Alliant Blue Dot Powder for Handguns?

[fishhead1]

Anyone use this much for handgun loadings? I picked up a couple of pounds recently; wanted to try it for .41 Mag loadings. Then Alliant immediately chimed in with a Safety Notice that said do NOT use Blue Dot for .41 Magnum loadings PERIOD. So now I'm wondering how good it is for other handgun loadings. Alliant list it for use with a variety of loadings, but has anyone had much success with it?

[std7mag]

I use it for 40S&W, and for my 45 ACP, and really like it!!

Neither my Lee, nor my Alliant book list Blue Dot for your 41mag.

Good luck!!

[243winxb]

Used in 45acp with 200 gr cast swc. Works well at maximun.

[zxcvbob]

I hated it in every handgun load I tried, until I just had a few ounces left and decided to burn up the rest in .45 Colts. Found a *great* load there, just as I ran out of powder

[Nick_C_S]

Speer #14 has data for their 210g GDHP:

12.0g (1126 fps) to 13.0g (1193 fps).

In general, Blue Dot likes heavy bullets and to be loaded up pretty good. It's kind of a persnickity powder - okay, it's a very persnickity powder. With all load works ups, you start low and work up, of course. But with BD, you're going to find it very dirty when it's underloaded - filthy even. Then it will clean up as you move up.

I'm not a big fan of it, btw. I stopped using it years ago. I haven't had good luck with shotgun purposed propellants. Blue Dot is no exception.

But we all load with what we have these days. Heavy bullets. It likes heavy bullets.

[Clark]

OT, but I have gone through 10 pounds of Blue Dot in 223 lite loads.
At 35kpsi it burns so clean I can fire hundreds of rounds and keep sub moa accuracy without cleaning. Up to 100 shots per hour without over heating.
Thousands of rodents died.

But it can hang up in the powder measure and it does not fill the case, so not recommended for others.

[jepp2]

It was my favorite go to powder for 125 gr. 357 Mag and all my 41 Mag loads. Then the warning so I shot up what i had loaded and only use it now with some 158 gr. LSWC loads in my 357 Mag when I want something slower than Unique. If you do use it, anything less than max loads will be disappointing.

[mikld]

From what I remember it was "spikey" in the .357 with 125 gr. bullets and most .41 cal. loads. I still use it a lot in my .44 Magnum, 265 gr loads for my Puma (also shoots good in my SBH and 629)...

[fishhead1]

Thanks for the inputs, guys

[Shotgun Slim]

I found BD loads ok in .40 near the limit with the heavier bullets. I tried it on the low end and it was very erratic-too squirrely for me. I was glad when it was all gone and I got some more AA#7.

[Nick_C_S]

I was glad when it (Blue Dot) was all gone and I got some more AA#7.

Right there with ya' Shotgun Slim.

AA#7 is my replacement powder for BD. Best I can tell, its burn rate is pretty much identical, but it meters much better, shoots cleaner (usually), and is more consistent overall. And although #7 likes to be loaded up good too, it's not nearly as "squirrely" at lower volumes.

[Shotgun Slim]

Nick I mostly live on the lower end of the loading spectrum as reduced recoil lets my guns live longer and #7 will load right on down till the gun won't run and stays completely stable for me although with a slight bit of "sand" which is never a problem.

[Nick_C_S]

Yep. AA2, 5, 7, and probably 9 (I don't use #9) all leave behind "sand" when they're underloaded. But you're right: It's not filthy and doesn't impede gun function. It's just there to tell you that you're not loading in its optimum window.

I put "(usually)" in my previous post only because Blue Dot can actually run quite clean when you hit its sweet spot. So I stopped short of making an absolute statement.

I don't use a lot of AA7 - just for hot 158g 357's and fat 230g 45ACP HP's. But yeah, it's good clean burning stuff. I'm very pleased with it.

[Shotgun Slim]

#7 is really good for reduced 10mm loads.I use such loads in bowling pin matches where you can sacrifice a bit of power to gain controllability for fast follow up shots.

[Cary]

I was able to pick up a 5lb jug of Blue Dot close to a year ago for buck shot loads in my 20 ga shotgun. I was using Hodgdon Universal for my 357 mag plinking loads and decided I wanted a little more velocity. I worked up a load using the Blue Dot and Berry's 158 grain RNFP bullets and have been very happy with the results. They are clean, accurate, and the velocity I wanted. So now I use the Blue Dot for 20 ga buck shot loads and 357 mag plinking loads.
Cary

[Nick_C_S]

AA#7 is really good for reduced 10mm loads.

As my load requirement reduces, I move to faster powders.

With 10mm, I needed to emulate Federal's 180g Hydrashock for practice purposes; because that's what I carry. But I'm not practicing with ammo that is hard to get, and $1.81/ea. The Hydrashock is not a full-power round (85%-ish). It chrono's at 1030 fps through my G29FS. I achieved emulation with a Berry's 180g PFP and 8.5g of AA5. I have since boosted it up to 8.8g AA5, just to make it a touch stronger than what I carry.

