Powder Suggestions for .45 acp

[Dudedog]

Glad to hear the 7.5 of 4756 with 200gr bullet worked out well for you.

 

[CoalTrain49]

You can safely use probably 40% or more of the available handgun powders available today in the 45 Auto. Some will produce better results than others but a lot will work.

W231/HP-38 is my favorite but you can also use, AutoComp, WST, Clays, Titegroup, Universal, 700X, PB, SR 7625, Red Dot, Green Dot, Promo, Unique, Bullseye, AA#2, AA#5 and Zip. You can even use HS-6, True Blue and Power Pistol and a few others in a pinch even though I think they are too slow for the 45 Auto. Of the 15 to 20 powders I listed above I'm sure you will be able to find a few.

You might as well add American Select to this list. Lots of people using it, including me, with excellent results. No load data published by Alliant but they will give it to you if you call them. Very similar to Titegroup but as always get your load data from the powder manufacturer. It may not meter real well for some but it burns cleaner. I tried Bullseye and it's as good as everyone says it is but AS is just as good, maybe better. I won't be going back.

 

[kerreckt]

20/28

For those of you who want to try something different. I have used 20/28 in the same ways as you would use Unique. I first tried this about a year ago after reading a posting from another member of this forum. His info, which I confirmed, is that velocity is about 3% greater than Unique for the same charge weight with no adverse signs. I have tried it with .44spl. and .45acp. If you look at a burn rate chart this powder is listing with many of the powders commonly used for handguns. I use Unique data and haven't found a reason not to continue using 20/28 in its place. I just stay away from the max loads which is something I do routinely, anyway. One of my most accurate loads for .45acp is using 20/28 with my 215gr. cast bullets. Remember, I am not advising YOU to do this but only communicating my experiences.

 

[CoalTrain49]

^
Another so called shotgun powder that may be suited for metallic reloading. I noticed on the Hodgdon site they are grouping some powders in the "Shotgun/Pistol" category instead of separating them like Alliant does. Marketing I guess.

 

[FROGO207]

I am with cfullgraf and use 700-X with my 45 ACP loads exclusively these days. In the past I had used Promo, Blue Dot, or 231 some.

 

[USSR]

Solo 1000 is another powder suitable for .45 ACP loads. Just about any powder suitable for normal 12 gauge shotshell loads will work.

Don

 

[Potatohead]

All the above are good. I found a few pounds of Herco on sale (and they had nothing else at the time) so I bought it. I like it. Just a little slower than Unique and works great in the 9mm too.

I love Herco, not sure why it's not more popular. It's also findable if that's a word.

 

[sellersm]

WST is great for lead! I use VV N340 for jacketed.

 

[TfflHndn]

I have developed a real liking for Herco too, but more for 9mm than for .45 auto.

 

[1KPerDay]

Any of these will be good for your purposes IMO... or at least will work.

Red Dot
Green Dot
Promo (same BY WEIGHT as Red Dot)
Clay Dot
Universal
HP-38 (same as W231)
Herco
Unique
Clays
International
American Select
Power Pistol
AA#2
AA#7
WSF
Silhouette
AutoComp (maybe not ideal but will work)
Bullseye
HS-6
Titegroup.

None of these are on any of the shelves near me lately.

I found 8 lbs of American Select and Promo via Powder Valley a few months back and I've been loading a lot of AS and like it quite a bit.

 

[CoalTrain49]

^
Yes sir, it's a keeper. Billed as a shotgun powder and not many reloaders using it for clays. Alliant could sell more of it if they billed as a handgun powder. Cowboy shooters discovered it a long time ago and use it for everything. Never really caught on with the clays crowd.

 

[MCHIZZY]

I use aliant power pistol for 9mm, 40 s&w and my 45's. Burns quick and good velocity with both 230 & 200 grn heads