Best all around powder

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Cougar71

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I have a .40 and recently purchased a .380 for my wife. Seems she loves to shoot ALOT which is a good thing! What I am looking for is the best powder to load both the 380 and the 40. Been loading rifle cartridges for years but this is my first foray into handgun loading. At the rate she shoots, its gonna pay me to reload.

What I have so far in research is:

Winchester-231 and autocomp

IMR-4756
700x
7625

Hodgdon-Universal
HP38
Titegroup

Alliant-Bullseye
Power Pistol
Unique

These are powders listed in the various manuals for both 380 and 40. I will be loading 90gr bullets for the 380 and 165 or 180 for the 40.

Any opinions will be gratefully accepted.
 
Well, Unique has been around for 100 years because it is so, Unique.

You can load just about anything with it and have some degree of success.

I am not a fan of fast powders like Bullseye, Titegroup, 700X, etc. in the .40 S&W.

It operates at 35,000 PSI, and using fast powder & stiff charges, it's too easy to get pressure spikes.

IMR-4756 & 7625 are too hard to find unless you order it on-line and pay haz-mat fees.
There is also very little load data out there for it.

So, of the powders you listed, that leaves Unique, Universal, and HP38/W-231 (Same powder), IMO.

rc
 
Thanks rc! I know rifle powders like the back of my hand having reloaded them all, especially powders for the large magnums. My knowledge of handgun powders is what I need to familiarize myself with.
 
HP38/W 231 can load pretty much any/all handgun calibers. Is it the absolute best for all? no, but will do it all. Unique does not meter as well, Bullseye is a bit fast for some calibers, Power Pistol is excellent in the 40SW and 9mm meters well but has a very loud "report and flash It is a form of the old Bullseye 84 commercial powder.

If I only had one powder it would be HP 38
 
Cougar71 said:
Best all around powder ... I have a .40
Click to expand...
From previous "best all-around powder" threads, I think Unique, Universal and W231/HP-38 were the typical finalists.

If you look at the powder burn rate charts, they also have similar "moderately fast" burn rate for pistol powders with W231/HP-38 being the faster of the bunch.

I have been loading a lot of 40S&W in the past 17 years and mid-to-high range W231/HP-38 load data have been producing accurate target loads with no pressure issues and milder recoil. Being small flattened ball powder, it also meters best in many powder measures.

W231/HP-38 is great for target loads, but if you are looking for full-power loads, Unique/Universal and other slower burn rate powders are better suited for producing higher velocity loads. I have used WSF/HS-6 for full-power loads in the past and currently load testing AutoComp (essentially WSF with flash suppressant?) in 9/40/45.
 
I also think W231/HP-38 is a great powder for handgun calibers. I use almost nothing else but I do have a lot of powders I try. IMO Longshot is a great powder in the 40 S&W for serious business. W231 is probably the best choice for the .380 Auto.

If you're looking for only 1 powder to do both it looks like AutoComp might be the best choice.
 
I like Bullseye and Unique. Between the 2, I can load all my pistol calibers.
 
The only powder I've used in all my handguns is Unique. It's the powder I go through the fastest. But the powder I use the most of specifically in 40SW and .380 is AutoComp. I could easily live with just Unique, mind you.
 
It also works so well in .32-20, 9mm, .38 Spl, .357, .40 S&W, .44 Spl, .45 Colt, and .45 ACP it is worth buying! :D

rc
 
Thanks for all the great info. I have unique on hand as I use it in my shotgun loads. The thing I have heard is that it doesnt meter well out of the powder thrower. Is this not really a problem or is it just overblown?
 
I have a new Hornady Lock n Load AP. If using unique, would I have to stop every so often to check accuracy of the powder it is throwing?
 
I don't load handgun, but for rifles RL-22 ROCKS in every caliber I load for 30-06, 270WSM and 6.5x55. Sorry to be off topic, but you cannot ask for the best powder without someone throwing that out there :)
 
I have a heap of RL22 as well as RL25 and IMR7828, Love it in my big magnums mainly my 30-378 wetherby and my 300 Ultramag!
 
Cougar71 said:
I have a heap of RL22 as well as RL25 and IMR7828, Love it in my big magnums mainly my 30-378 wetherby and my 300 Ultramag!
Click to expand...
OUCH! I had my short run with big magnums, but in the end I figured out that no deer that ever walked could withstand a well placed 6.5x55 much less a 30-06, I would own another big gun again if I lived in big bear country, but until then I will gladly hunt with my little sissy kickers :)
 
I look down on no caliber! They are all great for what they are intended for! I live in South Georgia and hunt alot of power line right of ways which sometimes call for really long shots on some really big wild boar! Actually, if I had to be pinned down to just 1 rifle, it would be my 257 weatherby, Love that gun!
 
I have a new Hornady Lock n Load AP. If using unique, would I have to stop every so often to check accuracy of the powder it is throwing?
Click to expand...

Mine does surprisingly well with small charges (2.5 grains) of Promo powder, which is large flakes just like Unique. I didn't expect that; previously I had just been using ball powders and tiny flakes (like bullseye.)

You do need to keep checking it until *you* trust it.
 
I have a heap of RL22 as well as RL25 and IMR7828, Love it in my big magnums mainly my 30-378 wetherby and my 300 Ultramag!
Click to expand...
Wow!

Talk about a thread getting run off the tracks in a handcar in one post.
This might be a new record!

The OP ask about powder for loading .380 & .40 S&W pistol calibers.

NOT 30-378 and 300 RUM over-bore rifle calibers!

rc
 
I think unique is great and although I believe some measurers might not be great with it my Dillon measures it well. I use it more often than win 231 and its good to, but my go to is unique. If you got it try it.
 
Im sorry I derailed my own post, bad ettiquette on my part.
Click to expand...
:what:
You were the OP??

Nevermind.
My mistake!

You can talk about cars or girls now if you got bored with your first question I guess.

rc
 
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