Fluffiest Pistol Powders
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jwrowland77
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Unique will fill a case.
LiveLife
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Welcome to THR.
Red Dot/Promo is fluffier than Unique and fills the case well for pistol loads (difficult to double-charge).
I use them for 9mm/45ACP/45Colt loads and they burn clean while producing accurate loads.
Yes, what caliber/bullet type/weight are you using so we can better help you?
Red Dot/Promo is fluffier than Unique and fills the case well for pistol loads (difficult to double-charge).
I use them for 9mm/45ACP/45Colt loads and they burn clean while producing accurate loads.
Yes, what caliber/bullet type/weight are you using so we can better help you?
I am loading a 105 grain cast boolit in 38 special and going for a super soft round for easy shooting in my J frame. I had IMR 7625 on hand and used that. At 4.5 grains of 7625, it's just a tiny puddle of dust at the bottom of the case. It performs really poorly in this application and leaves a lot of unburned powder. (I love 7625 for 9mm). So partly I'm looking for the right powder for a light load for a small cast boolit. But also, doing my research, I became curious about what other pistol powders are bulky besides Trail Boss. What are the bulkiest pistol powders out there?
Red Dot, American Select, Solo 1000, and 700X are some off the top of my head that are bulky and the right burn rate for what you want to do.
Trail Boss and N32C are very bulky compared to any other pistol powder.
Next you have the big flake fast burning powders, which will work for what you want to do.
Some of the bushing makers put out powder charts as to what weight their bushings throw. They are very good for getting an idea what powders are bulky and which are dense. I have one somewhere that Hornady put out for the bushing made for their pistol powder measure.
http://www.alliantpowder.com/downloads/PowderBushingsCharts.pdf
Trail Boss and N32C are very bulky compared to any other pistol powder.
Next you have the big flake fast burning powders, which will work for what you want to do.
Some of the bushing makers put out powder charts as to what weight their bushings throw. They are very good for getting an idea what powders are bulky and which are dense. I have one somewhere that Hornady put out for the bushing made for their pistol powder measure.
http://www.alliantpowder.com/downloads/PowderBushingsCharts.pdf
LivewireBlanco
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I use 3.4 grains of Trail Boss for that same bullet in the same gun. Makes shooting very easy and accuracy is good.
Salmoneye
Member
I'd hardly call Red Dot 'clean' till it gets close to it's top pressure...
Part of the fun of mid-range .357's (5gr under 158gr) is the soot and the smell of Red Dot...
Part of the fun of mid-range .357's (5gr under 158gr) is the soot and the smell of Red Dot...
KansasSasquatch
Member
Red dot burning off boolit lube does produce a nice aroma doesn't it.
Lost Sheep
Member
I have not verified this personally, but I would suppose any of the black powder substitutes would qualify (Pyrodex, etc) or the original, Black Powder itself.
Trail Boss has another characteristic that makes it useful to me. It does not develop high pressures (because of it's volume, it is difficult to load up to high pressures unless you are using a REALLY big case-full). Thus it is the powder I use to teach any novice I mentor.
Lost Sheep
edit: I did not have the preceding answers (posts 3 through 10) on-screen - don't know why), so did not see your purpose. So, my answer is not quite on-point. But I did not delete it because I think it might be useful to others who spot your subject line about "fluffy" or voluminous powders.
Also, my thanks for the mention of other powders that might serve MY purposes. (Walkalong) Red Dot, American Select, Solo 1000, and 700X and N32C "Tin Star" powder by Vihtavuori and (bds) Red Dot and Promo.
Trail Boss has another characteristic that makes it useful to me. It does not develop high pressures (because of it's volume, it is difficult to load up to high pressures unless you are using a REALLY big case-full). Thus it is the powder I use to teach any novice I mentor.
Lost Sheep
edit: I did not have the preceding answers (posts 3 through 10) on-screen - don't know why), so did not see your purpose. So, my answer is not quite on-point. But I did not delete it because I think it might be useful to others who spot your subject line about "fluffy" or voluminous powders.
