Need suggestions for clean powder in pistol

[Mountain Prepper]

I shoot a lot of cast with unique, could be the most dirty proposition ever...

I would like a powder that works well with .45 acp and 9mm (if it would cross with shotgun that would be a plus) and burns clean.

Suggestions? what is the cleanest burning powder out there?

[303tom]

I really like Hodgdon Longshot for cast.

[fryboy]

any cast shooting is a dirty proposition lolz actually there seems to a certain pressure curve with each powder where it burns cleaner ( or cleanest if you prefer ) i use alot of unique but clays isnt too bad ( any of the clays line ) but again it also seems to have a range where it burns the cleanest , for me i've found this to be true for 700x 800x red dot bullseye unique herco wsf etc et;al , one of the hardest ones for me to find that sweet spot with was blue dot but it works so well in some loads that a lil dirty isnt so bad

[versifier]

I have two criteria for my loads, accuracy and performance depending on their purpose. I want a hunting bullet to be within its working expansion range and I want both hunting and target loads to be as accurate as I need them to be for the situation I intend to use them. I usually clean my firearms after every use.

I have been using Unique for jacketed handgun and cast rifle and handgun loads for well over thirty years. It is by no means the only powder I use, but when it gives the accuracy and performance levels I need, that's what gets put in the cases. If the best performing powder is a bit "dirtier" than some others, so what? They all have to be cleaned and it takes the same amount of time to clean them regardless of how much soot is on the surfaces as that comes off with one wipe anyway. No matter what I'm shooting, I'm going to get my hands dirty. That's the nature of the game. (I expect a seafood restaurant to smell like fish, and I expect to need sunglasses and sunblock at the beach, too.) It is the residues that you don't see that should be much more of a concern than a little soot, and they are present no matter how "clean" the gun appears to the eye after shooting it. I have to clean anyway whatever powder I end up using. Especially if it's for a handgun I'm going to carry, I'm going to make sure it is thoroughly cleaned every time I use it, no matter how dirty it appears or doesn't appear after shooting, and the amount of time I spend cleaning it to my satisfaction has little to do with its outer appearance when I start.

I don't want to sound like I've got my nose in the air, and I certainly do not mean any insult, but I see little or no logic in choosing a powder solely because it's "cleaner" or "dirtier" than another. That said, there may be other powders that UNQ that will give you acceptable performance and leave less residue (I am NOT talking about unburned powder) and that is fine, but OTOH I also believe that "if it works, don't fix it". I just don't think changing to a "cleaner" powder would save me any time cleaning the gun after shooting, and as I'm not in the habit of wiping my hands on my clothing I can't see as it makes any difference there to me, either.

UNQ is, in my not so humble opinion, the single most versatile powder made for handgun, shotgun, and cast rifle loads. It is not the best powder for every single application, but it is the one I usually start with when I'm working up a new load. If it gives me the accuracy and performance I'm looking for in the load then I go with it or I move onto another powder until I find one that does. Everyone has different "goto" powders they use based on experience for different kinds of loads. If I were into big bore magnum revolvers for instance, I might be more inclined to start out with 2400, and for most medium capacity rifle cases, I would choose 3031 or 4895 to begin.

There are many different powders that will do the job I want for any given load, and some will leave less residue than others, but only if it left so much that I started to see problems with the action functioning after several hundred rounds would I consider it to be an issue. I can blow through several thousand rounds of pistol and revolver rounds with friends in the course of a day at the range, and more often than not a greater percentage of them will be stuffed with UNQ. I have never had it cause any functioning problems, even in a 5000 round "torture test" of my Glock without cleaning. Yes, my hands (and my friends' hands) got dirty. We washed them. Yes, the pistol did get some soot on it. I cleaned it after we were done and it all wiped off.

[Mr Peabody]

I've found Universal Clays to answer my dislike of Unique's qualities. I use it with cast and plated both. In the 45 ACP and the 9mm. It meters pretty nicely too.

[Paul B]

It's not only the powder. Much of the residue is from the bullet lube mixed with the ash of the burnt powder.
Paul B.

[cwp1944]

I really do not like most boards, most answers and questions confirm that GOD culls stupidity so their seed does not multiply. That said, Versifier and Mr. Peabody have the better answers. I use over 15 different powers, depending on what, where, and how I want the results to be. Accuracy, and hunting do indeed cover a multitude of loading requirements. For those that like to shoot lesser loads in handguns with cast bullets, J. Marshall Stanton at Beartooth Bullets, has a few great ideas. One that I use is to cut polyester bating, into 1/2" squares, and stuff them between the powder and the bullet being seated, it makes up for low density,(high pressure) fluctuations, and cleans the bore an the same time. Clays, Red Dot, Blue Dot and Universal Clays are clean depending upon the round.

[Mountain Prepper]

I see little or no logic in choosing a powder solely because it's "cleaner" or "dirtier" than another.

I have a specific pistol in .45 that will just not take much shooting with unique and cast lead before it becomes problematic. The answer may well be gas checks or just jacketed bullets. I would like to keep the new shooting with the club at events as inexpensive as possible (I want to have fun, not go broke).

I wanted to know if I was missing anything.

I have tried about six powders with solo 1000 and AA#2 showing promise but are fast and touchy.

With all due respect I am new to running a pistol, but by no means new to reloading but almost 90% rifle I was never a pistolero, but I am willing to work on that shortcoming.

[runfiverun]

if you are happy with the load but think the unique is dirty just use a double base powder.
aa# 5 or 7 should be bout the same but double based.
i switched to unique in my 45 over tightgroup because the recoil was much softer.
everybody wants sumthin different.

[GH1]

I use AA #2 in my .380's and AA #9 in my .357's. Both burn very cleanly so I have no reason to believe #5 or #7 will be any different. I also find that being a ball powder, they tend to meter better out of my RCBS powder thrower.
GH1