Replacement for Alliant Bullseye?

Sevens said:
I am glad you found Titegroup and not a couple of the others that were "possibly" tossed out as alternates.

Trail Boss is a bad idea because of the nature of it, how it is designed and engineered to work. It's the largest/fluffiest powder on the market and just a pinch of it is not (at all) how it was meant to be used.
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Have you ever used or seen Trail Boss? It's absolutely perfect for this application. No one suggested using "a pinch of it". One would assume that any user would use published load data, which exists for exactly this purpose and for both cartridges.

Hodgdon lists 2.0gr max load under a 90gr LSWC in 32SW Long and has .38Spl data for weights from 90 to 158gr, with charges ranging from 3.0-4.2gr. Alliant's Bullseye loads max out at 1.8gr for .32SW Long and 4.6gr for .38Spl.

Trial Boss burns clean, is MADE FOR low end, lead bullet "cowboy" loads and fills a case with very small charges. It's hard to imagine how anyone would think that Trail Boss wasn't perfectly suited for this task.
 
dahermit You will be happy with Titegroup I was put on to that by a long time reloader. I am very pleased with how my shots are closer together. Let us know what you think of it.
 
I was at my local gun store here in Ohio, the sportsman den in Shelby Ohio. They had bullseye in 1# and 8# containers. I opted for the BE-86 in 8# but both were $124.99...they have a small reloading section, and most don't go there for that, most everyone goes to Fin Feather and fur.
 
I have one jug of Trail Boss, I have used it, I don't care for it. I certainly do understand that others like and use it. And I'm sure it can be used with success in .32/.38 cast loads.

But -NOT- if he plans to load light, small charge weights. Trail Boss is best used to fill or nearly fill the case without compression.

The issue I take with Trail Boss as a suggestion here has to do with metering a very small volume charge weight of this powder in this role. That's where I truly believe it's a BAD idea and begging for erratic performance, up to & including a stuck bullet.

That's definitely not the case with Titegroup.

YMMV. The 5lb container of it that I bought is probably going to grow old sitting next to my Blue Dot... another awful powder. (awful being relative -- Blue Dot is only awful when compared to most every other powder on the market. I'd be thrilled to have it if I had nothing else.)
 
what other likely to be available powder comes closest to Bullseye in regards to minimum weight of charge for light loads?
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That criteria pretty much eliminates Trail Boss.
 
Too bad you did not post this a week ago. I could have met you on the way down to FL and sold you an eight pounder or two. Timing is everything I guess:( I'm playing around with Tite Group and it seems pretty similar to BE and is a little cheaper, meters better, and seems to be a little easier to find than either BE or 231/HP-38.
 
Sevens said:
But -NOT- if he plans to load light, small charge weights. Trail Boss is best used to fill or nearly fill the case without compression.

The issue I take with Trail Boss as a suggestion here has to do with metering a very small volume charge weight of this powder in this role. That's where I truly believe it's a BAD idea and begging for erratic performance, up to & including a stuck bullet.
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TimSr said:
what other likely to be available powder comes closest to Bullseye in regards to minimum weight of charge for light loads?
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That criteria pretty much eliminates Trail Boss.
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These responses frankly make no sense whatsoever. It's like an alternate reality. Trail Boss is *made for*, I say again, MADE FOR very light loads that very nearly fill the entire case.

How can you say that "closest to Bulleyes in regards to minimum weight" eliminates Trail Boss when the Bulleye max load is around 1.8gr and the Trail Boss max load is around 2.0gr in .32SW Long? How much closer could it possibly be?! For .38Spl, Trail Boss loads max out at 3.2gr for 148gr LHBWC while Bulleye is 3.1gr. How much closer could it possibly be?! The largest spread between them in target loads is 0.7gr

The Alliant data shows a 90gr HBWC over 1.8gr Bullseye for 777fps from a 4" barrel. The Hodgdon data shows 2.0gr Trail Boss under a 90gr LSWC for 730fps from a 5.3" barrel. The Hodgdon starting load is 1.5gr, for a measly 599fps.

There should be no metering worries at all, since Trail Boss actually meters pretty well and, regardless, will nearly fill the case and any significant undercharge would be easily visible. Something that would not be the case with almost any other powder in existence.

Maybe somebody doesn't care for Trail Boss so won't recommend it. Fine. But saying it's not suited for this application is like saying water isn't suited for drinking.
 
Peetza... either get your coffee or drink less of it.

All we are saying is that Trail Boss was designed from the get-go to be super, super fluffy, to take up space, to be a smokeless alternative to black powder, and my assertion (and I can only deduce TimSr's as well) is not that Trail Boss won't work, but that the OP specified "minimum weight of charge" and -THAT- is a red flag with Trail Boss.

It is a red flag because Trail Boss was designed to full the case without compression and IMR/Hodgdon is no manner of shy about saying it.

Take a breath. Drink the water. And if you pass near, thru or by Ohio, please trade me something for my 4.75 lbs of Trail Boss. ;)
 
I don't trust Trailboss or any powder with large particles to measure accurately and consistently through small apertures (very small loads).
 
I use Red Dot .
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I should have mentioned in the original post that I load exclusively with a Dillon 550b and its powder measure. Powders like Red Dot (and Unique), do not meter very well. So, large flake powders are not an option with minimal measure settings.
 
Sevens said:
but that the OP specified "minimum weight of charge" and -THAT- is a red flag with Trail Boss.
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I'd love to take your 4 1/2 pounds of TB.

However, I maintain that your assertion here is completely off base. As I showed in my previous post, the charge weights for Trail Boss and Bullseye are nearly identical. Trail Boss does not use smaller charges than Bullseye and the fact that it's super fluffy makes it a BETTER choice, not a worse one. Why would you WANT to NOT be able to see you powder in the case?

With Trail Boss, a missed or partial load will be blatantly obvious. With Bullseye, you'll never know until you pull the trigger.

The ONLY downside to TB is that it's so fluffy that you only get 9oz instead of 16 in a can. With most loads, it makes up for it by using smaller amounts. Not so compared to Bullseye, so it does cost nearly 2x more to load those light charges. But, you still get almost 2,900 loads from a can so it's small potatoes in the world of reloading costs.
 
PB I really don't think you will prove your point It is time to move on. I am sure the OP will not use TB as so many do not care for it. Let it go.;)
 
700x and Clays are close to Bullseye. I have no problems with most flake powders in my square deal presses--I routinely load unique, red dot, 700x and clays. The only one that bothered me was 800x which did give me some larger variations. I load 700x and clays in .38spl at 2.8g with acceptable results. Most of my unique loads are 5+g in 9mm and up. Of course, ball powders and the finer flattened ball powders measure better, as expected.
 
Haha, just so we are on the same page... If you EVER meet anyone that says his equipment will meter IMR-800X, please find out which planet he lives on! ;)
 
Trail boss is not only a decent choice for bunny fart loads in 32 or 38, its easily one of the best choices.
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I am wondering how closely you have checked the consistency of your powder drops. TB is intended for big volumes in large cases (45 Colt).
 
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