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Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

Tactical30

Tactical30

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
May 5, 2009
1,098
3
45
Eastern Ohio
I started reloading for the 45ACP a little while ago just for Target shooting/plinking (im not going crazy for accuracy) just something to punch paper with for a good price.

Here is what I started with:

1000pcs of Starline brass for $140
500 pcs of 185gr. Rainier HP Bullets for $85
500 pcs of 230gr. Rainier RN Bullets for $85
3lbs of Titegroup powder for $46

I got all this for a decent price I would think.

Whats your Favorite powder and bullet to reload for the 45ACP?

Im thinking about picking some Unique powder to try out also.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

Power pistol & titegroup are my favorite powders for 45acp. 230gr TMJ bullets from Powderbond have also been very good to me.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

I like WW231 burns cleaner than bullseye.

Never tried titegroup but I have heard it works well.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

Unique will work, but it will be much dirtier than other powders out there.

I have heard it called flamable dirt by a shooting buddy. haha

Bullseye will work as well, and not quite as dirty as Unique but still a little dirty.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

I like Bullseye since you get so many loads out of a pound. I have been wanting to try zip, but haven't gotten a pound of it yet. One thing to look into is shooting lead bullets instead. Pretty cheap from missouri bullet company. They are a little dirtier then plated bullets, but just as accurate and cheap.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

I've been using Winchester WST (super-target) for 15+ years. Great all purpose powder.

It is the powder I use in 45ACP, 38 super (Target loads), and 38 special.

Paul
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

bullseye, and either 200grn semi wadcutter, or 230grn lead roundnose. get my bullets from missouri bullet company. do some googling, around $35 for 500 and the wad cutters are pretty darn accurate aswell.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

i have only tried bulls eye, 231 and tite group. I like 231
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

I like Clays and WST both with 230 fmj
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

bullseye works for me...still a little scared of all lead bullets, i hate cleaning bores
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

The dirtier it shoots the more accurate it tends to be lol. Unique and Bullseye all the way.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

Unique has always worked for me.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

win 231 or hp-38. Have tried bullseye, tightgroup, and hs-6. Rainier 230 fmj and hp's. Have also used billy bullets 200swc and 230's with good luck, but they dirty up a gun in a hurry.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

Hodgdon Clays with cast bullets and Winchester 231 (or HP38...same thing) with jacketed.

If you stick with softer cast bullets with soft or semi-soft lube, bore fouling is greatly minimized and leading is nonexistent (unless you have a rough or undersized bore). I don't recommend shooting cast through polygonal rifling (Glock/ H&K) unless you brush the bore after every fifty rounds or less. As a range officer, I've witnessed a couple bad things happen when those firearms got leaded up.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: nelson34</div><div class="ubbcode-body">bullseye, and either 200grn semi wadcutter, or 230grn lead roundnose. get my bullets from missouri bullet company. do some googling, around $35 for 500 and the wad cutters are pretty darn accurate aswell. </div></div>
Verbatim
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

Bullseye and Unique for me and the cheapest 230gr ball I can find. I use Unique in my light 44 mag loads, too.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

Clays and PB are both very clean. .45's with 5.2 PB and a 200 SWC is a great load.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

Remington or Winchester 230gr FMJ's, whichever I can pick up the least expensively over 5.5gr Winchester 231.

Fifteen years, never a problem.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

I prefer VV N310 with 185gr. HP's. Data is in the Vit. reloading manual or on their website. Try a search for the "Dorman" load. It has been very accurate in all my 45 ACP's regardless if it is revolver or semi-automatic.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

200gr lasercast lswc
WLP
4.5 VV N310
1.250" OAL

Reliable, accurate, Clean, extremely consistent
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

5.2gr of Bullseye under a 230gr Montana Gold FMJ.

Sig 220 Carry Chrono'd @ 762fps avg

Factory Sellier & Bellot 230gr FMJ rated @ 850fps averaged 702fps in same pistol.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

Titegroup and 230 gr. rainier bullets
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

Back then, I used 180gr LSWC with Red Dot. S70 Gold Cup with reduced weight recoil spring.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

For the Rainier 185gr I use 9.4gr N350 for 1170fps per Vit reload manual. I load 9.8 @ over 1200fps for carry with no signs of over pressure in a 1911A1 5".
I also load 9.6gr for 185gr XTP's. Under 3" @25yds. Makes a great groundhog gitter.
Always start 10% under this as there is no room for error with a unsupported 1911 barrel if thats what you are using.

Gunner
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

WW 231 is working well for me.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

Another Bullseye fan here. 5 gr under a 230 round nose. Also if you want a low recoil round for target with 1911, get a lower tension recoil spring and try 180 gr over 3.9 gr bullseye.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

I vote bullseye around 750 fps under a 200 gr. semi wadcutter I can shoot groups at 30 ft all touching. Feeding can be well let's say not perfect but it's a shooting load for me.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

green dot, red dot, unique, w231, true blue but mostly whatever is on sale. 45 is very forgiving. I do like green dot the most as it takes up the most volume. That makes it easy to see if its been charged, and even easier to see if its double charged because it spills over nicely all over the place.

I find my guns all function best when I am at max loads or no less than 97% of full load

I like zero fmj bullets. I shoot 9mm major at times at 120% of load and the held up well so far, and they are the least expensive copper jacketed bullets I have found
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

clays or titegroup, much cleaner than the "dot" powder or 231 and hp38. But the 45 shoot good with an enormous variety of powders, take your pick.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

When I shot 45 acp in USPSA I started with 231 really good powder, a little dirty not bad, I then switched to WST and then finially went to bullseye, all three really good powder
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

I load using the Zero bullet, 230 gr JHP, ordered from Roze Distribution.

If an inexpensive range / plinking load is desired I would recommend Clays. Not International or Universal, just plain ol' Clays.

For SD type of ammo I've started using Ramshot Silhouette. So far it's working out pretty good. The starting load, with a 230 gr bullet, will get you mid in the mid 800's. The max will put well into the 900's and still be within pressure limits.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

I haven't read this entire thread, but Clays and 230 LSWC seems to be a favorite among USPSA and IDPA. Alot of those guys are obviously doing something right.

Not sure what they're on-range cleaning ritual consists of, though.
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

Blue Dot CCI LPM Primer 185gr Nosler JHP Starline brass

It'll light a cigarette 10ft away and chrony figs are awesome.

Ran out of my usual stuff and keep BD for the 10mm's. thought I would give it a try and have never looked back. It likes to be run at high pressure and its cleaner this way too. Well over 1000fps. AWESOME
 
Re: Whats your favorite Powder for 45ACP?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ubet</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Clays, very clean</div></div>

+1 Clays is clean and consistent.
 
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