Your favorite handgun and rifle powders

jmorris said:

Yes, as I pointed out, for a few years I used 231 in everything from 9mm to 44 magnum, despite it not being the best powder I have used for either.

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I think the point was the selection criterion for shelf-stocking is a bit different that what drives our preferences. People often buy locally if they can even if it restricts their choice. If there's something on the shelf that will work, they may choose to use it even if it's not the best for their particular application. And we are all in agreement 231 is a versatile choice to have on your shelf.

Pistol: Bullseye, Unique, 2400, H-110.

Rifle: Varget, RL 15, IMR 4350, IMR 4831.

For pistol, in order:
BE86
300-MP (mainly for pistol caliber rifles - 357 and 44mag)
H110
Clays
2400


I don't do as much rifle, but:
Varget
H335
H4198
H4895
LeverEvolution

Popular powders that many people use:
Titegroup
Unique

RedLeg105 said:

I agree with SOMEGUY2800 with all of his choices, but would add Red Dot and 20/28 for the shotgun folks.

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if you have Red Dot you can shoot

Pistol: Unique, Bullseye, H110.
Rifle: IMR4227, 8208, IMR3031, 4895, and IMR4831.

Unique, power pistol, 2400, h4895, 3031,

Given the choice I would buy lots of other pistol powders before Unique, but it is popular. Unique is known for not for metering well.

BE86 and power pistol are basically modernized unique. It’s a smaller grain size so it meters nice and burns much cleaner. Nothing wrong with unique but BE86 and power pistol are improvements and will make more people happier in my opinion. I would stock BE86 and put a sign under it saying “very similar to Unique” for people unfamiliar with what it is.

Pistol:
TiteGroup (9mm)
WST (.40 S&W)
Bullseye (.45 ACP)
W231 - works well with anything pretty much
Sport Pistol - Loving it so far in my .40, but I need to to some more testing.

I tried BE-86 and Power Pistol and did not get along well with either.

Rifle:
Varget
Tac

My experience is mainly with rifles.
Unique or Bluedot
IMR4064 or CFE223.
W760 or R22
I have about 15 types of powder, but I could get by with 1 from each group.

dartor said:

I've taken all your suggestions and put them into a spreadsheet. Unique (13), 2400 (10), Bullseye (10), H110 (10), Win231/HP38 (9), BE86 (7).

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In a way, I am surprised, and not surprised, that BE86 got that many votes. Not surprised, in that it has performed very well for me in every pistol caliber I have tried (380, 9, ,357mag, 40, 45, 44mag), but surprised because it is a fairly new powder and I don't think a lot of reloaders have tried it yet. If I could only have just one pistol powder, that would be the one. Some people refer to it as "the new Unique".

The "if I could have only one powder" scenario is not valid these days IMO. There are so many companies with many powders available we don't need to make that choice. We are truly lucky to have all these choices.

I do use 3 or 4 handgun powders most times but I do have a dozen on my shelf. I sometimes use a powder for only one application like AA#5 for Speer 135gr .38 Special +P replica loads.

As an addition to my first post I will add the other powders I have and sometimes use. (most are on my shelf right now)
Clays, Universal, W231/HP-38, HS-6, Longshot, W296/H110, Lil'Gun, W572, AA#5, AA#9, Bullseye, Power Pistol, 2400 and Trail Boss.

H4895, IMR4895, H4350, IMR4350, Varget, IMR4064, IMR3031, LVR, H4198, IMR4198, H335, BL-C(2), IMR4451, AA5744 and TAC.

Sometimes if I have the Hodgdon version of a powder on the shelf I won't buy the IMR version and with W231/HP-38 and W296/H110 I buy the one that costs less at the time. I didn't list powders that I bought one or two pounds of and never replaced when empty. Powders like ZIP which I bought during the shortage that is very similar to W231 was not replaced or listed. I have 12 handgun powders on the shelf right now and 11 rifle powders.

Some reloaders like to load with as few powders as possible, I'm not one of them. Using many powders allows you to load during shortages with many different powders and data you already worked up and tested.

VV N320 and Titegroup if the area has serious competitive pistol shooters in speed-based disciplines (N320 for the affluent, Titegroup for the cheapskates). Varget. AA2230. Unique (or the new IMR competitor to it). 213 or ZIP (not the same powder, but similar characteristics). AA 5744.

But more broadly:

Pistol:

• A fast, small-charge pistol powder for high volume/recoil-mitigating shooters.
• A versatile medium-fast pistol powder.
• A mid-slow pistol powder for people making SD rounds in service calibers.
• A load-for-everything pistol powder/a big-case-non-magnum powder.
• A full-tilt magnum powder.

Rifle:

• Something for lightweight .223 bullets.
• Something for heavier .223 bullets and for lighter .308 bullets.
• Something for 6.5 Creedmore.
• Something for likely North American magnum rifles and overbores.
• Something for big-case non-magnum rounds.

Shotgun:

• I have no idea, I don't reload shotgun shells!

ArchAngelCD said:

Using many powders allows you to load during shortages with many different powders and data you already worked up and tested.

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Absolutely agree. If there was a good side to the recent supply shortage, it forced some people to try other powders. It got me started down the path of experimenting with many different powders. I think I have tried about 30 different pistol powders, mostly in 45acp. I have a few favorites (listed in my first post in this thread) but have several others that I know I can use in a pinch if I have to.

The other good thing about the recent shortage, it taught me not to get caught short on supplies. I now try to keep enough stocked to keep my busy for 3-4 years.

Pistol: Bullseye, titegroup, HS-6(also does shotgun), CFE pistol, H110

Rifle: Varget, IMR 4350, BL c2, Reloader 22, H4831sc

Pistol, HS-6 for auto, Blue Dot for revolvers
Rifle, IMR 4350 for .30-06 and .243, Varget and IMR 4895 for .308, H335 for .223. Considering H4350 for temperature fluctuations..