Alliant Powder – Pwr. Pist 4lb

I had been using Unique for years for loads in 45 ACP, and 44 Special loads in a 44 Mag. It worked fine, but seemed to leave a lot of residue in the 44 Specials. I also perceived that the relatively large grains didn’t meter very well in my Dillon R550. I finally finished my last jug of Unique, and reviewed other powders in that class. I bought a 1 lb can of Power Pistol to try as a replacement. Results were excellent. I worked up some loads for 45 ACP. The powder burns very clean with very little residue (compared to my experience with Unique). It meters EXTREMELY well through my Dillon press, with charge variations of less than 0.1 grain the norm. Accuracy was good, though not measurably better than my Unique loads. I did notice, while working up loads, that I got good accuracy over a fairly wide charge range, as I built loads at various charges. This was definitely NOT my experience with Unique, which seemed to shoot well for a particular load (6.5 gr/230 gr HAP) but not so much for anything more than a few tenths of a grain off that sweet spot. The Power Pistol actual shot about the same for most of the loads I built during testing. My only complaint is the availability of charge data for starting to work up loads. Power Pistol wasn’t listed in any of the manuals I’m using so I went to the Alliant website, and their data list only a max charge, and suggest backing off at least 10% for working up loads. I got good and consistent performance at considerably less than that for both 200 gr lead SWC and the 230 gr HAP. Oh, and my other complaint… I like the powder, and was looking to buy a couple 4 lb cans… Not available anywhere!