I normally load SWC ammo for my Springfield Armory Trophy Match, but I am looking to develop a service hardball type match load with the 230gr FMJ bullet running about a consistent 850 fps.

Can anyone recommend a powder that meters well, and is not too temperature sensitive that provides consistent performance in the 45 ACP?

Thanks for your assistance.

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Judge control not gun control!

I believe that Bullseye was the propellant originally used in GI issued ball ammunition. Will that work for you? Actually, there are numerous candidates which are excellent. That was just the first to come to mind.

Bruce

All of my reloaded 45 ACP is reloaded with Blue Dot.

• Plinking loads were 8.0 gr Blue Dot under 200 grain lead SWC
• Practice loads were 8.5 gr Blue Dot under 185 grain Hornady XTP
• Self Defense loads were 9.5 gr Blue Dot under 185 grain Hornaday XTP

I believe that Bullseye was de facto standard in .45 target shooting. There are probably powders now that do just as well. I'd guess that powders like Titegroup, Acc #2, HP 38 or Red Dot would be just about as good.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Let me be clear that I 100% agree Bullseye is the de facto standard in .45 ACP (as well as .25 ACP and many others), but at the time I was reloading, Bullseye was not available, so I had to use an available alternative.

I use Winchester's W-231. 5.7 grains under a good FJM 230 grain bullet give me about 850 fps from several 5 inch 1911's with excellent accuracy. An equally good choice would be 5.5 grains of Bullseye for about the same speeds.

I don't think I've read much about temperature sensitivity in pistol/shotgun powders, just rifle. In general, most of what I've read indicate that single base powders are less sensitive than double base.

I think VV and Solo 1000, Solo 1250 are single based but I have never used them, nor do I know if they are known to be insensitive.

Is temperature sensitivity an issue with pistol loads? I never checked.

I have used Bullseye, W231, Green Dot, Universal, and Unique for .45 hardball loads, all worked well. Pretty much any powder in the fast to medium burn rate will work well.

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Common sense isn't so common.

I would recommend Accurate #5. It was originally developed specifically for the 45 ACP, meters wonderfully and is extremely versatile.

Bullseye, Titegroup, HP-38/WW-231, AA #5--they're all quite popular.

.45 ACP isn't demanding in any way. What are your goals for the load like?

Don't overlook AutoComp powder. It burns very clean and being a spherical fuel, it meters like water so it yields good accuracy too.

Ed

I used the triad exclusively. Bullseye, Unique and 2400. Then the shortages hit and I found that there are other powders that do about as well or better. I've used a LOT of powders now that I never intended to try. My powder shelf looks more complete than some dealer shelves I've seen. I forgot to mention that the Vihtavuori line that is excellent product, but too much for my budget. In a way the shortage may have done me good as I like to experiment. There are also some new powders out there like BE-86. I've seen like one can of the Zip, True Blue ect. and never tried them.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I have used 231 for years and see no need to change. If 231 were not available, I have Unique on hand.

WINCHESTER SUPER FIELD(WSF) 6.3 GR WITH A ZERO 230GR FMJ BULLET WAS 50 YD X-RING ACCURATE FOR THE E.I.C. MATCHES AND MAKING DISTINGUISHED. JP

My standard 230gr FMJ load is 5.5gr W231 which will do right around what you are looking for. That load is probably one of the most used loads for the 45 Auto and with good reason.

Just a note, I used the same charge under a 230gr LRN bullet for less expensive range fun and practice.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Thank you all for your suggestions. In the past, I have used both Bullseye and WW231,with very good results. My contentions with Bullseye is that while a little goes quite a long way, it has burned dirty, and the blow back residue after maybe 50 rounds has made my sidearms unsightly (petty issue), but more importantly, has reduced the purchase of the arm in handling with respect to (rapid) reloads. With WW231, I have negated the blowback residue, thereby improving grip during reloads.

In reference to Wise_A's question, I am looking to build a match quality round for practice (goal is to earn Legs toward Distinguished with my Trophy Match), and potentially as a carry round with any of my 1911s.

I do a lot of reloading for a number of guns between rifle and pistol competitions. I would like to reduce the number of types of rounds to one per rifle (i.e.: 7mm Remington Magnum thousand yard gun, 1 load; 600 yard AR, 1 load; 300 yard F class rifle, 1 load; 600/1000 yard 308, 1 load). I don't mind the R&D that goes into my load development, I just want to maximize my production and inventory.

At the moment, I have tailored, and load for the following cartridges:
- 9mm Luger (115 FMJ, 124 FMJ)
- 38 Special (148 WC, 158gr RN, 160gr SWC)
- 357 Magnum (158gr SWC reduced, 155gr SWCGC medium, 125 JHP, 158 JHP)
- 41 Magnum (210 SWC light duty, 215gr SWCGC heavy duty)
- 45 ACP (200gr SWC match, 230gr FMJ)
- 223 Remington (300, 2-600 loads, 1000 yard)
- 270 Winchester (hunting load)
- 308 Winchester
- 30 Carbine
- 30-06 Springfield

The goal with all my loads is target grade accuracy.

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Judge control not gun control!

