Best all around powder

[damndave]

I like W231

[anothergunnut]

Most loaders have what's called a "powder trinity" ie a trio of powders to fill the great majority of needs.

A fast & medium powder for target/lighter loads and a slow powder for heavy bullet/high velocity magnum loads.

W231/HP38 (same powder) and Unique are two of the popular medium burn rate pistol powders. They're good for target loads and will work in magnums but you will give up a bit in maximum velocity, especially with heavier bullets.

Titegroup is a fast powder, right next to Bullseye on the Hodgedon burn rate chart. I don't use it myself because there is way more data available for Bullseye, Bullseye is readily available in my area and Titegroup is said to be a bit twitchy, especially when pushing maximum loads.

I load for .38/.357, 9mm and .45ACP and use Bullseye, W231 and 2400. IMO you really need 3 powders to get the most out of all of them.

Here's the burn rate chart.

http://www.hodgdon.com/burn-rate.html

If I had to chose one powder for target loads only it would be Bullseye.

Exactly what he said.
I use a lot of Bullseye for light loads in 38,357, 9mm, 44 mag and 45ACP. I use Unique for my mid loads in 357 and 44 mag. When I'm looking for maximum loads, I use 2400 in 357 and 44 mag. If I was only going to use one powder, it would be Bullseye because I shoot a lot of light loads.

[five.five-six]

Best all around powder?

it helps with chafing






seriously, there are several powders that may do more rounds than others, but you have to figure out what powder works best fro your calibers and shooting... don't even try to find just one powder to load everything.... trust me, I tried

[wtkaiser]

I tend to agree with 556 and Fishslayer (again!) With most good cartridges, there are too many variables for a 'one size fits all' approach. A 'light charge/light bullet' powder versus the 'heavy charge'bullet' might be one way to approach it. I find a 'lead vs jacketed' split, where one uses a powder for lead (231) versus a powder for jacketed bullets (H-110) serves me well. I only deviate from that when that particular powder is not available.

[beetle]

I use WST for 357, 38spl, 45acp, 40 and 9mm.

And I'll even one up you
45acp, 40, and 9mm even take the same charge. So I don't even have to change the drop

I started out using W231 for most calibers, but recently tried WST for .45acp

AWESOME!!! way cleaner than W231. Would like to try WST for 9mm but can't find any load data. Can you share yours?

[Dark Mod]

My Trio is W231, H110, and IMR 4895

W231 for virtually all handgun loads, H110 for magnum loads, and IMR 4895 for rifle. Ive always used W231 for .357 magnum for a little reduced recoil but after playing with a S&W 460 i starting to use H110 to get some realy magnum velocities

[thenodnarb]

Winchester super target(WST). I love it. I load an even 5 grains for pretty much all my .45 acp loads. It goes a long way. 1400 rounds from 1 pound. awesome! pretty clean too.

[em9sredbeam]

I like Titegroup for 45, 40, 9mm, and 38, because its fairly cheap errr inexpensive and goes a long way. When I first started reloading someone sold me on Alliant Blue Dot, and that was terrible for handguns. Shots were low grouping 4" below where factory was hitting and it took double the amount of powder per casing.

[bruceflinch]

it helps with chafing

He said All Around, not All Over...

[ns3v3n]

W231 gives me good results, but i only load .45acp. But like other people mentioned, 9mm and .40 takes the same charge as well I believe, that's pretty neat.

[Enter_the_Dragon]

W231

[Rotting]

I toyed around with finding "that one powder" that could do all or most of my loading. In the end, I'm much happier with the "triumvirate" of powders that I use.

For all of my handgun loading needs, I have a bottle of Vihtavuouri N-320 (fast), N-340 (medium), and N-110 (magnum) on my bench at all times. These are the best performing, cleanest burning, but most expensive powders that I have used so far.