How Many Pistol Powders Do I Need?

L

lwestatbus

New member
I have been loading revolver cartridges for about a month now with a few hundred rounds total of .38, .38 +P, .357 Mag, .44 Spl, and .44 Mag. Have used a variety of bullet types (jacketed or plated, no cast) and weights in each caliber.

But all loads have been with Hodgdon's TiteGroup. We have a reloading (and reloaded ammo) specialty store sort of near me and I went there for components and advice and they sold me two one lb jars of TiteGroup. I'm about 2/3 of the way through the first pound now.

I have been quite pleased with my results and have kept meticulous records and 'built up' some loads from a starting powder charge.

My inclination is to just stick with the TiteGroup for my purposes. I have good load data for several loads and know how to develop it for new loads such as finding new bullets. I've watched the Ultimate Reloader review of TiteGroup and like the comment that TiteGroup works well no matter where in the case it is when the primer goes off. I am also very careful with my processes and it will be a cold day in hell that I double charge a cartridge.

So, do I need any other propellants for my purposes? TiteGroup is hard to come by without paying a hazmat shipping fee or driving an hour round trip but if it turns out that it is suitable then I'll order multiple jars and spread out the hazmat fee. But there are a multitude of powders out there and my closest other source for powders is Bass Pro which I can get by every couple of months or so.

Most of my shooting is target practice and training. I have tested and started to load defensive rounds, though I am using tried and true factory loads when walking around with my .357s. The .44 Spl/Mag is new to me and I have developed magnum loads for bear country with a bullet I like for that and also defense loads for .44 Spl when I've traveled with that revolver and want something more manageable if needed. It is very hard to find .44 Spl ammo and any .44 cartridge costs an arm and a leg compared to what I can load for.

So, are there any advantages to broadening the range of powders I use for these cartridges? Or am I safe enough sticking with what I understand?

Thanks
 
You need one fairly fast powder, one medium powder and one slow powder if you want peak magnum loads. If mild magnums are good, two powders are good. Another issue is some powders don't take up as much space per pound as others. Here is a burn rate chart you need to study and ask questions.

https://loaddata.com/Article/BurnRateCharts/Powder-Burn-Rate-Chart-NEW/159

Tight group, 231 and Bullseye are just three common fast ones.
Unique, AA7, Blue Dot and IMR Blue are in that medium range.
AA9, W296, H110 are in your slow category. These are best used in rifle length barrels and will fill a case to near 100% but will require more powder so they cost more to load and require magnum primers.

Tight group should be about optimal for 38 and 44 special but 231/HP38 fit the same application.

You can load magnums with the same powder but it tends to have a lot of unused space and you are more likely to have loads that have a faster pressure spike. A lot of people like blue dot for moderate magnums but I believe it is out of production. You may really like AA9, AA4100 or Lil gun for your second powder just because you want to load magnums. If you want moderate magnums Unique has been a fan favorite with cast bullets.
 
You should probably do as rc suggests, and not only for versatility in loading. In today's market, you may find your one and only is unavailable when you need it. I load the same rounds, but I take a little different approach.

I use a lot of Power Pistol for 38 and 44 Special jacketed bullets. For cast (and if you are trying to save money, that's the way to go) I use HP-38 for 38 HBWC 148s and Unique for 44 Special 200 and 240 grain. I gave up my 44 Mag in favor of 45 Colt, but I used H110 exclusively. In 357 Mag, I have used H110 and 300-MP, but mostly I stick with AA#9.

Slightly off topic, but you might want to consider casting your own. Not a huge investment in equipment or time, and you'll have all the bullets you'll ever need.
 
2400 is one that comes close to the magnum performance of H110/296 (same powder formulation differently branded), but unlike H110/296, it can be loaded down some, so it can also be used between medium and slow. Unique can be loaded down to target loads and up to medium loads, so I think that if you are talking essentials, you could buy only those two and cover all but the most extreme ends of the velocity range. There will be a little more velocity to be squeezed out of the magnums at the high end with AA#9, H110/296 (same powder in different brand jugs), or Power Pro 300. There will be lower and lighter velocities from the very fast powders like Clays and N310 at the bottom end without giving up velocity consistency. Power Pistol is a good middle-ground powder. But if you are happy with the velocity you are getting from your Tightgroup loads and don't feel your gun is overheating (some folks complain about Tightgroup burning hot), then keep going with that.
 
