Bullseye powder?

A while back I picked up a pound of Bullseye powder. I haven't used it until this weekend. Yesterday I loaded up some 357 with 4 grains. In general I like loads on the mild side. And my books all said to start with either 4.3 or 4.1 depending on the book. On the webpage for Bullseye, they said 4.8 to start. I'm not sure why the big spread.

Anyway, it seems fairly accurate. But it's pretty windy today and I'm shooting low for some reason.

Is Bullseye anyone's favorite powder?

Bullseye is still a great powder although others have eclipsed it in terms of performance (cleaner burning for example). Try different loads to find one that shoots to point of aim.

It is my .45 Auto powder.

I will have to try some different loads. I think 4 grains is the bottom of the starting point and it gives me room to move up and find a more accurate load.

Otherwise it was a good day at the range. Just so darn hot, I had to pause often to let my guns cool down. They get a little stubborn when hot and act up.

Favorite for 45 acp. 38 sp and at least one 9mm load.

Bullseye was THE powder back in the '70's when I was just learning the art of what we called "Bullseye competition" with revolvers. It was overshadowed eventually by W-231 (also back in the '70's if I recall correctly). "We" found 231 to have a slight edge on accuracy over Bullseye (but that was just the "range intelligence" at the time.... although I still use the 231 powder to this day. Wouldn't hesitate to use Bullseye for the right application if necessary.
J

With the .45 Auto case, 4-5 grs fills halfway. Be hard to double charge.

THe original load for the .45 ACP was 5.0 gr. Bullseye and the 230 gr. FMJ bullet. I have a couple of 20 round boxes of .45ACP from Frankford arsenal dated 1917 head stamp on the cartridges. Says right on the box that the ammo was loaded with Bullseye powder. I had a few loose rounds besides the two full boxes and they all went bang and hit the target where they were supposed to. 8) Then came the job of cleaning after shooting corrosive primed ammo. :roll: Still, it was interesting to learn that that old ammo was still able to be shot and was reasonably accurate. I still have a pound of Bullseye and I can cast some 230 gr. RN bullets so maybe I'll do just that. Be a good practice load I'm thinking.
Paul B.

I started reloading in 1969 using Bullseye for my 38 Special handloads. Since then I have always had at least 1 lb. of Bullseye on hand. Besides using it in my 9mm, 38s and 357s, I use the "classic" load for my 45 ACP "Just in case" ammo; 5.0 gr. under a 230 gr FMJ. I also have a fun load for my 44 Magnum; a 123 gr. ball over a dusting of Bullseye..

mikld said:

I started reloading in 1969 using Bullseye for my 38 Special handloads.

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Hi,

I wonder how many BILLIONS of 148 gr WCs have flown out the barrels of .38 Spls, propelled by about 2.8 gr of Bullseye.

Rick C

Rick Courtright said:

mikld said:

I started reloading in 1969 using Bullseye for my 38 Special handloads.

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Hi,

I wonder how many BILLIONS of 148 gr WCs have flown out the barrels of .38 Spls, propelled by about 2.8 gr of Bullseye.

Rick C

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Yep, when I started reloading "Bullseye" shooting was dominated by 38 Special revolvers using the "classic" 2.7-2.9 gr of Bullseye under a HBWC. There were also a bunch of guys shooting 1911s using Bullseye and 230 LRN...

IIRC, there is still a large amount of the very first lot on Bullseye in existence. It's actually stored in water and every once in a while they take some, dry it and use it to test/compare with a current lot to insure it holds to the same standard. :shock: IIRC, they also do that with Unique. I know they've made a change in Unique to supposedlu make it cleaner burning so I don't know how or if it changes the results but I think it's kind of cool that two of the very earliest smokeless powder are not only still being made but immensely popular.

From Wikipedia:
When the American Smokeless Powder Company plant was destroyed by an explosion in 1898, Laflin & Rand took over the company and rebuilt the plant in Haskell, New Jersey (named for Laflin & Rand president Jonathan Haskell.) The Haskell plant became Laflin & Rand's primary smokeless powder factory producing not only military W.A. powder, but sporting powders including Bullseye pistol powder (introduced in 1898 using small, irregular particles removed by screening runs of larger grained powders), Lightning powder for lever-action sporting rifles (introduced in 1899), and shotgun powders Infallible and Unique (introduced in 1900).[1]

Note the first year of use, 1898 with Unique following in the year 1900. Not bad for a 121 year old powder.
Paul B.

I like a powder that fills the case a bit more than Bullseye but that said, I would not hesitate to buy and use it in target and plinking loads if I found it at the right price. I suggest you move up to 4.5gr and you will not feel a major difference in recoil as they are pleasant to shoot and I believe you will not have the problem shooting low.

but it's not a "Unique" powder! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Mus408 said:

but it's not a "Unique" powder! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

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Well, it did come first and in theory would be Unique's daddy. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Paul B.

Hi...
I use Bullseye as my go to powder for .45ACP and .38Spl.
It just works for me. I have a lot of it and don't foresee changing for those two calibers.

375supermag said:

Hi...
I use Bullseye as my go to powder for .45ACP and .38Spl.
It just works for me. I have a lot of it and don't foresee changing for those two calibers.

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Yeah, a little Bullseye goes a long way. If you ever run out and can't find any, W231 is excellent in those two cartridges.
Paul B.