What's a good powder to use in .45 Colt and.45ACP?

[JohnnyB]

Hi all,
I just recently started to reload my own ammo for my .45 Colt SAA replica (Uberti), and my Colt 1911 .45ACP. I researched online and found that Hodgdon H6 seems to give good velocities for both loads. I have sinced used up most of the pound that I bought and was wondering if anyone has any better ideas for which powder to use. Due to financial constraints, I need to use one powder for both. I had pretty good luck with H6, but was just curious if there is a more efficient or economical powder that would do as well or better than H6. I Usually use 250 gr lead or Hornady XTP jacketed bullets
Note: I also have a Uberti Yellowboy '66 in .45 Colt, so I shoot my loads in that rifle too.

thanks,
JohnnyB

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

never used HS-6 but BullsEye or Red Dot will do fine for the cast slugs in both, cheap too.
there's better choices for jacketed though specially if you .45Long is a long barrel and/or you load heavyweight slugs.
welcome to the handloading page some real experts here.

 

[Walkalong]

Dual purpose for full load .45 ACP and .45 Colt?

Unique.

Light loads?

Bullseye. AA #2.

 

[rcmodel]

Unique.
.45 Colt = 250 Keith SWC over 8.5 grains.
.44 Spl = 240 Keith over 7.5 grains.
.45 ACP = 230 JRN or JHP over 6.5 grains.

It's easy to remember so I like it!

What is this "light load" of which you speak?

rc

 

[MichaelK]

Blue Dot? I don't have a .45 LC, but I use it in 44 magnum and .45 ACP.

 

[Walkalong]

Blue Dot is not a good option.

 

[zxcvbob]

Alliant "Promo" (bargain basement version of Red Dot)

 

[wildcatter109]

A lot of good powders except blue dot, but unique, red dot, 231, hs-6, hp-38, all will work I personally think unique is the most versatile, a little dirty, but hard to beat for general loads in most handguns!!

 

[Steve C]

Unique is the most versatile with low pressure cartridges like the .45 ACP and Long. Data is plentiful for any bullet you want to load and it will do mild to heavy for those pressures.
For a case filling powder for cowboy action level loads in the .45 LC try Trail Boss. Bullseye, Red Dot, Promo, Green Dot, HP38, W231, Clays, AA#2 are all fast powders that are good for target level loads but watch for double charges in these powders as a little bit is all that's needed and a double charge will not fill or overflow the case.

 

[Slamfire]

Unique. My favorite 45LC powder. An old staple in 45ACP.

W231 will work well in both.

 

[Floppy_D]

Unique.
.45 Colt = 250 Keith SWC over 8.5 grains.
.44 Spl = 240 Keith over 7.5 grains.
.45 ACP = 230 JRN or JHP over 6.5 grains.

What the man said.

 

[DWFan]

Nobody mentioned Titegroup. Any reason why? It appears to work well in both according the Hodgdon's website.

 

[zxcvbob]

Titegroup is overrated. It is dark colored and takes a small amount and it's dense. So it kind of disappears in the bottom of large cases and it's hard to detect an overcharge by eyeballing it. And it burns really hot, scorching the outside of your brass and makes a smoky mess out of cast bullet lube.

It's probably great in some small cartridges using jacketed bullets.

 

[atlanticfire]

I like clays but since I was able to pickup a case of trail boss super cheap I've been shooting that.

 

[running iron]

I like WST, 231, AA#5 and have found Auto Comp to also be a good one for me. Of coarse Unique too. Anything with those burn rates should work with the right amount of trial and error as far as recipes goes. Just got to put in the time to try a bunch of different loads to find the ones your gun shoots best.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

In the 45 Colt I have been shooting Titegroup, 3.3 grains under a 250 grain LRN. I haven't had problems with scorching cases or excess smoke. It is a very accurate load in my 6.5" model 25.

Another load I like is 3.1 grains of W231. Not as accurate as the Titegroup, but it is a good shooter. Neither powder seems to be position sensitive in the .45 case.

And, yes, you must be careful not to overcharge the case. With either powder you can get about 4 charges in a case. I don't want a kaboom.

 

[Walkalong]

Neither powder seems to be position sensitive in the .45 case.

Test the 3.3 Grs TG in .45 Colt powder completely back and powder completely forward. Get the numbers and you'll be surprised.

 

[1911Tuner]

For years, I've gotten along nicely with only two pistol powders. Unique and 2400. If I had to choose one to live with for the rest of my life, it would be Unique without hestitation.

 

[delta53]

HS-6

I use surplus HS-6 to load everything from 45acp 45colt to 38,357 works great for all above

 

[jfrey]

Unique! That's all I use.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I mostly use W231/HP-38 for loading both the 45 Auto and 45 Colt. I have also used AA#5 for loading both and it also works very well. AA#5 is a slower powder than W231 so the ammo is a little hotter. Both work well with lead bullets as well as jacketed bullets. HS-6 is great in the 45 Colt but not so great in the 45 Auto. (even though I'm a huge fan of HS-6 especially when it was still available as W540)

 

[huntershooter]

If you're "shooting" for upper end loads in both calibers it will be hard to beat HS-6.

 

[delta53]

your right about the W540 when ever you see it grab as much as you can afford last time I bought 4x 8-LBS and still have 24LBS it will last longer than me

 

[Blacklabelz]

Unique is awesome for almost everything. Just be prepared to look like you got in a fight with a pepper shaker after shooting.

 

[crusty81]

i have been loading with hog. clays for both rounds also, it is a very clean burning powder works good for lead or hp loads,very little blow back when firing cowboy loads from my comanchee 45 colt ,my judge 45 colt and my tauris thunderbolt 45 colt. have fun!