When I first got my 10mm's (bought a G29 & G20 a month apart) I needed to get used to shooting them. At that time I used a very reduced round - 5.6g AA2. I don't load that round any more, but it served its purpose at the time.

I haven't worked up any full-power rounds with 10mm yet (save some experiments with Power Pistol). But when I do, chances are that AA7 will be the choice.

Point is, as I move up or down in power levels, I try to adjust to the powder that will achieve the goal while running in its sweet spot.

Some powders will underload better than others. Unlike Blue Dot, I suspect AA7 is better at it than most. Either way, I try to avoid the practice.

[Nick_C_S]

I worked up a load using the Blue Dot and Berry's 158 grain RNFP bullets and have been very happy with the results. They are clean, accurate, and the velocity I wanted.

Not surprised. Even though it's a notoriously filthy powder, when it's loaded up right, it'll run clean with the rest of them. And in general, when powders are running clean, they tend to be consistent, and thus, accurate.

Keep that recipe

[dogrunner]

7.5 to 8 grains of the stuff under a 100 gr. hard cast in 7.62X25 works well & quite accurate.

Hornady's 90g. XTP HP, with the same load will knock the stuffin's out of coyotes.

[caz223]

All that stuff is true.
It's dirty at low pressures. I had a load with .45 colt that was so dirty the gun was filthy at less than 50 rounds, so I discontinued that caliber. It was the only powder that shot to point of aim with that gun, I had to have that gun sent to a smith to clock the barrel after I changed powders.
I don't like it in .41 mag. I like 2400 or H110 better.
I don't like it in .357 mag, 2400/H110 is just a natural fit.
I really like it in .38 spl +p loads, not exceptionally dirty, or spiky, and good accuracy. Used standard primers, no problems.
It's really hot in 357SIG. Really hot. The starting load was way hotter than any commercially loaded ammo I've shot, including the excellent WWB. No pressure signs, but really loud, and lots of recoil. Can't reduce it below the load I started with because the powder has to support the bullet in 357SIG or you get setback. Standard primers. Maybe the high pressure is from compressing the powder.
Blue dot is good loaded up near max in 10mm with heavy bullets and mag primers. That's prolly the caliber I shoot it in most.
I haven't tried it in 9mm, but have heard accuracy is good, but very high ES.
There are so many better choices in 9mm, WSF, HS-6, power pistol, unique, bullseye, titegroup, etc, etc.
Blue dot seems to like magnum primers in larger cases, esp. with near max loads, and heavy (for caliber.) bullets, IMHO. I have also seen that it doesn't like extreme cold (Below 20F).

[std7mag]

On the accuracy side, I don't load "max loads". Have not had a problem with Blue Dot on that end in either my Hi-Point 40S&W or the Springfield Armory Champion in 45ACP.

I do occasionally shoot near max loads, just to keep up with shooting them, and is what is loaded in the pistols when on my side.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

B/Dot. Lots of flash, lots of bang, but I found little accuracy in its use. Perhaps I didn't spend enough time perfecting a recipe for its use. Then again with another powder available with easier pinnacles of success to be had. AA#7 is my preference for those so called B/Dot works best applications. Looking in its direction I see that new looking Ol' B/Dot cardboard container staring back at me. I wonder if I'll ever find a use for its remaining 14 oz. We'll see, maybe someday.

[mete]

When I used to reload Blue Dot was the only one I used for my 44mag. A bit below max ,it was very clean, accurate with a Speer 225 jswchp.I used it for many a silhouette match and a bunch of deer .Never had any problems with it.
This thread shows how different a powder can be depending on cartridge, bullet and load can be !

[Peter M. Eick]

Blue dot works well in the 40 and 10mm. Other powders are better (velocity) but it works and is accurate.

[chiefr]

Interestingly, I used Blue Dot throughout the 80s and 90s in my model 57, 41 Mag. Back then I was getting close to 1400fps with 210 SWCs.

I attained the tightest groups with Blue Dot. I must have shot close to 4K thru that pistol. Never did I have any problems or signs of pressure.

However around 8 or so years ago, can't remember exactly, but I read in one of the gun rags do not use Blue Dot in the 41 Mag.

Anyway, the 41 Mag was the only round I ever had any real success with Blue dot. I experimented with most pistol calibers and results were poor. I no longer use the stuff. I now use 2400 in 41 Mag loads.

[Nick_C_S]

On the accuracy side, I don't load "max loads".

Just because it's a "max load," doesn't mean it's not accurate.

Back when I was young, had good vision, and didn't shake, I used to shoot silhouettes at 100 yards with my 44 Mag - open sights (M629 8-3/8" bbl).

I used a Hornady 240g Silhouette slug (near-full jacket - no longer in production ). I did extensive testing and shooting for accuracy. Turns out, where I found it to be the most consistent and accurate, was with the manual's max load (24.7g W296, CCI 350 mag primer . . <-- This is an obsolete recipe, and not a load recommendation).

Max loads are often not the most accurate. But shouldn't be discounted out of hand as inaccurate either.