There is no such thing as clean powder

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Tech Ninja

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I noticed posters often ask which is the cleanest powder. I'm not too concerned myself but having less cleaning to would be nice.

I lucked into a four pound jug of Alliant American Select. You know the powder that's not just clean it's Ultra-clean! Says so right on the jug.:rolleyes:

After 250 rounds of .38 Special loaded with 4.7 grains of American Select and a 125 grain X-treme plated bullet my cylinder looks like this:

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I actually like the way it looks. And since I have to clean the gun anyway it doesn't really matter. And more importantly American Select makes fine shooting ammo and that's all I really care about. So you guys that want clean will have to find something better than Ultra-clean!
 

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I agree though powder charge is also a factor. Even American Select doesn't look so well at low charges.

Since I mostly buy Stainless Steel, it shows up even if it is minimal.
 
Shooting guns is a dirty business. If you want your guns to stay clean don't shoot them. If you want to shoot them then some cleaning will be required and with some powders more cleaning may be necessary. Shooting light loads of any powder will be "more dirtier". Its part of owning and shooting guns. Guns get dirty and need to be cleaned. If by chance a magically clean powder is found then by all means use it. For me I will use what I have always used with good results (accuracy etc.).

Just some food for thought.

KeithET
 
Now try 250 rounds using 2400 or Bullseye, American Select won't seem so dirty. No powder is clean, but some are cleaner than others.
 
Combustion of virtually anything puts out carbon and other crud.
nitrocellulose is no exception. The "single base powders" no nitro-g in the formula" burns the cleanest, but still has to burn at enough pressure to to be efficient/most clean.

Vihtavuori is a popular single base small rod powder that will burn pretty clean at mid-range or higher loads. Lots of load data available--not a lot of these powders available.:D
 
Burn anything and there will be scorching and leftovers from combustion of materials.

Some powders are indeed cleaner than others.
 
Use a suppressor that you can take apart and you will notice a lot of difference in how dirty it gets. VV N310 leaving less than anyother.
 
Yes some powders burn cleaner than others. Most burn fairly at near max. Others are dirty no matter what. A few powders like WST burn clean down to min and below. But it's all relative.
 
I can live happily ever after putting bullseye, unique and 2400 through my handguns. Diet is relative and cleaning is part of the deal.
My philosophy about residue is that "the next shot you fires, the last one it cleans". Not really accurate but one way to look at it.
 
Upper range charges of Universal are clean in a variety of calibers. The cases come out clean, the guns only get very light soot in them, I consider that clean burning.
 
This is a big reason why I hardly ever shoot my revolvers or blowback pistols, anymore. I don't think any claim of "Ultra-Clean" was ever meant to apply to those devils. In one shooting session, gun is filthy.

If I wanted to get any of my locked breech pistols as dirty, I'd have to not clean it all year long.
 
I have had really good luck with Alliant ClayDot in 45ACP,40S & W,38S,& 9X19 using H Clays data. It really shoots clean and most of the time the weapon looks like it hasn't been fired after 100 rounds.I use top end loads in everything but the 40 which is middle of the road.There are better propellents for velocity but none for cleanliness & accuracy.
 
I just recently got done shooting 300 rds of .45acp I loaded up using Titewad. So far it burned much much cleaner than anything I have shot before or since.
 
I would call that very clean. But I haven't reloaded an fmj or plated bullet in a while.
 
I've shot 45acp factory ammo that left the interior of the case looking like it was brand new. So there are indeed clean powders...I just can't tell you which ones.
Primers also make a difference. Federals are the cleanest I've found.
 
I'm not as worried about the gun itself as I am the brass. I wish that Winchester sold the powder that they use in their Win-Clean ammo. I have NO IDEA what it is but the spent casings look brighter than new inside and out! ! ! ! ! Absolutely no cleaning needed! ! ! !

The rest of the stuff we can get off the shelf is positively filthy by comparison.
 
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