Although not 100% happy with “all” the powders I use
I'm not 100% happy with ANY of the powders I use
. Okay, I'm being a bit of a smart-aleck here. Point is, no propellant is perfect. Although W231 is a good one - which is why I'm sitting on almost 11#'s of it.
If anything I'll be reducing the amount of powders I use.
Me too. During the shortage of '13, I was buying anything I could get. That left me sitting on some 14 different propellants - for pistol only. By '16, I resolved to reduce down to just four: VV-N310, W231, Power Pistol, & 2400. Some things have changed. I decided that VV-N310 need not stay (have a several years' supply though); and I made the mistake of trying BE-86. It's awesome. Really good stuff. Oh, and W296 - for my Henry rifle. I'll include that one too because it makes what is technically pistol ammo.
The only new powder I'm truly considering is Bullseye which would replace Titegroup in my rotation.
Both of these propellants failed to "make the cut" for me. Although, both are excellent propellants. As a revolver guy (especially 38 Spl), I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Bullseye. Energetic, economical, consistent, just a wonderful propellant - a century of use speaks for itself. W231, being just a tick slower and a tick less energetic than BE, makes it just a little more versatile; and so I prefer it.
As for TiteGroup, if I loaded a lot of plated ammo for semi-autos, I'd be keeping it in my inventory. The stuff is tough to beat for making gobbs n gobbs of basic plated range fodder for lots of shooting. It probably does that better than any other powder. It has its place, that's for sure. Just isn't needed so much for my loading/shooting style. As a revolver guy, TG is less attractive to me. Its extremely low fill rate is not well suited for cavernous revolver cases. The low fill rate by itself doesn't stop me, however. But it also runs really hot and that doesn't bode well for revolvers (handling while loading, unloading) and lead slugs. The stuff is really spunky too. I have 36 years of loading experience and the stuff still makes me a little nervy doing load workups. W231 runs cooler and is more forgiving. I just prefer it.
I loaded up some 240gr PLFP using HS-6
Good combination. HS-6 is persnickity because it's so lackadaisical (low energy) you have to really pump it up to get it to run correctly. Heavy bullets seem to be a must. With light bullets, I couldn't get it to run right in any caliber. But 240/44Mag is a good place for it. Yes, I use CCI350 primers with it and consider it a must. I no longer have HS-6 in my inventory; but am sitting on several hundred 240g JHP rounds loaded with it.