There's a pistol I've fired that seems to shoot the 100-grain semi-wadcutter bullet over a charge of Bullseye powder very well. Bullseye is made by Alliant. Remember them? "We won't be selling propellants for handloading for the foreseeable future", etc. Well, I've got about a box worth of the bullets left, and enough powder to load about another 3-4 boxes(I need to get more bullets). Then it'll be "I need to decide what other powder to use." Because when Alliant said 'for the foreseeable future', they made it plain that was going to be a long time.
Which isn't a huge problem, there are several others you can use for that cartridge. And I could start casting those bullets, if I had to. But, those are little bullets, and even if you have a gang mould* for the bullets, well, that has some difficulties, too**. So I'd found some nice 100-grain SWC bullets made by Missouri Bullet Company in a bulk box of 500, already sized and lubed and ready to load. And worth it.
Just checked, they've also got wadcutters of the same weight(No, they're not the only company making some of that type). Why those or the SWC(Yes, they call them round-nose flat-point, but they look like SWCs to me) and not the round-nose? They cut a cleaner hole, which makes for easier scoring if you're worried about that. One more thing ... if it happened that, for some reason, I had to use a .32 for defense, the SWC and WC bullets are heavier, and will cut a full-diameter hole as deeply as that bullet can go, which would be much better than the lighter round-nose can do. And no, with something at these velocities you can't count on a hollowpoint expanding, so no reason to buy those. And those SWC or WC bullets would be much better for small game as well.
Just checked, they've also got wadcutters of the same weight(No, they're not the only company making some of that type). Why those or the SWC(Yes, they call them round-nose flat-point, but they look like SWCs to me) and not the round-nose? They cut a cleaner hole, which makes for easier scoring if you're worried about that. One more thing ... if it happened that, for some reason, I had to use a .32 for defense, the SWC and WC bullets are heavier, and will cut a full-diameter hole as deeply as that bullet can go, which would be much better than the lighter round-nose can do. And no, with something at these velocities you can't count on a hollowpoint expanding, so no reason to buy those. And those SWC or WC bullets would be much better for small game as well.
Alliant really upset a lot of people with that decision. For instance, there are a number of cartridges, especially with cast bullets, for which their Unique propellant has been THE choice for accuracy for decades, and you've got people who've used it for decades, so when you suddenly cut them off, they get upset.
Ah well, I've got dishes to wash and such, so enough writing for now.
*A mold much longer than a one- or two-cavity mold, with more cavities
**Keeping that longer mould body up to heat so it fills out all the cavities cleanly can be a pain
12 comments:
Try Titegroup or vihtavuori powders
I feel the same way. Bullseye is also great for .38 special with a 148 grain wadcutter. Very slow but very accurate.
"Bullseye is made by Alliant. Remember them? "We won't be selling propellants for handloading for the foreseeable future", etc."
From what I've seen, the issue was a shortage of nitrocellulose and they had a government contract they had to fulfill, they stopped making powder for the civilian market because they flat couldn't do it, not because they were abandoning the market.
I don't know where that stands today, but I can say that there are still Alliant powders out there. I only use Alliant powder for pistol loads and one I use a lot is in stock at Midway USA right now for a decent price:
I started using BE-86 many years ago during one of the shortages where I couldn't find Bullseye. BE-86 is not a direct replacement, so you'll have to work up new loads, but after working up my loads, I've had really good results and excellent accuracy with it in .45acp (1911), 9mm luger (Glock 19, Sig P320, Ruger LC9) and 9mm Makarov (CZ-82).
.45acp: 230gr XTP over 6.6gr BE-86 at 1.26oal and WLP primers makes 921fps (not quite +p...I was trying for the "standard" velocity of about 870fps but I got a little better accuracy out of my pistol with the hotter load so that's what I went with).
9mm Luger: 147gr XTP over 4.9gr BE-86 at 1.14oal and WSP primers gives me 1045fps.
9mm Mak: 95gr XTP over 4.2gr BE-86 at .975oal and WSP primers gives me 967fps
In case you can't tell, I like XTP's for my defense ammo. I typically use Barry's plated bullets in the same weights for target ammo. The loads aren't identical, but very close.
I've been using these loads for over 10 years with very good results FWIW, YMMV and no warranty either implied or express.
Hodgdon Universal might work. It's pretty good for .38 wadcutters
Try Titegroup or Vihtavuori Powders either will work well.
Accurate #2 appears to be their version of bullseye, and Accurate #5 seems to be their version of unique. One of the few good outcomes to the Obama shortages was being forced to try other powders. My friend and I have had good results with some of their powders. He uses Accurate #5 in plinker loads for the 223 with great results. Accurate 4350 and 2495 (4895 equivalent) have given very good results in accuracy and consistency.
It might be worth checking around and trying. I got a couple pounds of W231 because I wanted a consistent throwing ball powder. I was disappointed because the "balls" were flattened into flakes. It still meters OK but was a little disappointed. #5 is an actual ball powder, and #2 is very fine, almost like pepper.
There are several others can try, though almost nobody carries Vihtavouri around here, and the one that does has rifle powders.
I've been curious about the new 327 federal cartridge. Pretty snappy, but can shoot the 32 h&r and the other 32 s&w long and short cartridges. But the accuracy might crap out that short though. I'm thinking it would be nice in the ruger single seven, or the sp101 with the 4 in barrel and adjustable sights. That would be a nice trail gun. I'm curious about your thoughts on that one.
Me like MBC bullets very muchly and they offer a discount to members of gun clubs that register with them. I got my club to sign up for this and it was quick and painless. See here:
https://www.missouribullet.com/registered_clubs.php
No personal experience, I have heard that it gives good accuracy and a decent amount of energy. Yeah, out of a 4" barrel it would definitely have more, and I'd think it would be good for a trail sidearm.
Usual problem with a snubbie is that short sight radius makes it easier to miss, longer definitely helps.
Looking at the Alliant Webpage, it looks like they're making powder for reloaders again. No mention of quantity, but they say they're trying to serve all of their customers.
Missouri Bullet Co makes some good projectiles, I've been using their products for about 10 years now.
How about Win 231 ?
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