What powders have you transitioned through?

[LiveLife]

While browsing through different threads to get more powder ideas, I got curious. Many posted what powders they have ended up with and what they recommend currently.

What powders have you transitioned through?

Why did you not like the particular powders?

Do you ever go back to the powders you transitioned from?

I guess I might as well give up my powder reduction efforts. More I try, more I find more powders I want to try out and keep.

 

[ljnowell]

In fast pistol powders I started with 700x. I loaded the heck out of it, but eventually just came to loathe its poor metering. I then switched to Bullseye. It was fine and dandy until I came upon a screaming deal on AA#2. After finding out for the first time what the phrase "meters like water" meant, I was hooked. I would gladly pay more for it than bullseye, though its cheaper.

The first time I bought a "slower" pistol powder was for 45acp and then 357. It was Power Pistol. While not a true magnum powder it had some pop. When I started loading hot ruger only loads for 45colt I needed something more flashy. I bought some H110. It was a good powder, and burned clean, but had a tight loading window and no matter what I would always get some leading. I then moved over to Alliant 2400 and have to say that its the best magnum handgun powder I have used. Not sure if I will ever look for another one, 2400 has produced great results, though it can be dirty when loaded into the bottom of its loading data.

As far as going back to powders, I dont think I will ever buy 700x, Bullseye, or H110/W296 again. AA#2 does everything that bullseye and 700x will do, and in most cases do it cheaper and meter better. I still use power pistol for JHP 45acp loads 2400 has replaced h110 without a doubt.

 

[rcmodel]

I never was much of a powder junkie.

I started with Bullseye, Red Dot, Green Dot, Unique, and 2400 handgun & shotgun powders.
And surplus H-4831 & H-4895 poured out of a big old drum and sold in a brown paper lunch sack. Oh, and real IMR-4198 when I got a .222 Rem. But it was twice as expensive as the Hodgdon surplus. I think it cost as much as $3 bucks a can! GASP!

Tried some Alcan shotgun powder once, but went right back to the "Dots" & Unique again for shotguns.

My only "recent" acquisition was WW-748 in 1972, and I still use it for .223 & 30-30.

My shooting buddy is a powder junkie, and he has a partial can of about everything ever made since 1962 gathering dust in a his reloading room. His Herters powder shelf is really something to see!

When we went shooting last week, I ask him what he was using in his newly aquired 10mm S&W revolver?
He was using Unique in it!

One of these days, I'm gonna try that new-fangled WW-231 and see how it does. Just haven't got a round tuit yet!

rc

 

[Jesse Heywood]

I haven't stopped using any powder. Loading for handguns, I have AA#2, Bullseye, Unique, Green Dot, Red Dot, IMR-4227, Titegroup, Trail Boss, W-231, 700-X, 800-X, SR7625.

I guess I might as well give up my powder reduction efforts. More I try, more I find more powders I want to try out and keep.

The only way to save money reloading is to expand your powder bin!

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

I went from useing BE under cast slugs to Red Dot although RD is IMO a 'dipper' powder. cleaner and better groups - bit cheaper too since it's bulky.
Power Pistol is a must for me to have on hand. no replacement for it IMO.
AA9 and 2400 I alternate - seems 2400 may group a bit tighter but wow what muzzle flash.

 

[cheygriz]

I used a lot of fast pistol powders in the old days. Now, I use HS-6 and H110 almost exclusively for handguns.

I quit using most of the extruded rifle powders, other than 4895 and switched to spherical because of the way they flow through powder measures.

700X, B.E., Red & Green Dot, Unique, Titegroup, etc are all truly excellent powders, but since I like to load factory duplication, I've gone to the much slower HS-6 for most loads.

AAC#7 and Herco are superb powders as well for +P loads, but I like to keep the number of powders that I stock to a minimum.

Extruded rifle powders give excellent results as well. But again, I can fill all of my rifle needs with H-335, H414 and H-450. And they all flow through the measure within .1 grain accuracy.

 

[RandyP]

I started a few years ago with Win 231/HP-38. Haven't found a need to change yet.

 

[GaryL]

I tried AA#9 in 45 colt - bad idea. Hard to burn all the powder cleanly with any kind of moderate load, and I'm not sure I want to find out what it would take to inspire a full burn.

Discovered 2400 comes close to H110 in velocity with a much lighter recoil in 44mag, and have no doubts it will go toe to toe with H110 at full throttle. Does have a bit of a fireball, which I don't mind.

Herco works great in 45acp, if you don't mind a little unburnt powder everywhere. Green Dot seems work well, as does Bullseye for target loads. These days I shy away from Bullseye in large capacity cases since those few grains look very lonely in the bottom of the case, and I don't think they'd be quick to announce to the world if a few extra friends showed up to party. Once the party starts, it might be a riot.

Red Dot is listed for 9mm, but the range is narrow and it's easy to go too light and not have it cycle the slide. I'm currently burning up the last of some HS-5 I scored cheap a few years back, and that works rather nicely. Unfortunately not an option for the future, but it was fun while it lasted.

