Need powder comparison and information resource

[JustinPo]

So I am moving closer to trying this whole reloading "thing" and seem to have hit a stumbling point.

How can you tell what powder to get and what (if anything) is equivalent to anything else? Do I research the powders I find listed within the Speer manual (#14) I am using as a general guide and wait till I find that powder or is there a resource that shows equivalents? If that is the best course where can I find good reviews, comparisons, and tech data on the powders? Is there a reliable resource, either online or in print that tells me about powder?

Edit: I am planning on reloading 45 acp for an HK USP and the rounds will be used for target shooting and when I am comfortable with there reliability and performance, steel shoots.

Sorry for my dumb questions, but I figure a few questions now are a lot better than the repercussions of not asking.

[1911fan]

No dumb questions, ever, on reloading if you are hung up.


No powder really is a one for one equivalent, except for a couple which are sold under different names by different companies.


Now the powders that do have the same names, or numbers really, are not one for one exchangeable either. IMR 4350 is not H4350, they are close, but they are made from different lots, and have different properties.


The easiest thing on the powder issue is list what you are trying to reload, and which powders people have a good solid track history with that combo, and list what you are trying to do with that load, that is, a plinker, a SD load, a hunting load. all which varies which powder might be best for you, or which powder might do well for all three.

[jac714]

If all else fails, start with Unique. You can reload just about any pistol caliber with Unique.

It is a bit dirty but it is a nice flexible powder that is reasonablly easy to find.

[Rip Van Winkle]

What I do when researching a new powder or cartridge is start with the manual. First I look up the cartridge and bullet weight I'm interested in. Next I look for the load with the highest velocity and lowest pressure. Depending on how many listings there are, usually there are 2 or 3 loads which stick out above the others.

The Hodgdon website is a valuable source of information. http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

Lastly, you may want to have 2 or 3 backup choices of powder when you go to buy. The market place has recovered somewhat but there are still some bare shelves out there and you might not be able to find your ideal powder.

[Pinnacle]

So I am moving closer to trying this whole reloading "thing" and seem to have hit a stumbling point.

How can you tell what powder to get and what (if anything) is equivalent to anything else? Do I research the powders I find listed within the Speer manual (#14) I am using as a general guide and wait till I find that powder or is there a resource that shows equivalents? If that is the best course where can I find good reviews, comparisons, and tech data on the powders? Is there a reliable resource, either online or in print that tells me about powder?

Sorry for my dumb questions, but I figure a few questions now are a lot better than the repercussions of not asking.

Relative burn rate is not that important in the beginning - all that you need to do is start with something out of the Speer book and load it and go from there. I think that a good question for this thread as a new reloader would have been - What powders should I start with?

I think that I can answer that one with a couple of responses. But the question to you would be what is it that you plan on reloading?

Unique for Pistol (Very good powder to start with for the beginner and flexible as Jac714 Stated)
H4831 SC for Large Capacity Rifle (You can use this stuff for just about ANYTHING and it is really slow stuff - and forgiving)
AA2230 for 223 class calibers.

[mnglocker]

Shart, I just saw Andy's sig line. I'm going to go drink some pepto now.

[JustinPo]

I think that I can answer that one with a couple of responses. But the question to you would be what is it that you plan on reloading?

Sorry I suppose I should have mentioned that, I am planning on reloading 45 acp for an HK USP and the rounds will be used for target shooting and when I am comfortable with there reliability and performance, steel shoots.

[1911fan]

Look up bullseye and tightgroup for that cartridge and your bullet combo.

[Pinnacle]

Look up bullseye and tightgroup for that cartridge and your bullet combo.

Titegroup +1

[bensdad]

I use Bullseye for all handgun (so far). That's 45acp, 9mm, 40s&w, 380acp and 38spl. It's low volume and cheap. I pass the savings on to me.

[Belgiboy]

5.0 gr of Titegroup with a 200 gr lead SWC. A quality .45 like your USP should gobble that up and spit it out with no issues whatsoever.

[JoeH]

Titegroup was developed with the .45 ACP in mind. For .45 you'll have a small about of powder in a large case. TG is not position sensitive. So, it's a good choice for .45.

[farmerj]

for me, I looked at what would give me the most versatile usage.

For 9mm, 45 ACP and 12 ga, I keep Clays for most of the stuff, and the option I have for buckshot is HS-6. This is really the only ones I have two powders for.

For rifle, .223, .243, .308 and .30-06, I settled on H4850.

I know there are supposed to be more accurate powders, but I had different criteria than having 8-10 powders in the house. One for pistol shotgun / pistol, one for rifle.

[Seismic Sam]

Some of the manuals have burn rate charts that go from fastest to slowest. You should, however NOT confuse burn rate with highest pressure or highest bullet velocity. Yes, if you load a 30-06 case full with Bullseye, you will have created a bomb that will be far over 100,000 PSI and blow the gun and you to kingdom come, but WITHIN recommended loading limits, burn rate and delivered power or pressure do NOT correlate. Case in point: Lil' Gun has a slightly slower burn rate than 296/H110, but delivers 100 - 200 FPS more velocity in the same cartridge (like 440 Corbon Magnum or 500 S&W) than 296, so it delivers more velocity to the bullet. If you CAREFULLY read the introduction to the cartridge that you are shooting, the manual may tell you what the best two or three powders are for that cartidge.

Shown below is a section of Speer Manual #14, and the box near the bottom it shows the best powder information, as well as some VITAL information NOT to use magnum primers with some powders, or you are likely to blow your azz off. This is why you READ THE WHOLE PHUCKING MANUAL, because there are little bits of information like this throughout the WHOLE book, and if you just flip to the loading data you will be lacking certain critical information that you NEED to know to handload safely.

[Bessy]

I've been using Winchester 231 for 45acp I've been very pleased with it. It's a relatively versatile powder.
I've been using 5.1 grains of win 231 under a 230 grain FMJ, (4.8 gr for moly coated lead or lead same bullet weight, but you shouldn't use lead or moly-lead in your usp it's bad jo jo). COL 1.250 this is a mild load, but should function in your usp.
Here is the standard disclaimer,
1. cross reference any loads you get from anyone (myself included), with two reloading manuals, if something seems wrong it probably is.
2. Don't believe anything you read on the internet.

P.S. if you only have the one reloading manual, and would like me to cross reference a load for you I have no problem doing that. I have the Hornady and sierra manuals handy, just send me a pm.