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Clays Powder - Which One?


SWHlctx

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I've seen several times folks recommending Clays powder for 45ACP. I saw a local ad from a guy that was trying to sell some, but he had Universal, Internaional and Standard Clays.

Which one is recommended for 45ACP? And just for my own knowledge what is the difference in the 3 powders?

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SWHlctx, the difference is in speed of burn. Clays is a very fast powder intended for light 12b target loads up to 9/8oz. It is an excellent powder in 45ACP. It is used in other calibers, but carefully. It pressure spikes quickly. It's equivalent is Alliant Clay Dot.

International Clays is a shotgun only powder intended for fast International trap loads and fast 9/8oz target loads. It has no application in pistol reloading, because Hodgdon pulled the data because it also spiked unpredictably. Int Clays is also usable for light 3/4oz 20b loads. It is very similar in use to Alliant American Select

Universal Clays is the slowest powder. It is the Hodgdon equivalent of Alliant Unique. It is primarily used in 20b and 28b shotshells, but does have some application in pistol. It is a slow burning powder. I don't see a good use for it in 45ACP, because you have to use a lot more of it, and you get more recoil. If you are trying to drive a comp, it's a reasonably good choice.

If you can get any of them, go for the Clays. 3.8~3.9gr behing a 185gr LSWC is a load beloved by the bullseye crowd. it works super well with the 200gr LSWC also.

Edited to correct mistake. Thanks MAC702.

Edited by zzt
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Was that third paragraph supposed to be about Universal Clays, maybe? That was a good primer of the differences, thanks.

I wound up with some Clays in a trade for other stuff, and it made some excellent .38 Special loads for Steel Challenge out of my S&W 65.

Edited by MAC702
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  • 1 month later...
  • 4 weeks later...

I would not recommend International in general because of the warning from Hodgdon. I ended up with International as the result of it being the only power available locally. However, I have had really good loads using Internation and 230 X-treme RN and 225 X-treme FN. 5.0g works well for me. You can find some loads by looking for AS50N or AP50N loads. International is AS50N.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Universal clays is good for me in 45 5.1 grains with a cast 230. Nice plinking load flat shooting little recoil and on the clean side. As far as just clays powder I like it with 200 grain bullets but not 230s. 4 grains of clays with a 200 grain wadcutter a match made in heaven. Ive never used international clays

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  • 3 weeks later...

I would not recommend International in general because of the warning from Hodgdon. I ended up with International as the result of it being the only power available locally. However, I have had really good loads using Internation and 230 X-treme RN and 225 X-treme FN. 5.0g works well for me. You can find some loads by looking for AS50N or AP50N loads. International is AS50N.

I've had the same experience. Out of necessity, I've used 4.7 int'l with 200 gr. LSWC and love the way it shoots. But, I measured each and every charge. Have used it in a couple of local matches.

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