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Clean Burning Powder For 45 ACP?

16K views 63 replies 36 participants last post by  mta1911 
#1 · (Edited)
Just got my WilsonCombat CQB SF today. Looks like I'm going to have to work up a load to practice with. I have never loaded 45 ACP before.

Which powders have y'all found to burn the clean-est in 45 ACP?

I have shot cowboy for many years, and I have found Winchester 231 and Hogdon Clays & Hogdon HP 38 to be fairly dirty in both 45 Long Colt and 357 mag.

I've only loaded those three powders + Vihtavouri N310 & VV N320 + pure Goex black (Goex cartridge and, of course, Goex ffg and fffg). So, there's a lot more good products out there that I've had no experience with.

Vihtavouri N320 burns the clean-est in 357 mag for me but I don't know if it is a good powder to load in 45 ACP. (Compared to the VV N310, it burns slower, but I'm not sure if the 45 ACP round needs a slower burning powder or faster, for accuracy purposes.) I intend to use Federal match, large pistol primers.

I'm hoping some folks out there have figured out the clean burning issue, already.

If anybody has an opinion, I'd sure be glad to hear it.
 
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#2 ·
Just got my WilsonCombat CQB SF today. Looks like I'm going to have to work up a load to practice with. I have never loaded 45 ACP before.

Which powders have y'all found to burn the clean-est in 45 ACP?

I have shot cowboy for many years, and I have found WC 231 and Hogdon Clays & Hogdon HP 38 to be fairly dirty in both 45 Long Colt and 357 mag.

I've only loaded those three powders + Vihtavouri N310 & VV N320 + pure Goex black (Goex cartridge and, of course, Goex ffg and fffg). So, there's a lot of good products out there I've had no experience with.

Vihtavouri N320 burns the clean-est in 357 mag for me but I don't know if it is a good powder to load in 45

I'm hoping some folks out there have figured out the clean burning issue, already.

If anybody has an opinion, I'd sure be glad to hear it.
If you already have experienced the N310 and N320 you have some of the best propellants available for the 45ACP
N320 is a top accuracy powder for most of my 45ACP guns and is in my opinion a clean burning powder.

Other choices in cleaner burning would be AA Nitro 100, AA No.2, CLAYS, RED DOT, Bullseye, Titegroup and WST

Any of these may meet your “hygiene” requirements, some a little better than others.
Many times we blame the powder for what can be other components and firearm related contributors.

Good Luck :)
 
#3 ·
Thnx

10-4, TG, thanks for spinning me up.

I may have 20 to 40 lbs of N 320 put back since I went over to the dark side shooting percussion pistols & Goex in all guns back in 2006. I would just as soon shoot the N 320 as anything. When I shot smokeless, I always believed tne N 320 had less "felt" recoil, but that was darn subjective, I know, and open to much debate.

I may be making too big of an issue about clean burning, but, just thinking about it, I figured the cleaner the better the pistol will run. Maybe it don't matter all that much.

Thnx for letting me know!
 
#8 ·
10-4, TG, thanks for spinning me up.

I may have 20 to 40 lbs of N 320 put back since I went over to the dark side shooting percussion pistols & Goex in all guns back in 2006. I would just as soon shoot the N 320 as anything. When I shot smokeless, I always believed tne N 320 had less "felt" recoil, but that was darn subjective, I know, and open to much debate.

I may be making too big of an issue about clean burning, but, just thinking about it, I figured the cleaner the better the pistol will run. Maybe it don't matter all that much.

Thnx for letting me know!
10-4, you will be hard pressed to find anyone who has had a bad experience with the V-V powders, especially the N310, N320 and the N340 in 45ACP

If you have 20# to 40# of 320….you’re fat! you’re big! you are totally “sconless”

Some years ago I worked up a battery of test with all three and for the most part N320 was what the bulk of my 45ACP stable liked so I lean toward it.
Others had have great success using N310 and N340

“Every gun is its own gun; every load is its own load”

VihtaVuori has obvious pride in their products and prices them accordingly, not to mention the offshore nature and origin of the powders.

As Rick mentioned, if you were inclined to manage your “magazine” of the N320.

Many of the powders I and others have mentioned could be cost effective alternatives to try.

Good Luck :)
 
#4 ·
I used N320 for a while, and it is great powder, but I cut my per-load costs in half with another great powder, Hodgdon Clays. For less-than full power loads, I think it's the best .45 powder available. It's known to be clean burning, and "soft" in recoil.
 
#17 ·
6.9-7.2 grains of HS-6 underneath a 200 LSWC is an easy shooting load that leaves almost no residue on my 1911. Likewise, 6.8-7 grains underneath a 200 LSWC in incredibly clean. Both are excellent, clean burning powders.
Thanks, MM. Sounds like those are two good recipes. I like the clean burning part, too. I expect it would be fun to try several different loads to compare. Sounds like folks responding to this thread have a wide variety of favorites. This will sure help to prevent having to reinvent the wheel!
 
#7 ·
Sorry in advance for a partial hi-jack ...

Anyone find any particular powders cleaner than others at low and mid range charges for paper punching ?
 
#22 ·
10-4, Otto. I just got to try my WC out for the first time tonight about dark 30 (tritium sights were awesome) on 50 remanfactured loads I got from ammoman maybe in '07. Don't know, of course, what powder it has in it; probably safe to guess something economical. In light of my posting this thread last night, I checked the action, and I didn't think there was that much fouling,---a little carbon build up, but not as much as I expected. As I mentioned last night, given my utter lack of experience with 1911's and reloading 45 ACP! I may be overly concerned with the clean burning issue. Thanks much.
 
#23 ·
Thanks, Capt. A cowboy friend at the Ala State last weekend said he liked red dot the best for his 45 ACP loads. We didn't get to finish the conversation. I've never loaded any Alliant powder. Are there different versions of Red Dot, or is Red Dot THE model? I will give it a try. It is one of the few powders I've seen on shelves locally here where we live in the mtns of wesrern NC.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Good call on the N 310, David. Now that I've been thinking about it, the faster burning N 310 might eliminate the potential for unburned powder we noticed with the N 320. Thanks for the beta on the bullet you are using. That's another piece of the puzzle I've got to figure out. Found another thread on that subject that got me started a little bit, but sure appreciate the help on favorite bullets.
 
#15 ·
I have N320,N330,N340,N350,3N37,and 3N38. All of them are great powders and in .45 the 320 and 340 are the cleanest out of the other 20 or so I've played with. The costs get up there,but they are worth it, To bad I have to order it as the only way to get some. I do like AA#5 and WSF for lead(keeps cost-per-round down) ,both are reasonably clean,but not quite as nice as the VV's.
 
#28 ·
10-4; Blue. I've got a few pounds of N 310 left. It's definitely going into the test loads.

I loaded N 310 in my wife's 32 H & R Mags. It shot really clean in those loads. Although it is, by definition, a small diameter case, a mere 2.1 gr produces a fairly stout little load. She consistently chooses that pistol (Ruger Single Six frame chambeted in 32 H & R Mag) over her 38 Chief's Special and her KelTec P3AT for carry in her handbag because she's more comfortable with it.
 
#35 ·
Burn rate. 310 is a very fast powder, along the lines of Bullseye, while 320 is a little slower, more like W231. For a given velocity, within a range that is safe for both powders, you will need more 320 than 310.
 
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