Best Powder For 38 spl, 357, 44 mag, 9mm, 45acp, and 45 Colt?

Since Unique has been relatively scarce, and BE-86 is listed right next to it on the burn-rate chart, and I was able to score a good deal on some BE-86, and still have some Unique in my stash, I decided to do some load "development" to emulate the Skeeter load using BE-86 (using Starline 44 special brass).

S&W model 29 6" barrel
Used Montana Bullet Works 255 Gr LSWC gas checked

Loaded 7.5 gr Unique.
Per Garmin Xero chrono, 5 shot samples, low 851.3 fps, hi 923.8 fps, average 893 fps

Loaded 7.0 gr BE-86
low 820.9 / hi 845.9 / average 831

Loaded 7.1 gr BE-86
low 817.9 / hi 827.2 / average 822.3 (go figure - but it was shot on a different day, so conditions were not identical)

Loaded 7.2 gr BE-86
low 838.6 / hi 852 / average 846.4 (same day as 7.1 load)

Going to bump my BE-86 loads to 7.3 & 7.4 and test another round
 
Lots of good advice already given above and I tend to agree that for optimum performance for all those cartridges you're going to need at least 3 or 4 powders. If you're still wanting to try just one powder for all your calibers check out Blue Dot in your loading manuals. I haven't purchased powder in awhile so I'm not sure about current availability.
 
Sevens said:
It needs to be said if anyone isn’t aware… if all you are asking is that it goes BANG when you squeeze the trigger, then yes, you can make all of these with one powder.

However, if you actually want the ammo to do what the chambering “promises” the round will do, you need the proper powder to make that happen.

You can make both .357 and .44 Mag with very fast burning powder, and it will go BANG, but what you hear, what you feel and what the bullet does is going to be a shorter percentage of what .357 and .44 Magnum actually does.

What you will get is less bang, less recoil, less noise, less bullet speed but ALL of the max pressure associated with that load. In some cases you may also get erratic performance because you have only a pinch of powder inside a cavernous space.

You also need to ensure your process at the bench is perfect, because double charges are absolutely possible, even a triple charge with some powders.

When you use a proper slow burning powder in a magnum revolver round, you actually don’t even have enough space to make a dangerous round. When you try and be thrifty and use fast burning powders in magnum rounds, the potential for failure is evident.

Penny wise and pound foolish? Buy two different powders and make ALL the loads replicate full power factory ammo.
Click to expand...
I agree with your philosophy. For a number of years I used all three per Keith but when we started to teach and furnish both handgun and ammo, I pretty much settled on WW231 as would do everything that I needed. Still use 2400 for hunting loads in 357 with 158gr HP. Just my opinion. Best that you experiment to find which works best for what you are doing. Plinking, protection, or hunting.
 
I have done just what the op is trying to do. I use 2 powders for all my pistol loads.
W231 for 9mm, 40, 45
H110 for 44 mag, yes it has flash, yes I use it for hunting, yes it will blind you in the early mornings, but I have never needed more than one shot on a whitetail.
 
When push comes to shove, I only load target ammo in 38 special, 357 and 45 ACP. All bullets come from Acme Bullet Company
( https://acmebullet.com/ ) I use both the 148 gr coated wadcutter and 158 gr semi wadcutter for the 38/357 loads and the 185 gr semi wadcutter and 200 gr round nose both coated. The 200 gr round nose will feed the best with semi auto pistols, the semi wad cutters work in some and not so well in others. It all depends on the feed ramp and magazine.

The only powders I use is Bullseye and CFE Pistol. Contrary to popular belief, Bullseye is still in production. Alliant says they are still making Bullseye but availability is pretty much based on the whim of the gun shop you go to. All powders are affected by the Chinese and their being not nice people especially when it comes to nitrocellulose.

I do not load full power ammo, only practice ammo. I've found that factory ammo is a much better choice for self defense or hunting. I'm relatively particular and limit my full power ammo to either Nosler or Buffalo Bore, especially the Buffalo Bore 357 mag hard cast bullets I carry when in wolf and bear country.
 
Unique, Universal, and Power Pistol - all are in the sweet spot, suitable for every handgun caliber (except for top-end Magnum calibers loads, H110 and 2400 are preferred for those). Depending on availability and price, choose any one of those three to stockpile. I might expand the list to include BE-86 and AA#5.
 
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I stopped buying Unique a long time ago ; it doesn't go through my Redding measure well. However, my experience with Universal was limited but I didn't get the accuracy with it that got from Unique. I developed a number of accurate loads with Power Pistol, mainly in .38 Special as I recall. I've also had pretty good luck with AA #5.
 
I used W231 for 9mm, 38, 357, 40S&W, 45acp, 45 Colt and 44 mag. 296 would have been a bit better for 357 and 44 but I only wanted 1 powder on my bench (I'm a bit simple minded) and 231 did it all acceptably well. It measured very well through my Dillon dies and was very consistent. Just watch each case for double loads. This worked perfectly for me for over 30 years without any issues. Your mileage may vary.
Ed
 
For the longest time I got by with three powders for all of my pistols, the well known 'trifecta':

Bullseye - Target

Unique - Medium Anything

2400 - Magnum

I could have gotten by with 2 of these but these covered everything I needed to do. After several powder shortages I ended up with a wide variety of powders, but if I had to pick a trifecta again, it would be:

