Powder Advice

[llred]

I finially got my Lee Anniversary Kit yesterday for my birthday from my girlfriend. I'm headed off to bass pro today to get dies. I noticed last time I was there they had a good selection of powder. Any advice on which ones to try for .45 acp and .38/.357? I have a pound of Bullseye I got awhile back. Thanks in advance.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[thylordjj]

I use 5gn of bullseye under a 230gn .452 diameter lead round nose, in my Kimber... I can make 1-2 inch groups all day long... Note… while this load is safe in my gun please start at a lower amount and work up...(butt officially covered)

[BaserRonin]

I have been using a lot of Win 231 recently. Found a load for my .38's and .45's that I find to be incredibly accurate. However, Unique will work in anything, and I have used a lot of Bullseye in the past.

You are looking at 3 very established cartridges. You won't have trouble getting loadings with any of the older powders. Grab a few pounds of pretty much anything your manual says will work, work out a load, and switch up powders later if you feel like a change. Bullseye and Unique are the typical powders to start with as they are almost universal.

Edit: Hey, congrats on the kit. Your girlfriend sounds like a keeper!

[mcp1810]

I have had excellent results with Bullseye. I would have to check my records but I think for the magnum I use Red Dot.

[Tubby45]

What are your goals? Economy? Performance?

[llred]

What are your goals? Economy? Performance?

I little bit of both. While it is going to be hard to mass produce in a single stage press. I hope to save some money by buying in bulk. I am also going to get some dies for my rifles (7mm-08/.243win/300 wby) so performance loading will be part of the equation too. To gain experience I am going to start off just loading for my pistols right now.

[llred]

I have been using a lot of Win 231 recently. Found a load for my .38's and .45's that I find to be incredibly accurate. However, Unique will work in anything, and I have used a lot of Bullseye in the past.

You are looking at 3 very established cartridges. You won't have trouble getting loadings with any of the older powders. Grab a few pounds of pretty much anything your manual says will work, work out a load, and switch up powders later if you feel like a change. Bullseye and Unique are the typical powders to start with as they are almost universal.

Edit: Hey, congrats on the kit. Your girlfriend sounds like a keeper!

I saw that unique was used in the majority of pistol cartridges in the Lyman manual. I will try and pick up some. Atleast that will give me 2 powders to try and compare.

[Tubby45]

I like medium to slow powders.

Unique, WSF, AA #5, HS6, W231/HP38 (same powder) will work in the 38/357 and 45.

[automatic slim]

I little bit of both. While it is going to be hard to mass produce in a single stage press. I hope to save some money by buying in bulk. I am also going to get some dies for my rifles (7mm-08/.243win/300 wby) so performance loading will be part of the equation too. To gain experience I am going to start off just loading for my pistols right now.

Back in the 70's when I was unemployed I loaded up and sold military cases of .223 using a RCBS Rockchucker which I still have and use. I think each case holds 820 rds.
Since then I have loaded thousands more of all calibers. Everything from .32ACP to 500S&W. A single stage will last forever!

[BaserRonin]

Back in the 70's when I was unemployed I loaded up and sold military cases of .223 using a RCBS Rockchucker which I still have and use. I think each case holds 820 rds.
Since then I have loaded thousands more of all calibers. Everything from .32ACP to 500S&W. A single stage will last forever!

+1 on the single stage press maintaining it's usefulness. I probably still spend almost as much time on my old Rockchucker as I do on my Dillon 550. I use it for smaller loading sessions, for developing new loads, for accuracy rifle loads, etc...

[Landric]

Lets see:

.45 ACP, I have had great success with Hodgdon Titegroup

.357 Magnum, I like Alliant 2400

.38 Special, I like Hodgdon HS-6

Of course I also use AA#5, IMR Trail Boss, and Winchester 231. I don't have any now, but in the past I have also had success with Alliant Blue Dot, Hodgdon Universal, and Unique.

If I had to choose one powder for all my applications, I'd probably go with HS-6. There are just so many choices. I should add that I shoot almost exclusively lead bullets in handguns.

2400 is not an economical powder, but there is a lot of fun involved with touching off a heavy charge of 2400 with a 158 grain or heavier cast SWC in a SP101.

As for single stage presses, I have a Lee Classic Turret and a Dillon Square Deal B, but I have three single stages. So yeah, they are always useful.

[Majorlk]

Whatever you do, buy yourself a couple of reloading manuals. the ones from Speer, Sierra and Hornady are excellent.

Also good are Hodgdon's online manual:

http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

and the downloadable Accurate manual:

http://www.accuratepowder.com/data/A...%20version.pdf

The Hodgdon's manual also includes data for IMR and Winchester powders.

The Accurate manual is a condensed version of their printed manual but is well worth having.

[llred]

Whatever you do, buy yourself a couple of reloading manuals. the ones from Speer, Sierra and Hornady are excellent.

Also good are Hodgdon's online manual:

http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

and the downloadable Accurate manual:

http://www.accuratepowder.com/data/A...%20version.pdf

The Hodgdon's manual also includes data for IMR and Winchester powders.

The Accurate manual is a condensed version of their printed manual but is well worth having.

I will try to pick up another one today. I have Lyman's revolver and pistol manual right now, and it seems to have a variety of loads. I was just wondering what some of the personal choices were.

[JerryM]

If I needed to I could get by well with two handgun powders, AA2, and Universal Clays.
Those two would take care of my light and med to heavy loads for .45 ACP, 9MM, .38 Spl, and .357 Mag.

Although different cartridges cause powders to move slightly on the burn scale, AA2 is in the range of WW231, and Universal Clays in the range of Unique.

Regards,
Jerry

[Majorlk]

I will try to pick up another one today. I have Lyman's revolver and pistol manual right now, and it seems to have a variety of loads. I was just wondering what some of the personal choices were.

The Lyman is a good beginner's manual, but you will soon discover that the loads are very conservative, compared to most of the others. That's a good thing for beginners, but if you really get into reloading and load development, you'll want several manuals for reference.

I have also discovered that many popular loads in my 70's-era publications are now considered maximum or even excessive, since SAAMI derated many calibers from the pressures common back then.

Fortunately, with the exception of my new .40 S&W, all my load development is done and I can just stick to my "old favorites".

Welcome to the reloading world. It's a great part of shooting.