45 ACP Powder

[LBEE]

I am new to reloading 45ACP bullets & would like to get some Information on the Best Powder for 185 Grain HP bullets. I just loaded some of the 185 with
Ramshot Powder " true Blue" the accuracy didnt impress me at all. I hope there are some 45 shooters on here with some good loads for the 185 grain bullets. Thanks Guys

 

[rcmodel]

True Blue is at the lowest end of SLOW for the .45 ACP & light bullets.

Suggest you try any number of other slightly faster powders like W-231, HP-38, Unique, AA #5, Power Pistol, etc.
Just pick one out of your reloading manual in the middle of the pack.

rc

 

[Shmackey]

Along with those that rcmodel mentioned, try Clays and WST (very similar performance, and my two favorites). WST is slightly more forgiving and tends to have a wider load range.

And of course there's Bullseye.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Power Pistol would be my choice. It burns clean and meters well.

 

[Slamfire]

Heck if I know "best powder". I like fast burning powders in the 45ACP. Since I have a keg of AA#5, which is a ball powder, I had to do something with it. I found some AA#5 loads with 185 gr Gold Dots and it shot well. I wanted a load around 1000 fps and I got it.

SIG SAUER P220 
		
230 LRN  5.5 grs W231 lot 68UB (80's)  Mixed brass WLP OAL 1.25" taper crimp .469
19-Jun-11	T = 87 °F	
Ave Vel =	805.1	
Std Dev =	14.1	
ES =	51.79	
High =  = 	833.2	
Low =	781.4	
N =	25	
		
		
230 FMJ Aquila Factory 	
19-Jun-11	T = 87 °F	
Ave Vel =	822.1	
Std Dev =	10.58	
ES =	23.84	
High =  = 	834	
Low =	810	
N =	6	
		
185 Speer Gold Dot  9.5 grs AA#5, Lot DM WLP (brass) Mixed Military
6/19/2011	T = 88 °F	
Ave Vel =	980	
Std Dev =	15	
ES =	46.5	
High = 	1004	
Low =	957.5	
N =	8

 

[Julian537]

Red Dot- its hot.
I load a bunch of 12 gauge for shooting skeet and have a 8lb jug of the stuff. It works great in 45 ACP ammo. Fast burning like bullseye and smells great when fired.

 

[noylj]

True Blue is an excellent powder, but not really for the .45 Auto.
For light target loads, where accuracy is name of the game, you want to use N310, AA N100, Solo 1000, Bullseye, Red Dot, Clays, AA2, AA5, 231/HP38, etc.
For ball-equivalent loads, you would want slower powders, such as Unique, Universal, HS6, and Power Pistol.
Historically, Bullseye has been the single most used powder for .45 Auto. Even the military loads were loaded with Bullseye for a time.
The .45 Auto, at its best, is still a low pressure cartridge and many powders will not burn clean.

 

[wingman]

Titegroup or AA5 both work for me.

 

[USSR]

The beauty of loading for the .45 ACP is, most any powder suitable for loading 12 gauge shells will work just fine.

Don

 

[ljnowell]

I love AA#2 for target loads. Meters great and economical. Power Pistol for full power loads.

 

[+++Me+++]

I go with 8.5 grains of Blue Dot.

 

[zxcvbob]

Red Dot or Promo if your powder measure can handle it, Bullseye if it can't. But there's lots of other good choices too; 231 is probably a good one, I don't know I haven't tried it.

 

[oldreloader]

I mostly use HP 38 and AA #5

 

[FROGO207]

I use mostly Red Dot, Blue dot, and Promo for my light 45ACP loadings.

 

[zxcvbob]

I use mostly Red Dot, Blue dot, and Promo for my light 45ACP loadings.

Really? I would expect Blue Dot to be terrible in light loadings of anything.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I use mostly W231 and some HS-6 in my 45 Auto ammo.

BUT, with very light bullets I do like the results I get with AA#5.
AA#5 was specifically designed for use in the .45 Auto from what I've read.

 

[Slamfire]

Historically, Bullseye has been the single most used powder for .45 Auto. Even the military loads were loaded with Bullseye for a time.

Bullseye was the powder used in the development of the 45 ACP cartridge . I don't remember if the original cartridge was the 1910 version, there were several versions of prototype 45ACP's, but the service load we know as ball, it was a 230 FMJ with 5.0 grains Bullseye.

Worked well everywhere, from the Aleutians , to Guadalcanal, to North Africa.

 

[Blue68f100]

WST has been my powder of choice for the 45acp. It burns clean, has low recoil, high loft, ball powder dispense super, and very accurate.

 

[LBEE]

Thanks everyone, I have some HP38 & will try that the next Batch.

 

[VonVega]

I haven't been reloading long but on the advice of a vendor I picked up some bullseye powder and it performs great with a 200 grn. SWC's with a 4.2 grn charge.

 

[jfrey]

You can never go wrong using Unique powder in your .45 loads. It is very forgiving and you can load a large range of bullets and power levels with it.

 

[Hondo 60]

Titegroup or AA5 both work for me.

I'm with wingman, I've used Titegroup and AA5.
Both have worked very well.

Lotsa powders & lotsa opinions - have fun testing them all!!!

 

[Fishslayer]

Bullseye. Tons of data available for it.

I've been messing around with W231. It's good but I just seem to get better accuracy with the Bullseye.

 

[mdi]

I would suggest to a new reloader, go with tried and true (classic) loading until you get a few rounds under your belt. 230 gr FMJ or lead Round nose with some W231 or Bullseye to around 850 fps is 45 ACP classic loading, and a bizillion have been reloaded. Answers to 99% of the questions mabout this load have already been answered (here and other forums and manuals). Get a handle on this load then go to the other more "specialized" loads...

 

[LBEE]

Thanks Again Everyone, I have several choices on the powder including, unique, titegroup & bullseye. I will have some fun working up the best load for my S&W 645, any opinions on what I have on Hand to try out which is HP38 Powder.