.45 ACP - What powder to buy next?

I've used 3 different powder for 45 ACP, including W231. I now use Unique almost exclusively. I don't get the "dirty" talk. There's nothing dirty about it. One mag of factory UMC or Blazer Brass is 20 times dirtier than shooting hundreds of my Unique handloads.

I use Trail Boss for my lead .45 ACP loads.

Any powder, from N310 to True Blue will work in the .45 Auto.
I get most consistent accuracy with AA2. My loads are all for accuracy, so they tend to a 200gn L-SWC at 725-800fps and fast powders perform best.
6.0gn of Unique with any lead bullet up to 230gn will often shoot very well.
You can try the powders-of-the-day: solo 1000, titeGroup, WST, N310, N320, and Clays. None of these work better in my .45s than AA2. Since I am not competing, I have no idea about minimizing recoil or having the gun push instead of snap, I just care about how small the group is on paper.
I find that the three powders I use most in .45 Auto are AA2, Red Dot, and Unique.

Based on many recommendations here and at other forums I am about to try WST. Both for accuracy and cleanliness. I'll be using 200 gr. RNFPs and SWCs in my XDm and look forward to seeing if WST is everything I've heard it is in the .45 ACP.

Ky Larry, what are the specs for your favorite Trail Boss loads?

Unique is dirty when you load it way down, but that's because it doesn't build up in pressure and the case won't expand to seal off the gasses. They end up sooty, but the bullets still fly out just fine. Unique cleans up real good when loaded in the mid to high range. For lighter recoil rounds, 4.3-4.5 grains of Red Dot or Promo will get the pressures high enough to seal the chamber, but make for a very manageable mid 800fps target load with 200g LSWC's.

The powder I'd like to be using but can't find locally is Ramshot ZIP. Burn rate is nearly identical to W-231 but it burns cleaner.

I've been loading 200 LSWC varrious brands for almost 20 years now and my all time favorite is 4.1 grains of IMR-700X

Any of the fast burning pistol powders will do a great job in 45. I'd stay away from Titegroup however. My experience, it burns too hot for lead bullets and will lead up a barrel.

Individual results may vary.

+1 to SAM1911, I have concluded that regular Clays is just about one of the cleanest powders available for the 45acp. It is the go to powder for most of the people I shoot IDPA with. It is the bottle with a shooting clay on the bottle, cant miss it.

45 ACP, cast bullets = Trial Boss, the most fun you can have with your clothes on

I use Bullseye & Green Dot. Both are kinda dirty. I am going to try out the Red Dot bandwagon soon. Those that have used it seem to like it. It's a bit faster than Bullseye.

I've tried W231 & just couldn't get the accuracy I get with Bullseye.

Red Dot is a fairly clean burn, but for 200 LSWC and 230 LRN, HS6 is just about unbeatable. Incredibly clean burn and good accuracy. Silhouette is a very close second. I'd be happy with either. When I run out of those, I'll be trying a bottle of Trail Boss I just picked up. On paper it sounds fantastic.

700-X w/200gr swc. 5.0grs. 4.5 to 5.5 is range in my books.

Bullseye is my primary 45acp powder but I am going to try some power pistol the next time I do some.

Fishslayer said:

I use Bullseye & Green Dot. Both are kinda dirty. I am going to try out the Red Dot bandwagon soon. Those that have used it seem to like it. It's a bit faster than Bullseye.

I've tried W231 & just couldn't get the accuracy I get with Bullseye.

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I used to use Bullseye for 45ACP and now prefer W231/HP-38.

My favorite target load is 200 gr SWC with 5.0 gr of W231/HP-38 - very accurate load in various 1911s and semi-autos. If you can't get accurate shot groups with 200 gr SWC and 5.0-5.5 gr of W231/HP-38, it is not the load.

My favorite plinking load is 200 gr SWC with 4.0 gr of Promo/Red Dot - accurate and mild recoil load.

Sam1911 said:

I've always used either Clays (Not Universal) or my personal favorite, American Select.

Very clean. Very accurate.

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Yup, I like the way you think. It's a win win for me since I use both for shotshell reloading.