 

[RidgwayCO]

Started with Bullseye in the .380 Auto, but didn't like the way it metered or burned. Then tried 700X and REALLY didn't like the way it metered. Then tried HP-38 and didn't like the way it burned. Then tried AA #2, and have been trying to find a better fast powder since then without any success.

Started with Unique in the .44 Special, but didn't like the way it metered. Now I use IMR Trail Boss and VV N340 for most of my .44 Special loads (although VV N105 is showing great promise for heavy loads).

HS-7 was good in the 9mm Luger, but dirty. Power Pistol was good in everything I've tried it in, but the muzzle flash is disconcerting. Titegroup was ok, but I was concerned about the extremely tough stains on the brass (and by extension the probably stained chambers). VV 3N37 is the best I've found for factory-duplication loads in the 9mm Luger.

Ramshot X-Terminator has been great for my 55gr FMJ loads in my EBR. In .30-06, I like Hodgdon Varget for the lighter bullets, and H4350 for my 165gr hunting loads. Looking forward to trying AA#2520 in my M1 Garand 147gr FMJ loads.

Hope this helps. YMMV.

 

[kennedy]

in .40 I started with AA#5, then tried ww231(too dirty) and ended up at universal clays, may try AA#5 again, it worked pretty good. in 6.5x55 tried varget than went to reloder 22.

 

[wanderinwalker]

I don't know as I've given up using any powders, but I have tried a few!

Well, I have stopped using 231 in pistol loads, though I have some .38s loaded I will shoot up eventually. I'm quite pleased with Universal in 9mm, but it was only so-so with lead in .38 Special. Unique has potential, but I am reserving judgement until I try it in .44 Magnum, Special and 9mm.

In rifle ammo I found H4895 a bit dirty for .223 in my AR-15 and the soot did not clean off when tumbled. Luckily I can use it in .30-30 without any soot issues.

I have also tried RL-15 in .223, and it does work well. But I have a big canister of my beloved Varget again, so once I have burned up my current supply of RL-15 that will be that. Of course, now I have a backup in case I run out of Varget at an inconvenient time (again...).

Right now I am hoping to consolidate down to just a handful of powders after I burn up the odds and ends sitting in the cabinet. Probably Varget and something else for rifles (.223 and .30-30 are all I need to cover right now), then a powder for full-power magnum pistol ammo and a medium-burning cover almost everything powder (like Unique, Universal or Power Pistol).

 

[cfullgraf]

For handguns the only powder I have used and won't use any more is Hercules, no Alliant 2400. It left too much debris in my 357 Mag loads. Now I use and like W296 in 357 Mag, 30 Carbine and 410 Shotshell.

Lots of other powders I currently don't use but would if my primary powder for a load gets hard to find.

 

[m33p0n3]

I started out loading .45 acp with Clays, mainly because the gunshop I bought bullets from at the time recommended it and were out of W231. It worked alright, but I had a hankering for some more than powder-puff loads and that's about all you can do with Clays in most pistol calibers.

So I moved onto Unique. It works great as a powder, but I've found it to be a little less than consistent with my lee disk powder thrower, so it's seen limited use.

Finally got around to buying some HP-38 (which is the same as W231) and found that it works really well for me. And because I only load .38/.357 and .45 I can consolidate to one powder for the most part....

...Which lead to 2400 for some rip-roaring flame-snortin' .357 action

As far as rifle powders, I've only recently begun reloading for .223. I'd heard that varget was a very accurate powder and is reasonably temperature insensitive. It turns out it's pretty darn accurate through my AR under a 55 grain Hornady HPBT. And hopefully it's indifference to temperature is true, as I shoot year round outdoors whether it's 17 or 100 degrees out.

 

[GLOOB]

Interesting. I just started, but I'm already getting kinda bored with HP-38/W231. I feel like it's only good for powder-puff loads in 9mm and .357. To be fair, I haven't yet tried it for the .45, where I'm using 6.3 gr Unique behind a 230 gr FMJ. But in 9mm, I've gone a smidge beyond max, and it still feels like I'm shooting Federal Champion. (Not surprising; Hogdon's reloading center shows max load for 124 JHP only brings 28k pressure.)

My first pound of Unique is about kicked, but the W231 is still 2/3 full. Now I'm getting ready to spice things up with Win Auto Comp.

 

[jhansman]

In my search for THE powder for my .223 Howa 1500, I started at Varget, then to H335, then to 4198, finally stopping with H322. Under a 60 gr. Sierra Varminter, it will shoot sub-MOA now. Glad the search is over.

 

[esheato]

I'm a bit of a powder junkie. I have an entire shelf of half pounders. When I find something I like, I buy 8 lbs or more.

I don't experiment with pistol very much..find something works and make lots. Same with shotgun.

Rifle is another story...I am always doing load development and there are lots of powders and bullets to try.

