Standard loads for .38Spl, .45ACP and 9mm with Bullseye, Unique, and Power Pistol.

[JeepinSoldier]

Well, the last of my trusty Win 231 is gone, with no more to be found anywhere. It was my go to powder for .38, .45, and 9mm

I loaded standard loads of 4 grains in .38 Special with a plated 158 grain SWC, 5.6 grains in .45 ACP with Precision Delta 230 grain FMJ, and 4.5 grains in 9mm with Precision Delta 124 grain FMJ. These loads all shot accurately in a variety of different guns.

I have managed to scrounge 2 pounds of Bullseye, 2 pounds of Unique, and 3 1/2 pounds of Power Pistol.

Anybody load these calibers with any of these powders and produce a standard velocity load that functions well in a variety of different guns? If so care to share it?

I do have loading manuals - just thought Id ask first and not waste time recreating the wheel so to speak.......

 

[hanno]

For .38 Special, try the classic NRA "Bullseye Load" - 2.7 gr of Bullseye under a Speer 148 gr HBWC. This is a mild and accurate load.

I've shot thousands of these, hard to beat.

 

[arjay]

Standard loads for .38Spl, .45ACP and 9mm with Bullseye, Unique, and Power Pi...

4.6 gr of unique is a nice medium load with a 158 gr lswc and 5 gr gives it some kick.
Both powders work well in the 45 acp,but I only load 200 gr lswc

 

[Nevada Ed]

to make that Alliant power last longer you can use standard
38 special loadings or light target loads with the lead bullets.

Plated or Jacketed bullets need a little more FPS to insure they
clear the barrel, depending on its length, so you should not go
too light in your charges.

With a little 148gr lead target load some have gone as low as
just 2.5grs of Bullseye powder but my best accuracy is with 2.7 grs.

With a 158gr XTP I have used 5.5 grs of Unique in a 6" barrel
L frame for a +P loading of 976 fps but you can use much less for a load
around 645 fps for a starting load.

A medium high load of Bullseye with this same bullet will reach 795 fps but it
is not the best powder for heavy jacket bullets.

Two pounds of powder in the little 38 case will go a long way.
Now all you need is lots of bullets and primers.........

Bull & Uniq will cover all target and +P loads in the 9mm.
I don't like lead and just shoot plated bullets.

Good shooting.

 

[blujax01]

Bullseye was made for the 45ACP- literally. Alliant website has good load data. Unique and 38 Special go hand-in-glove. And Power Pistol is a top notch choice for the 9mm.

Whether by chance or by design, you have some fine caliber to powder matches.

 

[Moe Mentum]

unique is good for .38 spl, but my first choice is also 231.

 

[JeepinSoldier]

Thanks for the replies!

So I figured Id start with 9mm. Press is already set up for it (Dillon SDB)

Looked at my load data; Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading 8th Edition and Speer Reloading Manual #14.

Data for 9mm 124 FMJ with Power Pistol Max load in the Hornady Manual is 5.7 Grains and starting load in the Speer manual is 5.6 grains. ***????

On Alliant's website they post the 124 grain Gold Dot load with 6.4 grains so I assume 5.7 is safe.

Alliant Powder - Reloader's Guide

In their actual load data manual they do not even list a load for 9mm 124 with Power Pistol. They list a load of 4.4 grains of Bullseye for 1,059 fps and a Unique load.

http://www.alliantpowder.com/resour...eloadersguide/2014_Alliant_Powder_Catalog.pdf

Should I use Bullseye instead?

 

[Nevada Ed]

Bullseye will work better with the lighter bullets but it can get
up to around 1150 fps in a 4" barrel for a standard 9mm loading
and stay within the pressure limit for pistols in GOOD working order.

I tried Unique with a low volume at 4.8 grs with the 124 gr plated RN but
it did not do well in a 4" XD9 and had to move up to 5.2 grs before it would
group well and near POA.

The 124gr plated bullet shot well at around 1060 fps with several powders
be it 1.14" or a 1.16" OAL.

Good shooting.

 

[Forrest r]

Bullseye loads that have been the "gold standard" for decades.

3.5gr 158gr 38spl
4.5gr 124gr 9mm
5.0gr 230gr 45acp

Unique does it's best with heavy to full house loads.

The only time I use power pistol in the 38spl/9mm/45acp is with full house p+ loads.

 

[federali]

.45 ACP Load

In .45 ACP, 6.5 Grains of Unique yields 822 FPS with a 230 grain FMJ bullet. 5.6 grains of Bullseye yields 805 FPS behind a 230 grain plated bullet.

