Win231 vs 231

[Jack's My dog]

Is the 231 powder listed in the Lyman Load Data Revolver pamphlet Win 231? My Googlefu has not been able to come up with just a 231 powder.

[TTS]

Yes. Commonly called 231, W231, Win231.

[Jack's My dog]

Thanks, I just wanted to verify prior to cross referencing loads from multiple manuals.

[smurfman]

Hodgdon HP-38 and Win 231 are also the same. What variations in the past were due to normal deviations in lots as well as those found in the various test instruments. Hodgdon has been pretty free with this info for anyone who asks.

[Jack's My dog]

Noticed what you said about the HP-38, that was what mainly came up when I Googled variations of 231 and "same".

I will be curious to see how this stuff shoots. I already know it meters much better out of my Hornady powder measure than the Power pistol I had been using for .38 and 9mm. If I get decent results, Power Pistol will go into the "only if I cant find 231" bracket.

[Dakotared]

231 is a good powder for 9mm and .38. It is a dirty powder though. Lots of carbon build up. I had problems with it tumbling lead bullets also.

[tator2k]

This has been my exclusive use powder for all non-magnum types for many years.

[Jack's My dog]

231 is a good powder for 9mm and .38. It is a dirty powder though. Lots of carbon build up. I had problems with it tumbling lead bullets also.

Do you have any recommendations for powder choices 9mm and .38 with lead bullets? While I like the cost savings, I have moved away from the lead and moved to plated as they appear to shoot a little less smokey, but that may have been due to using the PP as well. It is tough to hit the target when you can't see through the cloud.

[TTS]

231 is a good powder for 9mm and .38. It is a dirty powder though. Lots of carbon build up. I had problems with it tumbling lead bullets also.

Do you have any recommendations for powder choices 9mm and .38 with lead bullets? While I like the cost savings, I have moved away from the lead and moved to plated as they appear to shoot a little less smokey, but that may have been due to using the PP as well. It is tough to hit the target when you can't see through the cloud.

I use 231 for 9mm, .45 and .38 and have never had issues with it being too dirty.

ETA: cast bullets will be smokey with all powders.

[Jack's My dog]

"ETA: cast bullets will be smokey with all powders."......I know... but you can't blame a guy for tryin'

[Jack's My dog]

Got to try out some 231 in 9mm loads this week. I also had some power pistol loads with me. When I retrieved my brass I had to look at the head stamp on the 231 loads, my Power pistol casings were easy to find as they were pretty dirty. Not sure how 231 compares to any thing else, but it at least looks cleaner than the PP.

[Seismic Sam]

If you shoot cast & lubed bullets, you cases will be dirty. Period! No point wasting time trying to find a propellant that makes a difference with the dirt produced by cast bullets. Pick the one that gives you 100% performance as far as cycling the gun and shooting as well as you can manage freehand or on some sandbags, and that's it!! DO NOT factor in powder cleanliness with cast bullets!!! With jacketed bullets maybe you want to do that, but once you got a chrono you pick the load with the smallest standard deviation of velocity, and you don't give a Rodentman's posterior if the powder dirties up the cases or not!

[Jack's My dog]

These were with Berry's Plated and XTP's. The XTP's with the Power pistol had the dirtier casing. Neither had noticeable smoke which is my concern with using cast indoors. As far as a dirty case, it takes that same amount of work to tumble the brass for 1 hour as it does 3. So I am with you on that... Now to start reading up on Chronographs that won't break the bank and still provide good value.

[Dakotared]

231 is a good powder for 9mm and .38. It is a dirty powder though. Lots of carbon build up. I had problems with it tumbling lead bullets also.

Do you have any recommendations for powder choices 9mm and .38 with lead bullets? While I like the cost savings, I have moved away from the lead and moved to plated as they appear to shoot a little less smokey, but that may have been due to using the PP as well. It is tough to hit the target when you can't see through the cloud.

I like blue dot for 9mm (yes it is smokey but much less carbon build up in the gun) For 38 I have only used W231 and it works well.