Of "New" Powders vs. Unique

[stevemb]

The powder availability is still iffy. Am looking for options from among the newer and cleaner powders that I have NO experience with. Useage is play/plinking and SASS loads. Say bullet weights of 210grs down to 160gr RNFP's. Velo's what you would expect, say 600FPS to 900fps.. This in .44spec/.44mag cases. Clays, has caught my interest. I want to be able to go to my local shop with several choices. I've already seen where shooting loads too light to expand the brass enough to seal the chamber results in lots of crud, sooner than field or hunting loads. SASS shooters and volume plinkers please apply ! stevemb

 

[WIL TERRY]

FORGET "CLAYS"!! UNIVERSAL is superb. There is nothing else noted in your post that is not in your reloading manuals.

 

[06ackley]

Power pistol is also one to look for.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

Steve, be sure to remember that "Clays" is a three sibling "family" of Hodgdon powders: they have "just plain" Clays, Universal Clays, and International Clays, the latter usually referred to simply as Universal or International. I have a little experience w/ Universal, and it does a nice job. The others I've no experience w/ at all. Each had a specific shotshell use when they came out, and I dunno how much crossover you'll find w/ them when used in handgun loads. Universal's probably the closest thing to the multipurpose capabilities of Unique.

So the point I wanted to make is to remember to double check your data against the label on the jug when using anything w/ the word "Clays" in it, ok?

Rick C

 

[5of7]

I now use universal wherever I used to use Unique. Very similar burning rate and it meters better and burns cleaner too. 8)

 

[WESHOOT2]

For 'Cowboy' level loads I suggest you investigate Titegroup.

 

[Rclark]

Those are light bullets! My lightest bullet for the .45 Colt is 250g, and .44 240g SWC.... At any rate, you want a fast burning powder to get as much pressure as you can get (to a point) to seal the chamber. Trail Boss comes to mind. Red Dot would work well. Green Dot too. W-231. Titegroup. Universal/Unique are going to be dirty at the low velocities of 600fps regardless. Getting the speed up around 850fps+ then Unique/Universal would start to be a good choice. Part of the fun is finding loads that work for you! Grab a can, and run some loads over a chronograph for speed and accuracy. One thing I found with the .44Spec was there wasn't to many loads that it didn't like (using a 240g bullet that is).

 

[96/44]

If you can find a jug of Alliant Promo, it is a cheaper version of Red Dot and works great for non-magnum large case handgun loads. I believe it only comes in 8lb jugs, but is usually around $12/pound.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Not a newer powder but for light loads in the 44mag/44special it is hard to beat HP-38/W231. It is faster and more economical than Universal. It is a fine 'ball' powder that flows easily. It is not overly position sensitive and is recommended for 'Cowboy' loads. The biggest drawback might be it doesn't fill the case very much. There is a lot of data online at the Hodgdon website.
http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

 

[stevemb]

Thanks guys ! Ric, I was aware of the "Clays" name issue, but local folks don't have anyway, no Unique,etc.. Came home with another oldie but goodie, Bullseye. Will give it a try. Titegroup another I would like to try for this role too. Again, thanks. stevemb

 

[WESHOOT2]

Suggest using 'Cowboy' data with Bullseye.

 

[stevemb]

My Lyman 3rd edition pistol and revolver book has lots of Bullseye/cast bullet data. Data won't be an issue. Gotta get some bullet orders going now ! stevemb

 

[8emem]

+1 for Alliant Promo. Natchezss has the 8lb jugs in stock briefly 2-3 times per month. I bought it because that's all I could get. So far I have been loading 45 acp using Red Dot data and it works just fine. Shipping to where I'm at and hazmat bring the price up to $18/lb. Not a great deal by any means but it's cost effective enough, compared to locally where even the stuff nobody wants is $30 a pound.

 

[bnewberry]

I don't really understand the clean criteria for a powder choice. But then I also like black powder.

To ensure cleaner burns and case mouth sealing look towards the upper end of the load data for your powder of choice.

I use clays and trail boss for most smokeless cowboy action loads but have used unique with good results and would have no trouble doing so in the future.

 

[GasGuzzler]

I would not have guessed that Trail Boss and upper end of the load data were compatible.

 

[bnewberry]

I would not have guessed that Trail Boss and upper end of the load data were compatible.

Upper end of the Trailboss data, certainly not the upper end of velocity possible!

Some cowboy shooters play with the low end of any powder's data looking for less recoil. These tend not to seal the chamber well enough to stay clean.

 

[308 Scout]

What does everyone have against cleaning their pistols? :mrgreen: Dirty, shmirty...at this point in the game, powder is powder!

I use Clays for my wife's .38 Spec CAS loads and like it so much, I'm about to get another 8 lbs.

If you can find e3, it's a shotgun powder but I worked up some light loads using it in a .44 Special and it burns slightly faster than Red Dot or Bullseye.

 

[stevemb]

I load BP myself for fun. The clean issue is solely for SASS where I've heard of folks cleaning their guns mid-shoot. That, I'd kinda like to avoid. Thanks for all the info and opinions ! steve

 

[308 Scout]

I load BP myself for fun. The clean issue is solely for SASS where I've heard of folks cleaning their guns mid-shoot. That, I'd kinda like to avoid. Thanks for all the info and opinions ! steve

Hmm...well the wife and I shot CAS there for a few months and neither of us cleaned mid-shoot. In fact I'd probably go a couple of matches before I clean the guns except maybe to wipe the carbon off the outside.

 

[WESHOOT2]

When I say "clean" what I mean is "powder residue that does not impair gun function reliability".
Yeah, that's what I mean.....