Bye Bye Bullseye

I don't know where you are buying your powder, but around here I see $24 to $29 a lb. I nearly had a stroke when I picked up a 4 lb jug of W231 and it was marked $100. Well that is $25 a lb. 231 has been my go to powder for over 25 years, so I bought the 4 lb, on top I have an old 3 lb can, and 2 1 lb bottles. I don't think I'll ever have to buy 231 again (I'm 76). I do load .32L, .38, .45, 9mm with it.
 
YOU HAD ME NERVOUS FOR A MINUTE.

I thought you were gonna say bullseye was being discontinued. :eek: I save it for my 38 specials and have come to use titegroup for 9mm. 45's get unique until that 8 lbs run out, then??? 2400 is the powder I hate to love & love to hate, if it weren't so accurate & fast I wouldn't put up with the noise. :rolleyes:
 
les.b said:
Well, I'm true blue. Bullseye for me is one of the most versatile powders for the calibers that I reload for, although I have about 8 or 10 others that I use on occasion, including Unique.

For revolver shooting of the .32 S&W Long and the .38 Special, Bullseye is still my favorite. I'm talking target loads, not barn burners here.

But I am a traditionalist, and I love loading rounds with a powder that has been around for over a hundred years in cartridges that were designed over a hundred years ago, to shoot in guns that are closing in on a hundred years old. Just sort of fulfilling.

Best Regards, Les
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Les, I couldn't agree more, or express my feelings about Bullseye any better! Thanks.
Dave
SWCA #2778
 
I use Bulleye and W231/HP38 almost exclusively. While I do worry a little bit about running short or not being able to buy because of CA's laws I also worry about having to much flammable stuff in my garage so I tend not to have to much on hand. The origninal poster mentioned having enough to last for 10 years. When I see people saying they have huge amounts of powder or ammo stockpiled I am reminded of wine collectors who have more wine in the cellar than they can drink in several lifetimes (not a problem for me) and I think that I would be a little miffed if I was on my deathbed and I still had a cellar full of expensive wine that I had not drunk. I think the same goes with ammo:)
 
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Just a side note on Bullseye and 700X. I use both for .38 Spc and have loaded up and fired off 2 or 3 thousand a year since the late 80's.

I like both, I will hand weigh every charge of 700x. I've noticed when I run them through through a Chronograph, they have a significantly wider velocity spread than rounds loaded with Bullseye. I don't hand weigh Bullseye though, I use either a Hornady powder thrower or a vintage 1980's RCBS uniflow.

food for thought.
 
I have a small amount remaining of an old 4-pound metal keg (remember those?) of Hercules Bullseye. I bought that keg, unopened, cheap at an estate sale maybe 15 years ago and have used it since, but not exclusively. I also use Clays, Red Dot, and 700-X, and when I run out of that Bullseye, I will keep on with 700-X and Red Dot, unless I run across another very good deal on Bullseye. And you are correct - Bullseye, Unique, and 2400 will cover any handloader's needs. Some might also include Herco in that list.
 
I'm still going back and forth between Bullseye, which I first started using back around 1974 or so and Titegroup which I've recently moved to for my "target" loads. I use both powders in 9mm, .38 Special, .357Mag & 45ACP.

As it stands now I have developed very accurate loads for all using both powders with the only real difference being the weight of the loads, Titegroup loads are generally 2-3 grains less with equal results of a Bullseye load and burns just as clean.

The only caliber I really like to use Bullseye in over Titegroup is the .357Mag FULL LOADS.
 
I will always have a few lbs. of Bullseye powder on hand . I don't have any need for 231 so it doesn't occupy my reloading bench . Bullseye was my first powder reloading 38spl with a " Lee Classic " loader kit (pound it all together with a rubber mallet) . I reloaded over 1500 rounds with that little kit .
 
Cowboy, I still have my Lees, one in 38 and one in 44 spl. That's how I started as well, and although I haven't used them for forty plus years, I wouldn't trade them off or sell them....never know when I might feel like pounding a few rounds together. Plus, they were the beginning of a long love affair with reloading!!! (I already loved shooting).

Best Regards, Les
 
USN-RET said:
I'm still going back and forth between Bullseye, which I first started using back around 1974 or so and Titegroup which I've recently moved to for my "target" loads. I use both powders in 9mm, .38 Special, .357Mag & 45ACP.

As it stands now I have developed very accurate loads for all using both powders with the only real difference being the weight of the loads, Titegroup loads are generally 2-3 grains less with equal results of a Bullseye load and burns just as clean.

The only caliber I really like to use Bullseye in over Titegroup is the .357Mag FULL LOADS.
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Are you really using Bullseye for 357 loads? :eek: If so, Bullseye is a very poor application for this use. I suggest going to 2400.
 
