Need powder suggestions

[imakmst]

I'm grabbin' for anything now. I'm out of HP-38, Unique, and Bullseye. I load .38 spl, .357 mag, and .45 ACP. There is zero availability of those three powders for me.
In order to continue shooting, and, to get some experience with other powders, what are some suggestions for those calibers that I can be on the look-out for at my local buyin' places. Thanks.

 

[JDBoardman]

I shoot Hodgdon's Clays (not International Clays or Universal Clays) in all 3 calibers, with good results. Burns very cleanly, but the loads are low volume, so watch out for double charges. 4-4.5 grains for .45, 4 - 5 grains for .357 mag, and 3.5 gr for .38, both with 158 gr. lswc.

 

[colt_saa]

Winchester 231 would be a VERY compatible replacement for the HP38

 

[smokindog]

Because it's the same powder

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reload...at-they-good-they-not-same.html#post137307889

Winchester 231 would be a VERY compatible replacement for the HP38

 

[DavidC]

Winchester 231 would be a VERY compatible replacement for the HP38

Use W231 for my 38 Spl loads.
125gr RNFP at 4.6grs. Very accurate with my Uberti Cattleman 5.5"

Sadly, haven't found any locally in months.

 

[Fishinfool]

I have noticed a lot of shops still have shotgun powders available. Red Dot, primarily marketed as a target load shotshell powder is also excellent in the pistol calibers you mentioned for target loads. Most manuals carry loads for handgun rounds using Red Dot. 6.5 grains Red Dot under a 240 cast bullet for about 900 fps. has been a favorite of mine for years in the .44 Mag.

Larry

 

[M29since14]

Lots of choices but I would assume the common "shotgun powders" might be the most readily available. They are in my area. Red Dot and Green Dot will work fine in .38 Special and .45 Auto, as will 700X - all old stand-bys. For your .357, you might find some Herco or Blue Dot but more likely the shotgun clubs will have H-110 and W296 for handloading .410s.

If you can find the various Hodgdon "Clays" powders, Universal Clays might be one you could use in both .38 and .45. About a month ago, I heard rumblings about a problem with future supply of the Clays (12-ga.) powder but do not know if that is true and don't know if applies to all three of the powders or just the 12-ga. powder.

Accurate Arms powders are good, too, but hard to find in my neck of the woods. AA2 is similar to Bullseye and AA5 is similar to 231. AA9 might be good for your .357. I use some of the Winchester powders (Super Target and Super Field) but they can be tough to find sometimes. I like Super Target in the .38 and .45 and use Super Field in 9mm and .40 SW. It could probably be used in .357 if the data is available.

Lots of good powders out there but truth be told, unless you have to have real magnum loads for your .357, you could probably do it all with plain old Red Dot.

 

[Weiss]

I have been using a lot of Winchester wsf for my .45 acp loads.I hear it works pretty good in .38 special also.If you can get ahold of some give it a try I like it in place of 231/hp38.

 

[forestswin]

definitely 2400 for the 357 -

and WST is great for the 45ACP

 

[scooter123]

I've recently switched from Unique to IMR SR 7625. Initially it was due to the poor metering of Unique in my Lee Perfect Powder Measure. When loading Unique I had to hand weigh each and every charge. When a local gunshop had some of the SR 7625 in stock I decided to pick up a bottle and give it a try. It meters PERFECTLY in my Lee measure and I found it is a lot cleaner shooting than Unique.

Final plus may be a case of bit of rose tinted glasses that isn't actually happening but I have noticed a less muzzle flip with my 40 and 45 caliber loads using the SR 7625. At first I thought this was due to my loads basically being mouse fart loads until I got out the chronograph and tested the 40 caliber loads. With a 180 grain plated bullet 5.2 grains of SR 7625 produces a muzzle velocity of 960 fps. While not super hot these aren't mouse fart loads and are comparable to Federal Champion range ammo except there is less muzzle flip with the SR 7625. Not sure why that is but my theory is that the pressure may be building more smoothly than either Unique or whatever Federal uses in the Champion. Or it could be me shooting more and controlling my recoil a bit better now that I'm reloading. Whatever, I can put 150 rounds of 45 ACP downrange with my Ruger SR1911 and when I get home the gun barely looks like it's been fired.

Anyhow, the bottomline is that I liked that first bottle of SR 7625 enough that I've done a bit of scrounging and purchased 10 lbs. more. End result is I have enough powder for 2 or 3 years of shooting.

Now one minor defect is that the SR 7625 isn't a suitable choice for max velocity Rocket loads. IIRC at max it will only produce 1000 fps. so it's not a good choice for those looking for the most power they can produce. If you want to load hot I would suggest taking a look an Longshot, in almost every non Magnum caliber in my Lee Manual Longshot is always in the top 5 for high velocity loads.

