Bullseye Powder

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I happen to have a 4 lb cardboard keg of Bullseye. Never really used it for anything except for some light 12 ga loads in the distant past. For some odd reason I was always leery of using it. Now I know it is a good powder for 38s and 45 auto. I have seen data for 9mm. I want to use this stuff up. Is it a decent powder in the 9? I am also going to load some 44 spec. I guess I am at the point of wanting to use up a lot of older powders. Already started using ol powders in 223 and 222. I just got some old Bl-C(not 2)surplus out to load up. and I found a 3 lb can of old Win 540 MS...... if it is the predecessor of Win 540/HS 6 I am going to use it up too....maybe
 
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BULLSEYE is one of only four powders (soon to be 5) that I have ever purchased in 8 lb. jugs: WIN 231, ACCURATE #5 & CFE-Pistol. I like it when a powder is appropriate for multiple callibers.

Alliant's published load data, although it basically covers everything from 25acp through 44 Mag plus Cowboy Action Loads, is rather... Well... Sparse?

There is, however, a wealth of info on the net, with many articles going back, in some cases, decades. The standard rules about what to trust certainly apply, but what safely worked 30-40 (or even 100?) years ago (and seems to be re-confirmed time and time again in the intervening decades) is probably a good place to start.

Cheers!
 
Bullseye is a great powder for generic medium-power range loads.

It is the original factory powder for standard 45acp hardball loads.

For 9mm, I've been using 4.6g of Bullseye with a 115 FMJ-RN.


Other powders may work better for high power loads. Especially for 9mm you could do better.
 
I also used Bullseye powder in light 12 Ga. 1oz loads with the "Blue Magic" hulls for my early trap shooting with a old Churchill O/U shotgun.

This powder is great in the 38 special with lead bullets of all weights and styles and with Copper plated bullets, it does very well in the 9mm pistol, also with all bullet weights and styles.

The 124 gr Ball with 1.14" OAL can do 993 to 1155 in my 5" barrel.
A 124gr "HAP" style at a OAL of 1.075" with Bullseye at 998 to 1173 fps.
Plenty of fps spreads for all types of shooting enjoyment.

Have fun and start loading.

( Data PM'd )
 
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The really great thing about Bullseye is the vast amount of loading data ... just look around... if you can't find data you aren't looking !
Gary
 
505Gibbs said:
A cardboard container is pretty old. If it doesn't smell acidic it should be good to go!
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I don't think this powder is that old. Late 70s early 80s I'd guess. I have never seen any Hercules(Alliant) powder go bad. Never. I still load Hi Vel powder from a Keg dated 1937. I also have a couple of cans of Bullseye but the metal cans... still sealed..Herco Reloader 11 and one or two more I think(oh 2400). I have a can of Red Dot that had so much graphite in it the red dots are almost black. I put the contents in a sieve and swirled it around and got rid of most of the extra graphite. Loaded and shot just fine.

BTW I know there is a lot of load data for BE but they used to list loads for some powders that were not all that compatible. I remember seeing load data for 2400 in the 45 Auto? I did load some BE in the 38 case once following an article in a NRA load book for loads even under one(1) grain. They worked just like I wanted too...but only about a 100 loads. So no real hands on experience with Bullseye which is the reason for the post. The powder mentioned in this post was given to me not long ago....along with a bunch of older metal cans of IMR and Hodgdon powder. They all have new homes and they were mostly 80s dated except for some old Surplus 4895 and 4831...both still good. I also got about 30 lbs of old surplus 4831 that had been put in glass instant coffee jars. Looked ok...smelled ok but it had been in those jars since the 60s. Burned it out in the gravel lane. Contrary to the popular notion it does not make good fertilizer....especially in this area of Wyoming...we had 4 inches of moisture all last year
 
I’ve become a serious lover of all things 32, and when I’m building basic, target grade loads for 32 S&W Long, Bullseye is and has been my go to powder. It’s also gone into an awfully large number of rounds of my 38 Specials and 45 ACPs over the years. I’ve got other powders for all of these cartridges, but I seem to always start with Bullseye. If I had that 4# keg of Bullseye, I’d load with it until the powder was gone then sell the empty cardboard canister on eBay as a “collector’s item!” ;)

Froggie
 
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Bullseye. Wow. I have shot Bullseye since the early 70s in a multitude of handgun calibers. Love the stuff. I hate chasing brass cases but have found that 3.6 BE and a 125 grain bullet in a 9mm will drop those cases just to the right of your right foot. Same thing with 4.0 BE and a 200 grain bullet in a 45 ACP. I am still using BE of Hercules vintage.
 
540 & HS6 are the same. I used to use 540 to make major power factor in 38 super for IPSC and when it was discontinued I discovered HS6 is exactly the same.

HS6 is excellent in 45colt, 38 super, 357 and 44 magnum to name a few. I keep a good supply. The only drawback is it can have a lot of flash in heavy loads and short barrels.

Bullseye is a great general purpose powder that is generally very accurate and very economical. I switched to using Bullseye in 9mm about two years ago. I use a 124 grain coated lead bullet over Bullseye and get great accuracy and a very soft shooting load. I’ve used it in 38 special, 45 acp and even 45 colt.
 
The ONLY problem.......

The ONLY problem with Bullseye powder is being careful not to double, triple or overcharge. Before you seat the bullets check the powder levels visually with a flashlight.

Use any other methods you can to be sure it isn't overloaded. It can Kaboom a gun very easily, IF YOU AREN'T very careful with it. I just made like a pharmacist and check each case three times, the last one before bullet seating..
 
3.6gr with Lee 125gr @ 1.075 ... great little plinking round. If I load longer with plated of FMJ I’ll approach 4.0gr.
 
My standard cast 9x19 load is 3.5 gns of Bullseye under cast bullets in the 121-125 range. I've used this load for a LONG time as it was listed as the "accuracy" load in my Lyman #45 manual. This same load is also listed as the factory duplication load for 38 Special in that manual. 3.5 gns of BE also works well for me out of 9mm Mak with cast bullets.

So basically once I load up a batch of either of these three cartridges and have the powder measure set up for this load, I'll change dies and load all my empty brass of the other two cartridges. Part of that reason is once everything is adjusted I'd rather change dies on my old Dillon 450 that adjust the powder measure or change the primer slide.
 
Bullseye is perfectly fine to use in 9x19mm and 44 Special, so long as you are not looking for maximum possible velocity from these calibers. Be careful to not double charge a case, it does not take a whole lot of Bullseye to reach maximum safe pressures.
 
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