best powder for 45acp?

I think siholloette is the best pistol powder there is, made in the usa and no flash..... what more could you want. Nice square bottle and cheaper than most.

What ever is in stock.

Snarkiness aside. I use Titegroup behind 200gr swc for competition rounds an VV N320 behind my 230 gr self defense and range loads.

Not recommending just stating.

Unique and bullseye are old standbys that always work.

In short, any pistol/shotgun powder.

I like 700-X for 230 RN 45 ACP ammunition. Many folks would disagree as it is difficult to meter and the gun is dirty.

Unique, Accurate #5, Bullseye, W-231/HP38, probably some Vihtavuori (I've never used any) and a few others would serve you well.

Bullseye, w231/hp38, titegroup is what I'd look for. I've used all those. They all work and make usable decent ammo. I also use WSF, but it's not as versatile. Just about any pistol powder will work acceptably though except for magnum powders like 2400 h110 w297 IMR / H4227.

There are many powders suitable for use in the 45 Auto, and I've tried most of them. I prefer, in no particular order; W231/HP38, W244, Accurate #5, and American Select.

A classic powder for 45 ACP is Bullseye. I have 800-900 "JIC" rounds loaded with a classic 1911 load of Bullseye (4.5-5.0 gr. under a 230 gr. FMJ). But I have loaded many powders in a 45 ACP from Bullseye to Unique/Universal...

bluetopper said:

In short, any pistol/shotgun powder.

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Any non-magnum powder will work fine. 45ACP is very forgiving

Like everyone else has said, any of the pistol/shotgun powders. I kinda like Red Dot for hardball. The Lyman's 45th, Speer No.12 and Alliant 2005 all agree a 5.0gr. load of Red Dot is a good hi-mid-range load for 230gr. FMC .45ACP.
But don't do what I do; it might not work for you.

Take a look at the loading data in your manuals - you DO have reloading manuals, right? - and pick a powder that's showing up in more than one source consistently - Bullseye, Accurate No.5, W231, etc. If it's in stock somewhere, order it. You can't go wrong if there's solid data available in more than one manual. Lyman's typically is a "root source" manual in my experience which lists multiple powder and bullet maker's data while Alliant, Western, and Hodgdon, et. al. data is powder specific but Hornady, Speer, and Sierra et. al. are projectile/bullet specific. Comparing Sierra to Lymans (for example) for the same bullet is not always going to work without some interpolation - so keep that in mind and just try to remember you're looking for powder and starting loads, not THE ONE load for your gun that matches some commercial ammo.

Oh, and before the hobgoblins jump on my post for not listing every possible source from all corners of the multiverses, I did say etc. and et. al. and for example... a few times.

Current favorite powder for 45ACP is CFE Pistol, mostly because I got keg of it & it works well in every pistol I load for from 32ACP through 45 Colt. I mostly use plated bullets & the guns seem to clean up real well shooting the CFE.

5 grains of BE or 6 grains of Unique behind a 230 FMJ has been my go to loading. Gives me 800-850fps. from a 5" barrel. Merry Christmas to all!

I posted about some test loads I made up last weekend. I loaded 4 powders under 185gr XTPs. All 4 powders I used also function well with 230gr ball.
CFE-Pistol, VV N-330, BE-86, and HP-38 (W231). In the past I've used Silhouette and WST, but I skipped when for this trial as I wanted Hornady loads for a Hornady round.
The last time I loaded WST (4.0gr) under Nosler 230gr JHP was a horrific shooting experience. Clearly loaded too light, resulting in a face full of hot powder with every shot. I was actually thankful for the mask mandate (at the time) when I finished off the rounds indoors...there was less exposed soft meat to pelt. I had much better results with that load under Berry's 230gr Plated RN.

thunderbyrd said:

actually, this is the sort of thing i need to know. no 4 grains of WST and 230. and loading too light gets powder in your face - not good, even i know that.

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The "sweet spot" for WST in 200-230gr. .45ACP, lead, plated, coated or jacketed, is going to be in the 4.4-5.1gr, range. 5.1 is MAX and 4.2 in anything but a heavy FMJ is going to be too light. I loaded a short ladder from 4.7-5.0 using Xtreme 200gr. FRN looking for a good 25yd load and got good results across that range. I can't say any of the rungs in that ladder was significantly better overall; it depended on which gun I tried it in but they all worked.

thunderbyrd said:

no 4 grains of WST and 230.

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GeoDudeFlorida said:

The "sweet spot" for WST in 200-230gr. .45ACP, lead, plated, coated or jacketed, is going to be in the 4.4-5.1gr, range. 5.1 is MAX

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WST is a faster powder, but it likes a little more case fill than 4grns.

I am a big fan of WST with 200grn .45's... not so much with 230's because I can't get the velocity I want without redlining the load.

My favorite .45 powder is... no surprise... Unique, but I've used not only WST, but W231, W244, RedDot, BE-86, SportPistol, and likely others that I've forgotten about, but I always come back to Unique, and particularly if you are loading 230's.

Bullseye, TiteGoup, TiteWad, W244 and the list goes on and on. Virtually any pistol or shotgun powder will work if you do your homework.

There you have it - pretty much any pistol powder and quite a few shotgun powders!

Power Pistol for 230 gr SD loads and N320 for suppressed plinking loads. Same for 147 gr 9mm SD and plinking loads too. PP is my favorite powder overall.

I’ve been loading a lot of 230g .45acp with Unique with good results.
If you want a lot of flash and bang to make people at the range take notice try Longshot. That can be fun some times.

One thing to consider, that I just thought of, is if you're going to be using a lee dipper, they don't throw a suitable amount of some powders.

If their dipper throws 4.5 grains of bullseye and max is 5.2 you'll likely be right where you want to be. But if it throws 5.1 then it's not safe without working up gradually. If the next smallest dipper threw 3.4 grains it wouldn't be enough. And thus, the dippers wouldnt work for that powder in the cartridge / bullet combo you're needing. For example.

I like Greendot and IMR7625

ericuda said:

Unique and bullseye are old standbys that always work.

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If you added Winchester 231 to this group it would cover most of my 45 ACP loading.