New to reloading .45 Auto...need recommendations on powder & primers

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  • D.Dasher

    Member
    Mar 14, 2012
    44
    Unique,can be used for a little bit of everything,if I could only have one powder this is the one.
     

    ihriec

    Active Member
    Aug 10, 2013
    493
    Where have you found Clays in the last year?

    There was a fire in the plant and no Clays and other pistol/shotgun powders from ADI in Australia.

    I bought two pounds of Clays about 1 1/2 to 2 years ago. I didn't know about the fire.
     

    Sticky

    Beware of Dog
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 16, 2013
    4,501
    AA Co
    If you can find it.. I have started to see more pistol powders come up online, including WST, but they sell out in minutes.... hopefully things will start to get a little better...
     

    ITAdam

    Member
    Aug 30, 2014
    21
    Carrol County
    Yeah, I've been keeping an eye on gunbot for powder deals, but I can't justify spending the hazmat fee. Hoping to find something in stock at the next gun show
     

    guthook

    Grrr.
    Apr 7, 2008
    7,056
    St. Mary's
    Yeah, has been NONE out there for the past 1.5 years.

    I bought a pound of Clays last year for .38sp & .45, but never ended up using it. I'd gladly trade for a pound of Titegroup if someone would rather have the Clays. That shop has since stopped carrying powder altogether.

    I have worked up recipes for .38, .357, 9mm and .45 with the Titegroup and would much rather have that powder than start load development all over with Clays.
     

    ras_oscar

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 23, 2014
    1,666
    I'm not going to recommend a powder, I'm going to recommend a procedure. In the current environment you will most likely end up reloading with the powder you can find, not the powder you prefer. I went to Gunbot.org and made note of the powder manufacturers represented. Then I made up a spreadsheet and spent time researching ALL the manufacturers represented, noting on my spreadsheet the powder manufacturer, name, start charge, max charge and where the data was found. Spreadsheet page for each caliber and bullet I have chosen. Spreadsheet is sorted by manufacturer. When I find an outlet that has powder in stock, I run down my manufacture's sheet to see if I have load data for any.
     

    Sticky

    Beware of Dog
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 16, 2013
    4,501
    AA Co
    That is a great method in today's markets.. learn/list what powders can be used for your needs and be willing to try several different ones to have multiple choices if you are in need. Pistol powders are tight right now, so it's good to have a couple other options over your 'primary powder choice'.
     

    Magnumite

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 17, 2007
    6,561
    Harford County, Maryland
    Nice threaf. I've used Bullseye, Unique, HS6, even Green Dot and Blue Dot in 45 ACP.

    45 is a low pressure cartridge so generally faster powders are more efficient. My experience was Unique didn't do anything Bullseye couldn't except for burn more powder. Green Dot bore out what I learned with the 357 Magnum - it needs pressure to work. HS 6 didn't produce anything to keep me using it. Blue Dot works great when I was shooting +P and Super pressures for comped barrels, lots of gas volume to make an efficient comp work. So I stayed with Bullseye for every 45 ACP load I've loaded. I'd use similar speed powders if I needed to. But I still like to experiment so I'm looking at some of the other powders mentioned.
     

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,591
    Glen Burnie
    Nice threaf. I've used Bullseye, Unique, HS6, even Green Dot and Blue Dot in 45 ACP.

    45 is a low pressure cartridge so generally faster powders are more efficient. My experience was Unique didn't do anything Bullseye couldn't except for burn more powder. Green Dot bore out what I learned with the 357 Magnum - it needs pressure to work. HS 6 didn't produce anything to keep me using it. Blue Dot works great when I was shooting +P and Super pressures for comped barrels, lots of gas volume to make an efficient comp work. So I stayed with Bullseye for every 45 ACP load I've loaded. I'd use similar speed powders if I needed to. But I still like to experiment so I'm looking at some of the other powders mentioned.
    This is a good post, and will most likely prove to be true for anyone who wants to test it.

    Looking back on my Dad's reloading notes, he was a fan of the .45 ACP, so he reloaded quite a bit for it. Standard run of the mill reloading found him using Unique, HP38 and Bullseye.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    When I first started reloading, I loaded .45 and used Bullseye. Mainly because the low amount of powder meant more rounds per pound, so cheaper to shoot (in college).

