A Clean Burning Powder for .38 Spl and .45 ACP

[Locoweed]

I went to the range the other day and shot several boxes of .38 Spl wadcutters from Denver and Zero. My stainless steel 686 was absolutely filthy from head to toe and it took a long time to clean it. I'm getting ready to reload some .38 Spl and .45 ACP. Does anyone have a recommendation for a clean burning powder?

[spacecoast]

What powder/load/bullet weight were you using?

I use Titegroup for both .38s and .45s, works well for both.

[Mike Irwin]

WW 231, AA 2, AA 5, Clays

231 has been, for over 30 years now, my go-to powder for loading just about everything handgun.

The only time I don't use 231 is when I'm loading full-power loads in my .357 or .41 Mags, and in my .44 Special, for which I use Trail Boss exclusively.

[Doodlebugger45]

TiteGroup and 231 (or HP38 now) work well for me on the light loads. Trail Boss is very clean also but I don't do 45 ACP so I don't know how it works there. I try to load towards the upper end of the charge weight range (not at max, but in the upper half of the range at least) to get cleaner burns.

[MrBorland]

For target loads, such as wadcutters & semi-wadcutters, I use W-231 or bullseye. Very accurate loads, and I don't worry about the dirt on the gun.

For competition, such as IDPA & USPSA, where cleaner loads are more important, I use Clay's. Makes an ok target load as well, but I found W-231/bullseye better for this.

I hear a lot of good things about the cleanliness of Solo1000 (at least for .38spl loads).

[AlaskaMike]

Clays is extremely clean, and I've heard good stuff about Alliant's American Select as well. I really like 231 in my revolver cartridges, but I find it's not nearly as clean burning in my .45 autos--it's not nearly as dirty as some, but it does leave quite a bit of powder residue.

[Quantrill]

700X is what I use for plinking and CAS.

[deputy fife]

Yeah, I got the same thing. It is in the nature of the beast when you shoot lead through revolvers, there is enough of a gap between the cylinder and the barrel to turn that beautiful SS ( mine is nickel plated) dirty in 6 shots. Shoot plated bullets if you are worried about getting your gun dirty, or just hate scrubbing it for 30min. I use 3.0 gr Bullseye behind a 158gr. LSWC. Works great. I use Bullseye in my 9mm with plated, and there is hardly ever any residue.

[Rifleman1776]

I have used a lot of powders for my .44 mag. and can say I don't recall any I would call "dirty" powders.
I do shoot a lot of bp and that is "dirty".

[mikejonestkd]

Bullseye is filthy, I have switched to 231 and trail boss for light/ medium loads in .38 special, .357 mag, 44 mag and .45 colt with excellent results. Mostly pushing lead cast bullets in the 700-800 FPS range in all the above cartridges with little residue and good accuracy.

[Sid]

I agree with that 100%. I used Bullseye and it did not burn clean. Switching to 231 has been a very big improvement. I have used it in all of my handguns without any problems.

[zxcvbob]

• Promo (and I assume Red Dot) burns clean if you don't load it too light.
  
• American Select burns so clean with jacketed bullets or plated bullets, it's scary. With cast bullets, it's kind of dirty from the bullet lube, but not bad.

Both of these are fast-burning powders and ideal for target loads.

Solo 1000 ought to be good, because it's a single-base powder, but I haven't tried it.

[gunrobot]

Clays is awesome. clean and no smoke screen.

[m&p45acp10+1]

I have posted a review of Trail Boss with .45 acp. In fact I posted it a couple of days ago. It is very clean with lead. When I say clean I mean the barrel of my M&P, and my buddies 1911 were so clean it was hard to tell that as many rounds were fired out of them as we did. Clean up was a snap. A little M-Pro7 on a patch run through the barrel, then a dry patch, then a bit of oil, and dry patch. It took me less than 10 minutes, and I was taking my time.

[WESHOOT2]

Comes from 3N37 and N350. 3N37 is an unbelievably clean choice.
WSL is great, too, but discontinued now for years.....I still have a 'bit'.


("Clean", for me, includes performance from sub-guns.)

[Locoweed]

"What powder/load/bullet weight were you using?"

This was Denver and Zero remanufactured ammo so I have no idea what powder and load they were using. It was all 148 gr wadcutter. I suspect that it might have been Unique. Man, it sure was dirty and my revolver and left hand (from reloading) were filthy. I'll try some of your recommended powder next time I work up a batch.

[Sport45]

For a cleaner gun use jacketed bullets. Most of what you see is probably from the cast bullet lube.

I'll bet most of the "filth" wiped off without much effort. I don't worry about things like that. (Just don't wear a white shirt to the range if soot and black specs bother you. )

[Don P]

Titegroup and 231. Unfortunately 231 lately has become as rare as rocking horse poop and chicken lips. Most folks have been out of 231 stock

[Sport45]

WW231 is a very good powder. If it's hard to find, try looking in HP-38 cans.

[Jim243]

Win 231 powder, like Mike I use it for all handgun loads except 357 Mag (2400) and 357 Sig (Power Pistol). Pretty clean buring, but no powder will be absolutly no residue.


Jim

[zxcvbob]

I lubed some 125 grain cast bullets using Rooster Jacket last fall and loaded them pretty hot in .38 Specials using fast powder (I think it was Red Dot but might have been Green Dot.) They burned very clean and without a lot of smoke -- I think the bore was cleaner after shooting than before. Accuracy was not very good, but that might have been me. I need to try it again, and size the bullets this time.

[floydster]

Trail boss in my 38 Spl. and 45 ACP--- it's like going to the bathroom and not having to wipe your butt!
With cast bullets.

[indiandave]

I use 231 and titegroup for 148gr dewc's and 158gr lswc's. They both are clean but my bullet lube is not. They both are capable of shooting tight groups.

[sonnycrockett]

231 seems pretty popular,how is it in 40SW ?

I currently use Longshot,not bad,not too dirty
compared to Unique which is filthy,I had to junk it

[BDS-THR]

231 seems pretty popular, how is it in 40SW?

For 180 gr bullet, I use 3.8 - 4.3 gr of W231 for light-mild target load. Lighter recoiling than 9mm and dead-on accurate. For 155 gr bullet, I use 4.3 - 4.8 gr.

BTW, W231 and HP38 are exactly the same powder.