Review. Alliant Bullseye Powder

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  • Trapper Jim

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    Sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same. I have been smoking Bullseye powder since 1967. Of course it was part of the many canister grade powders offered by Hercules. This quick burning powder dates back to 1898 and while it is now bottled under the Alliant name, only the corporate name has changed with a few improvements. Being a powder designed for handgun cartridges, it only made sense for to try this stuff. I use it for 9MM, .38 Special, and .45ACP. Metering has always been good for me as I never have experienced the hoopla over better metering powders. For instance, in throwing charges from my Lyman model 55, my variances for all lots that I have tested is +/- .1 Grains. All 4 of my Dillon Powder Measures throw this accurate as well. For reason beyond my understanding however, I have a better SD with charges weighed with my RCBS Chargemaster Lite.

    Bullseye is double-based with a 40% nitroglycerin content. Bullseye is economical as well. I can get almost 17,000 9MM loads at a 128 PF out of one 8LB Keg. As I have seen newer American powders introduced in my lifetime of loading, I have tried them all. While Hodgdon Tite Group comes really close to the same performance, my SD test and accuracy test are still a wee bit better with Bullseye. Also the new powders with additives that seem to be popular, i.e Winchester 244 for example, does not improve performance in any category. I will just save my money. I must point out that my tests do not include any foreign powders as I have no use for imported stuff. The marketing majors have introduced clean burning, copper cleaning, less recoil and other gimmicks that proved perhaps better in the lab, but I shoot in the field and have seen nothing worth the extra money. The 15LB Keg in the picture had an MSRP $39.00 back in the day. One year at the Smith and Wesson plant A shooter/ friend/ colleague of mine, Frank James, from Wolcott Indiana, and I compared notes on pushing Bullseye to plus p or 357 magnum loads. While both of our results were fine, we came to the same conclusion that a slower powder is better for .357Mag rounds. As you enjoy the accompanied pics showing empty cans old and new, a Lyman Reloading manual from 1970 and a Hercules handout from the 50’s we have had a good run and I still have powder to burn.

    If something new comes along, I will challenge my position by trying it out as I do everything but so far Bullseye still propels my 9’s, 38’s and 45’s. It seems the more I try to change, the more reason I have to stay with what works.

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    Trapper Jim

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    Should keep that imported CZ running like a champ.

    Great catch. I wonder who would jump. In 18 and 19 I did run a SP01 and Shadow 2 as I wanted a competitive gun in USPSA Production Class. An experiment if you will that made me break character so I could see what all the hype was about. They were good guns and I never had an issue but that research is history and I sold both of them. Just love America too much I guess.
     

    Trapper Jim

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    Great catch. I wonder who would jump. In 18 and 19 I did run a SP01 and Shadow 2 as I wanted a competitive gun in USPSA Production Class. An experiment if you will that made me break character so I could see what all the hype was about. They were good guns and I never had an issue but that research is history and I sold both of them. Just love America too much I guess.


    well maybe not that much.... just remembered I have a lot of other CZ’s . I will have to call them my hypocritical guns as they shoot pretty good!
     

    Twangbanger

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    Oh yes, they do multiply, don't they? S'ok. It's not exactly like you're participating in some kind of "race to the bottom."

    If I had to trade my CZs for Hi Points, my Perazzi for a Mossberg, my Feinwerkbau for a Crosman, and my Blaser for a Savage Axis, in order to not be called a hypocrite...I think I would rather stand on the podium next to Jimmy Bakker.
     

    VERT

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    Wish I had that 8 lb jug in my reloading room. My dad and I still run Bullseye in our .38 special and .45 auto loads. We have tried many things but came back to Bullseye. Yep it’s dirty, yep it works.

    Never tried it in 9mm. We bought about 28 pounds of HP-38 a few years ago and are still trying to work through that 4 grains at a time.
     

    t-squared

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    Bullseye.....yea, it's sooty as hell when loading soft .45acp or .38Special loads, but my 2 guns seem to like it's results accuracy wise.

