So WST has been one of the powders that has been available in my area lately. I bought several pounds and found some old data for 38 spl and 45 acp. I liked it in 38 spl and looked into using it for 45 colt. I reviewed several "cowboy" forums and found that some are using it for 45 colt in the 5.5 to 6.0 grain range. I started just under 5.5 grains with a 250 grain bullet and worked up to 5.8 grains. What a surprise...it is now one of my favorite powders for 45 colt. My current load is 5.8 grains of WST with a 250 to 255 grain lead cast or copper plated bullet (Starline brass and WLP). It is pleasant to shoot, clean, and VERY accurate in my 25-9. It has more zip than my 5.8 grain Trailboss load, but is not quite as powerful as my 8 grain Unique load. Just thought I would share, and I was also wondering if anyone else here uses a similar load. If you have some WST around, I highly recommend it.
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Reloading 45 colt with WST
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smokindog
Member
Resurrecting anold thread!
JB, how'd your experiments go with WST in 45 Colt? I've been waiting for some Trail Boss but just landed 8 pounds of WST.
Were you successful? I want to load 255gr Xtreme plated and 250gr Missouri bullet coated for an Uberti 1872 El Patron and an Uberti 1873 Carbine.
Wonder if this is the 5.5 to 6.0gr reference the OP also found???
http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-747482.html
JB, how'd your experiments go with WST in 45 Colt? I've been waiting for some Trail Boss but just landed 8 pounds of WST.
Were you successful? I want to load 255gr Xtreme plated and 250gr Missouri bullet coated for an Uberti 1872 El Patron and an Uberti 1873 Carbine.
Wonder if this is the 5.5 to 6.0gr reference the OP also found???
http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-747482.html
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Road_Clam
Member
Not sure if case size plays a role but when I load mild "cowboy" loads for my 460 S&W mag, I load about 12gr of WST for a 250gr SWC hard cast bullet. I'm at about 1200 fps. Seems to be a great combination.
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Kframerbluvr
Member
I am getting ready to load some .44 magnum reduced loads with 240 grain cast bullets and WST. The research I have done so far says that around 6.5 to 7 grains is workable. I am looking for about 825 to 850 fps from a 3" barrel.
OP, glad your .45 Colt load exceeded your expectations!
OP, glad your .45 Colt load exceeded your expectations!
careful!
I would be careful with this fast powder. I found that as I approached 7 grains of WST in 45 colt, I started to see some signs of high pressure. This is a very fast powder. I love WST in 45 colt up to about 6 grains but did not find any benefit in going higher.
I would be careful with this fast powder. I found that as I approached 7 grains of WST in 45 colt, I started to see some signs of high pressure. This is a very fast powder. I love WST in 45 colt up to about 6 grains but did not find any benefit in going higher.
I tried it but didn't get very good results.
I'll stick with Unique in 45 Colt and save the WST for 45acp.
WST should be a fine powder for standard pressure 45 Colt loads.
Original Winchester data stated that it was great for standard pressure
handgun loads and not intended for +P application. A while back I
worked up a few mid-range 44 Mag loads with the 950 fps 250 gr cast
bullet out of a 4" barrel criteria often mentioned in magazine articles
as my goal. WST was one of the powders I tried and it performed
about like Bullseye with both hitting the 950 fps mark at about 7.8 grs.
As always the chronograph is your best friend in these endeavors.
Original Winchester data stated that it was great for standard pressure
handgun loads and not intended for +P application. A while back I
worked up a few mid-range 44 Mag loads with the 950 fps 250 gr cast
bullet out of a 4" barrel criteria often mentioned in magazine articles
as my goal. WST was one of the powders I tried and it performed
about like Bullseye with both hitting the 950 fps mark at about 7.8 grs.
As always the chronograph is your best friend in these endeavors.
smokindog
Member
I guess I'm a bit confused. In the original post you seemed to highly recommended WST for 45 Colt (with caution). Is there something you've you've since learned?
I'm not looking for +P loads. Strictly paper punching with 200, and 250 LRNFP coated and not. Also some Xtreme plated 255. All through an Uberti 1873 El Patron and 1873 carbine.
