WST, Winchester Super Target; pet handgun loads?

[teletech]

Back in the depths of COVID shortages, an elderly friend decided he wasn't going to reload ever again and sold me his powder, but I had to buy all of it. Well, with [redacted to not cause the local fire chief ulcers] pounds of assorted powders in the car, I drove *very* carefully and got to reloading. I also sold off a chunk to help others out, recoup some of my investment, and get down to a sane amount of flammables in the shop. One thing I was left with was a few 8# cans of WST. Now, I know you can use it for some pistol reloads, but the couple things I tried didn't impress me in terms of accuracy, so I thought I'd see if anybody had a magical load that will help me make a dent in this supply.
I shoot a lot of 45ACP (typ 205LRN), 9mm, and 38SPL, but also 38 super, and some 32s and 44s as well.
I mean, I suppose one of these days I should set up to reload for shotgun, but there's only just so much room on the reloading bench.

 

[alwslate]

A few 8 lb cans of WST is a lot for handgun loads. You could probably sell a few. I tried it in the .38 spl and didn't care for it. I tried a few loads in .45 AR brass with 185-200 gr cast semi wadcutters and liked it much better. It yielded good velocity for charge weight. Winchester says to use it for standard pressure loads, not +P.

 

[Mike0251]

I use WST topped with a 200g swc (coated bullets) exclusively for 45. Shooting single stack in USPSA I too go thru a lot of rounds. I have tailored my rounds for 172 power factor which keeps me right above the 165 minimum safely and the recoil down. Great powder and results for the last 3 years.

On the shotgun side (regular skeet shooter too) as soon as the 700X runs out I will be trying in 12ga, Win AA CF hulls. I built a separate bench for shotgun loading.

 

[Shotguncoach]

I also load large quantities of .45 AARP using a 200 grain LSWC and WST powder. My load is right in the middle of Hodgdon's suggested range and gives me approximately a 175 power factor....It's probably almost identical to the load Mike mentions above.

WST won't give you rip-snorting velocities in the .45 but it will give you a very clean shooting and accurate 200 grain load in the 850-875 fps range.

I've also used it quite a bit for 12 gauge trap loads. Again, it's not a 27 yard handicap powder but it works extremely well for singles and doubles. The only issue I've had is that with a Mec loader I have to make sure that the grommet at the powder bar is new and soft so that the flakes don't escape from the machine.

 

[Mike0251]

Yeah I was wondering about delivery in the mec as well. Good to know, TY.

 

[mmande]

I have been using WST in .45 acp and .38 spl target loads for several years now. It is much cleaner burning than Bullseye. This is quite noticeable with revolvers but also in my Clark built 1911. The loads I settled on give the same accuracy as the Bullseye loads I had used for decades.
Mike

 

[Forrest r]

5.0gr 200gr cast swc (h&g #68) 45acp
5.0gr 125gr cast fn hp 9mm
3.5gr cast 150/160gr bullets (rn/fn/swc) 38spl

All those loads above will hold +/- 1" 10-shot groups @ 50ft.

I'm down to +/- #3 of wst so I only use it in my 9mm's. A nm 1911 chambered in 9mm using 5.0gr of wst and a home cast/coated 125gr fn hp.
10-shot group @ 50ft, this was not a hand picked/cherry picked target by any means. Nothing more than the target used to test that load/tested 6 or 7 different loads that day.

The 1911 used for testing along with the home cast fn hp's. (flat nosed hollow points)

 

[teletech]

I took my first WST .38 and .45 loads out today. The 38 was lackluster but the 45 was very nice. I got a killer deal on like 20K 205gr RNFP projectiles but they just never gave any good accuracy, so today's 1.8" 10-shot group at 25 yds was a very pleasant surprise. 4.3 of WST is below the recommended starting load, but ran the gun fine and gave the best group. I'm looking forward to running more rounds when the light is better and perhaps I can see what I'm doing. It's making me glad I didn't sell my WST cheap before I found an application for it!

 

[glenwolde]

A 150/158gr SWC over 3.6gr WST in .38 Special.

 

[DeplorabusUnum]

WST and 45ACP were made for each other. glad you found a good load. Sounds like you'll be shooting it for years to come.