Best all around Powder for .45 ACP

E

eaglecontroller

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Ok, So Im back into reloading. Got everything up and running and I'm finding out that there are a few differences loading handguns and rifles... With my .45 I've purchased a few different types of bullet and would like to do some testing to see which I like best. Should I really use a different powder for each bullet, or do you think I should just stick with one powder.... Maybe Bullseye or Blue Dot? Any ideas, thoughts, criticism, or info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
The 45 is one of those calibers that really does well with just about any powder you use, so I wouldn't sweat trying to find that one powder that is THE best. I mostly use Bullseye, 231, Universal, or Power Pistol these days for all my handgun needs except the magnum rounds. :D
 
I don't know if they are the best, I use Bullseye for target, W231 general purpose, and AA#5 for heavier loads.
I have been wanting to try AA#2
 
So if you had to choose between AA#5, Bullseye, and 231 for all-purpose.... Which is it, and why? We can keep it short and simple if you like. My curiousity is running wild. Thanks for all the replies so far though.
 
I use and highly recommend AA#5. Its an absolutely fantastic pistol powder. Perhaps its not as popular (availability maybe?) so people don't recommend it as much as say 231 or Unique. But when I started loading it was like I bought a whole new gun. More accurate, less recoil, and easier clean-up than any factory load I've ever tried -- and it meters excellent through my auto-disk measure. In your case consider local availability (who wants to pay hazmat fees? c'mon man) and price.
 
I prefer Bullseye to Unique for .45 but the opposite for .40SW. Both are messy powders though. I like 231 and Blue Dot for .40 as well. Never used 231, and do not like to use Blue Dot, for .45. I find that all 4 are available locally for less than online, even before including hazmat and shipping.

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Bullseye, 231 and #5 are all good but #5 is really sweet. I use the Lee powder dippers so the fine grain of #5 helps keep the loads consistent. It also seems to have a very crisp feel to it, kind of hard to describe. All of them will work fine.
 
The differences I've noticed are two: older powders tend to be much dirtier, but have a huge following because back in the day, they were all there was. So 231, Unique and Bullseye have hordes of folks who swear by them.

But Titegroup is, for my jacketed stuff, cleaner, faster and more accurate.
 
If I had to choose only one for 45 that was most "versatile" as you ask, then 231 has a pretty broad range of use. I also like Power Pistol a lot for autoloaders, it's probably my favorite powder for loading jacketed bullets.
 
So if you had to choose between AA#5, Bullseye, and 231 for all-purpose....
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For me W-231 or HP-38 is the best do all powder I have tried for 45 acp it works well with jacketed or lead bullets, it not to fast and not to slow, in 45 acp its very versatile.
I would scratch Blue Dot off the list.
 
For me W-231 or HP-38 is the best do all powder I have tried for 45 acp it works well with jacketed or lead bullets, it not to fast and not to slow, in 45 acp its very versatile.
I would scratch Blue Dot off the list.
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I could have wrote this because I agree 100%. Why W231? Well that's because thats what Robbie Leatham was winning with in the 80's. So I tried it and it has been my main 45 powder ever since.

W231 has proven to be very stable and predictable lot to lot. It's not temp sensitive. It's very accurate. I know there are new powders out but why fix what isn't broken? 231 has also shown to be a great powder for other calibers including 44 Special and 45 Colt.
 
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