These loads function normally and without any pressure signs.

 

[joeintexas]

I load the Bullseye in 45 acp at 5.0 gr and 230 gr plated bullet. Shoots very accurate and has a fairly soft recoil in a 5 inch 1911. You do have some fine powder there.

 

[DWalt]

For many, many years, factory loadings for most handgun calibers used only Bullseye. But there were several different variations of Bullseye available to the factories (I think around 10) that were not available to handloaders. I use Bullseye in every handgun caliber I load (which is a lot - .32 ACP to .45 Colt), but I don't load anything to Magnum levels. It works fine in all. Believe it or not, Bullseye works well for light loads in most any CF rifle caliber also, as does Red Dot.

 

[loc n load]

Bullseye

Years ago, I determined that I would always maintain three powders in my inventory at all times: Bullseye, Unique and 2400.....with these three I can load virtually any handgun round I shoot..from light target rounds to full throttle magnum rounds...I have shots thousands of 9mm ( 124's) and 45 acp ( 230's)with 4.5 of bullseye .......I have two Dillons set up for this load in both the 9 & 45...if you want HB equalivant then bump up to 5.0 of bullseye for the 45.....38's I run from 2.8 to 3.5 gr's.
Unique is my " go to" powder for my 44's, 41's, 45 LC's with heavy bullets and 4" or shorter bl's.

 

[Goblin]

Careful with Power Pistol in 9mm. 5.7 sounds like a good starting point. I consulted several resources and thought 6.2 and 6.5 would be good test loads for a 115 JHP. They gave me 1,220 and 1,265 fps, respectively, BOTH with clear signs of excessive pressure, looking at the primer. Haven't tried a lighter load, I thought those would be light enough.

Same day, same G19, 7.0 gr of Blue Dot gave me 1,150 with that bullet, and CCI Lawman 115 JHP factory ammo was 1,197 fps, no signs of excessive pressure in those loads.

For those who like a lot of info, same day same G19, WW white box, Federal Chanpion and Academy's Monarch 115 FMJs were 1,123, 1,131 and 1,125, respectively, and Critical Defense 115 gr was 1,117.

 

[Goblin]

For 45 ACP, I like 5.0 of Bullseye with a 200gr LSWC. In my 1911 6.7gr Power Pistol gives 913 FPS with a 200gr LSWC, and 872 FPS with a 200gr Jacketed SWC.

 

[hangnoose]

MAINSTAY POWDERS.

B.E., UNIQUE, 2400 HERE TOO. B.E. is my choice for short bbl.'s and light loads, esp 2.7 gr's with a 148 gr dewc in 38 special, 1 lb goes a long way. 3-3.2 gr's of Titgroup is working well with 124 gr cast 9mm. My "problem" is having too much unique, LOL, and not much listed info for cast 158gr swc in
357. Going to the range now to try 5, 5.5 & 6 gr's. Never tried power pistol.

 

[Vortec MAX]

My favorite Bullseye loads are:

45 ACP - 5.1 grains under a Berry's 230 GR RN - 764 FPS from 4.4" barrel - Std Dev: 6.1 - Spread: 16 FPS - Very accurate

9mm Luger - 4.0 grains under a Berrys 124 GR (any) - 1,009 FPS from 3.9" barrel - Std Dev: 8.2 - Spread: 25 FPS - Very accurate

38 SPL - 4.8 grains under a Berrys 125 GR (any) - 734 FPS from 1.875" barrel - Std Dev: 15.5 - Spread: 35 FPS

Please note that my 38 SPL load was developed for a snubby. I am not sure how it would perform in a longer barrel.

Mike

 

[ChiefStealth]

In .45 ACP with 230gn RN plated from both Rainier & Xtreme, have tried from 4.4gn to 5.0gn of Bullseye. All loads have been pretty accurate. Maybe just a bit tighter groups with the lower loads, but not much difference. I was a bit surprised that there was so little difference in accuracy with BE. I had previously been loading with Titegroup. I got good accuracy with lower loads, but accuracy started getting worse as the loads went up. BE pretty much stayed the same. I think I'll save the Titegroup for the 9mm.

 

[rwsmith]

Did anybody mention BE economy?

You can load 2592 target rounds of .38 HBWC loaded with 2.7 grains from one pound of Bullseye.

 

[Jamie]

I've used quite a bit of Power Pistol, 115gr LRN, 124gr LRN Bayou Bullets, 124gr JHP Precision Delta. The 115 LRN, 5.1gr, 1.100", avg 1091fps. The 124gr Bayou Bullets avg 1053fps, 5.3gr which is my target load.