If you could only have one...

[RoadKingLarry]

No, not another only one gun thread.

If you could only have one powder for reloading what would you choose?

For me it would be Unique.
I have a load for every cartridge I reload for that uses Unique.
.223 Rem. .30-30, .38 Spec, .357 mag. .45 ACP .45-70 Gov. and 7.65 Argentine.
I've also heard it can be used to load shotshells ANd while I don't currently reload shotshell I do have a complete set up to do so.

[mtnbkr]

Probably Unique as well.  I can use it for every handgun cartridge I load and can probably get by with it in my two rifle cartridges.

A close 2nd would be Trail Boss.  I'd lose a lot of performance, but it's even more flexible.

Chris

[HankB]

SR4756 fills more or less the same niche as Unique, but burns a lot cleaner; it's just a bit slower on the burning rate charts I've looked at. I've used it in 12 ga field loads and various handguns from .38 Special through .44 Magnum with very good results in all.

Other than in specialty low-velocity plinking loads, it's not well suited to most rifle cartridges.

Edited to add: If I had to choose just ONE rifle powder, it would be IMR4320. It's not the "perfect" powder across the board, it won't give highest velocities in most rounds, but it's a reasonable choice for every cartridge I load from .223 through .375 H&H; it's also the "slowest" powder recommended for loading gasguns like the M1 and M1A where port pressure is a concern.

[Ben]

I'm also a Unique fan for an all-around powder. There might be better alternatives, but I've used unique in a majority of my pistol rounds and all my shotgun rounds since I began reloading in the late 70's, so never really experimented with other powders. I'm not sure what I could do with it in my rifles though. My goto hunting round is .308, which I use 3031 for. I think there is data for Unique, but I believe it's all with cast bullets.

[lee n. field]

No, not another only one gun thread.

If you could only have one powder for reloading what would you choose?

For me it would be Unique.
I have a load for every cartridge I reload for that uses Unique.
.223 Rem. .30-30, .38 Spec, .357 mag. .45 ACP .45-70 Gov. and 7.65 Argentine.
I've also heard it can be used to load shotshells ANd while I don't currently reload shotshell I do have a complete set up to do so.

Bullseye.  I haven't loaded anything for a rifle for years, and Bullseye is basically all I use for handgun.

[Brad Johnson]

It would have to be a dire emergency to only use one powder for everything, mostly because of the drastically different pressure needs in rifle vs handgun.  If I did, it would likely be Universal or 4756.  Like Hank mentioned it's about the equivalent of Unique in pressure/burn rate, but much cleaner.

Unless absolutely forced into a single-powder scenario, but still in a bare-essentials situation, I'd keep two powders - one each for handgun and rifle.  My go-to for handgun boom dust is Tite-Group, and by a long shot (pun intended).  Rifle powder would be Varget.  Hugely adaptable with good to excellent performance in most every load I've had any first-hand experience with.  Second choice would be good old 4350.  A close third is 3031.

Brad

[French G.]

4895, rifles more important than wee little guns.

Kinda bummed you weren't doing Ginger v. Mary Ann. While I'm usually unhealthily attracted to nature's warning color I have to say that in the long view Mary Ann aged a lot better.

[AZRedhawk44]

I'd also go with a rifle powder, suitable for semiautomatic service calibers.  4895, AA2495, Varget, Reloder15.  Something like that.

Push comes to shove, I bet it would work in magnum revolver loads, too.

As soon as things calm down powder-wise, I'll be investing in 8lb jugs of my preferred powders.

[Gewehr98]

FFg, or in a pinch FFFg. 

[Jim147]

FFg, or in a pinch FFFg. 

Not the best choice for those little bottleneck cases.

I would take Red Dot first, Unique second and a third choice might be 4227.

jim

I know you asked for one but I don't listen.

[RoadKingLarry]

That's all right, not counting a couple different brands/grades of the holy black I've got 9 different powders on my shelf.
 

[brimic]

Unique- I've used in in several handgun and rifle cartridges.

[Gewehr98]

Bottleneck cases, not unlike smokeless powder, is a passing fad.

 


I don't think I could settle on just one.

WW231 does yeoman duty for handguns, and IMR4895 performs similar functions in my autoloading rifles. 

[charby]

I would have a hard time with just one.

I use tightgroup or clays for non magnum handguns. H110 and AA #9 for magnum handguns. RL-7, RL-22, AA 2230, & Varget for rifle loads.

[Scout26]

I'd go with Unique.  Works in everything from rifles to shotguns and pistols.

