Clean powders for 9mm

[cptkeybrd]

I just picked up a wolf 9mm barrel for my glock 23, very cool. It shoots both 4o and 9 just great, two guns in one.
I did my initial loads with 115 gr 358345 and 4.4 of Bullseye. It was accurate but sure seems dirty. I also put the 38 s&w expander in my lee die, it works great.
Question is would like to find a cleaner powder for range shooting, I know we all have favorites but I would like something not too dirty for this. Thanks and keep shootin.

[bobthenailer]

Even though BE is a excellent powder and ive used probley 40 lbs of it over the years I switched to Tightgroup powder which is cleaner burning and gives the same excellent accuracy , and in most cases the same accuracy & velocity with the same powder charge as BE.
So far ive probley used 25 lbs of TG and recently bought 2 more 8 lb jugs .

[sig2009]

WSF is the only powder I use for my 9mm loads!

[garym1a2]

Ditto on WSF. Also WST work well in 40 and may be a good 9mm plinker.
I have not tried WST in 9mm but in 40 and 45acp it gives BE preformance only cleaner.
Mine is a glock 22 conversion for 9mm

[sbeatty1983]

I have pretty good luck out of win 231. lighter charges tend to be dirtier than heavier charges for me though.

[GabbyM]

If your aim is velocity you'll need one of the slower burning powders in the load data. AA#5 is very good. Unique burns cleaner in a 9mm than in lower pressure rounds. I've never tried WSF or True Blue but have heard many happy users recommend it.

With any of the faster powders like 231 and up. You will get case head expansion and primer pocket stretching well before reaching the max published loads. However the most accurate 9mm loads I ever made were with Sierra 90 grain HP over a slightly reduced charge of Bullseye. With a 115 grain cast bullet I'd personally not use any powder faster than Unique. Unless I was loading substantially reduced charges. That leaves out WW231.
One powder I seriously do not like and is very popular in 9mm is Power Pistol.

[fredj338]

BE is only one step away from black powder in cleanliness. I don't think they changed the formula since it was introduced 100+ yreas ago. For light loads, I find just about anything faster than W231 works better. WST ia a great choice, but limited data. For medium to full power loads, WSF is tough to beat unless you go to one of the VV powders.

[ipijohn]

I have pretty good luck out of win 231. lighter charges tend to be dirtier than heavier charges for me though.

I've had the same experience with 231 so I tend to load it at about 90% of max to make it burn cleaner.

[zomby woof]

I'm for WSF also

[Cherokee]

WST works great in my 9mm guns with 120 TC cast. 231 is also good near top end loads. Best I have found is HS6 but not as clean as WST.

[cptkeybrd]

Thanks all seems like I'm seeing a trend. I too really like 231, Unique and wst. I've been looking at trying silhouette but don't know how it is for cast, anyone have any experience with it?

[fcvan]

I've been running that boolit with 5 grains of Unique and it was not as dirty as W231. My boolits are weighing 125 grains and sized to .358 with Lars BAC lube. Good stuff, good times. Frank

[MtGun44]

+1 on bobthenailer, I like and have used BE for many years, but now use TG instead.

Almost interchangable with BE, at least in the .45 ACP where I use it most.

Bill

[flipajig]

I started with W231 and have swiched to HP38 same powder charge according to Hodgen they are the same powder and HP38 is cheeper.

[Tag]

I don't shoot the 115gr. but with 125gr. and the 147gr. I use HS6 its might not be the cleanest but its not the worse you could do either and I get zero leading with the lone wolf barrels

[Wilson]

American Select works well for us. We've got a group of kids that shoot with us. We usually run about 1,200 round per secession. AM Select is clean and economical in the 9mm. we use it in .40 also.

[Petrol & Powder]

WSF is the only powder I use for my 9mm loads!



/\ For 9mm it's WSF !
Accept no substitutes !

[Dakotared]

I have just switched to blue dot and what I have seen so far I like a lot more then W231/hp38

[jonp]

I just clean my gun when I'm done shooting. As long as it goes bang when I pull the trigger I'm pretty happy :kidding:

[Wizard]

Try some Accurate No 7. Burns real clean in anything I load it in. Just don't underload it too much. Most any powder will tend to be nasty and will not seal the chamber when loading too lite. Usually make's one side of the shell sooty.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

I just clean my gun when I'm done shooting. As long as it goes bang when I pull the trigger I'm pretty happy :kidding:

same here infact i get a sick pleasure out of a dirty Gun
i like B/E

[retread]

I have been using BE but prefer TG. Need to burn up about 20 lbs of BE before switching over.

