Cleanest powder for handloading 45acp?

[jeepmor]

Thanks again THR

Again here I sit with plenty of information to move forward with my plans. It looks like the Unique powder is actually pretty good and universal for my needs. I'll be buying it again because it was fairly clean. As for the others, I will be trying them too in due time. It appears I have about 3-5 options to try out, that'll be about 3k-5k rounds, that'll take me a while. I'm sitting at about 950 rounds through my 45 now at ~4 months. Gonna have to step up my plinking sessions a bit to try all that powder.

But right now I have a bunch of bullseye that I have opened and cannot take back.

Also, on the vacation cleaning advice, many thanks. I'll be putting a kit together this week and taking my cleaning stuff also. I don't anticipate staying in a motel every night, so the gun won't necessarily be cleaned thoroughly after every shooting session. But I will swab it out and wipe it off for good measure and put it back in the console where it will reside on this trip. I won't be getting far from my vehicle except when snowboarding, so it'll probably get put in the cargo top carrier while I ride to keep prying eyes from figuring out there is a weapon in my car.

I'm heading to more conservative lands enroute to Colorado from Portland, so the acceptance of the plinking should get more welcome as I travel, not less. Actually, less than two hours out of Portland and the liberal ratio drops to nearly nothing. Anyone got some suggestions as to some good places to stop and fill some paper targets with holes along the way?

jeepmor

 

[MCgunner]

I shoot good ol' bullseye and it does fine. My buddy shoots W231 and it does seem a lot cleaner.

 

[jeepmor]

I was asking for clean powders

My bullseye powder is working fine too, I just wanted to try and find some clean powder to keep the inside of my cases as free from residue as possible.

Like I stated earlier in this thread, my speer once fireds looked brand new, almost no residue in them. Had it not been for a spent primer in the case, I would have thought they were new.

Just thinking long term ovearall reloading system, I'll try lots of stuff, have plenty of direction to go the right way now.

thx again, jeepmor

 

[md2lgyk]

I've used VV N310 for the past couple of years. It's the cleanest powder I've ever found.

 

[Lennyjoe]

see, I just went the opposite direction. W231 is pretty smokey with the lead rounds I'm using so I'm gonna try Unique. Maybe I should of picked up some Clays instead.

 

[mrmeval]

I like Clays for the clean burning. I love W-231 with 230gr flying ashtrays, it functioned in a 1911A1 flawlessly and had consistent expansion in wet newspaper. I need to get back to doing reloads.

Clays, absolutely! Second choice ( based on experience would be W-231)

 

[HSMITH]

Lenny, you won't be sorry you tried Unique in 45, it just flat works too good and especially so with lead bullets.

Clays is dead clean with jacketed bullets. N310 might be a little cleaner, but at 1.5 times the price and limited availability I have a hard time buying it.

Performance is where it really lies. If you want to punch paper you should pick a different powder than someone who wants to push the velocities to the top.

 

[Lennyjoe]

I picked up some Unique yesterday and we loaded some 230 leads up last night. My son, since I've taught him to reload, has been non stop in the garage reloading ammo for his Springer 1911.

We're gonna take them to the range this eve and shoot the Unique loads as well as the 231's.

As a side bar, my springs and steel recoil rod should show up today for my new G20 so I can shoot that this eve as well.

 

[rick_reno]

W231 works good. Don't know if it's the cleanest.

 

[avsecb2]

CLAYS

Clays is cleanest, but is a flake, and velocity harder to acheive, depending what you want.
Titegroup is clean, but with low charges leaves a residue on the case that's not hard to clean. Titegroup leaves the least "ejecta" of all powders according to one study(that's a mix of the lead, brass, powder, etc etc that flies when a shot is fired)

 

[AgentOrange]

well guys, ill tell you what. i load 5.5 grains of titegroup for my 45 with 185 grain XTPs. after about 40 rounds, my colt is so dirty ive got to pull it apart and scrub it with a tooth brush and dawn dishwashing soap (its a nickel gun..lol) . dont know why . everyone else says its a real clean powder. i went to the range today and took 50rds of the el-cheapo winchester white box ball ammo,230gr, and 50rds of my XTP reloads. i shot the winchester up first (to adjust my sights and burn it up for the cases) . after the winchester was gone, my gun was still somewhat clean. i shot i 8rd mag of those titegroup loads and my gun was filthy. black crud around the muzzle,etc. my feed ramp which is polished like a mirror and which was completely visible after 50rds of winchester was not completely black and you couldnt see it for squat.

what id like to know is what powder it is that winchester uses in there 230gr ball ammo!......

 

[dmproske]

I am using Alliant American Select for my .40 and .45 reloads. WAY more cleaner burning then W231.

 

[Walkalong]

WST, W-231, WSF, AA #2, AA #5, Zip, Competition, N310, N320, 700X, Clays, Red Dot, American Select. All clean to very clean and good for different apps in .45.

Bullseye and Unique are widely used for .45, even though they are not as clean as some others. Many don't care and only want accuracy/performance.

 

[Galil5.56]

Solo 1000 is exceptionally clean in my experience for 45 auto, even when loaded below max intensity for "normal" velocity loadings. I think you will find slowish ball propellants, i.e. HS-6 and AA#5 the worst offenders for powder fouling (esp in cold weather), but if you want top velocity and very consistent metering that's the price you pay.

 

[Pilot]

I use Clays for my target loads and am very happy with it.

 

[ants]

G56 (post #23): You are correct. Clays is an inexpensive double-base powder that builds pressure rather suddenly with small charges due to its nitroglycerin coating. It is also very consistent if you measure your charges consistently. So max pressure is achieved but high velocity is not. Building pressure suddenly makes it clean and economical for mid-velocity loads in 45acp.
Good for my 12ga mid-power shotshells for the same reasons, but doesn't cycle my Rem 1100 autoloader very well.

 

[jeepmor]

Wow, this thread is that old and keeps on going. Must be the clean powder question in the original post.

As for me, I still like Unique. I've used Blue Dot and Power Pistol since that CO trip a couple years ago. The Bullseye powder is gone and I think I prefer Power Pistol now for high energy economy loads now instead. But pounds of powder last quite a while in this form and I'm in no hurry. For that matter, I currently have Blue Dot and Unique as regular 'reloading pantry' purchases and mix it up with the rest.

In my rifles, Varget is a mainstay for the 223.

As for the CO trip, it was spectacular. The firearm friendliness was abundant in my backcountry route. The people were friendly and when I rode my snowboard, the snow was usually deep. When it wasn't snowing, the skies were clear. Being from the PNW this is new, beyond that, I considered moving there and working on my raccoon suntan.

I'm still in the PNW, still have my webbed feet. All is well.

jeepmor