Saying so long to HS-6

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Nick_C_S

New member
About a year n a half ago, I decided to move toward reducing the number of total pistol powders I kept in my inventory from thirteen to just four.

The original thirteen: Nitro 100; N-310; Bullseye; W231/HP-38; AA#2; TiteGroup; AA#5; Unique; Power Pistol; HS-6; AA#7; 2400; & W296.

I have since exhausted my supply of Bullseye and W296 (still have loaded ammo with both). Today, I exhausted my supply of HS-6 by loading 180 rounds of 240 JSP's for 44 Mag.

HS-6 and me go way back. We've been friends a long time. I first got it around 1985-ish for 158 lead SWC's for 38 Spl & 357; and for 230 LRN's for 45 ACP - and for a few other odd-ball loadings. I used it quite a bit back then but my loading style changed and it fell out of favor with me. This was a time when I got down to just two powders for my shooting needs: W231 for my 45 ACP (which I shot over 90% of the time); and W296 for magnum revolvers. That's it. Just two.

Fast forward a couple decades . . . in 2012, I started getting back into shooting/loading more heavily; took a liking for not-so-potent revolver rounds; but had no intermediate speed powder on hand - just in time for the big shortage to hit.

I managed to buy up quite a bit of HS-6 whenever it popped up (5#'s I believe - yeah, I was "that guy" who exacerbated the shortage - sorry everybody.). This was prior to ever trying Power Pistol or AA#5. I bought up those too out of desperation during the shortage and became pleasantly surprised with their performance. HS-6 again fell out of favor with me.

I like HS-6. I do. Really. I particularly believe it's great for the novice loader because it talks to you and it's the most forgiving (by far) among those in its burn rate range. When it's underloaded it runs sooty and even grainy (partially spent propellant flakes). When it's running in its sweet spot, it's actually very clean. When it's overloaded, it'll show pressure signs before biting too hard. So it's kind of neat that way.

But versatile it is not. The only way it runs truly clean is when it's pumped up to the top of the load range, using heavy bullets. Anything else, and it runs less than ideal. I like it in hot 147 grain 9mm; and 180gn 10mm. It also does well in the slightly lighter 124's/9mm - but you gotta run it all the way up. Problem there is that I load little 9mm; and AA#5 and AA#7 work far - far - better in 10mm. So that leaves me with "85%" magnum revolver loads (158/357 & 240/44) - and it runs really well in that role. That's kind of the moral to the story: If you want HS-6 to run truly clean, you gotta take it up to magnum pressures.

So my HS-6 is gone. Its long-term replacement is Power Pistol. Anything HS-6 can do, Power Pistol can do better. They are, however, very different propellants. Power Pistol is very spunky and energetic and load work ups - especially with heavy bullets - need to be approached with the appropriate cautions. Pressure signs can appear quickly. HS-6's behavior is more linear, tame, and predictable; which is why I speak of it fondly to novice loaders.

The next two to work out of my inventory is TiteGroup and Unique. The TG is almost gone, I load a lot of plated range ammo with it. I like TG a lot, but I like W231 better (more versatile; runs cooler). I have stocked up handsomely on W231. Unique will be more problematic. I barely use it. Mostly for fairly hot 230's for 45 ACP. But I have 2#'s of the crud. Not a fan of Unique. But that's for another post.

I guess this was mostly just a ramble but I am rather curious if others are trying to simplify their powder inventory? And if so, what are you keeping, and what are you (did you) tossing? And why?

P.S. Now that I no longer have W296 and HS-6, what am I going to do with 2600 CCI-350 and 2900 CCI-550 magnum primers? :D
 
I liked HS-6 with 158s, but it's frustrating with 125s. So much unburned powder I couldn't load the next 6 without brushing the charge holes. Couldn't part with Unique, it performs so well with jacketed 125s and 135s, you have to go to Blue Dot to beat it. It even edges out AA#7.
 
If I could ever find 2400 I think I would go with just the big 3, Bullseye, Unique and 2400, ditching Clays, Universal, HS-6 and HP-38.
 
I like hs-6. I don't do hot loads in general, so it runs sooty, but I don't care. Once you don't care about the soot, it is actually quite versatile.

That said, I currently don't have any hs-6. During the last shortage I exhausted the last grain, and never could find any without paying silly price. I was forced to use whatever I could find. At the moment, I have titegroup, power pistol, and trail boss.

I like hs-6, but I don't have to have it. Shortage is good that it forces me to venture out of my comfort zone.

-TL
 
As far as handguns go, I only reload 45 Colt. For powders, I could get by just fine with only one powder; if I had to choose, it would probably be Unique. But I have other favorites, from fast to slow, they are: Titegroup, the afore-mentioned Unique, the wonderful discontinued HS-7, AA-9, and slowest of all, IMR-4227. Those cover all the slots with plenty of overlap. In times of shortages, a fellow might have to make do with what he can get, so he makes substitutions when necessary. Somehow, I seem to have the other problem: Before I really need to buy more powder, someone comes out of the woodwork and gives me powder. Or I happen into it at some gunshow at near give-away prices. Neither GreenDot, nor SR-7625 are on my list, but it turns out that both work well in my 45 Vaquero. I don't know when I will need to buy more powder. Probably Santa Clause will come back before then. And rifle powders? Forget about it.;)
 
TG has been my go to for pistol caliber rounds. IMO it has been the best metering powder I've used. Every throw is dead on.
 
I have thousands of 9mm rounds loaded with 124g MBC and HS-6. It shoots so nice, I can't get away from it.

I saw this thread and thought that you were going to say it was discontinued! I was ready to go into "panic hoarder mode"!
 
