I am looking for a clean burnung powder for use in my 625. I am using Lyman 220 gr lead cast bullets and will be shooting IDPA in ESR. I tried 231 but it is very dirty. Suggestions from competition revolver shooters would be most useful.

Take Care

Bob

I use both Clays and W231 in my 45's. I think Clays is a bit cleaner but I like both powders. It seems like 231 measures more accurately than Clays. I use 3.6 to 4.0 grains of Clays with 200gr Lyman SWC lead bullets and 5.0gr of W231 with the same bullet. The 3.6grs of Clays load gives me around 713 fps out of my CBOB and the 5.0grs of W231, 720fps.

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Cloudpeak

I have used Titegroup for a number of years and has shown to be much cleaner than W231.

The cleanest burning powders I have used in 45 ACP are VV N-310, Clays and WST. All three work well with the 185 to 200 gr. LSWC. My favorite indoor bullsye load for the 185 gr. LSWC is 3.8 gr. HS-700X and Rem 2.5 for ca 710 fps with very low velocity spreads - extremely accurate and very mild but HS-700X does leave unburned powder flakes and would not be considered as clean burning.

My old IPSC load of a 200gr H&G with 5.2 of WST always worked well for me, clean, accurate and not temp sensitive.

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Stay safe people!

Another Vote for Clays. 3.9-4.0 gr under a 200gr LSWC shoots POA , has light recoil and is clean! It's all I load for any of my 45 acp revolvers or semi's.

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Dave

+1, except I usually go with 3.8.

N-310 is the cleanest and most consistent of the powders mentioned for heavy bullets (220-230 gr) in your 625.

Winchester Super Target and American Select are also clean but with require slightly larger charges and give more recoil. I use the WST, AS, and N-320 with 200gr lead bullets where they give excellent results.

Chris

I like Bullseye. May be old fashioned, but I've tried a few other "target powders" in the .45 ACP and have always come back to Bullseye. About 5.0 grains should be right....

Likewise I have found greater reductions in fouling by switching bullet lube than by switching powder....

Drew

I also have settled on Bullseye. I get great results with 4.3 gr. of Bullseye with 200 gr. LSWC bullets...

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NRA Life Member

Tried most of the usual "Target" powders and finially settled on WST, clean burning and I use it for my 12ga reloads. Matter of fact, just bought another 8lb. keg for $93.00 tax and shipping included.

I've never noticed 231 being all that dirty. Most all of my reloads are with cast bullets. 5.3 grs under the 230 LRN and 5.5 grs with the 200 gr SWC are accurate with MY guns. Gonna stay with it.

IDPA Match Director and revolver shooter here.
I suggest if you think HP38/231 is too dirty, you are never going to be happy with lead bullets. You see, the burning lead lube is a major part of the smoke. The smoke bothers me enough in rapid fire that I now use Berry bullets for IDPA in .45 and .38, with either HP38/231 or Titegroup.

Some people get upset about a spot of soot or a little puff of smoke, while others shoot Unique behind paraffin lube and say "what smoke?"

You will not find a better powder for the 45acp than WST. Clean burning, good loft & soft recoil. I ran some Clays loads vs WST loads yesterday. The Clays loads w/ 200grLSWC were going 820fps, the WST laods 875fps & the WST loads are softer shooting. I have tried probably a dozen powders in the 45acp & nothing gives me the accuracy that WST does. BE is black powder compared to WST. With lead bullets, I have less smoke than TG (TG burns very hot) or W231.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Most of the dirt/soot with cast bullet loads is from the bullet lube. I have found that Winchester 231 burns more dirty with lighter loads. When the load gets heavier, then WW231 burns cleaner. With light loads Bullseye is cleaner than WW231, but WW231 is cleaner than Bullseye with heavier loads. Be VERY careful when using Clays powder! (I'm talking about plain Clays, not International Clays or Universal Clays.) Small increases of Clays powder can give you very big increases in pressure. It seems to me to have a very narrow range of useful charges. I don't like it because of that.

What about HS-6? Anybody using that?

Bullseye also works well for me. I use 4.5 - 5.0 gr with a 200gr LSWC bullet. It is accurate and fairly clean. I did buy a pound of Tightgroup to see how it does. I have not shot any yet though.

Back in the Mesozoic Era, when I bought my first .45 Auto, I asked an old timer what powder to use for reloading the .45 ACP. He told me, "Use 5.0 Grains of Bullseye for any bullet, cast or jacketed, up to and including 230 grains." I don't always use 5.0 grains, but I've found he wasn't really wrong.

I have been using Hi-Skor 700X as the go to powder for 20 years with 200gr. LSWC

Recently bought some Power Pistol and I must say I am liking this powder with the variety of calibers I have loaded with it.

I have tried these bullets and are very satisfied with my 4.0 Gns of Bullseye. They are made by Jerry's Brother, who is also a competitor.
Take a look at the website...and the film.

" I am extremely satisfied with Bayou Bullets; they're clean, consistent, accurate, and smoke-free.
When I reach for a cast bullet, its a Bayou Bullet. All the benefits of jacketed bullets with cast bullet prices.
A very satisfied customer.
Jerry Miculek"

Bayou Bullets

You will find that Donny is one of the good guys to deal with.

Buddy

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Don't Squat With Your Spurs On

6 grains of Unique under 200 to 230 grain bullet. Unique is very Unique and will serve well in a wide variety of applications.

I shoot and really like WST for target work and Auto Comp and AA#5 for full powder loads for carry. I like 231, but have been less than happy with it in foul weather. I might just need more than 5.3 grs. of it with a 230 FMJ. bullet. I will try 5.6grs. in the future.

