Why? Because they all work well enough in my loads to allow the use of a 1911 to roll hard tin cans out to 25 yards. For the average shooter, it doesn’t get much better than that.

I also use H110 or 2400 in .357 Magnum loads with a 125-grain JHP. And for .38 Special, HP38 has worked well behind a variety of bullets, from 110- to 158-grains. I load well within standard pressure for use in a vintage Colt Diamondback.

When I brew up .45 Colt loads, I use a 250- or Hornady 255-grain lead bullet, and once again, my favorite propellant is HP38 (6.9 grains). Out of a 7.5-inch Ruger New Vaquero, the bullet is moving about 890-900 fps and I’ve been able to conk a can at 25 yards enough times to convince me the cartridge-gun combination is sufficient.

Here’s a hint for consistent loads: weigh your bullets. I typically grab a random bullet a couple of times during a loading session and weigh it on my little Lyman electronic scale.