Is there a preferred do all pistol powder?

S

sksshooter

Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2022
Messages
35
Location
Walker, Louisiana
Currently load 9mm, 45acp and 357. I see a 40 in my future and possibly a 45lc.
Im loading bullseye in 9mm
Loaded bullseye in some 45 but probably will move that over to w231
Also have loaded bulseye in 357 but didnt see fantastic results there.

I have a hodgepog of powder that i can try out due to buying up a couple of peoples loading supplies when they got out but is there a single powder that can do all of these calibers well? If not is there 2?
 
Vihtavuori 3N37 covers all your cartridges, and it's easy to find in stock. It meters very well, and is low flash.
 
For me, it is “The U.”

It has been Unique since I started reloading fairly recently compared to many others here, 1995. There are other great powders, but I have yet to be disappointed with anything and everything I have used Unique for.

Now if I could just find it! :fire:

Stay safe.
 
sksshooter said:
Currently load 9mm, 45acp and 357. I see a 40 in my future and possibly a 45lc.
Im loading bullseye in 9mm
Loaded bullseye in some 45 but probably will move that over to w231
Also have loaded bulseye in 357 but didnt see fantastic results there.

I have a hodgepog of powder that i can try out due to buying up a couple of peoples loading supplies when they got out but is there a single powder that can do all of these calibers well? If not is there 2?
Click to expand...

I have had decent results with Alliant Sport Pistol in those cartridges ( I don't load for 45Colt ). Most of those are loaded for sub loadings for suppressor use, tho.

As @Starter52 already stated, W231 and, for a 2nd powder, HP 38...............:p:cool:
 
In the '90s I found Unique to work quite well in all my handgun loads; 380 ACP, 38 Spec., 357 Mag., 44 Spec, 44 Mag. and 45ACP. During one of the panic shortages I could no find any Unique but did find Universal (bought one pound, liked it. Bought 2 more pounds. Liked it so well and not wanting to go though another shortage I bought an 8 lb jug). I can and often do, use it for all my handgun loads; all the above plus 32 ACP, 32 long, 32 H&R, 9mm and 45 Colt. I have other powders that work well in several different cartridges but if I could only have one powder, it would most certainly be Universal...
 
Last edited:
I could do the cartridges you mentioned well with WSF, but the data is hard to come by. I am a fan of BE-86 and VV N-340. Accurate #5 is worth a look.
As for "do all" good luck with that. For handgun I could get by with three powders.
 
I do reload a larger selection of handgun cartridges so I generally have a vast selection of propellant choices. That said, trying to condense things into a single type will IMO limit you on best performance in each cartridge severly. Many are close but even with your limited cartridge choices I see no best for everything there. Plus with three or four different propellants you get better overlap in use if something is not available for a long while allowing for substitutions.
 
9mmepiphany said:
This is what I have found also.

Many folks cling to Unique because it's been around forever, but BE-86's better metering qualities is an overriding factor I making my choice
Click to expand...
I have to wonder why Alliant still lists Unique in both the shotshell and pistol powder categories but only lists BE-86 as a pistol powder. There’s also still loading data for cast rifle and Unique being published but none for BE-86. Which makes me wonder if what Alliant did to BE-86 to make it meter better ruined Uniques vaunted flexibility? No more the powder of all but now truly a master of one.
 
sksshooter said:
Currently load 9mm, 45acp and 357. I see a 40 in my future and possibly a 45lc.
Im loading bullseye in 9mm
Loaded bullseye in some 45 but probably will move that over to w231
Also have loaded bulseye in 357 but didnt see fantastic results there.

I have a hodgepog of powder that i can try out due to buying up a couple of peoples loading supplies when they got out but is there a single powder that can do all of these calibers well? If not is there 2?
Click to expand...
While I don't load 40 my go to powders for the other 4 have been W231, Bullseye, Titegroup and Unique. I could get by with 231 and Bullseye. Unique is to hard to find to keep on the list.

On a side note I always thought of BE86 as an updated version of Bullseye.
 
No single powder is going to do "really well" across all those cartridges simply because of the level of chamber pressure. 45ACP is around 18,000psi max, while 9mm and 40S&W are almost double that. So "passable" at the higher end cartridges is going to super sooty/dirty at the lower end, and accuracy is going to be poor across the entire lineup.

My best suggestion would be something like VihtaVuori N330, which because it's a single-base powder, doesn't get "trashy" at lower pressure levels.

