All purpose handgun powder???

30+ years ago I used 231 for everything. I haven’t used it in volume for so long now my stock of it is still in metal cans. Jack of all trades is often master of none.

Nature Boy said:

HP-38, and I only say that becasue I found 8lbs on sale for $140 so it will have to do it all, and do it for a very long time

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I wish I could find 8#s for only $140. Unfortunately it wouldn't last all that long since I use it under the W231 label for at least 7 different cartridges.

Unique and Universal.

Even though I have 2 lbs. of Unique, I haven't tried it yet. But I have used HP-38 in every handgun cartridge I load for, and about every type of bullet. The same for Titegroup, though I go to HP-38 more often.

hdwhit said:

They named it Unique because it was, well, Unique. Its application was broad enough that it spawned two other imitators; Universal and Unequal.

I don't use a lot of Unique because I always sought to optimize my handgun loads at the expense of commonality of my supply, but if I had to pick one powder as the "all purpose handgun powder", I'd vote for Unique.

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IIRC, wasn't Unique's 1st named Infallible? Which was produced by Laflin & Rand.

Unique hands down!!
12 Ga, 9mm, 45ACP, 38 Spl, 357 Mag, 44S&W/Mag
Haven’t had issues with metering. As long as you are consistent with the feel of the throw, I rarely have a deviation of +- .2 grains

Unique. I reload for at least a dozen different pistol calibers. Autos and revolvers. big and little cartridges. Unique works great in all of them. No metering problems.

Mr_Flintstone said:

When I first started hand loading, I couldn't afford lots of different powders for each caliber, so to keep things simple, I used the Hodgdon website to see which powder had load data for the majority of things I wanted to reload. As it turns out, there is a Titegroup load for nearly everything. I'm not saying it's the best option in many cases, but it can be used for nearly all common handgun calibers/bullet weights. As time went by, I experienced a few difficulties with some particular loads, and began to add a few powders here and there as my budget allowed. When I bought a can of Bullseye, I realized that it, like Titegroup, could be used for nearly every handgun caliber, and was a better option in some cases. Now that I have acquired a variety of powders, I realize that there are several other powders like Red Dot and Unique that could also be called "all purpose" powders; maybe not the best in all situations, but usable across the spectrum.

I know ideally we would all like to cherry pick loads for each caliber/bullet weight, but sometimes that isn't an option. If you were just beginning, and for one reason or another, only had access to a single powder for a variety of calibers, what would you choose.

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My choice would be universal. It works ok in about anything. I loaded high side of load data with it. If I'm just plinking I would choose titegroup.

I'm a revolver guy, and 231 is my friend. When I couldn't get it anymore I swapped to bullseye and started messing with some AA5 and AA7. AA7 is a good mid-bore revolver powder, but you have to run it a bit hot or it's dirty.

Unique in all my pistols, and 20ga and 28ga

Armored farmer said:

Unique in all my pistols, and 20ga and 28ga

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Me too (except for the 28 gauge that I don't own.)

ArchAngelCD said:

Which cartridges do you load?

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Currently .32 Long & ACP, .380 ACP, as well as 9mm. Jacketed bullets.
Have worked heavy lead bullet (for the caliber) loads out for it in .45 AR, .357 & .44 Mag, as well as both 38 & 44-40 in the past.
Also works well with heavy lead .38 Specials fired only in a .357, an N frame Smith, or a SAA.

Herco is the only currently produced powder I can think of that a company chose to hang their own name on
and I have always thought they chose well.
A great powder for most any application from .32ACP thru high performance 12 gauge.

Because most think of Herco as a shotgun powder (if they are familiar with it at all), I've been able to accumulate
quite a bit from shows and auctions at very low prices.
P.S. Keep that last bit under your hat.

JT

Another vote for Unique here.

I tried Unique but after coping with its poor metering and soot I found some unique alternatives.
Accurate #5, Vv N-340, and WSF, these work almost as well, to as well, and better than Unique for me for powders with similar burn rates.

Pistol and shotgun powders are extremely versatile. I was just starting to load non magnum handguns in bulk when the last scare came through. I found a shop that kept getting in 7625 for $23/lb. I slowly bought a bunch and it’s made some of my favorite loads.
I shoot cast bullets only so it loads everything from 9mm to 30-30

If a guy wants to keep it real simple. Having all the Dot powder on hand is a winner. Red, green and blue. You can find a load for any handgun up to 44 mag without compromising.

The AA2, 5, 7, 9 would be even better since they meter awesome, but they are hard to find in my area.

