reloading & dirty powder

larr dawg

larr dawg

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i have been reloading my 45 acp, 38 spl with win 231 3 to 5 gr of powder this is in the area of load amounts but i have see that my guns are always very dirty ofter shooting as well as my hands from removing the brass. is there any tips do i need to up the powder amount or less powder to get this to burn cleaner or im i just using a diry pwder?

any info that you can send my way would be great thanks
 
231 is filthy stuff. There are cleaner powders you can try that would be in the same charge range, like Titegroup.
 
wobbles99 said:
I haven't found titegroup to be much more clean. In fact the 100 rounds I put through my 1911 today had completely blackened everything.

Bullseye is a good clean powder.
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As cartridge pressure increases Titegroup burns cleaner. My min loads in my .45ACP were filthy. Max loads were much cleaner. And in my .40 - titegroup burns clean.
 
acrashb said:
If clean is your main issue, Hogdon's Universal Clays. It doesn't flow as well as a ball powder, but it's really clean.
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Caveat: Min. load data in low pressure cartridges will leave lots of unburnt powder. Once you get above about a third of the charge range, you stop seeing unburnt flakes. Something to keep in mind if you make a lot of mouse-fart loads.
 
larr dawg said:
do i need to up the powder amount or less powder to get this to burn cleaner or im i just using a diry pwder?
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Bullet type makes a huge difference too, switiching from lead to plated/jacketed will keep your guns cleaner. I havent noticed much difference from 231 to titegroup, but clays in a 45 was definitely very clean.
 
agilent_one said:
As cartridge pressure increases Titegroup burns cleaner. My min loads in my .45ACP were filthy. Max loads were much cleaner. And in my .40 - titegroup burns clean.
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I'm at max and still don't find it that clean. It's definately better than unique but I've pretty much gave up on it for bullseye. I changed over not because of fouling, bullseye gives me tighter groups.

Don't get me wrong, titegroup is a good powder, especially for the price.
 
larr dawg

If you are shooting cast boolits like I do, forget finding a clean burning powder. The powder is the least of your worries. It is the bullet lube that is the culprit. Win 231 and jacketed bullets shoots as clean as any but when you go to cast boolits expect to have a dirty gun. That is the worst of it. For accuarcy and ease of shooting, not to mention barrel life you can't go wrong shooting lead cast boolits. If you cast them yourself so much the better.

Take Care

Bob

ps as an aside I found titegroup to leave the cases quite dirty as it bulds pressure slowly. I found it no cleaner that 231 with no improved performance.
rbb
 
Thanks

Thanks for the info will try a few of the ideas

I do cas my own bullets from used wheel waits so what ever the lead mix is in that is what im shooting as for bullet im using full wad cutters in my ruger single action with 4.5 g of 231 as well as fedral primers, but i still get a very suity gun my hands are coverd in black but it does feel oily, My gun is a stainless so cleaning is ok but just a pain. the group i shoot are very good dont have a problem with that

Thanks again

Happiness in a warm gun
 
What weight of boolit are you using? 4.5 gr of 231 is a pretty light load. I have never gone below 5.5 gr under 250 grain boolit which duplicates Winchester Cowboy Action Load avg vel 675 fps out of my Beretta. 7.1 gr is the maximum I have gone to under a 255 gr lean boolit avg vel 819 fps. The latter is getting to be a little on the stiff side.

You might want to up your charge just a little as at 4.5 gr you are really on the low side for the cartridge. Weird things can happen if you get to low. If you are casting and lubing your own then your primary contributer to the cleaning up is the lube and there is no getting around that I am afraid. Price we pay to shoot the silver stream.

PM me and I can send you loads I have tested over my Chronograph for the .45LC. All are well within manual specs.

Take care

Bob
 
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