Newbie Powder questions

[geeollie]

When I asked about dies ya'all gave good advice.
So another few questions.

New to reloading. Wanting to do .32 S&W Long, 32 H&R, 38 Special. Right now I have Missouri Bullet 98 grain wadcutters.
In 38 Special I have a box of CB 148 grain wadcutters.

I got a couple powders from a friend. 1lb Unique and 1 lb Universal Clays. 2 pounds will go a long way, but would still get a couple more if available. Both of the above are no longer available. So what is another powder that would work on both calibers? I am looking at Tite Group.

 

[raljr1]

I use 2.4 grains of w231 behind a 100 gr Missouri LSWC in my 32s. For 38, I use unique and I have used titegroup

 

[BrBa]

AA#2 is fast burning. Not sure if it's quite as fast as Clays though.

BE-86 is a close substitute for Unique.

W231/HP-38 (same powder) burn rate is in between AA#2 and Unique. It's sort of a jack of all trades, master of none, but if you just want to buy 1 powder it's decent amd versatile.

I mention those 3 because they are widely available.

If you have a Sportsman's Warehouse in town, W231 4 lbs is on sale for $139

 

[alwslate]

Titegroup is fast burning, relatively cheap, uses small charges, and would be perfect for your loads. Unique and Universal Clays are a bit on the slow side for your light loads but could be used. Unique does not burn well at the low pressure of wadcutter loads.

 

[mikerjf]

I don’t load your calibers (except 38 Sp) but have been working towards W231 as my “single-powder solution”… seems to cover a lot of ground.

 

[sjmjax]

I will also put in a recommendation for HP38/231.
It’s very versatile across a large range of pistol calibers.
Meters well and generally widely available.

 

[geeollie]

Thank you very much. You have given me some good suggestions to search on!

 

[venomballistics]

AA#2 is fast burning. Not sure if it's quite as fast as Clays though.

true ... however he's talking about universal clays which is closer to unique

 

[geeollie]

Yes Universal. My bottle has Universal Clays on the label but I think the Clays part was dropped some time ago.
Now they don't or can't make it any more. Apparently a supply shortage for the civilian market.

And let me add that my 32 S&W Long will be shot in a Ruger that is built for 327 Federal Magnum.

 

[BrBa]

true ... however he's talking about universal clays which is closer to unique

Good catch! I always confuse the two.

 

[jmiles1960]

Very happy with Winchester 231 for 38 special target loads. Using mild load of 4.0 - 4.2 grains. Clean and reliable powder IMO. Good luck!

 

[38SPL HV]

HP38/W231, N320, Accurate #2, Zip, Titegroup, Bullseye (if you can find it, Bullseye is an endangered species nowadays).

 

[toad67]

Just make sure that you build your loads for the age of your pistolas...

 

[Model19man]

I find I am using a lot of Accurate Arms #5 which is sort of equivalent to Unique. Very clean burning and accurate. I have a lot of Unique, Universal and W231 and the AA#5 gets used more.

 

[gwpercle]

When I asked about dies ya'all gave good advice.
So another few questions.

New to reloading. Wanting to do .32 S&W Long, 32 H&R, 38 Special. Right now I have Missouri Bullet 98 grain wadcutters.
In 38 Special I have a box of CB 148 grain wadcutters.

I got a couple powders from a friend. 1lb Unique and 1 lb Universal Clays. 2 pounds will go a long way, but would still get a couple more if available. Both of the above are no longer available. So what is another powder that would work on both calibers? I am looking at Tite Group.

Unique and Universal need to be loaded to mid-range pressures / velocities to get a complete , clean burn ...
They don't like light loads ... for light loads with lead wadcutters powders like Bullseye , 700X , Red Dot , AA #2 , W231, HP38 and TiteGroup ... are much better .
For the 38 Special / 148 gr. LWC it don't get no better than 2.7 grs Bullseye . I have tried a LOT of 38 special loads over the last 50 years and that one will still win a match !
Gary

 

[.38SuperMan]

I’ve been using Bullseye in my 32 Longs but 231 is good too. 231 is much dirtier than BE but works fine. If I ran out of BE I’d try working up a load with either Accurate Nitro100NF that’s faster and cleaner than BE or I’d try Accurate 2. I don’t load wadcutters but load 77 grain polymer and 85 grain XTP.

In 38 special my go to powders are Accurate 2 and Nitro 100nf. Clean, consistent, AA2 is low recoil, complete burning and works very well in short barrels and economical. AA2 is rapidly becoming my favorite powder.

For 32H&R I’d probably look at CFE pistol or HS-6.

 

[geeollie]

Thank you. Nitro100NF is a new suggestion. I will try to learn more about it.

 

[GypsmJim]

W231/HP-38 ...... It's sort of a jack of all trades, master of none, but if you just want to buy 1 powder it's decent amd versatile.

I'm in the process of switching from Unique and Bullseye to W231. For the 12 handgun cartridges I load, the Lyman manual has data for each one. In fact, a few of them showed W231 as the optimum choice for my preferred bullet combination.

So far I've tried about half of the loads and have been pleasantly surprised with all of them.

 

[Yendor357]

You don’t have a reloading manual?

Get a reloading manual, an actual book. Then read it.