I, too, like Unique. It is cleaner than it used to be. I find little residue in my .45s when shooting hardball and accuracy is great.

WILDPIG

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I ain't from around here.

I went from 5 gr 231 to 5.5 gr with 230gr plated bullets in my .45 and it was amazing how much cleaner it burned. A bit stout for a target load though, so probably I'll be looking for something else for a lighter load that burns clean.

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Fight socialism. Never stop.

I have been using Winchester Super Target since 1995 in a 45 acp 1911, with 200 gr SWC and 230 gr, RN, with good results. It is clean burning, accurate, not heat sensative, and makes IPSC major with no pressure problems. I also use it with 200gr SWC in my S&W 625, again clean burning and very good accuracy. For 45 acp I don't use anything else.

I load Unique in all medium-max. loads in the .45 ACP.

Full Power= Power Pistol
Best Accuracy =Unique
Cleanest light Loads= American Select

Bullseye works absolutely fine for me too.
It meters better then American Select or Unique too.
I think both Bullseye and Unique are cleaner then they used to be , I
clean my guns after I shoot anyway, what difference does it really make anyway ?
Power Pistol is the most fun !!!
Fire comes out and it is a blast at the indoor range !!
See Speer number 14 for a very hot , but apparently safe load !!

Sorry I got to this thread late and again, sorry if I'm repeating what was already posted.

My favorite .45 Auto load using a 230gr bullet is 5.5gr W231/HP-38.

There are MANY good powder for the .45 Auto since it's a fairly low pressure round and it's not particularly picky.

You choices include:
(* denotes powders I've already used in the .45 ACP)
AA#2 *
AA#5 *
Bullseye *
Red Dot
Green Dot
Unigue *
Hi-Skor 700-X
Trail Boss
IMR PB
AutoComp *
Win WST *
W231/HP-38 *
Clays *
Universal *
Zip
True Blue *

AND probably a few more that I missed. All will work well in the .45 Auto, believe it or not...

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

ArchangerCD;
I have been loading .45 ACP for a LONG time. My most used platform these days is the pair of 625's that I have.

You are "spot on" with you comments about all of the powders that work well. My favorite powder for years has been 5066 for target loads. It hasn't been made for over twenty years. I had a LARGE supply but finally ran out. I decided to simplify life a bit, and started using up odds and ends of powder that I have around here. Each and every one of them has seemed to work VERY well. I am a serious shooter and accuracy is extremely important to me. I can see little difference in accuracy, whether it is Bullseye, Unique, W231, 5066, 7625, Clays or ....

When I buy my next 8 lb keg of powder it will probably be Titegroup as it measures well, is relatively clean burning and it is NOT position sensitive.

At any rate, what ever powder you have in the fast burning to medium category, it will probably work well in the .45 ACP.

Dale53

You can use many different powders for the 45 acp (and I have) what I have found is clays so far to be best for clean burning and very good accuracy. But clays is not very verseatile.
Universal is also good and very verseatile, but a little dirty. I will be trying american select for my next powder, I have heard that it is so clean that it's spooky. I like clean because I shoot a lot, 3 mags. a day from 45 acp and on most days 9mm, 40 s&w, 44 mag. or 45 colt. So the less I have to clean my guns the better.

theres the greater contributor to your dirty problem in bold print.
The lube does this. you have three choices.
1) accept it. Your going to clean the gun anyhow.
2) Hy Tec Bullet coating. Research how to use this stuff. Look ma, no lube
3) Powder coating. Similar to HT, but trades a few advantages.

When dealing with lead, the coatings make the dirtiest powders seem like immaculate contraptions

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it just needs more voltage

I use WST with cast .45 ACP loads.
I have found it to be temperature sensitive; very similar to Win. 452 AA (which has been extinct for years, but was a good .45 ACP powder as well).

I like AutoComp in all my 1911s. It's accurate and very clean. I shot 250 rounds in my S&W PC1911DK in .38 Super last week and the only visible dirt anywhere on the stainless steel gun is some black soot on the barrel hood. Honest!

In my .45 ACPs, I load a cast 185-grain SWC from Precision Cast Bullets with their "match lube" over 6.4 grains of AutoComp. Again, they shoot well and your gun and hands aren't covered with a sticky black coating when you're done.

Here's what might be the best part for some of you - it's readily available!

Ed

I never tryed it, sounds like a good powder, who makes it and is it cleaner then clays?

Auto Comp is put out under the Winchester label.

It's virtually identical to 452aa. It is reverse temp sensitive though, so must be watched if you are trying to hit a certain PF or shooting a lot around zero temps with max loads.
I ran a test on an 80deg day. I set 10rds in the sun, 10 in a cooler with ice & 10 left in the shade. The vel were about 25fps higher with 40deg ammo & 25fps slower with ammo near 110deg. Not a huge deal, but you should be aware.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Had to smile here. I was reading this thread with interest, and got to post #11 where 2fingers said he just bought 8# of WST for $93.

Huh? I then saw this thread is 5 years old!

No matter- the thread is a good one.

Well Andy G, since you went and done necroposted I'll keep the party going.

Another fan of Bullseye here for all the previously mentioned reasons. I'm using 4.6gr for an IbejiHeads 230g RN coated cast bullet. It does the job. If you guys haven't tried these bullets you're missing something special. I've no affiliation other than being a happy customer/user of these. No residue and not one bad egg since I've started using them. I met the owner Alex. He graciously answered all my questions. Nice guy. Give his stuff a shot and I think you'll like them.

V V 320 very close to 231 and clean as a whistle

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