 fps ES. It is about 1/2 power and a pleasure to shoot USPSA Major PF Revolver with.

When I did a primer comparison with about a dozen types of primers (Before the shortage), I put together the load with Starline new 9mm brass, 118 gr Blue Bullets, and 4.0 of Titegroup. High to low on average was about 32-38 fps with 3 different firearms. A S&W 929 - 6.5", a Para LDA in 9mm - 5", and a Ruger P94 - 4". Average of 8 shots per primer per gun.

Again, I wanted to hate Titegroup, but it was just too hard to not like its consistency.

[Tall]

Just got another pound of Unique yesterday. I think I have more than 4 pounds on hand so it is likely a lifetime supply since I am 68. I have two pounds of Bullseye that I probably will use in 41 Long Colt since that is one of the powders listed.