I load an array of pistol calibers From 9mm thru 45 ACP. Problem is It would make my life easier if I could just have one powder for all of them.
I know not the best idea to make one powder work for all of them. I have been using HS6 with extremely good results, even though Quick Load tells me it is not the most efficient.
My thinking is maybe move up the burn rate just a bit to something like HP38?It is also a bit cheaper at the moment and I am thinking into the future. I have never used HP38.
My great ideas usually turn out to be not all that great and I usually regret changing what I had working in the first place.
So ...Ideas ...commentary ///

Wanting to use one powder for all and then use the term most efficient is not going to happen. They are fast burning but W231, Unique, IMR 4756 or TiteGroup would be hard to beat for most pistol calibers.

I am looking to buy in bulk to save a few bucks. Plus have some backup in case we get back to an availabilty issue.

Bullseye is another to include in the list, but it is pretty scarce right now for bulk purchases at a price I'd be willing to pay, as far as I have seen.

I use Bullseye for 9, 45, light 44 mag.

Beyond that, BE86 or CFE Pistol are viable options to cover a range of calibers.

Years ago I asked the same question in a gun shop. Counter guy put Unique on the counter and asked if I had any other questions. I still use Unique, and a couple others (W231 is one of them).

Dumb question because I dont currently reload for handguns.....if you're not shooting for accuracy would it really matter if there was one powder that covered all your handgun calibers? I simply need the powder to get my bullet from point A to B in a distance of 25yds or less. Again, I don't reload for handguns so I'm pretty naive but if I do get into it I would also like a single powder that I can reload 38sp, 9mm, 40sw, 45acp.

Many of the fast 12 gauge powders work in the non magnum pistol calibers, such as WST and Clays.

There are a lot of pistol calibers that require different powder burn rates, especially if you shoot a really light or really heavy bullet for that round. Without knowing exactly which calibers and bullet combos you are running, it's difficult to say which powder would work well for you. But there are some general powders that work well for many rounds. I personally use Tite Group. Tite Group is a faster burning powder, it burns very clean, and uses a low powder charge for 9mm, 40, and 45. But this powder would not be a good choice for 357 Mag, 44 Mag and such. Alliant has Power Pistol and Promo, and I have used these with good success.

The easiest way to figure out your best option, is to look at all the load data for each of your caliber and bullet combo, and see what powders work well for that combo. Also, see where each of those powders fit on a burn rate chart and see what other powders are in the same burn rate. I use the burn rate chart all the time to help determine the right powders for a certain combo. (I'm not a big fan of 1 powder for all rounds, since doing it this way generally restricts 1 or more of the rounds you load for. But if you do some research, it could be feasible to work out).

http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Burn%20Rates%20-%202015-2016.pdf

HP38 is W231 in a different package.

Good choice, by the way.

As has been Talked about. Some combinations of powder and bullets are not good. If you are looking to just move a bullet than sure. But when you talk about cycling and how efficiently it moves, than powder matters.

I would say that depending on calibers/bullets you may be able to reduce the number of powders to 1-2. But I would not sacrifice reliability for one powder. But to each his own

My thinking was a powder in the burn range of Unique that metered a bit better theu some of the progressive measures.

Titegroup. Meters well, not position sensitive, just don't leave it in the powder hopper.

Titegroup,Unique,Bullseye,W748, H110 are good for a wide verity of Pistols and are from fast to slow on the burn rate. I try to keep all on hand.

After flip floppin like a bass in the boat I went ahead and ordered 2lb of HP 38 from my buddy 5 Stand Dan. I will give it a shot ....Ha

Nothing wrong with 231-HP38.

Good choice

Your fingers said W748, but I'd bet a buck you meant W231. No, a hundred bucks. No, let's bet gunsafes with everything in them.

Another vote for HP38/W231, great powder for what you're loading.

I was gonna make a comment, but reconsidered because all here already know it !
All I will say is simplify and prepare !!!

Cartridge : 9 mm Luger (SAAMI)
Bullet : .355, 125, Sierra FMJ RN 8120
Useable Case Capaci: 9.623 grain H2O = 0.625 cm³
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 1.169 inch = 29.69 mm
Barrel Length : 4.0 inch = 101.6 mm
Powder : Hodgdon HP38

Predicted data by increasing and decreasing the given charge,
incremented in steps of 2.0% of nominal charge.
CAUTION: Figures exceed maximum and minimum recommended loads !