[Anonym]

I have shot both Unique and Universal out of my Taurus PT92 and prefer the Universal for cleanliness. Both produced good accuracy, but I am not much of a pistol shooter either...

[chsparkman]

I too have had good success with Universal in 9mm, and it is very clean, but I still prefer Bullseye in all my semi-auto calibers.

[Wadestep]

I also like Universal. Clean, economical. I first got it for it's multi-caliber flexibility, but now I really like it.

[ku4hx]

For the last year or so, I've used mostly Alliant Power Pistol and Ramshot True Blue. Both worked very well, but True Blue meters extremely well and burns about as clean as I can reasonably expect. The same sort of things can be said with respect to accuracy and velocity.

I like True Blue so much I'm standardizing on if for all 9mm, 40 S&W, 45 ACP loads and certain 10mm and 44 Special loads.

[Bonz]

I use nothing but Alliant PowerPistol in my 9mm's

[Bzcraig]

First Accurate #2, second W231

[TXBRILL]

I am curious about 1 thing. Is it an age thing about clean powder to keep the gun clean. I am 60 and have always thought that after shooting you end up with a dirty gun and dirty hands, its kind like the Hoppe's 9 smell.

[thehouseproduct]

First, I use 4.6gr WST in 9mm and have shot a couple thousand rounds. I can't compare it to anything because I haven't tried anything else but it seems cleaner than the BE I use for 45acp.

Second, why is it bad to want a cleaner powder on this web page? If someone wants an easier time cleaning something, they are lazy all of a sudden? How about the idea that you might burn through 1200 rounds in a day in a 9mm? If you can get the same value, accuracy and function from a cleaner powder, why WOULDN'T you want to use it? Will these critics give up their clothes washer in favor of a washboard? They would be lazy by their own logic if they don't.

[dragon813gt]

Clean is a relative term. When I see "clean powder" posted I equate it to less unburnt powder. This has been my only issues w/ powders. And it's always the reduced charges that cause it for obvious reasons. I don't shoot 1k rounds at a time but I haven't had any failures w/ shooting about half that in one trip w/ any of the powders I've used. All smokeless is clean compared to BP so I don't ever complain :laugh:

[casterofboolits]

BlueDot works for me!

[lj1941]

I have found Clays to be extremely clean in the 9. It however is touchy in that it has such a small range of charge weights.I have also found Alliant Claydot with Clays data works equally well at a lower cost. Titegroup is also very clean burning in the 9.These are for target loads.I like Power Pistol for near maximum loads.It burns clean but is very flashy.

[olereb]

I have used Bullseye for several years and like it

[Artful]

I like Vitavuori for my 9mm subsonic - VV N320 or VV N340 both burn very clean - I use either for 147-158 grain 9mm subsonic loads

[Lloyd Smale]

i use mostly pr200 which is surplus aa2.

[dudel]

I shoot lots of BE, and I find the lighter loads are much dirtier than the higher loads. Same thing for Unique. Might try bumping the load a bit. IIRC (and I may not), 4.4 is on the light side of medium for 115gr projectiles. BE loads are pretty economical, so bumping it a bit shouldn't be too costly.

[ku4hx]

I am curious about 1 thing. Is it an age thing about clean powder to keep the gun clean. I am 60 and have always thought that after shooting you end up with a dirty gun and dirty hands, its kind like the Hoppe's 9 smell.

I never met a dirty gun (powder residue) I didn't like. All that powder residue means one thing: the gun was shot a lot and that's a good thing in my book. The same goes for dirty trucks, ATVs and most anything that is used in the real world. If it's not getting dirty, it's collecting dust.

I'm 67 and I can tell you I've had some pretty dirty guns to clean my whole life. Truth is, I actually enjoy it. I get to be alone with my thoughts for a bit, clean the guns, check them over and plan for the next "dirtying" exercise.

I spent a few years in the Main Machinery Room #3 on the USS Ranger CVA-61. Being an oil fired ship, I can tell you what dirty is and guns just really isn't it. Still, a little solvent and wiping and it's a done deal. Sort of a Zen thing with me.

[High Lord Gomer]

I like Titegroup for jacketed but use WST or Solo 1000 for lead. Same goes for 9, 40, and 45.

[AABEN]

I like W231 it works good for different calibers. From 25 up to 45.

[Shiloh]

AA#5 and Unique. AA#5 is cleaner. Both show superb accuracy. I don't mind cleaning guns at all.

Shiloh