Anybody Tried Trail Boss Powder?

[bluetopper]

I was thinking of trying out some Trail Boss powder to fill the cases more in 38 Special loads. May I'm being too cautious but there is lots of void still left in my using Bullseye. I've read up quite a bit on Trail Boss and of course the ads for it sound good but I was wondering if anyone had any first hand experience with it.

 

[SASS#23149]

I loaded some with trail boss and it worked fine,plenty of recoil for my snub nose.
I didn't crono them,just banged away ...it was a short range session.Sorry I can't tell ya more.
btw,we just loaded some .38's using bullseye on a single stage,and we checked every case with a flashlight for double charges..even double charged a 'control' case so we knew what to look for.A double charge is actually pretty easy to spot this way.
We dumped out the double charged case as soon as we knew what we were looking for.

 

[JimPGov]

Trailboss

I Have Loaded It For .38. It Was Loaded With 148 Hbwc. Very Accurate At 50yds From The Ransom Rest. But Not More Accurate Than Wst . For Me It Was Not Worth The Added Cost. Try Wst Good All Around Powder. Jp

 

[DWARREN123]

The 39 spl will have some room left with smokeless powder due to it being developed as a black powder round. TrailBoss seems to be a reasonable powder to use to fill cases without over pressure.

 

[joneb]

I load .38 spl with Trail Boss for 158gr LSWC or LRNFP with very good results in 2,4 and 6" barrels. Trail Boss does bridge in my powder throw dispensing 1/4 to 1/2 charges I must give the powder reservoir two good knocks before each throw and then TB will meter accurately in my Redding model 3 w/the micro pistol meter.
Trail Boss does smell weird.

 

[ADKWOODSMAN]

I have used it in .45 Colt, .41 Mag, and .44 Mag light loads. Very accurate.

As far as being space with bullseye, I probably fired over 20,000, 2.7 gr of bullseye with .38 Special with no problems.

 

[scrat]

very good powder. i use it in 30-30. very good results

 

[Peter M. Eick]

CAUTION: The following post includes loading data beyond currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The High Road, nor the staff of THR assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.



Excellent powder for standard velocity 38 special loads. I find it reasonably accurate and SAFE for progressive presses. This allows me to pull the powder check die and seat and crimp as separate steps instead of one. This helps my accuracy all in all.

You will find that book max loads are mild, as in really mild. I have gone above book max loads to more normal 38 special velocities with no pressure problems or issues but I do not recommend that to others unless you are willing to put your toys "at risk".

This is a comparison of the accuracy I can get with trailboss and titegroup at 15 yrds offhand with a 1940 38/44 OD. As you can see they are pretty similar.

 

[rc109a]

I use it in my 41, 44, 357, and 38. I even tried it in my 45 (1911). It worked great in all rounds except the 45. My 1911 just had a hard time cycling. There are also loading TB in 223 and 308 rounds for use with suppressors. Good powder and very forgiving.

 

[tbtrout]

I use it for 38, 357, 44 and 45-70. Works great

 

[Ghiller]

Great powder for 45acp...I am surprised there isn't more data out there..I use it in both 185gr and 230gr ball....soft, yeah...real soft...love the stuff.

 

[RidgwayCO]

I've used it in both the .38 and .44 Specials with lead bullets. It's terrific in these calibers. I haven't tried it yet in either .357 or .44 Magnum, but see no reason why it won't perform just as well. Easy shooting loads, not fire-breathers by any means.

As far as I can tell, there are two primary rules with Trail Boss:

1) No compressed loads
2) Don't break the doughnuts

Compressed loads can lead to breaking the doughnuts, which can increase the burning rate significantly.

 

[tbtrout]

I have started using it for 45ACP. It is so soft shooting I thought I was shooting a 22. I love the stuff.

 

[rc109a]

This thread almost made it to a year before it was revived....

 

[billm67]

I have loaded about 5000 rounds of trail boss with 125 gr rnfp's for cowboy shooting. They make a great light target load for fast shooting in my 357 vaquero's. I also like it for 45lc.

 

[lgbloader]

I have loaded thousands of 38spcl and 125gr lrnfp's and thousands of 30-30 win with TB as well.

Just a great powder and helluvalot of fun to plink with...

Highly recommended

LGB

 

[Ranger J]

I use it in my .44 rifle and in my 45/70. It works well but seems to be a little dirty.

RJ

 

[Landric]

I've got some on the way from Powder Valley to try out in .44 Special, .44 Russian, and .32S&W Long/.32 H&R Mag/.327 Federal Mag. I can't wait to give it a "shot".