Here's a helpful Burn Rate Chart....
https://accuratepowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/burn_rates.pdf
 
Targa said:
You are not going to find Unique and you will be lucky to find Universal.
Click to expand...
But Powder Valley has WSF in 8 lbs for $239 - https://www.powdervalleyinc.com/product/winchester-super-field-wsf/

joneb said:
I am a fan of ... VV N-340
Click to expand...
And Powder Valley has N340 along with N320/N330:

kidneyboy said:
I always thought of BE86 as an updated version of Bullseye.
Click to expand...
No, no, no.

"BE-XX" formulation has to do with small powder granule/flake type/size and not burn rate with "XX" likely being the year of introduction.

Bullseye is fast burning powder on par with Red Dot/Promo, WST, Clays and "downloads" below start charges well for very light recoiling and lower velocity "bullseye match" loads that just need to make holes on paper to require lighter recoil springs.

BE-86 is slower burning powder on par with Unique, Universal, Power Pistol, WSF and do not "download" well below start charges but better suited for higher velocity loads.

This is what Paul from Alliant Powders said about BE-86 - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/full-power-9mm-powders.830743/page-2#post-10727788

"No, Power Pistol and BE-86 are most definitely not the same. Nor is BE-86 just Power Pistol with flash suppressant added. Power Pistol is the canister version of BE-84, which is slower burning than BE-86, which is the canister version of BE-86. They are not that far apart, and the formulations are identical, but the deterrent percentage is higher for Power Pistol (BE-84) compared to BE-86."
​
Here's my groupings of powders clustered by burn rate based on actual loads fired relative to powder charge weights as reported by THR members:

Faster burning pistol powders:​

Red Dot/Promo - IMR Red - Clays - 700X - Bullseye - Vectan Ba 10 - IMR Target - TiteGroup - Vectan AS - Am. Select - Solo 1000 - WST - International - Trail Boss - N320 - Sport Pistol - Vectan Ba 9.5 - No. 2 - Clean Shot/Lovex D032.03​

W231/HP-38 - Zip - Green Dot - IMR Green - W244​

Slower burning pistol powders:​

Unique - Universal - IMR Unequal - Vectan Ba 9 - BE-86 - Power Pistol - N330 - Vectan A1 - Herco - Vectan A0 - WSF - N340 - 800X​

No. 5 - True Blue - Auto Pistol/Lovex D036-03 - HS6 - AutoComp - CFE Pistol - Silhouette - 3N37 - Ultimate Pistol/Lovex D036-07​
 
Last edited:
sksshooter said:
9mm, 45acp and 357. I see a 40 in my future and possibly a 45lc.

Im loading bullseye
Click to expand...
Bullseye is too snappy to load 40S&W unless you download it way down. I prefer "relatively" slower burning W231/HP-38 for light target loads. For higher velocity 40S&W loads, I prefer WSF/BE-86 and if they are not available, Herco has produced accurate clean burning loads for me (Inside the case clean).

When I did comparison test in 45Colt using Red Dot/Promo, Bullseye, W231/HP-38 and Herco, W231/HP-38 and Bullseye produced more accurate loads followed by Red Dot/Promo and Herco.

sksshooter said:
Is there a preferred do all pistol powder?
Click to expand...
I believe if you must go with single powder, it will be "jack of all trades but master of none" situation.

I have used W231/HP-38 and Red Dot/Promo (Promo is modern Red Dot that meters well) to load 380Auto, .38 Spl, 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP and 45Colt to produce very workable general purpose range blasting loads with acceptable accuracy. W231/HP-38 and Promo produced very good accuracy in 45ACP with 200 gr LSWC. Promo produced more accurate 9mm PCC loads than W231/HP-38. For 40S&W, W231/HP-38 produced lighter target loads and Promo produced snappy recoil but lighter start charges are workable.

Ideally, if you want utmost accuracy with milder recoil loads, you would need two powders:
  • Lighter recoil lower velocity target loads - Bullseye/WST/Titegroup/N320/Sport Pistol/W231/HP-38
  • Higher velocity loads - Unique/Universal/BE-86/Power Pistol/WSF/N340
And for higher velocity magnum loads, even slower powders
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
  • Locked
Which powder for .357 16" Winchester Trapper?
Replies
21
Views
1K
silhanek
S
H
  • Locked
Powder question ?
2
Replies
27
Views
1K
Kuyong_Chuin
K
LiveLife
  • Locked
Pistol Powder Comparison Pictures
2
Replies
48
Views
14K
LiveLife
LiveLife
Curator
  • Locked
Powder measure for really small charges.
Replies
23
Views
5K
RealGun
RealGun
J
  • Locked
One handgun powder to rule them all...
2 3
Replies
54
Views
5K
Jeff H
Jeff H
Back
Top