I never claim to be a reloader in a technical form as there are many people who almost or even do make a science of reloading metallic cartridges. The other end of the spectrum is the guy who blows the top strap off his revolver or splits the action of an original 1876 Winchester open with one of his top quality made-in-the-basement reloads.

I like to think I stand somewhere in between. It is serious and I take it as so, but I actually load to provide more ammunition, so I can simply practice and shoot more. With the current cost of components there is some ammunition you can buy almost as cheap (or in some cases cheaper) than reloading, but for the most part by loading I get what I want. Since I am not a full-time loader, I load cartridges I can’t readily buy or loads serving a purpose for my personal needs. To make it even more simplistic, I reload all of my handgun rounds with only one type of powder. I never get confused by the type of powder to use, so the worst thing — which is a very bad thing — I can do is put too much or too little powder in the case. This is solved for me by having a press for each of the calibers I load hence no changing shell heads or powder measure settings.

I understand other powders could provide better ballistics, but since I’m not trying to launch the space shuttle, my choice of loads does what I need. The powder I use is WW231, and I have found it burns pretty cleanly. In all of my loads there is very little if any powder residue or unburned powder flakes left after firing. I have listed below the loads I use and in what handgun and would state up front the figures, as far as feet per second, are nominal and could change based on barrel length and bullet weight. I would also state these powder charge measurements are not nominal, they are correct and they have worked well for me in quality firearms in good condition. However, I strongly recommend you check these powder measurements and loads with current manuals you have to make sure they are safe for you and safe to use in your firearms.