Power Pistol, whoda thunk it?

[Vulcan Bob]

Hi gang, for the last forty years or so for my handgun needs I've stood by the old trusty trio, Bullseye, Unique and 2400 and was happy. They always done what I wanted and had few surprises. Sure now and again I've tried a few new powders and added 296/H-110 to the powder shelf, most didn't do anything better than what I was using. Well along came Brian Pearce in Handloader touting how well Power Pistol worked in the .44 Special and the .45 Colt so I gave it a try a few years ago, in a word, wow! I never thought any powder could replace Unique in those calibers but Power Pistol sorta ran roughshod over it, meters a lot better too. Very good performance in the standard pressure range with good accuracy with cast bullets (haven't tried it with jacketed) and it seems the initial recoil impulse seems a bit softer to me. So if you ever thought of trying Power Pistol in the big straight wall's you may find it upsetting a few apple carts too.

 

[Vortec MAX]

I bought two pounds of Power Pistol recently, but have not yet worked up any loads with it. The data from the manuals looks promising. Good to hear you are having a positive experience with it.

Mike

 

[rwsmith]

IF I see it....

If I see it, I'll buy it.

 

[colt_saa]

Congratulations

I have been using Power Pistol for a decade or more.

It works very well for the 45SUPER and 357SIG cartridges

 

[STCM(SW)]

I have used it in several calibers, 9mm being one.
Works OK for that one.
Seems to be OK, but I still have lots of Unique and other powders...

 

[Rule3]

About all I use in 9mm and 40 SW.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I like powders that are a little bulky so I can see them in the case.
Does PP fill the cases up at least 65% with your light loads or
maybe 80% on medium heavy loadings?

One reason I do not care for w231.........it is a great powder,
just that some loads you can't see the powder in the case.
Same with Bullseye............... another good powder. I just
have to double check my loads before setting any bullets.

Thanks for the post.

 

[BLUEDOT37]

It works very well for the 45SUPER and 357SIG cartridges

.

About all I use in 9mm and 40 SW.

.

It's my favorite in small capacity auto rounds too, 9mm/40S&W/10mm/45ACP/45Super. Never have enought to try on any of the revolver cartridges but I will once that semi-load of powder pulls into town.

LongShot's been more available than Power Pistol so I've been trying that in moderate revolver loads instead lately.

.

 

[robertrwalsh]

I have used power pistol for 10mm and 40 for quite some time. Scored ten pounds for $210 recently. I am a very happy camper.

 

[Vulcan Bob]

I like powders that are a little bulky so I can see them in the case.
Does PP fill the cases up at least 65% with your light loads or
maybe 80% on medium heavy loadings?

One reason I do not care for w231.........it is a great powder,
just that some loads you can't see the powder in the case.
Same with Bullseye............... another good powder. I just
have to double check my loads before setting any bullets.

Thanks for the post.

Hey there Ed, no it's not a particularly bulky powder, it seems a bit dense and only takes eight-nine grains to get rather good performance with 240-270gr bullets. Does not seem to be position sensitive though. I have seen some comments on AA-5744 in the .45 Colt and such and it's a rather bulky powder. I use it with good results in the .45-70 Gov.

 

[RMC1]

I use Power Pistol for 9mm, 357 Sig, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP. It's a great powder that meters very well and gives excellent performance. If I could only have one powder to use, Power Pistol would be my choice.

Because of the slower burn rate, I will say that there are better choices if you are loading for a pistol with a short barrel. For my Sig P238 in .380 and 2.7 inch barrel, I have used Power Pistol but TiteGroup performs much better.

 

[Erich]

Baruch HaShem!

While I'll forever feel indebted to the two old counterleaners who steered a college kid wanting to start reloading to buy his first can of Unique in the mid-80s, for the last ten years or so I've been steering newbies to Power Pistol. I find it gives loadings that are as accurate and as powerful, while a bit cleaner and considerably better at metering.

 

[Rule3]

.


.

It's my favorite in small capacity auto rounds too, 9mm/40S&W/10mm/45ACP/45Super. Never have enought to try on any of the revolver cartridges but I will once that semi-load of powder pulls into town.

LongShot's been more available than Power Pistol so I've been trying that in moderate revolver loads instead lately.

.

I "lucked" into a 8lb jug of Longshot and it is a great powder. Running low on PP so I use LS when I can..

 

[cuda2045]

I have good luck with power pistol in 40s&w, 357 sig, 357 light mag, 38 spe +p

 

[Moe Mentum]

I use it for 9mm, meters much better than unique.

 

[Batmo]

Power Pistol is my favorite for 45acp...very accurate. I just started working up some loads for the 38 special with cast bullets and it shows promise.

 

[27 Man]

I use it in .38 Super with Zero 115 grain JHPs. Accurate load.

 

[Warren Sear]

I recently loaded some 38 Special and 357 Magnum loads with Power Pistol and 155 grain cast lead SWC bullets. Power Pistol worked just fine in those cartridges.

