The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Did my first reloads today... Question about powder.

orionengnr · October 15, 2011, 08:41 PM

Congrats and welcome to the addiction!
I am an old-timer (50+) with most of those years as a shooter, but only a 3-year rolader, so take what I say witha grain of salt.
All that said, I am a compulsive reader/learner, and have spent entirely too much time on this and other forums in the last five years (just ask the wife).

Here's what I have to add to the conversation:
.38 Spl is a large volume, low-pressure round.
.45acp is a small volume, low pressure round.
.357 Mag and .44 Mag are large volume, high pressure rounds.

As such, each type of round makes different demands of it's powder (slower burning/faster burning)and there is no one powder that will bring each to it's potential.

There will be some powders that will "work" with all of the above, but each will be a compromise. In most people's opinion, Unique is as close to a universal handgun powder as exists, but it does not (IME) meter well through many progressive powder measures.

If it were me, I would use W231 or Bullseye for the .38 and .45acp. Once I were a bit more confident in my skills, I would look at powders for the Magnum cartridges.

Remember that a .38 operates at around 17,000 psi, and a .357 is approximately double that. While a double charged .38/.45acp will be memorable and perhaps damaging to the hardware, doing the same with a .357/.44 Mag will likely be...downright explosive.

October 15, 2011, 08:41 PM	#13
orionengnr Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2004 Posts: 5,173	Congrats and welcome to the addiction! I am an old-timer (50+) with most of those years as a shooter, but only a 3-year rolader, so take what I say witha grain of salt. All that said, I am a compulsive reader/learner, and have spent entirely too much time on this and other forums in the last five years (just ask the wife). Here's what I have to add to the conversation: .38 Spl is a large volume, low-pressure round. .45acp is a small volume, low pressure round. .357 Mag and .44 Mag are large volume, high pressure rounds. As such, each type of round makes different demands of it's powder (slower burning/faster burning)and there is no one powder that will bring each to it's potential. There will be some powders that will "work" with all of the above, but each will be a compromise. In most people's opinion, Unique is as close to a universal handgun powder as exists, but it does not (IME) meter well through many progressive powder measures. If it were me, I would use W231 or Bullseye for the .38 and .45acp. Once I were a bit more confident in my skills, I would look at powders for the Magnum cartridges. Remember that a .38 operates at around 17,000 psi, and a .357 is approximately double that. While a double charged .38/.45acp will be memorable and perhaps damaging to the hardware, doing the same with a .357/.44 Mag will likely be...downright explosive.