Flexible powder for .44 Remington magnum and 45 ACP

[ras_oscar]

I began reloading at the beginning of the Obama administration when powder was scarce and obtained a supply of 800X because it was available and listed for 3 of the calibers i was planning to reload. One didn't work out and I ended up using it for 44 Remington Magnum (220GR) and 45ACP(230GR). That powder supply is nearing exhaustion and i have recently learned that 800X is being discontinued by Hodgdon. What is a reasonable powder that will be useful for both cartridges and is in reasonably reliable supply? I looked in the Hodgdon site, filtering to show only Hodgdon and Winchester powders and got commonality on the following powders:

231
244
572
700X
Autocomp
CFE Pistol
HP38
HS6
Longshot
Titegroup

Any experiences with these powders, good and bad?
availability
metering
clean or dirty

( I also widened the search for each cart to see if another power I already stock could be used, no commonality found)

 

[ohen cepel]

231 and HP38 are the same powder IIRC. Have used both and liked them fine, mostly in 38's.

Have used Titegroup in 44 mag and it did well for me. I prefer H110/296 for hot loads there though. Have done 700x in 38 and 45acp and it did well but seems a bit dirty, or at least in the loads I was doing it was.

I think I would go with Titegroup, I haven't used it for 45acp though. It doesn't take much so your $$ goes further, it meters well, burns clean, and is one of my preferred powders now. If I find a load of Titegroup given for something I am doing it is usually one of the first I try.

Haven't used 244, 572, Autocomp, nor CFE Pistol.

Have used some HS6 and Longshot but not enough to really speak to them.

 

[John from MD]

Titegroup works well with light loads in the .44 mag and .45 ACP. It isn't position sensitive which is a good thing.

If you want to shoot heavier loads, 10 gns of 572 with a 255gn cast bullet will give you about 1000 FPS out of a carbine.

 

[Uncle Duke]

I began reloading at the beginning of the Obama administration when powder was scarce and obtained a supply of 800X because it was available and listed for 3 of the calibers i was planning to reload. One didn't work out and I ended up using it for 44 Remington Magnum (220GR) and 45ACP(230GR). That powder supply is nearing exhaustion and i have recently learned that 800X is being discontinued by Hodgdon. What is a reasonable powder that will be useful for both cartridges and is in reasonably reliable supply? I looked in the Hodgdon site, filtering to show only Hodgdon and Winchester powders and got commonality on the following powders:

231
244
572
700X
Autocomp
CFE Pistol
HP38
HS6
Longshot
Titegroup

Any experiences with these powders, good and bad?
availability
metering
clean or dirty

( I also widened the search for each cart to see if another power I already stock could be used, no commonality found)

While your listed powders will have some crossover utility for both 45acp and 44 mag, none of them will provide optimum performance in the magnum cartridge.

If you're seeking magnum performance in the .44, you'll want a slower burning powder to dedicate to it. Top choices would be slower burning powders along the line of Alliant 2400, Accurate #9, Hodgdon H110, or Winchester W296 (same as H110).

If contemplating using plated bullets, keep manufacturer velocity limits in mind also with regard to powder selection.

 

[atblis]

BE86 can be used with lighter 44 mag bullets and has been showing up in stock.

Alliant BE-86

Alliant BE-86 smokeless pistol powder is a versatile handgun powder featuring a flash suppressant and superior lot to lot consistency.

www.powdervalleyinc.com

 

[lazarus]

I began reloading at the beginning of the Obama administration when powder was scarce and obtained a supply of 800X because it was available and listed for 3 of the calibers i was planning to reload. One didn't work out and I ended up using it for 44 Remington Magnum (220GR) and 45ACP(230GR). That powder supply is nearing exhaustion and i have recently learned that 800X is being discontinued by Hodgdon. What is a reasonable powder that will be useful for both cartridges and is in reasonably reliable supply? I looked in the Hodgdon site, filtering to show only Hodgdon and Winchester powders and got commonality on the following powders:

231
244
572
700X
Autocomp
CFE Pistol
HP38
HS6
Longshot
Titegroup

Any experiences with these powders, good and bad?
availability
metering
clean or dirty

( I also widened the search for each cart to see if another power I already stock could be used, no commonality found)

Titegroup works well.

CFE pistol would work great. I have not tried it in 44 magnum yet, but it is my go to for hot loads in 45acp. Of note, it doesn't run well at lighter loads in 45acp at least. I need to push up to about 800fps for it to run cleanly and have consistent SDs. As mentioned, no idea on 44 mag. One downside is the energy is lower, so you need a fair amount of powder.

Not on Hogdon and Winchester powders, but you can use Bullseye for each. I can't comment on a real safe maximum load of BE for 44 magnum. Aliant has it listed as I think like 5.6gr (6 something?) with a 240gr bullet producing around 880fps IIRC. However, they updated their manuals in the late 2000s to that. Previously their max load was something like 8.5gr pushing around 1100fps. Lyman the same, they updated theirs in the 2000s. Of note, Lyman generally lists the measured pressure for the min and max loads that they test. They do not for the reduce BE load and it is the same updated reduced pressure load as Aliant. My understanding might be faulty, but I believe Lyman does this when the load is not actually a max pressure load, but they have other reasons for not recommending a higher load.

A long way of saying, I am working up a BE load for 44 magnum for real light plinking and because I have tons of BE. If you want or don't mind a real light load, BE could still be a fine powder for 44 magnum. I have no plans to worry myself about DO NOT EXCEED for BE. First, I am shooting a Dan Wesson 44 mag, which is about as 44 Magnum +p rated as you can get (if there was such a thing). Second, Aliant and Lyman recommended a much higher load of BE for a lot of years (20+) before they reduced the load. But I also don't need to push it hot and fast for BE. I am intentionally going for a light plinking load of around 850-900fps. I'll save my warm 44 magnum loads for titegroup. And hot loads for H110.