In 2002 an older relative quit reloading, and gave me two five gallon buckets of reloading supplies. Among it was partial cans of most rifle and pistol powders, available at the time. After much experimentation, I settled on two pistol powders.

W231/HP38 for standard handgun loads and W296/H110 for magnum loads. There are other ways to skin that cat, but those are hard to beat in their respective power bands.
 
Iwestabus,

TiteGroup is a popular propellant; economical, and generally easy to find. I suspect it's a relatively simple propellant to produce, but I have no direct knowledge of this.

I've used TiteGroup quite a bit, but phased it out of my inventory. I found it is more suitable for semi-auto production than revolvers. Hodgdon states that it is not "position sensitive," or however they phrase it (it's been years since I read it). When I was loading 38 Special with TiteGroup (various bullet weights, mostly plated), I ran a probably unscientific test to that assertion, and it rather failed. I found TG to be quite position sensitive indeed. I believe Hodgdon was speaking about semi-auto cartridges - where it is overwhelmingly used. Revolver cases are cavernous (especially 38/44 Special) and any propellant is going to be position sensitive.

You haven't mentioned how long you've been loading.

How many powders do you need? Heh, there's no direct answer. There was a time when I was up to 12 propellants for handguns. And I had a good use for each and every one of them; but, I found it to be . . . "psychologically cumbersome."

About six or seven years ago, I resolved to pare that down as much as possible. Right now, I have eight. Some of these I just haven't exhausted my supply, since my resolution (N-310, AA#7). Some I've since added (2400, BE-86, 300-MP). And one, I just bought to test with for fun (N-350). I know I kind of got off track, point is, it's easy to end up with a bunch of different powders. :)

Like others have said, you want to get enough different types to cover a spectrum of load applications - at least, that's what most do. In the intermediate burn rate range, I'm particularly fond of Power Pistol; however, I tried BE-86 once and now I am using it more and more instead of PP. They are both great. On the slower side, and particularly for magnums, Unclenick recommended 2400 and I agree - it's fantastic. And like he said, it may come up a tad short of maximum velocity (especially in longer barrels), but it is quite versatile. The current problem with 2400 is finding it. It seems to be in short supply. My supply is exhausted and have been looking for some for months now - I even posted about it.

Just so you know, I find the thought of using TiteGroup in 357/44 Magnum concerning. It is really energetic and unforgiving at magnum pressures. Simply put: It's just too darn fast. This is especially true if you're a novice loader.
 
In all honesty ... all you realy NEED are three powders to reload handgun ammo with .
Bullseye ... Unique ... 2400
I did it for 25 years ... got by just fine cast lead and jacketed .

Then the powder Shortages happened and those three went AWOL ... I had to try others because it was usually all I could find ... Red Dot , TiteGroup , 700X ,W231 , HP38, AA#2, AA#5 , Power Pistol , AA#7... powders I had never heard of ...
I was forced to try ! And by and large having options is a good thing ... you can't find one , you use the other !
But truth is I could still do just fine with ... Bullseye - Unique - 2400 !
Gary
 
How Many Pistol Powders Do I Need?
Click to expand...

The right ONE will cover about 80% of everything, perhaps a bit more. The right TWO will cover everything, the right THREE will cover everything most efficiently.

Using the old school powders (which I still do) Bullseye, Unique, and 2400 handle everything you can do. Unique will do light and medium and the lower end of heavy. Bullseye does light to medium loads well, and uses smaller charges than Unique. Where the fast powders fall off is on the heavy end, they hit peak pressure before reaching top velocities.

2400 handles medium loads on its low end, and heavy loads at top end.

W296/H110 will get a bit more velocity at top end (maybe 100fps or so) than 2400 but don't run well at less than full power.

Lots of powders fit in ok somewhere, but all you really NEED are ones that essentially match the basic three I mentioned.

I've used other powders, including the dot powders, they work, but aren't always the best thing, but they do work fine. The last case of .38spl I made up (158 LSWC at the standard 850fps) I used Red Dot. because I have a lot of it. Worked fine, but a bit dirty, but since I was shooting lead, so what?? :D

IN .357, I run 2400 full charges, because I load my .357s to be magnums.
In .45 Colt I have run nothing but Unique for over 30 years.
In my .44s I run Unique for the less than 1200fps stuff (M29 - for my shooting comfort) and 2400 or W296 or AA No.9 for the top end loads.