Titegroup (or any of several target powders) - Target

HP 38/Win 231 - Medium Anything

The third is tougher. I like the versatility of 2400 over H110/Win 296 so I'd probably try Acc #9 or HS 6. I'd have to look into them more closely because I don't have knowledge of these, but I'd probably pick on that got good performance that didn't mind being reduced.
 
rwsmith said:
For the longest time I got by with three powders for all of my pistols, the well known 'trifecta':

Bullseye - Target

Unique - Medium Anything

2400 - Magnum

I could have gotten by with 2 of these but these covered everything I needed to do. After several powder shortages I ended up with a wide variety of powders, but if I had to pick a trifecta again, it would be:

Titegroup (or any of several target powders) - Target

HP 38/Win 231 - Medium Anything

The third is tougher. I like the versatility of 2400 over H110/Win 296 so I'd probably try Acc #9 or HS 6. I'd have to look into them more closely because I don't have knowledge of these, but I'd probably pick on that got good performance that didn't mind being reduced.
Click to expand...
Perhaps only my experience regarding HS-6, but after going a good bit of this powder including an 8lb keg...HS-6 is a "niche" powder if there ever was one. I developed some good loads for several handgun cartridges (all using my own cast bullets so I could be assured of good fit and the right alloy). I also developed many bad loads- mediocre and poor accuracy. These far outweighed the good loads.

It's mentioned that HS-6 performs best in warmer loads rather than moderate ones. It's also advised that magnum primers are suggested for use with HS-6. I found neither statement to be true as a general rule. Moderate loads seemed to work well as often as warm or near max loads. Primers? Absolutely no difference in my testing (accuracy) between standard and magnum primers, though velocities varied slightly. Try a pound of this powder before you buy 8 lbs.
 
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An added note on HS-6, this time in defense of it... I used the very popular 8.5 or 9 grs of Unique with the Lyman #454424 bullet (about 255-260 grs.) for decades in a variety of .45 Colt firearms. I tried a stout load of HS-6 with the same bullet and got at least slightly better accuracy at about the same velocity as the old Unique load. Eventually lost all interest in the .45 Colt and sold the guns.
 
rockquarry said:
If you have a need for full power loads in large / magnum cartridges, #2400 is the best (based solely on my own results in .357 and .44 Magnums), but it's unavailable right now. Consider Accurate #9 over H110/296 unless you enjoy lots of blast and fireballs. I find H110/296 to be a very objectionable powder for that reason, but accuracy is often the equal of #2400, or close to it.
Click to expand...
In my experience, H110 works well with the heaviest of cast lead. I keep some around for a few loads where it shines brightest.
I've been looking for a 2400 replacement for supply line reasons. Lil Gun has some party tricks. You can lower charges with it even farther than you could 2400. But this stuff doesn't like being pushed.
Others have mentioned N110 in the past.
Of late, it's competitively priced, which I never thought I'd say of a V powder

However, we're trying to call out available Jack of all trades powders...
CFE pistol.
This stuff is definitely of the new breed of powders. It's not as forgiving as good old unique. But it does make serious numbers for it's charges, and so far it's done well in most everything I've tried it in
 
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All this talk about the various powders and their availability brings to mind the question of shelf life. Given, we may have powders that are used frequently and shelf life really isn’t an issue but what about the powders that are rarely used? It may be because we don’t shoot it much or it may be that it didn’t work well but we are reluctant to dump it because it may work for something else in the future.

Is shelf life an issue and are there powders that degrade over time more than others?
 
Bullseye - Unique - 2400 were the ones I used for a long time .
If I could only have one powder for all those cartridges on your list it woul be Unique . In fact for about 10 years Unique was the only handgun powder I used ... You can find reloading data for just about every cartridge .
I keep hearing "they" are / have stopped making it !
Sorta a stupid move but what do I know!
Gary
 
rockquarry said:
Perhaps only my experience regarding HS-6, but after going a good bit of this powder including an 8lb keg...HS-6 is a "niche" powder if there ever was one. I developed some good loads for several handgun cartridges (all using my own cast bullets so I could be assured of good fit and the right alloy). I also developed many bad loads- mediocre and poor accuracy. These far outweighed the good loads.

It's mentioned that HS-6 performs best in warmer loads rather than moderate ones. It's also advised that magnum primers are suggested for use with HS-6. I found neither statement to be true as a general rule. Moderate loads seemed to work well as often as warm or near max loads. Primers? Absolutely no difference in my testing (accuracy) between standard and magnum primers, though velocities varied slightly. Try a pound of this powder before you buy 8 lbs.
Click to expand...
I tried HS6 in 45 Colt with 250 grain powder coated semi wadcutter bullets (.454") from Bang and Clang LLC recently. It gave 845 FPS and was fairly clean. I was hoping for a velocity decrease from 7.0 grains of Unique which also logged around 850 FPS so it was not a successful experiment.
 
n5ama said:
All this talk about the various powders and their availability brings to mind the question of shelf life. Given, we may have powders that are used frequently and shelf life really isn’t an issue but what about the powders that are rarely used? It may be because we don’t shoot it much or it may be that it didn’t work well but we are reluctant to dump it because it may work for something else in the future.

Is shelf life an issue and are there powders that degrade over time more than others?
Click to expand...
Forget shelf life as long as the powder is kept dry and stored indoors. I doubt anyone knows how long powder will last and retain all its properties. I've used fifty-year old powder that worked as well as new and I'm sure others have used older powders than that with perfect results.

I've heard of deteriorated powder, but in sixty years of handloading, I've never encountered any. Bad powder is likely the result of poor storage conditions or containers that weren't tightly sealed.
 
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