Bullseye is one of the earliest American-made smokeless propellants (1898). For many years it was pretty much the standard smokeless powder used by the factories for loading about every handgun cartridge caliber made. There were at least two different variations of Bullseye used by the factories (#1 and #2). #2 is the type still sold today to handloaders. #1 was a little faster burning. Its formulation remains fundamentally the same as it was in 1898. For a long time, the standard propellant used for loading military .45 ACP ammunition was Bullseye. At first it was made by Laflin and Rand, then duPont, then Hercules, and today Alliant. BTW, Unique is exactly the same as Bullseye, except its flakes are cut slightly thicker to slow the burning rate.
 
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Like most reloaders I too have several different powders on hand but Bullseye is always on my shelf. Lots of very good newer powders today and I use several of them, but Bullseye for me still performs.
 
Never much of a fan of BE. But I was mostly a shotshell loader when I started. Yesterday I was at a gunshow and a fellow had an eight pound BE on his table. Old cardboard can with metal top..unopened for fifty bucks. I bought a few things from him but not the powder... couple of RCBS bullet molds... one for 41mag...and an old Herter's lead furnace plus a CH H style shotshell press(cheep)...my middle name. Anyway took me a couple trips to the car... Last trip he offered me the BE for 20 bucks. I think I have a lifetimes supply of BE now. I sometimes think I have a character flaw...I have to buy reloading stuff when it's cheap... I even bought a new set of 50 BMG RCBS dies for 35 bucks. I couldn't turn down eight pounds of powder for 2.50 a pound though. Gonna crank up the Dillon 650 and load up all those 38 specials I guess.
 
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Warren Sear said:
Are you really using Bullseye for 357 loads? :eek: If so, Bullseye is a very poor application for this use. I suggest going to 2400.
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I doubt that a credible source exists for using that fast a powder for "full load" 357 Magnum. I find it ideal for low velocity rifle loads for SASS, even then below published minimums for true magnum performance. My regular load is heavier in Bullseye for smaller guns, and my regular load for medium size, say a 686 or GP100, is done with HS-6. I don't have a gun I consider suitable for full power reloads. I leave that to purchased SD ammo.
 
Bullseye is not well-suited for top-end .357 loads with heavier bullets, but there are some surprisingly hot loads using light bullets with Bullseye given in the Lyman cast bullet handbook.
 
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Thanks for all the replies! I never expected this thread to be so popular. I'll definitely buy some more Bullseye if I ever use up my other fast-burning powders (most of the 5000+ per year reloads that I shoot). I also load some medium to hot loads with Power Pistol, VV 3N37, 2400 and W296. My supply of Unique is also running low and I won't replace that either because I have a good supply of other similar powders.

To answer some of the comments and questions:

1. My first reloads back in 1964 were in .38 Special with Lyman 358495, 148 grain button nose wadcutter over 2.8 grains Bullseye and Lyman 358311, 158 grain round nose over 3.5 grains Bullseye. Thousands of these were fired through a S&W K-38 Single Action (which I still have) and a Colt .357 Magnum (long since sold). My last reloads with Bullseye were also in .38 Special, 125 grain lead flat nose over 3.3 grains of Bullseye. These shoot to point of aim at 50 feet with one of my current favorite revolvers, a 3 inch Model 36 from 1963.

2. Like Les B., I enjoy shooting old guns with old brass and original style bullets, but I don't care that much about the powder and primers. Currently reloading HBWC's in Peters .38 Special brass in the old Police Match boxes with 3.2 grains HP-38 and Tula primers. I also reload oldies like .32 S&W, .38 S&W, and .455 Webley.

3. The $18.95 per pound price for Bullseye is from the Powder Valley website. $129.99 for 8 pounds was at Fin, Fur, and Feathers the last time I was there (March, I think).

4. AA #2 is available from several online vendors; I bought 5 pounds for $86 early this year from Graf's. I think the price has actually come down since then. The VV powders are more expensive, but to me they're worth the price. On a per round basis it's less than a penny more (depending on the cartridge). HP-38 is slower burning, but pretty much has the same applications as Bullseye (I've used both in everything from .25 ACP to .45 Colt).
 
Bullseye was always my "go to" powder, until it was non existent for 4 years in my area. Then, like everyone else, you bought/used what you could find that worked for your needs. Red Dot and TiteGroup, along with 700X and CFE Pistol were what I could find. In the past 2 years, I've been able to score 30 lbs. Of Bullseye, so I'll be good on my powder supply through my retirement years-when I get there lol. Bullseye just works well for me. Oh, and I've picked up 20 lbs. Of W231/HP-38 also. I won't be having a dry spell for a while :-)
 
Mike said:
Bullseye/Unique & 2400.......My Favorites......Favorites for others for nearly 100 years!..........I use others but these are my favorites..........
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Well... I'm on the BE86 instead of Unique, but yeah. Not much you can't do with those 3. The original powder trinity.
 
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