Step Fill. Charge Vel. Energy Pmax Pmuz Prop.Burnt B_Time
% % Grains fps ft.lbs psi psi % ms

-20.0 43 3.20 804 179 13724 3024 96.7 0.650
-18.0 44 3.28 820 186 14351 3105 97.2 0.637
-16.0 45 3.36 835 194 14997 3185 97.7 0.624
-14.0 46 3.44 851 201 15661 3262 98.2 0.612
-12.0 47 3.52 866 208 16344 3338 98.5 0.600
-10.0 48 3.60 881 215 17047 3411 98.9 0.589
-08.0 50 3.68 896 223 17768 3483 99.2 0.578
-06.0 51 3.76 910 230 18510 3553 99.4 0.567
-04.0 52 3.84 925 237 19272 3620 99.6 0.557
-02.0 53 3.92 939 245 20054 3686 99.8 0.547
+00.0 54 4.00 953 252 20857 3748 99.9 0.538
+02.0 55 4.08 967 260 21680 3809 100.0 0.528
+04.0 56 4.16 981 267 22525 3867 100.0 0.519
+06.0 57 4.24 995 275 23392 3924 100.0 0.510
+08.0 58 4.32 1008 282 24280 3980 100.0 0.501
+10.0 59 4.40 1022 290 25191 4035 100.0 0.493

Cartridge : .40 S&W (SAAMI)
Bullet : .400, 180, Sierra JHP FN 8460
Useable Case Capaci: 10.147 grain H2O = 0.659 cm³
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 1.135 inch = 28.83 mm
Barrel Length : 4.5 inch = 114.3 mm
Powder : Hodgdon HP38

Predicted data by increasing and decreasing the given charge,
incremented in steps of 2.0% of nominal charge.
CAUTION: Figures exceed maximum and minimum recommended loads !

Step Fill. Charge Vel. Energy Pmax Pmuz Prop.Burnt B_Time
% % Grains fps ft.lbs psi psi % ms

-20.0 51 4.00 830 275 17832 2467 99.7 0.676
-18.0 52 4.10 845 286 18697 2518 99.8 0.662
-16.0 54 4.20 860 296 19590 2566 99.9 0.649
-14.0 55 4.30 875 306 20510 2613 100.0 0.636
-12.0 56 4.40 889 316 21459 2658 100.0 0.623
-10.0 57 4.50 904 326 22438 2702 100.0 0.611
-08.0 59 4.60 918 337 23446 2746 100.0 0.599
-06.0 60 4.70 932 347 24485 2790 100.0 0.587
-04.0 61 4.80 945 357 25554 2834 100.0 0.576
-02.0 63 4.90 959 368 26656 2878 100.0 0.565
+00.0 64 5.00 972 378 27790 2922 100.0 0.554
+02.0 65 5.10 986 388 28957 2965 100.0 0.544
+04.0 66 5.20 999 399 30157 3008 100.0 0.534 ! Near Maximum !
+06.0 68 5.30 1012 409 31393 3051 100.0 0.525 ! Near Maximum !
+08.0 69 5.40 1025 420 32663 3094 100.0 0.516 ! Near Maximum !
+10.0 70 5.50 1037 430 33971 3137 100.0 0.507 ! Near Maximum !

Cartridge : .45 Auto (ACP) (SAAMI)
Bullet : .451, 230, Sierra FPJ RN Match 8815
Useable Case Capaci: 13.758 grain H2O = 0.893 cm³
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 1.275 inch = 32.39 mm
Barrel Length : 4.5 inch = 114.3 mm
Powder : Hodgdon HP38

Predicted data by increasing and decreasing the given charge,
incremented in steps of 2.0% of nominal charge.
CAUTION: Figures exceed maximum and minimum recommended loads !

Step Fill. Charge Vel. Energy Pmax Pmuz Prop.Burnt B_Time
% % Grains fps ft.lbs psi psi % ms

-20.0 38 4.00 677 234 10869 2027 95.3 0.837
-18.0 39 4.10 690 243 11338 2083 95.9 0.820
-16.0 40 4.20 703 252 11821 2139 96.5 0.804
-14.0 41 4.30 716 262 12317 2193 97.0 0.789
-12.0 41 4.40 728 271 12826 2246 97.4 0.774
-10.0 42 4.50 741 281 13349 2298 97.9 0.760
-08.0 43 4.60 754 290 13886 2350 98.3 0.746
-06.0 44 4.70 766 300 14437 2400 98.6 0.733
-04.0 45 4.80 778 309 15002 2448 98.9 0.720
-02.0 46 4.90 790 319 15582 2496 99.2 0.708
+00.0 47 5.00 802 329 16176 2542 99.4 0.696
+02.0 48 5.10 814 339 16784 2587 99.6 0.685
+04.0 49 5.20 826 348 17407 2631 99.7 0.673
+06.0 50 5.30 838 358 18045 2673 99.9 0.663 ! Near Maximum !
+08.0 51 5.40 849 368 18699 2713 99.9 0.652 ! Near Maximum !
+10.0 52 5.50 860 378 19367 2753 100.0 0.642 ! Near Maximum !

When I started I just guessed the charge weight on each one. I know it may not be the bestest for each individual caliber. The software only predicts the performance. Each of my picks 99% or better efficiency. Now get to loadin and shootin!

You got me. Get my "W" mixed up form time to time.
Disclaimer: W748 is not a pistol powder