Your thinking good trying to stay narrowed down. I used to chase velocity and at one point I was loading for 20+ cartridges plus shotguns. I had to have the absolute best. My powder cabinet has as good of selectiom as any reloading store, but I’d rather have a lot of the 4 powders I use a lot of. Instead of 2# of a bunch of powders.

Unique. Universal is sold as a "Universal" powder, that is , a copy of Unique. I tried Universal in the 44 Special and the 45 ACP, did my load development, and my Unique loads shot inside the Universal loads.

Unique is the best all around powder I have used, but, I use Bullseye for small capacity cases, such as 9mm, 32 S&W Long, 38 Special, 45 ACP, Unique for medium capacity, such as 44 Special and 45 L Colt. And for the 44 Magnum and 357 Magnum, 2400. I could use Unique for all of these, but I am happy with my choices.

Unique for me also, provided we're talking "reasonable" loads for .38, .45 ACP, etc.; also for the shotguns.

For warshots however (full power .357 or .41 magnum) I usually burn H110.

JT-AR-MG42 said:

Without hesitation, Herco.

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During the powder shortage when other popular powders were hard to find, I bought Herco for 9mm and 40S&W to test. Yes Herco, the cousin of flaming dirt Unique.

I didn't expect much for Herco and 9mm jacketed/plated/lead bullets but Herco produced surprisingly decent accuracy as shown in these 10 yard groups - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...eted-lead-plated-bullets.745656/#post-9383008



But the real surprise was with Herco and 40S&W. While many posted Herco burned dirty, I found the opposite as spent cases came out clean, even on the inside! Yes, Herco burned clean for 40S&W and produced greater accuracy than some other popular powders as shown in these 15/25 yard groups - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...ick-plated-bullets.761471/page-3#post-9639622

Mr_Flintstone said:

If you were just beginning, and for one reason or another, only had access to a single powder for a variety of calibers, what would you choose.

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I load 380Auto/38Spl/9mm/40S&W/45ACP/45LC and after using Bullseye, Clays, WST, Red Dot/Promo, Red, Vectan Ba 9.5, Titegroup, Target, N320, Sport Pistol, Green Dot, W231/HP-38, Unique, Universal, Power Pistol, BE-86, Herco, WSF, HS-6, Auto Comp and CFE Pistol for different pistol loads, my powder of choice would be W231/HP-38 as it is flexible powder that can produce decent accuracy even with lighter target loads. Yes, there are other powders that can produce greater accuracy than W231/HP-38 but none has been proven as flexible.

Here's 10 shot group of 100 gr RN with W231/HP-38 at 50 yards - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...n-9mm-40s-w-45acp.799231/page-3#post-10245856



If I couldn't find W231/HP-38, I would use Sport Pistol which has similar burn rate as Titegroup/N320 and meters better than any other powder I have used as it meters with less than .05 gr variance - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/new-alliant-sport-pistol.816514/page-5#post-10598431

If I couldn't find Sport Pistol, I would use Red Dot/Promo as it is my current powder of choice for 9mm/45ACP plinking loads. As shown on above picture, Promo produced comparable shot group as W231/HP-38 with 9mm carbine - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...omo-reloading-range-test.578444/#post-9415802

hey named it Unique because it was, well, Unique.

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I thought they did that because of it's Unique metering properties
Works well in lots of things does not meter so well, high VMD (good for beginners) listed as .13 but my jars were closer to .12
Other than the way it meters Unique would be a good choice, but

For most handgun calibers, for a first powder, I would say Universal or HP38/W231.
Universal is less dense than HP38 so it takes up a little more space in the case.
Universal VMD .109 HP38 VMD .0926
So maybe a nod to Universal here because of case fill.

BE86 might work but I feel some of Alliant's data for BE86 runs on the hot side,
not a good thing for a beginner.

Never had a problem metering Unique in either of my measures.

For my handgun calibers (38spl, 357mag, 9mm,357sig, 40s&w) Power Pistol or BE-86 is probably what I would go with, with Unique and then CFE Pistol. Once I add 45acp to the lineup (coming soon), then my preference could probably change.

Looking forward to the new Win 244 coming out hopefully soon. It seems it shouild work well in everything I load, including 357sig.

9mm, 40, and 45 I have great results with CFE P and Accurate #5. Also 231, Unique, Bullseye,and Power Pistol. CFE P is priced very reasonable.

I used Unique for a decade or so but gave up on it in favor of Universal.

If I could only get one powder, 231. I have used it and liked it for 9, 45, 380, and 38.

Funny thing, I don’t use it for anything anymore. Note to self... load up some of the old 231 loads and see how they compare to what I’m doing now.