45ACP Trailboss

[robctwo]

I had some Trailboss sitting around for over a year from an earlier idea that I was going to shoot a lot of 45LC. Looking at the Hodgdon reloading tables I decided to load some 45ACP.

I had some Bear Creek 230 gr LRN on the shelf. Loaded them up to the max 4.5 gr over 1.25OAL. These shot well. very accurate, nice recoil and litle smoke. The trailboss was very visible in the cases. My pistol micrometer on the LnL did not like the stuff, but the regular micrometer worked great.

I also loaded up some 200 gr Precision SWC over 5.2 gr Trailboss at 1.25 OAL. These cycled the guns well, very accurate and little smoke. The cases were full enough that a flake or two might pop out from the advancing of the progressive press, and the loads were slightly compressed.

I doubt that I'll be buying more of this powder simply because I get such good results from Clays and W231 in 45ACP, but it is an interesting choice for those who are worried about double charges. The bulk will prevent that possibility. The performance was good. I didn't chrono the loads, but have no reason to doubt the speeds listed on Hodgdon's site.

I was shooting Baer PII, Brown Exec Target and SA Loaded, all with brand new 18lb recoil springs.

My old load of 5.2 W231 under 200 gr SWC was not hot enough to reliably cycle these guns with new springs. have not tried the 4.0 Clays under 200 gr SWC to see how it works on them.

 

[scrat]

that powder is some excellent stuff. the recoil is pretty low and is very accurate in most guns. Big fan here.

 

[Walkalong]

I shot some plated bullets in a couple of calibers using Trail Boss and was unimpressed. It's OK for that, but nothing special. It's supposed to be the cats meow for lead bullets, but I have not tried that yet. I will one of these days in .44 Special.

I like the bulk and the color of Trail Boss. It is very easy to see in the case, and a double charge would be nearly impossible.

 

[dmftoy1]

I use it for the lighter loads in just about everything I shoot. Seems like it leaves light ash in your barrel instead of the black stuff that most powders use. I particularly like it in 45-70 and .45 LC

 

[rc109a]

I have used TB in my 357, 41, 44, and 500. It is a great plinking load. It is not as rough on your gear as magnum loads are and is pretty clean. It is very mild and allows my wife and kids to enjoy shooting the "big guns"....lol

 

[robctwo]

I finished up one bottle and got into another. All the 230s are loaded. Finishing up on 200 SWC. Looking at the bottles, they are only 9 oz in what I would expect to be a one lb bottle. It really is twice as bulky. I don't remember the price, but I think it is more expensive than Clays by quite a bit, so I will probably not be getting more of it. We'll see. I will have 500 230 gr and what looks like about 1,000 200 gr SWC to shoot for evaluation. Loading some Penns up right now to compare with the Precisions. I still have a few Bear Creek sitting around as well.

 

[Sistema1927]

I use TB in the .45 Colt, but would not personally due so in the .45 ACP due to the fact that:

1) It would prove to be more expensive than other powders.
2) I don't consider double charge to be that big of a problem in the stubby .45 ACP cases.
3) There are better powders, such as W231/HP38.

 

[MRH]

I ended up with several cans of TB at a close out price. I've tried TB in 38, 357, 44spl, 45LC and more recently in 45 ACP. Wanted to see how it did in the latter with 185-230gr lead. Works just fine - clean and accurate. However, I agree with everything Sistema1927 just said.
Mike

 

[Mr.Revolverguy]

I've used it in 45ACP, 45LC. In 45LC it works great and has become my primary load. I think with the longer barrel of my 45C it burns well and I get no smell. But in 45ACP with the shorter barrel it has a smell that I just can't tolerate. It actually smells like ammonia, very strong ammonia.

 

[Ghiller]

Hey Guys, new here, but I've been reloading awhile...I shoot plates, and target mostly, and I will agree with 95% of the crowd that NOTHING shoots softer than clays...until NOW...I have been playing with Trail Boss, and it is a plate shooters dream...if you think Clays is soft, you gotta try Trail Boss...It prefers a heavy Bullet..230 grain with 4.5gr of powder, or 5.2-5.4 gr of powder with a 185gr...no possible chance of a double charge as it fills the case completley...If you don't try it, you are missing out....simply unbelievable

 

[Jim Watson]

Do you reckon it might be shooting "softer" because it is shooting slower?

It would take a chronograph to tell what is really going on, load literature velocity numbers are not always very close to the fact.

 

[Walkalong]

Do you reckon it might be shooting "softer" because it is shooting slower?

I'll second that.

 

[Ghiller]

My data shows about 780 FPS, which is about 100fps slower than factory loads, but it feels lighter than even the lightest load I've ever made with Clays...I did I side by side comparison with Trailboss and Clays, with what I believe to be the same FPS, but the Trailboss puts the plates down FAST...I can't explain it, you have to try it, it's just unbelievable..

 

[under_dawg]

I have loaded more .357 rounds with TB than any other powder because I'm a plinker. I really like it. It gives me sub 1000 fps loads for lead, meters through my pro-auto disk great, and fills the case well. It's no scorcher, but it does what it says.

 

[Master Blaster]

I have been using it to load .45 acp, and 44 magnum, and .357, and .38spl., and .45 Colt.

Its great stuff for target velocities with lead bullets, it eliminates the smoke and the lead fouling, and has excellent accuracy.

In fact the accuracy in .45 acp is as good as bullseye, or solo 1000 for target loads.

BTW that ammonia smell is your primers, when you were using other powders you couldn't smell them because the burnt smell from the propellant covered it.

As far as it being more expensive goes http://www.powdervalleyinc.com/ they have it for $83 for 5 lbs, and it requires 5 grains per load. It is a little more expensive than Unique, but to me it well worth it for NO fouling or smoke, and the case filling characteristic.