Kyreb Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 .40 and .45 lead WST -less smoke, fairly soft Big plus 1 from me on these two. I admit I load more for economics than for cutting edge competition. Have used WST in .45 since the 80s. Now use WST for .40 too since WSL was dropped by Winchester and my stach of WSL was depleted. Been loading Universal Clays in 9MM, .38 etc... as of late. Caught a deal on an 8lb jug....did not like it in 40 or 45 so it is being used wherever else I can burn it. It is a little dirty though. Using Tac these days on .223. Personally this too is a matter of economics. I am OK with several other powders I have loaded over the years. I just look for 3000 FPS or so with ~ 25 grains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Hayden Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 9 Minor, .40 Major & .45 Major: Titegroup 40 Minor: Clays .223 55: AA2230 .223 69: AA2520 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
askomiko Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 9mm: Vihtavuori N320 .223: Vihtavuori N135 Best & cheapest (blindingly insanely unbelievably expensive by american standards, and it's even made here, dammit!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMBOpen Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 .45 ACP Winchester Super Target (WST) It's the first one I tried and never had any reason to look elsewhere. .38 Super Vihta Vuori N350 Recommended by the person who built up my STI Eagle 6.0/Schueman Tribrid II open gun. Still worth it for the relatively few rounds I go through in the course of a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlktheduk Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 .38 Special: WW 231 (Winchester). In both +P level loads with jacketed bullets, and target loads with lead wadcutters, works well, with little residue. 9MM: TiteGroup (Hodgdon). It works well with 115, 124 or 147 grain bullets, so you can load light bullet/fast load, or heavy bullet/slow load, with the same powder. .45 ACP: Clays (Hodgdon). With plated bullets, very clean. I've fired 500 rounds in a single session from my S&W Model 625 revolver without having to brush any excess powder residue out from under the extractor star. That's important to a wheelgunner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 Thanks everyone. Great stuff - this is going to help a lot of beginners out. Keep 'em coming. When it dies down I'll type a decoding chart to help newbies know what letters like VV, AA, WST means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Santiago Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Titegroup is VERY temperature sensitive!!!Hot weather = fast Cold weather = slow Thanks!!! I didn't know that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Throwin Lead Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Brian, What a great idea! Whenever some one searches the forum for powder, major, minor, caliber, etc they should find this thread as a comprehensive guide for info. Perhaps this thread will become a sticky? I certainly would have liked to have a one stop shop when I started out. Wading thorugh archived posts on this subject can become time consuming and confusing. 40 Major - Jacketed or plated bullets - Titegroup. Reasonable cost & somewhat clean burning at major PF. Most accurate powder that I have tested. Clean burning, low smoke, nice recoil for major and accurate with 180 gn lead - Solo 1000. 40 Minor - Jacketed or plated bullets - Clays - Very clean, soft shooting and reasonable accuracy. Don't use much - 2.9 to 3.1 gn - powder goes a long way. Perhaps the most economical powder to use for minor due to low charge throws. Being cheap has it drawbacks - since the charge is so light their is a chance for a double charge which could cause a KB. USE WITH EXTREME CAUTION! WST is a good choice for lead & minor. Reduced smoke, soft shooting & inexpensive. Charge weights in the 3.3 - 3.5 range also make this powder cost effective. Just remember it is inverse temperature sensitive. The hotter(>80) the outdoor temperature the slower it will run; the colder (<50) the faster it will run. YMMV Bullets tested with above powders using a M&P 40, 4.25 barrel: Berry's Perferred 180 gn RNFP Precision 185 RNFP Montana Gold FMJ RN 180 gn Montana Gold FMJ RN 200 gn Penn bullet co- lead RNFP 165 gn Penn bullet co- lead TC 180 gn Masterblaster 180 gn TC Mastercast of PA 180 gn TC (lead) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEADEYE Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 For 38's 700-x, unique, 2400 44mag - 4227, unique, 2400 45's 700-x, unique 223- 748 & IMR 4895 270 & 30 cal Imr 4895, 3031, 4064 & accurate 3100 I used to have 4-5 powders for each caliber this got to be too much to keep track of so I have wittled this down the last 3-4 years to these I am thinking of trying Solo or Clays for my 45 but have shyed away as I don't want another powder around until I burn up what I have..... Folks laugh at my 45 loads as old school "why don't you use the newer powders? they shoot well for me so why change although the 45's with unique are a little snappy compared to my 700-x load my son shoots the 700-x doesn't shoot well in my gun.