I want more Trail Boss but can't readily find it. I was ordering other stuff from Midsouth (H335, CFE Pistol, CFE223, BLC2) and since the Hazmat was already on the order, I added 8lbs of WST knowing I could use it in my 45ACP. However, had my fingers crossed it might be a decent "bulky" substitute to Trail Boss in 45 Colt until I could find more TB.
If the answer ends up being "save it for 45ACP" then so be it. I like my fingers and my guns well enough to be patient! THANKS TO ALL IN ADVANCE
I'm not looking for +P loads. Strictly paper punching with 200, and 250 LRNFP coated and not. Also some Xtreme plated 255. All through an Uberti 1873 El Patron and 1873 carbine.
I want more Trail Boss but can't readily find it. I was ordering other stuff from Midsouth (H335, CFE Pistol, CFE223, BLC2) and since the Hazmat was already on the order, I added 8lbs of WST knowing I could use it in my 45ACP. However, had my fingers crossed it might be a decent "bulky" substitute to Trail Boss in 45 Colt until I could find more TB.
If the answer ends up being "save it for 45ACP" then so be it. I like my fingers and my guns well enough to be patient! THANKS TO ALL IN ADVANCE
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WST
Yes, I really do like WST for 45 colt for target loads with revolvers. While both Trail Boss and WST are faster powders, WST fills nowhere near the same case volume as Trail Boss. I believe a WST charge of 6 grains is about 0.8cc and the same charge of TB is around 1.3cc. While WST has produced some nice soft shooting target loads for me, it will never be a "case filling" powder for 45 colt like TB is.
Yes, I really do like WST for 45 colt for target loads with revolvers. While both Trail Boss and WST are faster powders, WST fills nowhere near the same case volume as Trail Boss. I believe a WST charge of 6 grains is about 0.8cc and the same charge of TB is around 1.3cc. While WST has produced some nice soft shooting target loads for me, it will never be a "case filling" powder for 45 colt like TB is.
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Have you used WST with 200 grain lead/plated bullets? If so, how much powder did you use? I use wst for all my 45 acp loads; a great powder - clean & accurate. Thank you, Sunrisezac
fredj338
Member
I have been a long im fan of wst in 45acp & 9mm & 40 minor loads. Soft recoil, burns clean, good loft, economical. When I was shooting cas. I stuck with red dot for my colt loads, but wst certainly works.
cowboy4evr
Member
I use a lot of WST in 45 Colt and 45 acp , target loads in 41 magnum and 44 magnum with good results . It burns clean , is accurate ( at least for me ) . Regards, Paul
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Old Corp
Member
IIRC, WST was preceded by WW452AA, which I shot ALOT of in 12 ga. trap/skeet and field loads.
Just before it was discontinued, I knew guys that were using it in .45 ACP with really good results. Win./Olin may have produced handgun data for it then, I don't recall.
I did load some of it (WW452AA) with 230 gr RNL in the 5.0 gr. range with very good results as I recall.
I'm assuming that WST is probably just a cleaner version of WW452AA.
Just before it was discontinued, I knew guys that were using it in .45 ACP with really good results. Win./Olin may have produced handgun data for it then, I don't recall.
I did load some of it (WW452AA) with 230 gr RNL in the 5.0 gr. range with very good results as I recall.
I'm assuming that WST is probably just a cleaner version of WW452AA.
I really liked W452AA for plinking loads in the .38 spl and still have a
little bit left. WST is 452's replacement but they are quite different.
452 is a fine grained ball powder that tended to leak from shotshell
powder measures while WST is a flattened ball powder with a totally
different appearance. WST may be better for shotshell loading but
452 is very non position sensitive and is the better handgun powder in
my experience. Too bad it's gone.
little bit left. WST is 452's replacement but they are quite different.
452 is a fine grained ball powder that tended to leak from shotshell
powder measures while WST is a flattened ball powder with a totally
different appearance. WST may be better for shotshell loading but
452 is very non position sensitive and is the better handgun powder in
my experience. Too bad it's gone.
