Cleanest burning handgun powder?

R

retav8r

Inactive
I am aware that most, if not all handgun powder has a certain amount of "dirty-ness" to it that is manifested by the residue (left) and staining of fired brass. I would appreciate anyone's opinion as to which you believe to be the "cleanest".
 
What caliber,and pressure, etc?

I use HS-6 exclusively in 9MM +P+' It's very clean.

If I reduce the charge 5 percent, it's filthy.

Red Dot has been a clean burner for me, but it's applications are very limited
 
I think you may find that answers are VERY subjective. You'll also find (generally) that hotter, high pressure loads tend to run "cleaner" and perhaps burn up what might otherwise be left behind and presenting itself as dirty.

Faster burning powders running toward the "max" end of published data is most likely to give you a "cleaner" environment than middle of the road powders that are not running at published max.

Titegroup seems to be a powder that burns fairly cleanly.
 
American Select is very clean. I've used it with plated bullets and the spent cases looked unfired. With lead bullets it might be different. Titegroup is horrendous with cast bullets, but it's supposed to be very clean with jacketed.
 
I think you may find that answers are VERY subjective.
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Indeed.

I use HS-6 exclusively in 9MM +P+' It's very clean.
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Just goes to show that a notoriously "dirty" powder - such as HS-6 - will run clean when it's loaded to proper levels. I have no doubt that cheygriz' 9mm+P+ loads run clean.

Basically, all powders run clean if you use them as they were meant to be used. I think a lot of powders get a reputation of being dirty because loaders aren't using them properly.

Also, how important is it? As my father would say: "You shoot a gun; you clean a gun." No matter how filthy, all guns clean up. I almost never go over 300 rounds between cleanings; and more typically about 175 - 225. I'm doing a steel shoot tomorrow morning. My gun will be clean before supper.

If a powder is running sooty, that's your clue to either load it hotter (within the limits of the cartridge's pressure spec), or move to a faster powder to properly fit the application.
 
titegroup. it burns very hot and uses so little in the first place, it's all gone after the blast. I like hs-6 too as long as it fills the case.
 
Universal and anything made by VihtaVuori. The cleanest powders will always be single base. The nitroglycerin in double base powders is what causes them to leave more residue and soot. VihtaVuori pistol powders are all single base and Universal has next to no nitroglycerin. In my personal experience these powders have left the least amount of residue on my guns and cases, and I've tried a lot of pistol powders.
 
Just for my information; do you shoot enough in one session, or between gun cleanings, to cause any functioning problems?

I guess I don't understand all the concern I've seen lately about "clean burning powders".I don't wear my good clothes (nor my white dinner jacket, aka James Bond style) when I go shooting. I just take a rag/hand towel in my range bag and wipe my hands occasionally.

Personally I choose a powder by how it preforms in my guns, not if I get "dirty" when I shoot (I've shot black powder revolvers and yep, that's a dirty powder!) My highest count has been around 300 rounds through my 1911 in one session before I cleaned it, and I had no problems with the gun functioning (200 gr. LSWC over Bullseye). The indoor range I shot at had restrooms with soap and water and I now shoot outdoors and I take hand towels and water with me. I splash some water on my hands and face when I leave and a shower when I get home.

Am I missing something new about shooting "dirty powders"? New research showing I'm gonna die a slow lingering death from all the soot/smoke from my "dirty powders? (couldn't be any worse than the L.A. air I breathed for 60+ years)

Not meaning to rag on the OP, I've just seen a lot of concern and questions about "dirty powders" in the last couple years...
 
Am I missing something new about shooting "dirty powders"?
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A:No
OP is not very experienced at handloading and no doubt would like to see a dazzling,shiny gun after shooting so he wonders if there's a powder that will
scrub and polish as it burns.Myself,I eventually gave up on that endeavor.
 
I agree, I have never had a pistol become contaminated from powder residue after a shooting session, and my sessions are usually past 500 rounds, at most ill run a bore snake a drip some oil on the rails, but don't clean it. I do see the desire to not have sunburned flakes of powder flying everywhere, but I have never had that issue in a pistol and if i did, I would assume I am probably loading too light. Some powders seem to be smokier than others, especially when running cast boolits, I can't say I've noticed anything else.
 
Personally I prefer a cleaner burning powder not so much for how it leaves my guns but for how it leaves my cases. If the cases aren't as dirty I don't need to tumble them as long and the media lasts longer. Powder fouling on the gun will clean up the same but if I'm not tumbling as long I'm not replacing media as often and I'm saving wear and tear on the tumbler. Not to mention the extended sessions of running a noisy tumbler. In my situation I can't totally escape from the noise of it so the less time running it the better. Your situation may be different but in mine as long as the accuracy is comparable I'll take the cleaner powder every time. And if I'm spending less on media and extending the life of my tumbler doing it then that's just more money to spend on components. :D
 
In low pressure loads Clays and VV N310 burn as clean as anything. Almost no soot even with loads that just barely cycle a .45 auto, no unburned flakes/kernels.
 
I had to check the date on this post - thought it might be from 3 years ago.

Today you use what you can find and learn to clean you gun faster. There just isn't the flexibility to entertain the same stupid questions nowadays.
 
That is a hard question. What is clean in one isn't so clean in another. What burns pretty clean in say, .40 may not be as clean in say, .38spl. That has been my experience. I load for accuracy first and then economy. A little dirty burning is better than unburned. As, I said, this is a hard question.
 
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