No more Bullseye! What are you switching to?

Look through some load manuals; lots of substitutes for Bullseye. I still have plenty of Bullseye but have been doing load development recently with Titegroup and WST. Results have been very good with maybe better accuracy than Bullseye.
 
Titegroup is an interesting and versatile powder. I think it is a poor choice for beginners.

I use it in a few places for a few reasons but I absolutely LOATHE Titegroup in .38 Special because of the absolutely ridiculous heat and the way it makes the cylinder of my revolver too hot to handle.

I could never replace Bullseye with Titegroup.
 
Titegroup is an interesting and versatile powder. I think it is a poor choice for beginners.

I use it in a few places for a few reasons but I absolutely LOATHE Titegroup in .38 Special because of the absolutely ridiculous heat and the way it makes the cylinder of my revolver too hot to handle.

I could never replace Bullseye with Titegroup.
I don't recall experiencing any cylinder heat problem with Titegroup in .38 Special, .44 Special or .45 ACP/Auto Rim. Why do you think it's a poor choice for beginners?
 
Titegroup is, IMO, a poor choice for beginners because Hodgdon publishes lots and lots of data for it in damn near every handgun cartridge, even when it is a far less than optimal choice.

Newer handloaders typically don’t understand how different powders do their jobs and do them effectively. The only thing most new handloaders see is “wow, I can buy ONE powder and load alllllll of these!”

They end up using Titegroup in magnum revolver rounds where the pressure curve can accurately be described as STUPID, where they are at max with a charge weight that takes 1/3 or 1/4 of the case, where they will get 100% maximum peak pressure with 80% maximum performance and risk accidental double charges.

Folks often counter this argument with “well ALL powders require attention to detail…” to which I will agree but if you are loading .44 Magnum with H-110 and you accidentally double charge, you will pour 15 grains of powder all over your load block or bench top or your hand. If you double charge a .44 case with Titegroup, you still have room for another charge and possibly some more.

I’m not saying Titegroup should be banished, but it’s a poor powder for new handloaders.
 
I'm pretty much replacing all alliant powders.
After how they left us high and dry on so many fronts, I simply don't trust them to supply me the goods I need.
That said ... I used to be highly reliant on Unique. So far CFE Pistol has stepped into its role fairly well.
There were certain blue dot loads that I used in large volume. AA#7 seems to be a fair candidate to serve in it's place 2400 .... if AA#9 isn't the answer, 4227 is.
we could go on and on with replacements ... but not without some admission as to just how good alliant was. This work wouldn't be necessary if they weren't. Still, they have much to atone for before I'll marry a new load to an alliant product
 
WST is an excellent choice. There's also Titegroup and W231/HP38. I was never a big fan of Bullseye and have been using W231/HP38 for decades in its stead. All three are pretty available though WST seems to be higher priced. But at least all three are available.

I'm thinking Alliant is going to lose a lot of market share by the time they get their products back to market. I have noticed that BE-86 seems to be widely available. I think BE-86 is more like Unique but they must produce that separately from all their other powders. Or something. I've never seen an explanation.
Reloaders are a very small niche market for powder manufacturers. Commercial and military contracts are their bread and butter. Big money.
 
I have been reloading since 1979. I was flabergasted to learn there will be no more Bullseye Powder. I used it for everything from .380 to .38 special, .357 mag, .45 ACP, .45 Colt etc. What are you going to switch to when your supply of Bullseye runs out?
A place here Fin, Feather and Fur in Middleburg hts Ohio. Has some Bullseye for 58.00 a lb. They only had a few.
 
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