pistol powder?

[z0mbies fear me]

I'm pretty new to reloading and looking for a good all around powder for loading 9mm, 40sw, and 45acp. Any suggestions? I'm loading mostly medium weight Hornady bullets.

[Patton]

Really there is so many, I like Unique, Universal, and Power Pistol in the Alliant brand. I have been recommended Accurate No. 5 because it meters well though.
My recommendation is to use the One you can find the most info and load data for. Truthfully most any powder can be used in handguns and shotguns.

[Raoul]

Unique, if you can find it.

[RED333]

I use Titegroup in all my pistols.

[Patton]

Unique is probably the best. Supposedly it used to be dirty but I bought 1lbs last year that I have just about used up that burns as clean as any factory ammo I have ever used.

W231, bullseye, and 2400 are very common pistol powders.

Yes, and Titegroup. Edited January 12, 2013 by Patton

[jdw174]

When I was loading 9mm and .45acp for max loads I always used Unique.  WW231 for target loads, but it can leave unburned flakes in the action.

[gregintenn]

I can do most handgun chores well with Bullseye for light target loads, Unique for most other applications, and 2400 for the full house magnum loads.

[Wingshooter]

I did a comparison a while back of all the powders in my loading manuals for the calibers and bullets I wanted to load for. I found most of my calibers all had data for Unique.

[pcrc11]

Tightgroup it was I use for all three of the calibers you mentioned

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Accurate here for 9 and 45. It's all good, though.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

So many powders and I've only used a few. There are loads for W231 for just about any pistol caliber. Loads that will go bang without blowing up the gun, but it won't necessarily make a high-performance load in all the calibers that it will "work" in. So maybe you would call it a compromise? If you are loading hornady bullets, sounds like maybe you want performance or otherwise for practice loads there are much cheaper bullets that will kill paper targets just as good as hornady bullets! :)

 

Ramshot Zip powder is so nearly identical to W231 the load data is near-identical, so unless you are "pushing the envelope" you can substitute between the two without many changes except safety checks for sanity's sake.

 

People seem to manage to cram Bluedot or Ramshot True Blue into just about any combination without blowing themselves up, which in some combinations is "hotter" than you can get with W231. W231 generally seems more appropriate for lighter bullets in the caliber range, and slower powders like Bluedot generally seem more appropriate for heavier bullets in the caliber range.

 

I've mostly been using Ramshot Silhouette lately which is about the same or identical to old discontinued Win WAP. It has a reputation for being pretty good to get hot loads with average-to-slightly-heavier-than-average bullets, but I dunno nothin and all the  powders other people recommended might be head-and-shoulders better for all I know. Another powder which is kinda expensive that has a good reputation for hot accurate loads is Vihta Vouri 3N37, N340, and/or N330.

 

Here is a burnrate chart-- Note that the powders that seem often mentioned for hot loads in 9mm, .40, and .45 are clustered together on the burnrate chart (about locations 27 thru 47 on the first chart)-- Dunno nothing though and my opinions are more likely wrong than right.

 

http://www.frfrogspad.com/burnrate.htm

[musicman]

Titegroup for maximum efficiency (generally the least amount of powder for each round, meaning maximum charges/pound) Another vote as well for HP38/W231.

TG won't give you max velocity, but you can load a crap-ton of bullets with a pound of the stuff, and it's been very consistent for me. I never really thought about powder economy until I started loading 20+ gr of H110 in some applications... 300 rounds and I'd be through a can of the stuff! I can get almost 2000 38s with TG. :-)

[Jonnin]

I like accurate #5 for that range.

[dlm37015]

if this helps i sell more titegroup than all other powders pistol wise anyway a little goes a long way

[Guest BCR#1]

I use AA #5. Unique smokes too much IMO.

 

Bill

[Lumber_Jack]

I only load .45 of the calibers you listed. I use Unique. It works well for me. I might try tight group when it's all gone

[Guest Frightful1]

I started out using Unique when I got back into reloading a few years ago.  Didn't care for the smoke and unburned powder particles.  Tried Titegroup, Power Pistol, and a few others.  Went to Bullseye and stayed there.  Clean burning, hot and meters well in powder drop devices.  The only down side that I have found is the light charge weights for small casings such as .25 and .380.  You have to be careful with your check rounds that you are actually dropping the correct weight.

[Patton]

I just started with Unique 1 year ago and it is as clean as about anything I have ever used. Supposedly it's a lot cleaner than what it used to be.

[I_Like_Pie]

Yep.  Those 3 can load any handgun cartridge made in the past 100 years....and do it better than just about anything.

 

I can do most handgun chores well with Bullseye for light target loads, Unique for most other applications, and 2400 for the full house magnum loads.

[timthetoolman]

I use TiteGroup on everything I can...everything you listed.  :up: