What are some truly smokeless pistol powders?

T

TruthTellers

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Alright, so by truly smokeless, I mean not Bullseye. It's a fast powder, which has its applications, but I can't accept that much smoke. I don't mind the mess and cleaning i have to do, I clean my guns every time I shoot them, but the amount of smoke Bullseye makes is crazy.

Unique is nice, it doesn't smoke nearly as bad and seems to be cleaner, but it's not for every application.

How is Titegroup? Is that smokey?

As I go through my reloading book, it seems Blue Dot and True Blue are really good powders for .32 Mag and .327. How are they?

Trail Boss is another powder that's piqued my interest. How's that?
 
I like TiteGroup...

I use it in .380, 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 acp, .38 spl, .357 Mag and .44 Mag.../ ...its a relatively fast burning powder on the burn tables and I don't think its smokey ( I shoot all FMJ bullets, no lead ). TiteGroup is my primary powder for all those calibers.

( I think, to some extent....some powders will still smoke if you load them near MIN...or in some calibers...because they are more suited to other applications / a truly "smokeless" powder, no probably not...).
 
Are you using lubricated bullets? With some coated bullets as exceptions, that's where most of the smoke comes from with any powder. Montana bullet works has a Blue Lube that is smokeless. Trail Boss is great for reduced loads and have not noticed any smoke with coated bullets like moly coats. Note that Big Jim uses FMJ bullets.
 
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condor bravo said:
Are you using lubricated bullets? With some coated bullets as exceptions, that's where most of the smoke comes from with any powder. Montana bullet works has a Blue Lube that is smokeless. Trail Boss is great for reduced loads and have not noticed any smoke with coated bullets like moly coats. Note that Big Jim uses FMJ bullets.
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No, I'm mostly using Meister lead bullets around 12-14 BHN. No coating on them to my knowledge, but they are lubed.

I am going to make some XTP loads in .45 Colt and .32 H&R Mag and will see how those do, but for lead bullets, I'd like to cut the smoke down some.
 
Shoot some Black Powder loads a few times.... Then go back to smokeless powder :) . You'll think you 'are' using smokeless powder! There is no true smokeless powder, just some less, some more. Some depend on pressure to get a more complete burn that helps.... Moral is ... just live with it as it is what it is and be more concerned with finding the most 'accurate' load as that is what really matters on target!!
 
"No coating on them to my knowledge, but they are lubed."
Most of the "smoke" I've seen was from melting bullet lube rather than powder smoke.
 
For my 200gr. LSWC out of 45 ACP, and 115gr. LRN 9mm i use Unique.


For my jacketed bullets in both i use Silhouette.
 
I too have started loading Ramshot Silhouette and the indoor range I shoot at doesn't have the best ventilation system and I've noticed a difference.
 
Truth:
The Hi-Tek coated bullets from www.missouribullet.com practically eliminates all smoking regardless of powder. The Hi-Tek coloration has recently been changed from gold to a bright red. I've gone that route and now use red 9mm's, .38's, and .45's since at the indoor range smoking with conventional lubed bullets was getting embarrassing. Find the Hi-Teks under the "coated bullets" section.

Also, www.montanabulletworks.com uses what they call Blue Lube that is smokeless. Montana does have a larger variety of both rifle and handgun bullets, including gas checked if you would want those.

A recommended .45 acp bullet from MBW is a Saeco 185 gr SWC plain base. No smoking from the Blue Lube.
 
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Most of the smoke is from bullet lubricant,it seems like the lower the pressure the more smoke. Shooting 3.3 of WST withe a 158 cast in my 642 revolver. Boo Coo smoke, more than a 45 using 4.5 WST and a 200 cast. You might try jacketed or plated bullets for less smoke. I haven't tried the coated bullets, don't smell good.
 
Mobuck said:
"No coating on them to my knowledge, but they are lubed."
Most of the "smoke" I've seen was from melting bullet lube rather than powder smoke.
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The above post is a good answer. The lube causes the biggest component of the mess. Coated bullets are better. All powders are going to create some smoke, soot, carbon build-up, etc...

Hotter loads will burn cleaner. Light loads burn dirtier. A light load of any powder will be dirty.

I can put 200 rounds downrange and clean up my GP100 with couple sprays of Remoil. These are light loads using either Unique or Bullseye. I can clean the gun in under 3 minutes after using coated bullets.
 
Anytime you shoot lead bullets...you get a lot more smoke ( my local indoor ranges will not allow any unjacketed or unplated bullets precisely for that reason -- because the ventilation systems while good...cannot effectively move all that smoke away from the shooters positions effectively.
 
Not meaning to change the subject but I also just read an article on Splatter targets and how some indoor ranges are finding they play hell with their filtration systems.
 
Nick C S a member here shoots a lot of hand gun rounds and recommends against Titegroup for lead . He says it burns to hot and melts the lead in the bore . I shoot very little lead but do use Titegroup a lot and will confirm it burns hot . My barrels are noticeably hotter after a sting when using Titegroup then any other powder I use ( WSF , HP-38 , HS-6 , CFE-pistol ) . Titegroup may be the fastest powder I use in the burn rate table .
 
Titegroup is one of the powders i have used a fair amount of in 45 Colt. I haven't noticed any heat or leading problems with it. It burns clean and shoots with excellent accuracy. But I'm only using it with one loading: 6.2 grains under a hand-cast and lubed 250-255 grain bullet, shot in an original Vaquero with the 4-5/8" barrel. No leading or any other problems. Heat? Perhaps I'm not shooting fast enough....Maybe I should try fanning? ;) Maybe I would notice something if I were using an auto-pistol with spare mags, but with a single-action revolver, you have to take the time to unload the empties, then reload, and so forth. Maybe it has enough time to cool down some between targets.
 
No, I'm mostly using Meister lead bullets around 12-14 BHN. No coating on them to my knowledge, but they are lubed.

I am going to make some XTP loads in .45 Colt and .32 H&R Mag and will see how those do, but for lead bullets, I'd like to cut the smoke down some.
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It's not the powder that is causing the smoke, it is the bullet lube. If you don't want smoke switch to plated or jacketed bullets. If you want to shoot lead you will get smoke. No way around it and switching powders isn't going to help much. A hot burning powder like Titegroup will cause smoke even more with lead but even the coolest burning powder will burn some of the bullet lube.
 
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