    I will say that I much prefer Alliant's most excellent Sport Pistol for 9mm though. And if I'm looking for heavy 9mm or .38 Special loads, Power Pistol gets the nod.
     

    gregkl

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    Bullseye.....yea, it's sooty as hell when loading soft .45acp or .38Special loads, but my 2 guns seem to like it's results accuracy wise.

    I will say that I much prefer Alliant's most excellent Sport Pistol for 9mm though. And if I'm looking for heavy 9mm or .38 Special loads, Power Pistol gets the nod.

    What do you like about Sport PIstol or Power Pistol over say TG or HP-38? Just curious as I have a fair amount of the latter two but one day I will need powder again.
     

    NKBJ

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    Many a bunny has fallen to HBWC's, Bullseye and a 4" barrel.

    An OOPS reloading goofy story...
    Once upon a time decades ago I dumped some 296 back into the can and realized later that it was the wrong can... I'd just mixed some 296 into some Bullseye.
    Later I got curious and tried it in practice loads and they worked OK, but after that I sure paid attention a little better to keeping an orderly loading bench. :)
     

    VERT

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    What do you like about Sport PIstol or Power Pistol over say TG or HP-38? Just curious as I have a fair amount of the latter two but one day I will need powder again.

    Power Pistol is slower burning. It is geared more towards hi pressure loads. It is loud and flashy but a person could get full power cartridges with it. I have never messed with sport pistol but from what people tell me it is good for coated lead bullets at moderate velocity.
     

    gregkl

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    Power Pistol is slower burning. It is geared more towards hi pressure loads. It is loud and flashy but a person could get full power cartridges with it. I have never messed with sport pistol but from what people tell me it is good for coated lead bullets at moderate velocity.

    I'm currently ladder testing some 125 gr Blue Bullets with TG. I have successfully tested 3.5 and 3.8 grains. I have some at 4.0 which I will try either later today or tomorrow.

    The 3.5 loads function fine, but I have decided I want to narrow the gap between my defensive HP bullets and what I practice with.

    Sport Pistol might be an alternative if I run out of TG since I would consider 3.8 grains to be a moderate velocity loading.
     

    t-squared

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    What do you like about Sport PIstol or Power Pistol over say TG or HP-38? Just curious as I have a fair amount of the latter two but one day I will need powder again.

    In 9mm I've been able to make my most accurate loads with Sport Pistol, followed closely by Power Pistol. Sport Pistol has shown to be an awesome "minor power factor" powder for the gamer guys. It has good case fill, burns super clean, and meters great. These traits help get low ES and SD numbers which helps those guys load as "close to the bottom" as possible.

    Power Pistol is also excellent for 9mm, but as VERT stated, it seems to do best with heavier loads. A "known" accuracy load for 9mm is 6 to 6.2gr under a good 115gr fmj.

    I have no issues with Titegroup. You can make a hell of a lot of rounds with a pound of it for sure! I've just found SP and PP work better for my uses.

    I also have a bunch of HP-38/231 and think it's great powder. If you could only have one powder on your bench you would be hard pressed to top it as far as versatility goes. I've made some super accurate loads with it for .38 Special and .45acp. It's also a "sleeper" of sorts in 44mag....you can take a regular 240gr LSWC and go from soft 800fps all the way to pretty stout 1330fps.
     

    Indy574

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    My experiences with 9mm powders are as follows. Titegroup, HP38, HS6. Of the three HS6 was the top performer followed by HP38 and then Titegroup. I’m sure I’ve used Red Dot and Unique but don’t have the data to contribute anything. Pistols are a Sig P226 and Glock 19 with 115gr ball with 6.5gr of HS6, COAL of 1.100”.
     

    VERT

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    Any experiences with coated bullets and Bullseye

    Yep. All I shoot anymore is coated bullets.

    edit: unlike the rest of the “buy a load manual” answers on the internet, I will actually share my loads.

    45 ACP - 200 grain LSWC over 4.8 gr Bullseye. 1.24-1.25” OAL
    38 spl - 160 grain LRN over 3.6 gr Bullseye. These are a bit spicy but what my Dad loads to get the steel poppers to fall.
     
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