IMR pistol powder on dillon

[Oldgoat03]

I found some IMR powder and was thinking of getting some to reload for my pistols (.45ACP, .40 S&W, 38spl, 9mm, .380ACP). I normally used W231/HP38 and BE but those options are just not available these days.

The pistol powders I found are 700x and PB.

So my questions are

1) Are these good/decent powders for the calibers I need?

2) How do they meter through a dillon powder meaure (use on SDB)

Thanks for your help


Oldgoat03

 

[kerreckt]

I have a Dillon 450 and 700X and 800X both meter like cornflakes. Doable but it takes more care and patience. The PB should meter better. You can go here: http://www.hodgdon.com/ to see about their uses....good luck

 

[Jim Watson]

I have loaded a good deal of pistol ammo with 700X, largely because I kept it on hand for 12 gauge. It is a useful target load burn rate and was the first "clean" powder I recall seeing advertised. It is a large flake and does not measure nearly as well as 231 or BE.
I resorted to a vibrator to keep it from bridging in the measure. That is simply a $6.00 aquarium air pump strapped to the measure hopper.

I shot some PB in pistol loads but that was a long time ago and I do not recall its performance. I used up the whole can so it obviously went Bang well enough.

 

[ljnowell]

700x has produced some of my most accurate loads in 45acp, while being the cleanest also. It does meter like cornflakes, but to tell the truth, it doesnt affect the performance much. If you are shooting for 5.0gr, for example, and you end up with 4.9, 5.0, 5.2, you likely wont be able to tell the difference and they will all be just as accurate. Its very forgiving in that way. In the same note, its not a powder to push to the ragged edge, because of its metering limitations, and its just too darn fast of a powder to be useful in hot rod situations anyway.

 

[Shmackey]

PB is underrated. Buy!

 

[HighExpert]

I found 700x to be a pain. It does not age well..seems to get more power as it gets older and it does not feed worth a flip.

 

[243winxb]

The 700X has not bridged for me, but keep an eye on it. 800X has bridged. Left over 8 lbs from trap & skeet shooting is the reason i am using it.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I would use PB before 700X any day.

Hodgdon lists plenty of load data for PB in all the cartridges you listed and it will meter better than 700X too.

 

[One78Shovel]

I find IMR 4064 for example to meter like described above, except more like metal shavings through scissors.

I bench mounted a Hornady LNL Powder Dispenser.

-178S

 

[MifflinKid]

I use a lot of 700X for .45 ACP, .45 Colt and 38 Special. I have a Dillon 550B and use the Dillon powder measure. I find the best way to load with 700X is to dump the powder into the measure and shake the powder measure for about 10 seconds (this settles the powder into a more consistent density).

I then drop powder into 5 to 10 cases, dumping the dropped powder back into the measure. This step removes the less dense powder that at the bottom of the measure body. I then drop powder into cases weighing then as I adjust the powder bar.