As luck would have it, I have never used HS-6, though it would be a good one for my 45 Colt. However, I found that HS-7 is one of the very best for my application. Lamentably, it has been discontinued. We do seem to be experiencing a powder-rich time now. In contrast to the recent years of shortages there are now lots of options, but I notice that powder prices are a lot higher than they used to be, as it is also with many other things.
 
Once you don't care about the soot, it is actually quite versatile.
Click to expand...

The same could be said for Unique. But I can't "not care" about the soot. I realize that it's not that big o deal. Especially when considering I clean my guns after every trip to the range. But it kinda bugs me when I know the propellant isn't running at least near-optimum. That's why I use the "super fast" propellants Nitro-100 and VV N-310 for my pure target ammo. That's also why I tend to load with faster powders that most for a given application. I find it rewarding to craft ammo with sufficiently sturdy pressure for clean burns.
 
Clays, Titegroup, Green Dot, and 2400 could take care of my handgun needs. 9mm would be 1st Clays, 2nd Titegroup. In my .38 Clays for wadcutters and Titegroup for standard loads. For the .357 mag Titegroup for standard loads and 2400 for magnum loads. And last the .41 mag it's Green Dot for light and medium loads and 2400 for magnum loads. But, I like HS-6, Red Dot, H110, 700X, Power Pistol, Bullseye, Accurate #9, and H110 for variety.
 
I have burned a lot of Unique since 1976 and have found it to burn about as clean as any other powder and cleaner than some. However, my experience with Unique is limited to 45 Colt, mostly with 255 grain cast bullets and the charge weight has mostly been at least 8.5 grains or more. Perhaps it is so ideally suited for this purpose that it burns completely for me. I have some recently manufactured Unique by Alliant, as well as a good supply of much, much older Hercules Unique. Both perform the same for me. I use it more than any other powder in my 45. If it doesn't burn clean for you, then either the pressure isn't high enough, or perhaps it isn't well suited for what you are doing with it.
 
I will stick with HS-6 for now, at least for some guns and loads. Some of the most consistent and accurate loads I've put together in 9mm and .45 ACP were hot HS-6 loads. Power Pistol does beat it on velocity but I'm not sure yet if I'll get the same accuracy.

I don't mind a powder that requires a large charge and fills the case well. I actually prefer it for safety reasons even if it costs a bit more. Power Pistol shares this advantage with HS-6 but other alternative hi-perf powders use much lighter charges and that is not worth the potential danger to me.
 
Saw some 2400 yesterday on the shelf... had to look twice to make sure it was still there!

As for me, yes, I've got my favorites now, so my smokeless powder variety at home is shrinking. Green Dot, True Blue, Unique, AA#5, HS-6, and 2400 will be my pistol powders going forward. I do pick up a new powder now and then to test (who knows, it just might be the 'one' :rolleyes: ) , like BE-86, but once data is collected, the pound of powder is gone, it's gone.
 
Moving forward, the four pistol powders I intend to keep are:

VV N310 - for my super-light 38 and 45 ACP target loads.

W231 - for most other 38/45 ammo, still on the lighter side.

Power Pistol - for lots of stuff of the higher recoil persuasion.

2400 - Magnum revolver (357/44) - heavy bullets; and Lever-action rifle - all weights.

That's it.

I will miss AA#5, and AA#7 as they do so well in 10mm. #5 for my plated 180gn range shooters; and #7 for the hot hollow-points - and they both have other applications. I wouldn't be surprised if I keep a pound of each laying around. Either way, I have enough of both to where it's gonna be a couple years before I have to worry about it (I don't shoot a lot of 10mm).

Nitro 100 is great for target pooper-poppers; but VV N-310 is cleaner. 310 is also twice the price, but the charge weights we're talkin' 'bout here are tiny.

AA#2 is another great powder - especially for light 9mm loads, but I don't load much 9mm. W231 will make a fine substitute.

I'll miss TiteGroup for plated range shooters. But 231 does all that and runs cool enough for lead. TG is lead-melting hot.

I already purged Bullseye. Great stuff, but runs residuey and meters a little wonky for such light charge weights. Again, 231 fills the role nicely.

My W296 is already gone too. Again, great stuff. Really really hard to beat in its wheelhouse, but it's wheelhouse is outside how I shoot these days. It likes to run at full-throttle and nowhere else. I'm too old to enjoy full-throttle magnum loads these days. 2400 behaves much better when you turn it down a smidge - and that's where I like my magnum ammo these days.
 
In that burning range I've used #5, #7, Universal, Power Pistol, Unique, and HS-6. For most of my handgun reloading in that powder speed range I reach for the HS-6. I certainly don't need all 6 of those powders and some will not be purchased by me again. To each his own.
 
Had more variety in pistol powders than I thought;

VV N310 - stays - super fast, super clean, best 45 target powder

Bullseye - stays - meters great in my Redding 10X, most versatile 45 auto powder

Unique - stays - ballistics are just right for the 357/125 JHP/JSP load, 50% more bulk than just about anything else in it's class, might leave soot at the low end, but never leaves unburned powder that can tie up a tight revolver like my F/A. Plus you can't hardly wipe your backside without finding load data for Unique

Titegroup - out - too small charges, too hot

HP-38 - out - don't need

Clays - out - great powder, but if I'm keeping BE and N310 I don't need it

The IMR powders SR-4759, 4756, 7625 - out - great powders, all obsolete. Once they go obsolete I just loose interest in them.

HS-6 - out as before - Power Pistol will fill that roll. PP may be noisy, but it doesn't leave unburned powder

Universal - out - they call it a substitute for Unique, but Unique really behaves much slower and out powers Universal in most 357 loads

Trail Boss - stays - I still have a ton of lead 357 bullets that work real well with this powder

Power Pistol - stays - Just bought it and haven't really tested it much.

Lil'Gun - out - good magnum carbine powder, but that's about it.
 
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