 

[imakmst]

great responses, folks, thank you very much. As I've been lookin' for powder, i see what the stores have in stock, and I'm left wonderin' "will that run in my 1911, or will that heat up my 686?" These suggestions will give me the ammo (pun intended) to make some good choices while I browse the LGS.

 

[forestswin]

great responses, folks, thank you very much. As I've been lookin' for powder, i see what the stores have in stock, and I'm left wonderin' "will that run in my 1911, or will that heat up my 686?" These suggestions will give me the ammo (pun intended) to make some good choices while I browse the LGS.

imak - here's a little bit of backup for my recommendations for WST in a 1911 and 2400 in a 686

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/281016-range-report-45-acp-200g-pennbullets.html

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/322599-new-chronograph-user-results.html

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/312607-whats-up-2400-a.html

 

[gwpercle]

I know your pain,
Saturday I went to 3 different gun stores, not one had any reloading supplies...nothing, nada,zip....I try to support the local gunshops but it looks like I'm going to have to mail order to get anything.

Anyway these powders are mentioned often in Lymans Castbullet Handbook 4th Edition:
Clays
Titegroup
700X
Bullseye
Red Dot ( aka Promo )
N320
WST
Green Dot
231
Zip
SR-7625
WSF
Unique
SR-4756
Power Pistol
True Blue
Acc. #5
HS-6
Blue Dot

These powders are all listed for 45 acp.and most are shown for use in 38 special loads.
2400 can be used for 357 Mag. loads, usually with jacketed bullets but is really not suitable for 45 acp/ 38 spcl. so it has limited application.

Good luck finding powder, when you get someting, try to find some cast bullets and we can give specific data if needed.

Gary

 

[AveragEd]

I use Clays for all my handgun target loads. Given the few shots one will fire during deer season, I use factory loads for that and have a load with a cast 240-grain SWC that shoots to the same 25 yard point of impact as my factory Hornady 240-grain JHP loads, so I don't have to shoot a lot of sighter shots before going hunting each year. And I use only my .44s for hunting, so the smaller calibers are target guns only or with shot loads in them when I scout for deer prior to archery season when the creepy crawlers might be around.

In the 38 Special, I use 2.3 grains of Clays under a 148-grain LHBWC; in the .357, I use 4.0 grains under a 158-grain LSWC; in the .44 Magnum, I use 5.0 grains under that 240-grain LSWC and in the .45ACP, 4.0 grains under a 185-grain LSWC. All burn very clean and deliver good accuracy.

Clays Universal looks on paper to be a good powder for loads like mine but I learned the hard way that it needs a lot of heat and pressure to burn completely. I even had unburned powder still in the cases when I tried it in my guns. AutoComp performs similarly to Universal - lots of unburned powder unless the heat is turned up but who wants to use hot loads to punch paper?

Ed

Oh, I forgot to say that I think the component crisis is easing as the two local shops I frequent have nice inventories of powder, primers, bullets and other reloading supplies. Some stuff is still scarce - some types of .22LR ammo, for instance.

 

[dla]

Ramshot Silhouette and True Blue are two very good powders for your applications. As mentioned earlier, Red Dot and 700x will work for you. Alliant's Promo will work too (and it is cheap because nobody knows what to use it for).

 

[alwslate]

I agree with the others suggesting shotgun powders. If you have a
trap or skeet range in your vicinity they will likely stock the popular
powders in 4 and 8 lb kegs so you can buy enough to last a long time
for handgun loads.

 

[armylifer]

I use H110 for .357 Magnum. 17.5 grains emulates PMC factory loads of 20 years ago. I do not know what the current books are saying but I have used this load as a full house load for about 25 years.

It works great in both rifle and pistol. I do not think that this powder will work in .38 Spl but it is the best that I have used for .357 Magnum. Accuracy results are spectacular and the powder meters very well in my Lyman No. 55 powder measure. I have never considered another powder since I tried H110.

Before I tried H110, I used SR4756 almost exclusively for several years. That is an acceptable powder for .357 Magnum but it tends to leave a lot of residue and unburnt powder in less than 1200 FPS loads. Since I went to H110, I have never had a desire to change. Why mess with perfection?

 

[chief38]

Call Mid South Shooters Supply. I just bought a whole bunch of different powders from them. Last I checked they had what you are looking for.

 

[C17]

700x, titegroup, and trailboss is what I use for 45 acp. Works like a charm

 

[hotrod150]

It's been quite a while since the post-Sandy Hook panic started, when are things gonna get back to normal? It seems like LGS's have more handguns in stock again, but ammo & handloading supplies are still scarce. What's up with that-- are hoarders buying up everything? Have manufacturers reduced production? What?