Low flash powder for mid-range .357 magnum ?

kalielkslayer said:

Silhouette is a low flash powder. But, so far I’ve only used it in 9mm.

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It's good in 38, 357, 45, 9mm and those are just what I have personally loaded and worked up. I would try it in 40 if I had one.

AJC1 said:

It's good in 38, 357, 45, 9mm and those are just what I have personally loaded and worked up. I would try it in 40 if I had one.

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I’m going too. .40 is way closer to 9mm than a .357.

I’m not saying Silhouette is the best pistol powder out there. But I will say it’s the best pistol powder I have personally used in 9mm. And I like HS6 a lot.

kalielkslayer said:

I’m going too. .40 is way closer to 9mm than a .357.

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OK I'll bite, the bullet is basically identical as some just size 357 down for 9 in the same mold, they both run a max of 35kpsi so you must be referring to 40 and 9mm both being auto cartridges... the 357 sure has more wiggle room with the larger case for variation in oal and ease of function. My first hand load was 9mm so I am very detail oriented, and a few tenths of 2400 is nothing to a few tenths of tightgroup. In this senerio Silhouette is medium slow so things are a little easier than testing with ramsot competition. I hate to say it but I'm an advocate and could use it as my only pistol powder....

For years I've used 6.5 grains Unique in my 4" 686, have no idea about the flash as I've never shot after dark.

2ndtimer said:

I have never tried BE-86, but it sure sounds like what the OP is looking for. I like Power Pistol for my “less than W-296/H-110/300-MP” loads, but it is fairly flashy. Has anyone tried Ramshot True Blue in the upper mid range .357 Magnum loads?

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(This is purely speculation)
I always thought that Power Pistol was released to us as a canister powder, to be similar to the (at the time unavailable and unknown to us) commercial powder BE-86.
They of course didn't want it to be quite as good as the stuff they produced for manufacturers of quality defensive ammunition, hence the lack of flash suppressant and an "ever-so-slight" performance disadvantage that Power Pistol has when compared to BE-86. I believe Power Pistol and BE-86 were manufactured concurrently just about the entire time that both powders have existed.
To sum this up, for all practical purposes they are a very similar powder.... so similar that In my humble opinion, now that BE-86 is available to us, Power Pistol has no real place. There is nothing that Power Pistol can do, that BE-86 cannot do slightly better.
BE-86 is simply "Next Gen" Power Pistol.
They probably will not stop MFG Power Pistol because of how well it sells and due to reputation, habits of reloaders, etc. But knowing what I know, BE-86 renders Power Pistol obsolete.
A good comparison- Glock Gen-3. Vs a Glock Gen. 5. Basically the exact same thing with minor improvements.

AJC1 said:

OK I'll bite, the bullet is basically identical as some just size 357 down for 9 in the same mold, they both run a max of 35kpsi so you must be referring to 40 and 9mm both being auto cartridges... the 357 sure has more wiggle room with the larger case for variation in oal and ease of function. My first hand load was 9mm so I am very detail oriented, and a few tenths of 2400 is nothing to a few tenths of tightgroup. In this senerio Silhouette is medium slow so things are a little easier than testing with ramsot competition. I hate to say it but I'm an advocate and could use it as my only pistol powder....

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My comparison of the 9 and .40 is that they are both smallish, high pressure cartridges. The .357 has capacity to spare. I’m not saying Silhouette wouldn’t work in .357, I think it’s sweet spot would be with 125s.

My 1st purchase of Silhouette, I just stumbled onto it based on availability. I knew it fit the bill for 9mm. After I got it, I looked at the Ramshot data and was surprised how versatile it was.

Then after loading it, shooting it, I love it.

Similarly, Alliant dropped Blue Dot loads in all .41 Magnums as well as 357 magnum loads in the 125gr flavor. It boils down to fast to medium burning powders build pressure quickly in the long case , and a even 1/2 a grain can mean the difference between a good, accurate magnum load and a dangerous load. This is not even accounting for position sensitivity of loads using powders that don't provide good case fill.
I see a trend- corporations, legal teams and governments are incorporating "engineering controls" to try to prevent the errors made by humans.
Murphys law- if something can go wrong somewhere, it will go wrong somewhere.
Over time and error after error, they change policies and procedures to save from lawsuits.

2ndtimer said:

I have never tried BE-86, but it sure sounds like what the OP is looking for. I like Power Pistol for my “less than W-296/H-110/300-MP” loads, but it is fairly flashy. Has anyone tried Ramshot True Blue in the upper mid range .357 Magnum loads?

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BE-86 has worked great for me, but if you see any AA7, grab it. True Blue is probably burning too fast to fit a magnum level load profile. I have a jar I plan to use in 45 Colt, a better fit.