[Ben]

WW231 does yeoman duty for handguns, 

While I use Unique for most of my large caliber handguns, and some Bullseye for the .38, the W231 rocks my .45ACP. I actually have more of that on hand than anything else since I reload so much .45ACP.

[AZRedhawk44]

I have a 4 year old partial bottle of WW231 that I got when I bought out a guy's reloading setup (in order to get a Dillon SDB and a few sets of dies for it).

I've yet to use any of it, mostly because I'm terrified it's not WW231.  Looking at some of the brass I got with the lot, he loved to load REALLY hot.  Sloppy hot.  Makes me wonder if the powder is not all WW231.  Not a fan of using someone else's powder when their work habits in reloading are so obviously sloppy.

I think about adding it to the garden from time to time, but I then realize that a pound of ANY powder is nearly irreplaceable nowadays and it just sits in the back of my cabinet peacefully undisturbed instead.

[charby]

I'd go with Unique.  Works in everything from rifles to shotguns and pistols.

I think Unique would cause a KB with my 300wm if I tried to replicate my RL-22 loads.

[Hutch]

Having given this the benefit of my penetrating insight, I concur with Unique, if there is to be exactly one propellant.  The rifle in which I would use it is a Marlin lever gun.  Well, any one of six I have.  Three in .357, and 3 in .44M.  You can stoke up some pretty stout loads if you refer to the Speer #8 manual.  Really, really hot stuff, to give lawyers the shakes.  Consider a .45ACP launching a 200JHP out of an S&W M25 at almost 1300fps.  That kinda hot.  Daaaaaaaaamn hot.

[never_retreat]

I've been using power pistol in all my handgun rounds for a few years. I use win 748 in the 223 and a few others in the bigger stuff 270, 30-06, 30-30. I don't do shot shells currently.

[HankB]

Having given this the benefit of my penetrating insight, I concur with Unique, if there is to be exactly one propellant.  The rifle in which I would use it is a Marlin lever gun.  Well, any one of six I have.  Three in .357, and 3 in .44M.  You can stoke up some pretty stout loads if you refer to the Speer #8 manual.  Really, really hot stuff, to give lawyers the shakes.  Consider a .45ACP launching a 200JHP out of an S&W M25 at almost 1300fps.  That kinda hot.  Daaaaaaaaamn hot.

That .45 AR Unique load is at least 3 grains above the maximum I've seen anywhere else. And their hot loads weren't confined to Unique powder; as much as I like SR4756, Speer's top SR4756 loads from their #8 manual are too hot. In fact, a buddy of mine got a later printing of the #8 manual than I did, and the SR4756 loads had been removed - he had blank spaces where I had data.

I have a gut feeling that something happened that they won't talk about.

FWIW, the DuPont manuals from the same time frame provided much better maximum load data, IMHO.

[Tallpine]

No, not another only one gun thread.

If you could only have one powder for reloading what would you choose?

For me it would be Unique.
I have a load for every cartridge I reload for that uses Unique.
.223 Rem. .30-30, .38 Spec, .357 mag. .45 ACP .45-70 Gov. and 7.65 Argentine.
I've also heard it can be used to load shotshells ANd while I don't currently reload shotshell I do have a complete set up to do so.

Unique is all that I have ever used, but I guess that I'm not a serious reloader.  Without a progressive press, I'm not sure that it is worth the time.

[RoadKingLarry]

I've only got 4 presses. A single stage Lee, 2 Lyman turrets, one old style and one new and the Hornady progressive. I use the new style Lyman for .45-70 and .30-30 and small batches of .38/.357. Everything else gets run on the progressive. I keep a pretty leisurly pace on the Hornady and run about 200 rds and hour off of it. The single stage Lee gets used when I'm working up military 5.56 with crimped primers and the old style Lyman turret doesn't see much use.
I run the turret press as a manual semi-progressive I'll resize/decap a batch then after priming with a Lee hand primer tool I'll set my powder measure up on the press with a powder through expander adapter die and go to work. Charge/expand a case, seat and crimp.
I'm mostly using cast bullets for everything but .223/5.56 so I'll occasionaly have to clean out the bullet seating die due to lube build up.

[Gewehr98]

Were I to settle on a powder for both handgun and rifle, I'd have to go with Alliant 2400. 

That would allow me to run cast bullets in my big rimmed cartridge rifles like .30-30 and .45-70.

[Scout26]

I think Unique would cause a KB with my 300wm if I tried to replicate my RL-22 loads.

I didn't say all.  But it worked just fine in Model 94 in .32 Win Spec.