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What's your favorite powder?


BadAndy
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I'm partial to TiteGroup but want to try out some new stuff just to change things up. 

I recently shot some steel case Winchester 115gr 9mm ammo that a friend had a few rounds left and they were around 1100fps but they shot softer than 115gr Nosler rounds I loaded with TiteGroup that averaged around the same velocity.

So, what are you favorite powders for general plinking and hot/defense loads? Or do you have one powder that you use for both?

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23 minutes ago, Glocks4Freedom said:

Ramshot True Blue. Not the "best", but good enough for almost any pistol caliber from 380 ACP to 454 Cassull. My 45 ACP and 9mm go-to. I've read is optimal for 38 Super and 44 Special. Meters like water.

I'll check that one out.

One of the things I keep forgetting about is that TiteGroup seems to meter the most consistent in my Square Deal B. I finished up some Power Pistol a few months ago and it varied quite a bit, somewhere around +/- .2-.3 grains

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That's a tough one. I have over 50 different powders in inventory.

Generally speaking I love CFE Pistol, Alliant Sport Pistol, LOVEX D036-07 and most from VihtaVouri for accuracy and high velocity, hence self / home defense.

Everything else is basically plinking powder to me.

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I don’t know that I have a favorite. Shipping has become cost prohibitive for me at the relatively low volume that I reload these days, so I’m stuck buying what’s adequate and available locally, not what’s my favorite. 

I use a lot of Win231. Its smokey and dirty, but it cleans up fairly easily, and produces accurate loads with pretty forgiving tolerances. 

Only one of my locals shops sells powder anymore and they have a very limited selection. No Bullseye or Unique available within reasonable driving distance. 

231 isn’t bad, my main gripe is that grains stick like glue to everything. The outside of the case, my measuring tools, the powder measure etc...and throws my weights off a grain or two constantly. 

Edited by Collim1
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It depends what you (or I am) loading. I use a lot of WSF and WST because we shot a lot of .45 & 9mm. I use Bullseye for .38, but don't hoot it much. 

Rifle I use RE15 in .308, .22-250 and when I cant find anything better for 6mm BR I've used it in that with so so results. So RE15 is is pretty versatile for what I shoot. Varget is another go to, but its hard to find, Ive used that for .223 as long as I have reloaded it. The M1, thats trickier and I still haven't picked something I like and trust with it. 

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Unique. You can load everything from the 32 ACP to the 45-70 with unique. it can be used in any rifle cartridge with a cast bullet and in 223 it's fairly accurate with about seven grains and in the 45-70 it only takes about 13-14 grains to launch a heavy bullet at Black powder velocities. And it's good for just about any shotgun gauge except 410 which needs a slower burning powder for best results.

There are 7000 grains of powder in a pound. With a pound of Unique you could load 500 45-70 rounds or about 1000 rounds of 223. The only drawback with the 223 is those loads will not cycle the action of an AR but they're great if you have a bolt action. Red Dot is also good for cast bullets in rifle cartridges and neither red dot or Unique are sensitive to where the small amount of powder is situated in the large case and don't need fillers.

While nothing else has Unique's versatility, there are other powders better suited for specific purposes. For magnum pistol cartridges I like 2400 and AA9 and AA9 is also good for the 10mm. But for highest velocities in magnum cartridges the slower burning H110 and WW296 are best. For rifles as well you need to match the case capacity relative to bore diameter and bullet weight with the burn rate of the powder.

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Don't guess I have a favorite powder. I like something that meters well and still gives consistent performance for pistol calibers loaded on a progressive press.  Ball powders for 5.56 for the same reason. For mid bore rifles, it's really hard to get a bad load using IMR 4895. For shotgun loads, it's hard to beat Red Dot or Unique. As you might guess, I don't concern myself a lot if I can't get my prefered powder. In 2015 I bought 24# of Promo, I still have about 10# left after loading a lot of 9/40/45. I'll likely put that last 8# jug away for hard times, and start using some newer powders available now and some I've hoarded durrig the shortage.

s45

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I really like CFE Pistol for 38 special, 357 Magnum and 45 acp. I find that loading at the top usually results in better accuracy for me. 

 

Win 296 for 44 magnum

 

IMR 4064 for 3006. I am doing a ladder test as we speak as time allows. Unfortunately, life  gets in the way of my shooting times. 

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On 7/21/2018 at 1:59 PM, BadAndy said:

One of the things I keep forgetting about is that TiteGroup seems to meter the most consistent in my Square Deal B. I finished up some Power Pistol a few months ago and it varied quite a bit, somewhere around +/- .2-.3 grains

TiteGroup is the same on my SDB.  I've used Bullseye but I've found that I like the TiteGroup better.

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Majority of what I load now is for CASS. After trying several powders Red Dot is my go to for 45colt and 12ga. That is about 90% of what I'm loading now.  A few times a year I load some APP or Schuetzen BP. The other 10% is WST in 45acp. Unique, AA5, Bullseye, Universal and a few others are sitting around waiting for some attention.

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