 

[ranger335v]

I no longer use Hercule's HiVel2, nor any Alcan or Herters powders. Not because they weren't good, but they aren't made anymore. I have no idea what would make for a "poor" powder, seems they all work for some things, none work for everything. The only ones I've "transistioned" through was because they didn't work in one rifle but may do nicely in others. ??

 

[Funshooter45]

I will admit to being a powder junkie. I just have to try every powder I see or hear about that might have an application to my loading.

For my revolvers I currently have a shelf full of: W231, HP-38 (I had to try both to see if they were really the same), Trail Boss, Tite Group, Unique, Universal, VV N-330, True Blue, Enforcer, AA #9, 4227, 2400, Lil Gun, W-296, H-110. Of those, I really wish I didn't have the Lil Gun. It just hasn't worked as well as the other magnum powders. I also rarely use any Unique anymore. It's OK, but I just like the Universal and True Blue better. I would be hard pressed to get by without the 231 or the 2400 and the N330 is about all I ever use in .45 Colt now.

For rifles, I have Alliant RL-7, RL-15, RL-17, and RL-22, Hodgdon H-4895, H-4350, H-4831, H-4831 SC, H-1000, Retumbo, Varget, and Hybrid V100, Winchester Supreme 780, Ramshot Big Game and Hunter. I could easily do without the H-1000 and Retumbo. I use more Varget and H-4895 than anything else, but I am quickly starting to really like the 780 and V100.

 

[black timber]

I used to use H110 for all my .357 mag heavy loads, but have switched over to AA#9 for the handguns. I still use H110 for my marlin 1894c, but in the 3" & 4" revos I have found AA#9 to be much cleaner, WAY less flash, equal velocity and superior accuracy.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I don't think I can count the number of powders I've used over the years. At the moment I have 12 pistol powders, 10 rifle powders and several Black Powder substitutes on the shelf and I use most of them.

My pistol powder "trinity" is W231(HP-38), W540(HS-6) and W296(H110). I know the original "powder trinity" is Bullseye, Unique and 2400 but I went in a slightly different direction.

For rifles I use a bunch of powders because I feel there's no reason to limit yourself to a few powders that will work but not give the best results. You know the old saying, "If it's worth doing it's worth doing well." That said I find myself using a few powder more than others mostly because I shoot mostly 30-06, .223, 30-30 and 45-70 calibers most. I use a lot of 4198, 3031, 4895, 4064, 4350 and Varget. Well, I guess that's more than a few...

If I had to live with only 3 pistol powders they would be W231, HS-6 and W296 like I said above. For rifles I guess I could get by with only four, 4198, 4895, 4350 and 4831.

 

[RDub]

Hmm.. powders.. Well, when I got started at this back in '69 or so, there was Bullseye, Unique and 2400.. That's about all I was aware of. They were good 'nuf then and they're good 'nuf now. Then I discovered H-110 and 296 and never looked back.. I was shooting mostly .38spcl and .357 mag in my high school days and in 1973 I bought my first .44Mag.
I found that I couldn't beat 2400 with full power cast bullet loads in my revolvers and H-110/296 was just the ticket for jacketed bullets. Unique covered all the mid-range loads quite nicely and Bullseye was for target loads.

I never really cared if the powder was 'dirty'.. I liked cleaned my guns anyway. And I really never minded if the loads with Unique were a few tenths either way.. That soda can would pop up in the air regardless of whether the charge weighed 4.7 or 4.9grs.. didn't matter.

Since then I've expanded my horizons a bit and I'm really liking Power Pistol. I consider it to be a 'Unique that meters better'. It has the same usefulness as Unique in handguns. I also like AA#2, AA#5, 700x, 800x, Herco, W231, and Blue Dot.
I would like to try some of that VV N-110. Has anyone used it yet?

As for rifle powders.. They can all work well in something and some work better than others.. Every barrel is a law unto itself, so ya know how that goes.. Some newer powders are really looking good, like Rx17, W780, 4000MR, and 2000MR.
Having said that, I have a can of IMR4007 that I have not been able to get to do well in any rifle I worked with... 22/250, 7mm08, '06, .300 H&H, 7x57AI to name a few.. Just what is this powder good for?:banghead:

I am also starting to like W780.. I just hope that it stays around for a while. Winchester has a habit of introducing a slow burning powder only to pull it down the road a bit.. How many have they pulled now??

 

[GaryL]

Some good info in this thread.

<<< taking notes

 

[rklessdriver]

AA5, WW231, HP38, Bullseye, 2400, IMR4064, RL22.

Mostly using 231 and Red Dot in my pistols these days.
Will

 

[LiveLife]

Some good info in this thread.

<<< taking notes

Yup, me too.

Thanks everyone for posting your experience!

If you got more, I am sure many would want to hear them.

 

[BsChoy]

IMR 4350, H4350, varget, RL15, RL22, IMR4064, H4895, TAC...in pistol I have only used Red Dot but want to switch to a ball powder