Needle in the proverbial haystack

[mnoirot64]

Here I am in Bessemer, AL with some time on my hands. Dropped by Simmons Sporting Goods and they had two one pound jugs of Power Pistol and two of Unique. Two bottle limit so I just purchased the two pounds of Power Pistol. Maybe I will find a four leaf clover now!

[Unclenick]

Best of luck!

[flashhole]

Good for you finding the powder. I'm still searching here in NY.

[TailGator]

Dropped by my LGS earlier today and they had nothing but a promise of a delivery next week.

[WESHOOT2]

I much prefer Power Pstol to Unique, and have found it useful in any handgun chambering I've tried it in.

[mnoirot64]

Originally Posted by WESHOOT2

I much prefer Power Pstol to Unique, and have found it useful in any handgun chambering I've tried it in.

Me too. It is one of my favorites. However, I have found a serious contender: Hodgdon CFE Pistol. I ran 9mm, 357 SIG and 45 ACP with CFE through my Chrony today and it was VERY impressive. I will post some numbers later.

[lamarw]

Simmons is always a good place to shop.

[mnoirot64]

Originally Posted by lamarw

Simmons is always a good place to shop.

I agree. A very nice store.

[Nick_C_S]

Stopped by my LGS today (Sportsmen's Warehouse) and guess what? . .
They had 5 one-Lb jugs of Unique, and 1 one-Lb jug of Power Pistol. I bet it's no coincidence that they're the same powders as the OP.

This is the first pistol powder this LGS has had since September; needless to say, it was quite refreshing to see - as meager as it was.

Since I already had about 2/3Lb of each, this new acquisition (1Lb each) will satisfy my needs for both for at least a year (unless my shooting style drastically changes).

Now if they can just get some Bullseye and/or W231 in stock - sigh.

[Nick_C_S]

I much prefer Power Pstol to Unique

Ummm, I agree. Barely.

I think both are great. And if I had to forsake one forever and ever and ever, I'd have to choose Unique.

Unique is great for making consistent medium power rounds. Or even fairly potent rounds with lighter bullets. (It makes great 125g 38+P rounds, for instance.)

Power Pistol makes bullets go seriously fast. A highly energetic powder. Excellent for high performance in just about every caliber, save maybe the magnums with heavy bullets.

So yeah, Power Pistol gets the nod over Unique.

[Jay24bal]

I recently saw Unique in stock at one of my stores. They had about 15 one pounders. I usually go through about 2 pounds a year, and have a little under one pound left on the bench, so I only picked up 2 pounds.

Now, I am pretty jealous about the Power Pistol. I have not seen any in a LONG time, and I am running very low on it. I go through about 3 pounds of it a year, and am down to 1/2 pound. Keeping my fingers crossed I find some soon...

[BuckRub]

Never tried Power Pistol but talked to people who like it. I love Unique and shot umpteen pounds of it. Still have about 3 or 4 pounds left and have quite a bit loaded up in various calibers. Will be busting some caps tomorrow.

[Valornor]

Originally Posted by flashhole

Good for you finding the powder. I'm still searching here in NY.

You sure it's still legal in NY?

Jk

[Nick_C_S]

Never tried Power Pistol but talked to people who like it.

BuckRub: Visually, Power Pistol is identical to Bullseye. Which it should, because it is a derivative of Bullseye.

It's slower than Unique, but has a lot more energy release. It's really potent stuff. It delivers high velocity in most applications. I'm particularly fond of it in 357 Mag and 10mm. Does 45ACP and 9mm really well too. Actually, it's just versatile, come to think of it.

It's not without its drawbacks. It's biggest is that it releases considerable muzzle flash. So much so, that many consider it unacceptable for defense applications.

It's also not very forgiving, from a pressure standpoint. It can pressure spike with little warning for a medium speed powder. I recommend loaders first get some experience doing load work ups with other more forgiving powders - like HS-6 or AA5 - before Power Pistol. Even with my 30 years experience, I'm pretty quick to chronograph work up with it and "call it good." I don't like playing with it much.

It's no big deal for an experienced loader; don't get me wrong. Not trying to be overly dramatic here. When loaded hot, it just doesn't leave a lot of room for any "loading anomalies."

Great stuff though. If you can find it, get it

[std7mag]

Hard to get any pistol powders around here.

Have been using Blue Dot for my 40S&W, and my new to me 45ACP.

Loading on the low side of the manuals, and getting good accuracy and performance from both pistols.

[mnoirot64]

Originally Posted by Nick_C_S

BuckRub: Visually, Power Pistol is identical to Bullseye. Which it should, because it is a derivative of Bullseye.



It's slower than Unique, but has a lot more energy release. It's really potent stuff. It delivers high velocity in most applications. I'm particularly fond of it in 357 Mag and 10mm. Does 45ACP and 9mm really well too. Actually, it's just versatile, come to think of it.



It's not without its drawbacks. It's biggest is that it releases considerable muzzle flash. So much so, that many consider it unacceptable for defense applications.



It's also not very forgiving, from a pressure standpoint. It can pressure spike with little warning for a medium speed powder. I recommend loaders first get some experience doing load work ups with other more forgiving powders - like HS-6 or AA5 - before Power Pistol. Even with my 30 years experience, I'm pretty quick to chronograph work up with it and "call it good." I don't like playing with it much.



It's no big deal for an experienced loader; don't get me wrong. Not trying to be overly dramatic here. When loaded hot, it just doesn't leave a lot of room for any "loading anomalies."



Great stuff though. If you can find it, get it

I couldn't agree more. Based on my work ups, Power Pistol goes from medium load to hot load VERY quickly. If you're trying to tweak up a hot load to a hot rod load, it can put a serious hurt on you, and your prized pistol very quickly.

In a previous post, in this thread, I mentioned Hodgdon CFE Pistol. I picked up a couple pounds of this recently and must say I'm very impressed. It's clean, fast and seems to shoot softly. I ran several moderate recipes through my Beta Master Chrony yesterday in 9mm, 357 SIG, 40 and 45. I will post the results when I have some time later. That being said, if you see some on a shelf at your LGS, I would highly recommend it.

[BuckRub]

I did talk to Shane who is the reloader for Rainier bullets and his two best powders for pistols are Power Pistol and Londshot. Which I've never tried neither. I still have about 35 lbs of powder I frequently use and have to burn quite a bit before buying any more.

[mnoirot64]

Originally Posted by BuckRub

I did talk to Shane who is the reloader for Rainier bullets and his two best powders for pistols are Power Pistol and Londshot. Which I've never tried neither. I still have about 35 lbs of powder I frequently use and have to burn quite a bit before buying any more.

Longshot is one of my other favorite powders for auto pistols. It is fairly forgiving, burns cleanly and offers above average velocities. My top three powders for automatic pistols are: Power Pistol, Longshot and CFE Pistol. Unique, is not very far behind. For general plinking, 800-X is also very good.

[BuckRub]

Unique here !!

[Nick_C_S]

Hard to get any pistol powders around here.

By "around here," you must mean "planet earth." Yes, the powder shortages are that universal. Welcome. You have a lot of company.

[bhcarl]

overjoyed to find a pound of red dot, first pistol powder I have seen in a long time.

[Nick_C_S]

Although Red Dot is technically a shotgun powder

Your point remains, none-the-less. My LGS had a single 8Lb jug of RD on the shelf yesterday too when I was in there.