It is hard to argue with success or to reinvent the wheel.

If you have used the powders then I don't understand you question, what have you found better?

As mentioned Bullseye has been the standard GI load (around 4.8 gr) since time began. If it is dirty then perhaps your load is to light or there is a neck tension issue with incomplete burn.

W231/HP38 also works just fine with the same thing, to light and it's "dirty" but guns need to be cleaned anyway. It will work well in 38 special, 9mm and 40 and 45. There are so many powders out there it is a lot of just name and personal preference,

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Still Running Against the Wind

I have used True Blue with great success . It will easily get you the velocity that you want , and maybe a little bit more . I really like it as it meters just like water , gives me the velocity easily that I want and it is clean shooting .
Yes , I have tried almost every powder mentioned above except for the VV stuff , too $$$ for me . So yes, I highly recommend TRue Blue .

Factory .45 hardball loads (and many reloaders) back in the day used duPont #5, and later duPont 5066 (I think they are about the same). 5066 was discontinued back in the late 1960s, but occasionally you might see both 5 and 5066 for sale at gun shows. About 5 years ago I found two unopened cans (the old square duPont type) of #5 and used it all up loading .45 ACP. I don't know which powder of today is equivalent to those. Maybe someone knows.

Bullseye was great in its day, but soooo many better powders imo. W231 is as slow as you need to go for ball equiv loads. I prefer WST, meters well, burns really clean, soft recoil impulse. AA#2, RedDot, vv320, TrueBlue, all good 45acp powders for std pressure loads. Save the BlueDot & sim for +p.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

"Bullseye was great in its day, but soooo many better powders imo"

Care to provide specific reasons for your comment?

While your question was not directed toward me, I would like to offer my opinion which is that many "newer" powders burn cleaner while metering better. That's not to say that Bullseye isn't as good as it ever was, just that some of the "newer" ones are just as good and possibly better.

If you can wind up with a cleaner gun and hands while obtaining equally good performance, why stand on tradition?

Ed

Bullseye is great for most autoloading calibers from 380 to the big .45acp. Lately, I have passed on Bullseye in favor of Hodgdon's Titegroup.

I use Int'l Clays, but with a lack of book data, I recommend Silhouette for your consideration.

231 is the powder you are looking for. It also has an unlimited storage life owed to it's ball powder heritage. It meters extremely well. Provides very uniform velocity figures and performs extremely well. According to the ammunition data sheets in Ordnance Corp TM's the .45acp ball, match, tracer and high pressure test were loaded with a non commercial powder called SR7970, not bullseye as some have stated.

Bullseye, Unique, W231

All you need

Just to clarify, all smokeless powders if stored correctly have unlimited shelf life. If not correctly stored, they all can go bad regardless of kernel shape or manufacturing method. The fact that a propellant is spherical or a "ball" powder has nothing to do with shelf life. Further, while HP38/W231 is a "ball" powder, it's flattened to help speed up it's burn rate.

Bruce

Actually, I feel W231/HP-38, W540/HS-6 and W296/H110 is all you need.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Sure. BE was developed at the beginning of the smokless era & has changed little since. It burns very dirty, good accuracy, but low volume. I loaded one pound waaaay back when i started, reloading, moved on pretty quickly after finding 452aa, now wst. So give some of the newer powders a try, you probably wont go back to BE.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

I could see how 'dirty' powders could really affect somebody shooting a lot like match competitions, but most of it cleans up so easily it doesn't bother me. I would like to know what combination of tar, glue and varnish is in the formula for 2400, though. That stuff get baked on pretty good.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

With Bullseye soooo hard to find,I save it for my target loads in my GC.For my hardball rounds,6.2 Unique does fine for me(easily makes major from my 4 1/4''tube)but I must admit that W231 is the most popular in my neck of the woods.
Qc

In my opinion, Bullseye is the best all around powder for straight walled pistol cartridges. Having said that, I also Like Winchester Super Target (WST) for the .45ACP andfind it a little more accurate.

Try WST in any service caliber, especially target loads, you probably wont miss Stinky/dirty BE.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

So legit accuracy, and not what most people think of!

Titegroup's got a strong reputation for burning clean. I just tried out HP-38 and found it very mild to shoot and pretty accurate, but that's out of maybe 10 rounds from my first box--hardly a respectable sample size. Bullseye's a proven winner, but if you don't like it, then you don't like it and that's just fine.

All three find themselves in a lot of match guns. If you trickle your long-line charges, you can care a little less about how well a particular powder meters.

Tony Brong's blog has some useful information for reloading match ammunition.

Tony's Bullseye Blog: Brass Life and Accuracy
Managing brass for accuracy.

Tony's Bullseye Blog: Consistency: The Product of Adhering Together
Process for reloading ammunition for the long line, and why it pays to do so.

OK the definitive answer is:

In no particular order

Bullseye
Blue Dot
Red Dot
Green Dot
Titegroup
AA 2
AA5
VV320
HP38
Win231
Universal
Unique
Solo
Auto Comp
WST
WSF
True Blue
Inter Clays
Silhouette

and there you have it, may have missed some

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Still Running Against the Wind