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1911user Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 45 Major: W231 or HP38 with a 200gr lead SWC; maybe not the absolute best today, but lots of IPSC history with this load combination. 223/308: AA2520 for one powder that is an outstanding choice in both calibers with medium to heavy bullets. It also meters very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chendersby Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 40 VV N320 45acp Supertarget 38 sup comp VV N350 223 55 and 69 gr VVN135 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boz1911 Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 338 Remington Ultra Mag ; Hogdon H1000 , lots of it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 I don't reload for rifle so not gonna venture into that. Ditto for Open pistol calibers. I've only loaded 9mm, 40 and 45, and have only done it for the last 4 years, so not an expert. Here goes my story anyway... The best powder I've used is definitely VV N-320, but it's expensive and for a while availability was kinda' scarce. So I had to look elsewhere. I used it for 9mm, 40 major and minor as well as for 45. However, when I started actively shooting revolver, 2 years ago, I switched to Hodgdon Clays for my 45's. It just doesn't get any better than that! Recoil is soft, consistent measuring and works very well with all the bullets I've tried, FMJ, plated and moly-coated. Soon to discover how does it work with cast lead. Anyone? My boys are the limited shooters in the house. When I had to start reloading larger quantities I had to look for economy, thus I needed a replacement for the N-320. Here I learned about Titegroup and bought a 8lb keg. It's a great powder but I also learned that maybe burns too hot for the new moly-coated bullets I was using for the boys ammo. Thus I changed to another readily-available and inexpensive alternative: Ramshot Competition. It has worked good so far for limited loads, but it leaves more soot than TG or N320, and I always shoot for 170PF because it is not as consistent as the others I've used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carinab Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 For .40 moly lube bullets, I found universal clays (NOT straight clays) creates less smoke than other brands of powder. It's also readily available and fairly cheap. I'll also chime in for VVN320 for .40 Back in the day, I used a lot of 231 for 9mm and .45; easily found, inexpensive, always clean, and accurate but it can be temp sensitive - slowing when cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajarrel Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 For 9, 40, and 45, if price weren't an issue, I would use V320 for all three. clean and accurate. But it being about $150 for eight pounds has me using TiteGroup. At about $95-100 for eight pounds it fits my needs. It smokes a bit if down-loaded to minor, but if loaded normal to hot, is pretty clean. It tends to leave deposits which make me clean my gun a bit more often (well, every 2000-3000 rounds or when it quits ) and it burns HOT. Run a 32 round COF in the summer time and you better not grab the front of your slide to unload and show clear For .308 I have been happy with RL-15. There may be better ones on the market, but I just haven't gotten around to using them yet. Great Idea for a topic, dj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SA Friday Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 9mm jacketed in any weight - Tightgroup 9mm Moly 147 - Ramshot Competition, WST, Solo 1000 40 S&W Jacketed - Tightgroup, Universal Clays 40 S&W Moly - Universal Clays 45 ACP - Clay for everything 22-250 - H380 for 40gr to 55gr bullets 223 - W748 ain't too shabby 308 - Varget, sometimes Benchmark 30-06 - H4831sc for 165-180gr bullets The rest of my data is in CO on other calibers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harald Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 9mm minor - 310 4os&w - 310 38SC - 3N38 38 special - 310 45acp - 310 357mag - 350 10mm - 3N37 44mag - 350 223 - N135 It is hard to find other powders in my country Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8ring Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Production 9mm Loads 9mm 115gr FMJ = Winchester Super Field (5.3gr), backup VV N340 9mm 124gr FMJ = N320 (4.1gr) backup WSF (4.9gr.) or Universal (4.6gr) 9mm 135gr lead = N320 9mm 147gr lead = N320, backup WST _____________________________________________________________ .357 mag, 140gr lead truncated cone = Universal (6.2gr), backup N340 ____________________________________________________________ Loads for SW625 Revolver 45acp 200gr lead or moly coated= WST (5.0gr), backup = N320 45acp 200gr plated = N320 (5.1gr), backup WST 45acp 230gr lead or moly coated = N310 (3.8gr), backup for practice loads - Clays (3.8gr) 45acp 230gr plated = N-310 (4.0gr), backup - Clays (4.0gr) Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr2e Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 9mm major - silhouette .45acp - wst and/or clays prefer wst since there is more "room" to try to achieve major but clays works well for most applications Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toymaker Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 9mm HS-6 40 S&W Tightgroupe 38spl and 357Mag W231 45ACP Bullseye but I'm going to switch to Clays 30 Carbine W296 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outerlimits Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 38supercomp (major)-VVn350 38supercomp (steel loads)-VVn320 223-WW748 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket35 Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 40 S&W (Lead- hard cast & moly coated) Hodgdon Universal Clays Pretty clean burning; Moderate recoil; Accurate but tends to vary from lot to lot and somewhat temperature sensitive, easy to locate. Hodgdon Titegroup Sooty and dirty burning; Moderate recoil; Accurate but tends to vary from lot to lot and very temperature sensitive, easy to locate. 45 ACP (Lead- hard cast) Hodgdon Clays Moderately clean burning; Light recoil; Safe to use; Inexpensive, easy to locate. Hodgdon Titegroup Sooty and dirty burning; Moderate recoil; Accurate but tends to vary from lot to lot and very temperature sensitive, easy to locate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VARifleman Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 I've only gone through load development with .45 so far. N320 - IPSC (170 pf) N340 - Faster velocity hunting/SD stuff (190 pf) I'm trying out IMR4895 for .223, but have not taken it to the chrono. It is strange on the meter, but calms down after about 10 throws...I'm going to try some 748 if I'm not really happy with the groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrguar Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 For 45 Hard Cast: 230's & 250's LRNFP Solo 1000 200's Solo 1250 Both burn clean, are very consistent and meter well in my dillon equipment. For 40 Hard Cast: 200's AA#2 Clean & consistent what else do you need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big_kahuna Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 (edited) I hope that this isn't off track, but I'd like to know from the experienced shooters out there which powders show a lot of temperature sensitivity and which way that sensitivity takes the round. That is as the temp goes up does the pf and velocity go up or down?Bill Here are some opinions based on some recent observations. YMMV and all that. Hope this helps: 40 S&W / major PF / 180 jacketed Primaries: 700X ($), PB ($$), and N320 ($$$). Clean, accurate, soft, low smoke, least affected by temperature. I've had good experiences with all three but like 700X right now due to lower cost. Alternate: Titegroup. Temp sensitve in the conventional way (warmer = faster). Manageable if you keep good notes. Others tried: WST (inverse temp sensitive e.g. cooler = faster, harder to manage), U-clays (temp stable but with pushy recoil, high ES/SD at 170 PF, slightly less accurate than some other powders but still acceptable for USPSA use), WSF (similar to U-clays but temp sensitive), Unique (similar to U-clays plus dirty), and 231 (real close to the load ceiling at 170 PF with FMJs, conventionally temperature sensitivity, could be risky). 40 S&W / major PF / 180 lead or moly Primary: PB. Smokes a little more than WST, about the same as 231, and much less than the other powders listed. Seems temperature stable in comparison to other powders listed. Good availability in my area. Accurate and consistent. Drawbacks: $128 for 8 lb jug vs about a hundred bucks for TG/231/etc. Alternate: 231. This has a lot of the same benefits as PB but is definitely temp sensitive. This is a very minor drawback, because at least it is directly proportional (warmer = faster) and is very manageable. Just gotta keep good notes and map your loads to the temps. Others tried: WST (inverse temp sensitive, harder to manage), U-clays (pushy recoil, high ES/SD at 170 PF), WSF (same as U-clays plus temp sensitive), Unique (Same as U-clays plus dirty), and 700X (smoky and gunky with lead bullets but clean with jacketed... has soft recoil, is accurate and is relatively temperature stable... burns hot like TG but not quite as bad). I haven't tried N320 with lead yet, I got so excited testing it with jacketed bullets that I used it all up. 40 S&W / minor PF / 180 lead, moly, or jacketed Primary: Clays. Clean, soft and relatively temperature stable. Alternates: Titegroup for jacketed only, conventionally temp sensitive. WST for lead or moly, inversely temp sensitive. 45 ACP / major PF / 200-230 lead, moly or jacketed Primary: Clays Alternates: 231, WST, 700X Avoid: Universal clays Edited February 15, 2008 by big_kahuna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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