To try or not try Solo 1000/American Select in light of BE-86?

[LiveLife]

I was planning to try Solo 1000 and American Select for 9/40/45 loads when powders became more available again.

Powder availability is improving but now I have a dilemma because of BE-86. While Solo1K and AS are popular with match shooters, they are fluffy powders and don't meter well (although they are known to produce accurate loads and compatible with Dillon 650 powder measure).

But now that Alliant has BE-86 out that meters like Bullseye/PowerPistol and is surpassing accuracy of all my 9/40/45 reference loads, I am wondering if I should test Solo1K/AS at this point.

Those that used Solo1K/AS, can you comment whether I should try them?

 

[Walkalong]

Both good powders that can be useful. Why not try them, instead of pronouncing BE-86 the winner without doing so?

 

[jwrowland77]

Try'em both. That's what makes reloading so enjoyable!

 

[rsrocket1]

Alliant is really pushing BE-86 hard and I believe they are trying to throw most of their eggs into that basket, but it is a slower powder like PP and less efficient than Red Dot/Unique meaning you need more powder per shot. Solo 1000 and American Select are in a different category than BE-86. It's a fast pistol powder more in line with Clays, Titewad, e3. They would be good for low/medium recoil loads while maintaining good pressure, but you won't get full velocity before reaching max SAAMI pressures.

Being that they are quite different flavors of pistol powders with quite different characteristics, if they are available, try a pound of each. The fun thing is you get to shoot more.

I remember early in my reloading career when I wanted to experiment, going to the LGS and buying a pound each of Bullseye, Red Dot and Power Pistol and simply asking the guy behind the counter and they were all available!

Those were the days.

 

[Artofgolf]

Try'em both. That's what makes reloading so enjoyable!

Yup ~ give 'em a try.

 

[bluetopper]

Next time I see American Select I'm buying multiple pounds of it. Me and my 3 shooting buddies are long in the tooth reloaders. We have tried them all and AS is our favorite pistol powder........clean, consistent, and oh so very accurate. We shoot for group size only.
It seems Alliant is trying to differentiate their shotgun/pistol powders; only providing data for one or the other application..........a disservice I feel.

 

[LiveLife]

Thanks for the comments! Looks like I will look around for Solo 1000 and American Select to try. Walkalong, I guess powder reduction is a lost cause now.

What would you say how they compare to Red Dot/Promo? I currently use them for my 9/40/45 plinking loads and happy with them (and really like Herco/BE-86 for 40S&W). I have 8 lbs of Red Dot and about 10 lbs of Promo left so I have plenty of time to do comparison tests.

 

[Conservidave]

"Try or not try" .... there is only "Do or do not" - Yoda

 

[LiveLife]

OK, so I will "do" some testing with Solo 1000 and American Select once I find some.

Question is, will Solo 1K/AS do better than Red Dot/Promo for 9mm/40S&W/45ACP accuracy wise.

From what I read so far, they should burn cleaner.

 

[dave333]

Solo 1000 is one of my favorite powders. It was the very first powder I ever bought when I started reloading. The reason I chose it was it had by far the most load data on my lee charts. It seemed like there was a load for just about every bullet weight/style in 9mm, and since I was new to reloading and not sure what I would like the best I figured it would give me the most flexibility. Even though its a flake powder it actually meters pretty well, at least it does through my lee disks. Another little benefit is its pretty easy to see in a dark 9mm case as its a light grey color. Good luck finding any though, I have come across exactly two bottles of it and havent ever seen it online anywhere since powder has become so hard to find.

 

[LiveLife]

Solo 1000 and American Select seem to be popular with match shooters and I suspect they are snatching them up like other popular powders.

I have plenty of powders on hand so I will pick some up when they become available.

No rush for me as I want to do thorough comparison between BE-86 and CFE Pistol along with other powders.