.380, 9mm & 45's - Red Dot, Yes? No?

[CANNONMAN]

I helping my neighbor learn to make his first bullets. I've been reloading for a bit and love casting. He wanted to learn hard casting and make a +P round. in 45. HIs side arm of choice while hunting. Years ago I bought a whole lot of Unique and even though a bit dirty it's been fine. In the book I noticed that Red Dot seemed to give a lot of bang for the buck. Less powder for more power. All I've seen are the adds where its being sold. He's found free hazmat and we want to get started. I'd be interested in how this performs, how clean, and good for the 9's and .380?

 

[mdi]

I always figgered if there are loads listed in my manual(s) with the bullets I want to use, then I'll try it. You can work up a decent load for just about any gun with almost any powder listed. For many reloaders there is not enough difference between a good load worked up with one of the "Dots" or W231 or Bullseye to be noticible.

 

[thomas15]

These days, Spring 2019, thankfully it is easy to find just about any powder in the lineup. A stark change from about 5 years ago when you bought what you could find and make it work.

So you want to use Red-Dot for 45 acp, 9mm and .380? I think it will work ok but why would you do this? To save money?

 

[MikeInOr]

I started with reddot for 45's and switched to Bullseye... 25 years ago. I don't remember why exactly but I think is was because Bulseye worked well in both 45 and 9mm... so I only had to stock one powder instead of 2.

 

[1KPerDay]

Red dot works great in all of those calibers for basic to moderate loads if you can get it to meter accurately at .380 charge levels.

 

[LiveLife]

While I like Red Dot, in recent years I have been using Promo with Red Dot load data (by weight as Alliant recommends as they are of different density) in 9mm and 45ACP with good results.

Due to faster burn rate, in 45ACP I have used Promo for light target loads of 200 gr SWC with 4.0-4.2 gr.

With 9mm, I push harder and use 115 gr FMJ with 4.0-4.2/4.2-4.4 gr at 1.125"-1.130" OAL. And 124 gr FMJ with 3.8-4.0 gr at 1.130"-1.135" OAL. (Typical metering variance)

Promo is by far the lowest cost powder at around $118 for 8 lbs (Only comes in 8 lbs).

For 380Auto requiring smaller powder charges, I use better metering powders like W231/HP-38/Sport Pistol.

 

[Dudedog]

Red Dot/Promo works in 9mm and .45 but I think would probably be a pain in .380 due to the small charges and the way it meters.
If you are looking for a powder for all three I think a better choice would be AA#2 (meters great), Sport Pistol (also meters great), or HP38/W231 (same powder, meters well but not as good as the first two)
I used Promo for 9mm and .45 loading light so I could tolerate + or - .2gr (most were better) but in .380 you don't have much wiggle room.

 

[lordpaxman]

He wanted to learn hard casting and make a +P round. in 45.

In the book I noticed that Red Dot seemed to give a lot of bang for the buck.

I've tried Red Dot in 9mm and .45 but it's a really fast powder especially if you're looking to develop +P loads. I don't know if "bang for the buck" translates to an economical powder or works in many different cartridges. All the powders seem to be pretty much on par for cost per round until you touch VV but even then it really doesn't break the bank in my book. If you want to stay with Alliant, Bullseye is a better choice for the faster powder and Sport Pistol for a little slower. SP is relatively new so depending on what manual(s) you're looking at it might not be there. Power Pistol is slower still and will give you all the flash and bang you want.
If you want to stay close the Unique burn rate, take a gander at the chart and there are several old and newer entries that do burn cleaner and cover your calibers.

 

[CANNONMAN]

Dear Lordpaxman, I think you are spot on! I looked once more at the charts and now wonder why I didn't pick Bullseye. It was also the charts choice. Eh guess I got caught up in the moment. BTW, Bullseye was ordered. Thanks

 

[LiveLife]

Bullseye was ordered. Thanks

Good choice. And Bullseye meters very well to use for 380Auto requiring smaller powder charges.

 

[drband]

Red Dot will work well in 9mm and .45 for low to moderate loads. It will work (I have used it) in .380 but you will need to make sure your measurements are accurate. It would be easy to overcharge a .380 case with a powder measure that does not meter such small charges reliably.

 

[MikeInOr]

Red dot works great in all of those calibers for basic to moderate loads if you can get it to meter accurately at .380 charge levels.

Oh, I remember now... I switched from Red Dot to Bullseye because my Dillon powder measures throw much more consistent loads with Bullseye than they do with Red Dot.

 

[[email protected]]

With 9mm and CAST lead I have always had better luck with hp38/win 231 and slower, than what I have had with the faster powders (bullseye, tightgroup, accurate #2, and promo). I was able to reach the targeted velocity with a lower pressure. I also had less instances of flame cutting the base of the bullet causing leading.