"Clays" powder loads for .45

[mr_savvy]

Can anyone recommend a good bullseye load using "Clays" powder? I was at Perry a few years back and there was a lot of talk about using Clays in a bullseye load. I shoot a Les Bear .45 using 200 gr. lead SWCs. Thanks

[Ernie Rodriguez]

I have found from 3.9 to 4.2g of Clays powder is a good range to find a sweet spot for many target pistols using a 200g LSWC bullet.

[Guest]

Be sure that you know which Clay's people are referring to - there's Clays, and Universal Clays, even International Clays, but they're all casually referred to as Clays, so it pays to check. A common mistake is for someone to use one, when the load they were given is for another.

[clark2245]

That is a good point to be sure you are getting the correct powder. The one used commonly in bullseye is Clays powder, not 'universal' clays or anything else, just "Clays."

Ed Masaki, a well known bullseye gunsmith who has done more testing with Clays than most, recently posted on the Bullseye-L list that he still recommends 3.9 Clays behind a 200 SWC as a very accurate load that will work well in most guns at 50 yards. A small variation from that might be necessary but most find 3.8 - 4.0 works well for them.

If you are not happy with the load you are using then Clays can certainly be an accurate powder but I would not change just because you heard some others talking about it. There is always some new load or piece of equipment out there but chasing them can consume a lot of time and effort that could probably be better spent in training. Any number of load combinations are accurate enough that very few among us could tell the difference.

Clark

[C. Perkins]

I use 3.85 grains of Hodgdon Clays under a 200 grain Dardas LSWC bullet.

I have found that when it gets a little cold out that you may want to up the charge a little on the Clays.

My go to load, the one I have been using for over a year is 4.45 grains of Accurate Solo 1000.
It seems to be not so temperature sensitive as Clays.

Both are pretty accurate if you do your part behind the pistol.

Back to the point of this thread.
It is Hodgdon Clays that we are talking about.

Clarence

[hill987]

If cost was a issue I would use bullseye,. It's cheaper and has won more matches than can be added together. It's all the master shooters in our area use. good luck