    But moved away from Bullseye, to Unique, as Unique was cleaner. Not clean, but cleaner.

    When I got back to reloading, the standard for USPSA shooting the .45 was WW231. So I used that, and still do. It works.

    I run HS-6 in .40 S&W, but because my wife and a friend (both shooting Sig P229s) were loading cast bullets in WW231 which was too fast, and stripped the bullets in the rifling, leading to keyholing at 5 yards. So switched to HS-6, slightly slower, and it worked fine with cast bullets.

    I loaded some .45 to try out WSF, WST, and Action Pistol, but stopped shooting before I shot them (and chrono'd).

    Shoot some loads in .45 with Clays for PA Steel.
     

    Jimbuck

    Active Member
    May 26, 2009
    253
    We just loaded some test rounds with titegroup last night for 45. We used:

    230 gr plated
    Federal Primer
    Winchester cases
    4.4 gr of titegroup
    OAL 1.21
    Seemed to be a nice round.
     

    byf43

    SCSC Life/NRA Patron Life
    When I started loading .45 acp (late '70s/early '80s), I perused all of the saved magazines that I had, looking for information/data on reloading this grand old "catridge".

    I ran across an article that showed the top (favorite) loads of the top rated competitors that shot .45 acp.

    I bought a pound of W-231 to try, and not long after that, a got a call from one of the members of my sportsman's club, offering me some powder.

    When we met, he retrieved an (unopened) EIGHT POUND KEG from his truck and gave it to me!!!
    He had bought it, to load 9mm and his health was failing, so, he got rid of all of his 'stuff'.

    Well........ that KEG is gone. It took a long time to finish it off, but, I did it.

    Yes, "I spread the wealth" so-to-speak.
    A bunch of us that loaded .45 acp got to benefit from this old guy's generosity.
    He is now gone.
     

    stu929

    M1 Addict
    Jan 2, 2012
    6,605
    Hagerstown
    Nice threaf. I've used Bullseye, Unique, HS6, even Green Dot and Blue Dot in 45 ACP.

    45 is a low pressure cartridge so generally faster powders are more efficient. My experience was Unique didn't do anything Bullseye couldn't except for burn more powder. Green Dot bore out what I learned with the 357 Magnum - it needs pressure to work. HS 6 didn't produce anything to keep me using it. Blue Dot works great when I was shooting +P and Super pressures for comped barrels, lots of gas volume to make an efficient comp work. So I stayed with Bullseye for every 45 ACP load I've loaded. I'd use similar speed powders if I needed to. But I still like to experiment so I'm looking at some of the other powders mentioned.
    Have you used 700x?

    Seems to shoot well while using small volumes and burns clean. Main downside is it meters like corn flakes.
     

    Magnumite

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 17, 2007
    6,561
    Harford County, Maryland
    "Have you used 700x?

    Seems to shoot well while using small volumes and burns clean. Main downside is it meters like corn flakes."

    No, I haven't but I've seen referenced several times in various places. I have some Red Dot equivalent...forget the name of it. Got it since it is bulkier and fills the case more for equivalent charge weight and velocity. I haven't gotten around to trying it yet.
     

    HogCommander

    Active Member
    Aug 10, 2013
    411
    Texas Hill Country
    Loading for .45

    I compete in Bullseye matches and load a lot of .45 ACP. Haven't tried a lot of powders but I prefer VihtaVouri N310 when I can find it. Given than I can't find VV pistol powders, I usually use Alliant Bullseye powder. For reduced recoil match loads, I usually use 3.7-4.0 grains of powder. COAL varies by bullet but I would suggest getting the crimp right first. My chamber likes 0.472-73" at case mouth so I seat some dummy rounds first to get the taper set, then adjust the seating depth checking the dummy rounds in the chamber of my barrel. I seat them deep enough that the base of the brass goes just deeper than the hood of my barrel. Don't have a measurement...I drop in some factory rounds and try to approximate the seating depth using the factory rounds as a guide.

    For primers, I use Federal LPP and have been very happy with them.
     

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