Accurate
Accurate No. 5
A broadly useful handgun powder that covers everything from light target and Cowboy Action loads to full-power defensive loads.
The middle of the Accurate handgun line and the most generally useful powder in it: 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .38 Super, light enough for Cowboy loads and stiff enough for full-power defensive ammunition. Meters beautifully, burns reasonably clean and does not carry the double-charge exposure of No. 2. If you were keeping exactly one Accurate pistol powder, this is it.
- 9mm Luger
- 40 S&W
- 45 ACP
- 357 SIG
- high-volume progressive loading
Who has Accurate No. 5 today
Checked October 10Out of stock at every store we track
| Store | Size | Shelf | In hand /lb | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 8 lb | $310.95 | $42.80 est. | Out |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 1 lb | $43.95 | $75.39 est. | Out |
“In hand” is the shelf price plus that store’s hazmat fee and shipping, spread over one container. Stock is checked once a day — confirm on the store’s page before ordering. Compare all powders →
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Accurate |
|---|---|
| Product family | Accurate |
| Status | Currently produced |
| Application | pistol |
| Grain form | spherical |
| Lee VMD (bulk density) | 0.0623 cc per grain · 1.04 g/cc |
| Composition | double-base |
| Temperature stable | Not marketed as temperature-stable |
| Burn-rate position | 46 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 9mm Luger, 38 Super, 357 SIG, 357 Magnum, 40 S&W, 45 ACP |
Grain shape
Spherical, degressive and mid-web - thick enough that a working charge occupies real volume in a 9mm case rather than lying as a film in the bottom, which is part of why it is more forgiving than the very fast powders.
Why geometry decides burn rate more than chemistry does: Shape Is the Product.
Manufacturer positions it as the cost-efficient middle of the Accurate handgun line. Spherical grain meters consistently.
Burn rate
A medium-fast handgun powder, charted between Alliant BE-86 and Hodgdon HS-6.
Chart agreement: consistent across charts - listed in the same relative neighbourhood by every publisher that carries it Ranked by: Hodgdon, Vihtavuori, Shooters World, Wolfe/LoadData.
Powders charted near it — neighbours on the chart are not substitutes, and adjacency tells you nothing about what charge either one takes:
- Shooters World Auto Pistol (position 43)
- Vihtavuori N340 (position 44)
- Alliant BE-86 (position 45)
- Hodgdon HS-6 (position 47)
- Winchester AutoComp (position 48)
- Hodgdon CFE Pistol (position 49)
Sources
The specifications above come from Accurate's own published documentation, linked below. The two “RCM's read” sections are ours, not theirs — our assessment of what this powder is like to load, drawn from its published characteristics and from what handloaders consistently report. No manufacturer endorses them and no source below backs them. If you think we have one wrong, tell us — we would rather fix it.