As for comments regarding it "metering well", I have never used a handgun powder that does not meter well. Power Pistol meters as well as any of them through my RCBS powder measure.

 

[Erich]

As for comments regarding it "metering well", I have never used a handgun powder that does not meter well. Power Pistol meters as well as any of them through my RCBS powder measure.

Come visit sometime when I've got Unique in the hopper of the RCBS 1500 if you want a show!

 

[Warren Sear]

I have never had a problem with Unique. Obviously, others do, but I am always perplexed when I hear of this.

I use the first, and only, powder measure I have ever owned. I bought it new in 1980. I don't know if that matters or not.

 

[gen3guy]

My only complaint with Power Pistol is the muzzle flash, especially with the larger calibers. Other than that I agree with the consensus.

 

[David Sinko]

I think Power Pistol is the best thing going for highest velocity 9mm and .45 ACP revolver loads. I just make sure to load the bullets long so they don't chamber in the weak autos that can't stand the pressures of a good 940 or 625 revolver.

Dave Sinko

 

[BLUEDOT37]

Yeh, I like it...

My ammo can, dressed-up for range duty.

.

.

 

[papajohn428]

I was a diehard Unique user for the first 20 years I reloaded, now Power Pistol has filled that slot. According to my records, I am on my 9th 8-pound keg of it, and there have been a lot of 4-pounders and singles in between. It works well in the 38+P loads I train with, it's perfect in the 40S&W, and it even works well in the 45ACP. I use other powders from time to time, but if I only had access to one powder, Power Pistol would be The One. The flash doesn't bother me at all, because I only use it for practice and training ammo.

 

[iPac]

Power Pistol and 2400, all I have ever needed

When I first started reloading, I did my homework and ended up going with power pistol for the 9mm. Glad I did. As I added new calibers to my collection it has performed just as I expected it would in all of them. Flawlessly. Only my magnum rounds get 2400, 357mag and 44mag. Every thing else I give power pistol. Most load data calls for a little more power pistol as compared to other types but I love the way it meters, burns, and is fairly clean. So using a bit more powder is worth it.

Just my two cents.

 

[dmar]

Most of my loading is with W231 and Bullseye for non-magnum pistol rounds (9mm, ,38spcl., etc.), and 2400 and some Unique for the magnum stuff. BTW, I just found, and bought, 2 pounds of 2400 at my LGS yesterday and asked the owner if a leprechaun riding a unicorn delivered it to the store...

Anyway, after reading through these posts, I'm now inspired to give PP a try. I've got a good supply of 231, Bullseye, and Unique, but PP sounds like it could replace these powders when the time comes.

But, how does it work on the magnum loads? Is it best for just the light target/plinking loads, or can you get some good velocity out of it, too? Again, I'm currently using 2400, and some Unique when I go a little lighter. My LGS always has a good supply of PP.

Also, I've got some new 10mm dies that have been sitting in a drawer, and I'm going to motivate to get them set up for loading. For you guys that load PP for 10mm, how are the results? For comparison, I already have some Blue Dot and Longshot that I had planned to use for 10mm...

 

[Erich]

It's like Unique for magnum loads: you can do them, but there are plenty of better powders for that purpose. For instance, 158-gr LSWCs in a .357 Magnum load - max velocity I get is around 1230 fps with PP's max load. Very small spreads, btw. But I get almost 1400 fps from the same gun with 2400 (old load data - not today's neutered data) and easily best that with Lil' Gun.

It's not for plinking loads, but rather for full power .38 Spl/.45 ACP/9mm loads. It seems to like the pressure zone around 20,000 CUP.

I don't remember how PP worked in my 10, and I'm on the way to the range so I don't want to dig out the data (sorry).

 

[dmar]

It's like Unique for magnum loads: you can do them, but there are plenty of better powders for that purpose. For instance, 158-gr LSWCs in a .357 Magnum load - max velocity I get is around 1230 fps with PP's max load. Very small spreads, btw. But I get almost 1400 fps from the same gun with 2400 (old load data - not today's neutered data) and easily best that with Lil' Gun.

It's not for plinking loads, but rather for full power .38 Spl/.45 ACP/9mm loads. It seems to like the pressure zone around 20,000 CUP.

I don't remember how PP worked in my 10, and I'm on the way to the range so I don't want to dig out the data (sorry).

Thanks Erich, that helps...

So, how was the shooting today? I wanted to go, but too much to do in the yard.

 

[Erich]

Glad to hear it and thanks for asking. After a bad start (I'd just intended to go to a relatively nearby indoor range, but they irritated me enough that I drove the 35 miles to the outdoor city range), it was very nice. The new-to-me birth-year Beretta worked very well and is just a lovely (old?) gun.

 

[Vortec MAX]

I loaded up some Power Pistol in 38 SPL, 45 ACP, and 45 Colt to try. I headed to the range this morning but it was so cold and windy that I came back home. Hoping for nicer weather next weekend. I loaded three charge weights in each caliber to chrono. I will let you know how they work out.

Mike