Compromise is optimal?
I will be reloading the following calibers and wanted to know which powder I have listed would be the best all around, con and pros
9mm, 38 special, 357 mag, 40, and 45 colt.
The powder that covers all these calibers are listed below. I don't want to buy a bunch of different powders, just one that's covers all of them good
231
AA No. 5
Blue dot
Bullseye
Power pistol
Unique
H. Universal
Thanks for your help
It depends on bullet weight and power level.
Every powder has a pressure range to which it is best suited. Clean burning powders can get very sooty at lower pressures. H110 is GREAT at full power, but reducing the load lowers the pressure and gives rise to "spikey" behavior that can spontaneously disassemble a firearm. 9mm and 40 S&W have relatively small cases for the bullet size. The 45 Colt has a relatively large case for the bullet size.
What I am saying is that each cartridge/bullet/power level will have relatively few powders that give the best performance (recoil, cleanliness, lowest pressure for velocity, etc).
Any one powder that performs acceptably across the entire range of your cartridges will WORK. But it may not be optimal for any. Likely to be close to optimal for a few, though, and acceptable for all. If that compromise makes you happy, good.
For example, with Unique, you are definitely not going to get the maximum power level available from a .357 firing a heavy bullet that you can with H110. Unique gives its pressure quickly. H110 burns slower, giving its pressure over a longer period of time. Loading each powder to the maximum pressure the cartridge can stand, the longer burning H110 will always deliver more power. So, if maximum power is your goal H110. But H110 is not so good for small cases and DEFINITELY not good for reduced powder loadings.
I hear you. Having an inventory of many, many powders gets to be a logistical pain (Do I have enough of this for my next session? Do I have enough room for that?) and can be dangerous if you accidentally get one powder mixed up with another. But getting each chambering you load for "dialed in" to its optimum does give you a good feeling and tight groups.
Thanks for reading. Armed with the information you have here, you can decide what will make you happy. That is what is so great about handloading. Choices.
Good luck.
Lost Sheep