Also, my thanks for the mention of other powders that might serve MY purposes. (Walkalong) Red Dot, American Select, Solo 1000, and 700X and N32C "Tin Star" powder by Vihtavuori and (bds) Red Dot and Promo.
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I shoot 3.2 grains of Red Dot under 158 grain lead semi wad cutters. Red Dot is a little dirty but it works well. I am going to American Select or Unique for my next batch of reloads. I understand Unique has a new formula and burns cleaner. kwg
LiveLife
Member
In addition to Red Dot/Promo being fluffy powder, you could also consider Herco, which is slower burning and I use it for 45Colt cowboy loads. Shooting Herco loads out of a Henry rifle is like shooting blanks.Gunscribe said:
When a coworker wanted light recoiling 38 loads for his 2" S&W 357 snub nose, I tested Bullseye, Red Dot/Promo, W231/HP-38 and they shot well with light recoil at lower charges and if you were going for "fluffy powder" loads, like Red Dot/Promo, Herco is another fluffy powder that should fill the case well.
I am guessing you want a powder that will overflow a case to prevent a double charge?
For me, Herco meters slightly better than Red Dot/Promo/Unique and thinking about testing it for 40S&W.
Look up Blackhorn 209. It's a black powder substitute that is about as clean shooting as smokeless. You'll need to pack the case full and add some compression, and it's expensive @ $33 for 10 ounces, but it will be as soft as a bp 38 and it will fill the case.
Personally, I use 2.8g Titewad but you'd have a tough time seeing that load at the bottom of the case.
Personally, I use 2.8g Titewad but you'd have a tough time seeing that load at the bottom of the case.
Potatohead
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Herco almost fills my 9mm cases up, 800x too. (I know, 800x is not the best for 9mill)
Vodoun da Vinci
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I reloaded 30 years ago using Unique exclusively. Returned to shooting/reloading last Summer and bought some "new" Unique...it is so much cleaner I can't believe it. My 9mm loads were so clean that after a few hundred rounds I could barely see residue on the gun.
No smoke either with plated and jacketed bullets.
VooDoo
Crashbox
Member
I will also vouch for Herco's fluffivity. I use a LOT of it in .357 Magnum cast loads; very accurate. A double-charge will definitely overflow for me.
armarsh
Member
SR4759 is a low density powder. It's not fluffy because it is extruded. It does fill a niche because it is a little slower than Trail Boss or Tin Star.
Kernel
Member
http://leeprecision.com/cgi-data/instruct/VMD.pdf
The link above is for the Lee Precision powder volume-density chart. It's used in the calibration of Lee brand powder measures. The larger the number, the fluffier the powder. Notice Trail Boss has by far the largest number. Nothing else is really even close.
The link above is for the Lee Precision powder volume-density chart. It's used in the calibration of Lee brand powder measures. The larger the number, the fluffier the powder. Notice Trail Boss has by far the largest number. Nothing else is really even close.
Lost Sheep
Member
Thanks, Kernel. That chart is very useful. One thing to remember is that it is only part of the story (though the major part). The rest of the conversion is the energy per grain.
(I recognize that energy per grain still leaves one more factor, but that factor depends on the chambering one is using.)
For example, if there were a powder that was very heavy for its volume, but required a lot of weight to get up to operating pressure, it might very well be more voluminous than Trail Boss, (and a lot heavier). I don't know of such a powder, but it may well exist. TB does just fine for me. But there may be a case-filling powder that delivers moderate velocities just like TB, but is heavier, thus would be lower on Lee's chart.
I just haven't had the time to dope out all the math in search of the last nit to pick.
Lost Sheep
Nothing will out bulk Trail Boss or N32C and be suitable for pistol reloading. In rifle SR4759 and AA 5744 are very bulky, but are also heavier and will give much more velocity than Trail Boss. They can also be used in .41 & .44 Mag, but will usually leave unburned kernels, which is why I say TB & N32C are the only ones suitable for pistol at that volume per weight.
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