Bullseye vs. Unique

I know Bullseye is the powder of choice for .45 target loads, but it is smokey and dirty and I don't like it for that reason. I would like to use Unique instead, but will it achieve the same results? Do I use the same amount as Bullseye (3.7 grains) LMK.

The short answer is no. You really ought to stick with a fast burning powder for the best results. The lube on a lead bullet will make smoke, too. If you don't like Bullseye then you may want to try Clays, Clay Dot, Solo 1000, e3, VV 310, American Select or any other number of fast burning powders.

I have clay dot, but if you look on Alliants website they say Clay Dot is " not for use in metallic cartridges"

Flytrap1 wrote:I have clay dot, but if you look on Alliants website  they say Clay Dot is " not for use in metallic cartridges"

It is supposed to be a copy of Hodgdon Clays. Clays has been used for many years to load bullseye pistol rounds. If you want to make sure, contact Alliant and ask them about using a small charge for target .45 ACP loads. You can contact them here: http://www.alliantpowder.com/questions/default.aspx

I spoke to a rep. at alliant and Was told clay dot is not an exact duplicate of clays. It does mimic it in some respects but they do not recommend it in metallic cartridges do to large fluctuations in pressure.

5.0 gr of Unique behind a 200 swc gives me the same results as 4.0 gr of Bullseye.
Down fall is Unique does meter worth a flip

I shoot bullseye all the time, no smoke to speak of, yes its dirty but so are most powders, unique is way slower than bullseye, here is some info from the comparison chart that shows other powders that are of close or the same burn characteristic's.

						R-1
		Bullseye						N310
AS30N	Clays	Red Dot			AS	N2010	NITRO 100
Trail Boss			Trail Boss
AP50N	HP 38	e3	PB	W231			AA 2	N320
AS50N	International	Green Dot	700X	WST			AA 5
AP70N	Universal	Unique	SR 7625					N330

dhenry132 wrote:5.0 gr of Unique behind a 200 swc gives me the same results as 4.0 gr of Bullseye.
Down fall is Unique does meter worth a flip

Ditto on the metering aspects of Unique, at least on a Dillon XL650.

I've used 3.4 gr claydot with 200 gr lead swc's without issue. Of course, ymmv

james r chapman wrote:I've used 3.4 gr claydot with 200 gr lead swc's without issue. Of course, ymmv

Since the topic of ClayDot came up, I've been reading a few reports of reloaders using it for quite some time in the .45 ACP for light target loads without issue. I don't think that there are any published loads for e3, but I worked up a good .45 ACP load a few years ago and some of my shooting buddies have been using it ever since with very good results.

Might as well ask me if George Foreman could beat Archimedes in a wrestling match.

Haven't seen either of those powders in three towns for more than a year.

A bunch of rifle powders are showing up, but pistol powders flash in and out of sight only every few weeks.

GrumpyOldMan wrote:Might as well ask me if George Foreman could beat Archimedes in a wrestling match.

Haven't seen either of those powders in three towns for more than a year.

A bunch of rifle powders are showing up, but pistol powders flash in and out of sight only every few weeks.

Same here until a few days ago when HP38 showed up at a LGS.  I'm too embarrassed to say how much I purchased.

All of it!

The complaint " Bullseye is dirty" or "too dirty" voiced frequently. Since pistols should be cleaned before a match anyhow it would seem a small matter.

If another powder is more accurate and consistent, use it. From reports here that is the case with WST in the .38 spl. Wish I find some to see for myself !

Ron Habegger

I am a firm believer that if you keep the Bullseye load at or greater then 4.2 gr (200gr LSWC) that it burns a lot cleaner. I was told this many years ago and after many years of shooting under and over that weight loads I have had the same results. YMMV.

Len   ( it probably is explainable by some powder guru.)

OldMaster64 wrote:I am a firm believer that if you keep the Bullseye load at or greater then 4.2 gr (200gr LSWC) that it burns a lot cleaner. I was told this many years ago and after many years of shooting under and over that weight loads I have had the same results. YMMV.

Len   ( it probably is explainable by some powder guru.)

I think this is right on. When I encountered an unexpectedly weak lot of BE it made a dirty, smoky, strange smelling mess. As it was increased to normal functioning it cleaned up.

Ron Habegger

OldMaster64 wrote:I am a firm believer that if you keep the Bullseye load at or greater then 4.2 gr (200gr LSWC) that it burns a lot cleaner. I was told this many years ago and after many years of shooting under and over that weight loads I have had the same results. YMMV.

Len   ( it probably is explainable by some powder guru.)

I usually use 3.8g of Bullseye with 185g LSWCs but I just bumped up the load to 4.0g and it does seem to burn cleaner.  FWIW