For smaller cases (9mm and less) I run Bullseye, W231, or red dot, or whatever fast powder I have handy.
 
old man powders

With 44AMP on this one.......2400, Unique and Bullseye will about do it all, and you can likely nix Bullseye if you don't shoot mouse loads. I've heard these three stalwarts called "old man" powders, 'cause all us old guys use them. Fact is it's all that a lot of us use. However.....

In these odd times, availability is an issue and I certainly would consider some of the options listed here by others.
 
I used to love Titegroup, until I missed an overcharge hiding in the bottomless .357 brass and destroyed my favorite .357. It gives great accuracy, is economical, but is spikey and burns hot. I do still use it in some 9mm loads because it’s easy to see in the stubby cases and an overload that’s dangerous would fill the case full enough to be obvious to the naked eye. Here are what I would consider as three good powders, fast either Clays or 700-X, middle Power Pistol, magnum 2400. Clays for decent performance but to me it seems to shoot softer, power pistol gives great performance but does seem a little snappy and has a pretty fair amount of muzzle flash, and 2400 for its versatility with excellent performance. Just my $.003 (inflation ya know).
 
So i will throw this out here. There have been shortages on powders in the past, and i expect there will be shortages in the future.

Figure out how much powder, primer, bullets, you need to keep shooting at your regular rate for about 3 years and buy what you need.

Having a go to powder you like is great. But its downright terrible when you cant get any and have to buy what is on the shelf and make it work ( within reason dont flame me). Whatever you decide on, make sure you have enough.

With that said, getting some experience with other powders might be a good step in your reloading journey. If it were me, i would buy more of your preferred powder, and maybe 1lb of something new to try. Hodgdon Clays makes some very soft shooting 38spl. H110 makes some stout 357 and 44mag loads, but prefers magnum primers.
 
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Sigh

44 amp said:
Using the old school powders (which I still do) Bullseye, Unique, and 2400 handle everything you can do. Unique will do light and medium and the lower end of heavy. Bullseye does light to medium loads well, and uses smaller charges than Unique. Where the fast powders fall off is on the heavy end, they hit peak pressure before reaching top velocities.
Click to expand...

All three out of stock at Midway and Bass Proshop. Graf & Sons has Bullseye but only in 8 lb. Rest are out of stock :eek:

Shadow9mm said:
So i will throw this out here. There have been shortages on powders in the past, and i expect there will be shortages in the future.
Click to expand...
Guess so!

My Lyman's Handbook lists Unique for all of my calibers so I'll keep looking for that.
 
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9mm...Red Dot
38spl...Red Dot
357...2400
44spl...Unique, Red Dot
44mag....2400, H110
45Colt, 45ACP....Red Dot

Oh, Did I mention Red Dot!
 
It all depends on your pistols and what you expect from them. I have 3 Glocks for home protection, concealed carry and sometimes work as an armed guard. I use all copper bullets. That makes me chase highest velocities, and I do not want muzzle flash.
Someone with revolvers will prefer other performance factors. My powders, BE-86, AutoComp, and Longshot. If I had revolvers I would need H110.
 
I have used Titegroup a lot. However, it tends to leave more of a soot residue than some others. For some revolvers the soot residue can get inside the the center opening of the cylinder and lead to the need for a "deep disassembly" and cleaning of your revolver (noted by the cylinder not rotating freely). I have quit using Titegroup for some loads specific to some of my revolvers for this reason.

However, I still use it for some loads where it just seems to work better than other choices.

I did a bulk purchase of Lovex D-032 (SW Clean Shot) to use as a replacement for may of my revolver and mid range handgun loads.

I also use Promo (Bulk version of Red Dot) for some revolver loads. This is from stuff bought before Biden was elected, it is pretty much "not availalbe" now.

Any powder faster than Unique is likely to work as an decent alternate to Titegroup.

On the other hand, tracking down & buying a jug of Titegroup (instead of by the pound) would not be a terrible choice. If I saw a good on-line sale on 8 lb Titegroup jugs, I might buy two.
 
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