Hodgdon CFE Pistol Powder

[Petrol & Powder]

I just picked up a pound of Hodgdon CFE Pistol Powder at a gun show. Don't know anything about it but the dealer had several pounds and the price wasn't bad.

Anyone have experience with CFE Pistol?

[9w1911]

Someone on this board has been testing it with good results Im sure if you look you can find the thread.

[flyingmonkey35]

I liked it in my 9mm and 45 auto

We don't really need the copper defouling agent in it.

[Petrol & Powder]

10-4, I looked. With the exception of a positive report from Tazman, I didn't see a lot of info. Too new I guess. Hodgdon has some data on their site but I was hoping to tap into some experience. CFE looks like it will meter well (very fine spherical powder). .
WW231 was my go-to 38 Special powder and WSF was my 9mm powder of choice, both of those appear to be extinct in these parts. I've been experimenting with some Vihtavuori 3N38 that I had but it seems to be like H110 and has little tolerance for reduced charges. I'm enthusiastic about CFE, maybe it will be my new 9mm / 38 spl powder.
On the plus side, I'm seeing a lot more powder available these days. Pistol and shotgun powders are still hard to find but the rifle stuff seems to be staying on the shelf. Some of the slower magnum pistol powders are showing up as well.

[Petrol & Powder]

I liked it in my 9mm and 45 auto

We don't really need the copper defouling agent in it.

I know, this is a cast boolit site but these are desperate times :bigsmyl2:

[Love Life]

Look up posts by Tazman. He has done some great testing with the powder so far.

[tazman]

I have been testing Hodgdon CFE pistol in my 9mm and 38 special.
Very easy to measure. The granules are small and flow easily.
The data on the Hodgdon site is accurate. My velocities matched the ones they had posted for similar powder charges.
Burns pretty clean. Less smoke than some but maybe a bit more than WST.
Very accurate in my pistols. I can use it across the board on my boolit weights except for the extreme heavies in 9mm.
In 357 mag it doesn't give the highest performance. 296 or similar will give higher velocities. It is, however very consistent and quite usable if you don't need max velocity.
I haven't done a lot with reduced loads yet, but the data site says it works pretty well.

[Love Life]

Do you coat boolits or traditional lube them? I wonder if the CFE has any adverse effect on coated boolits?

[tazman]

Do you coat boolits or traditional lube them? I wonder if the CFE has any adverse effect on coated boolits?

I have been tumble lubing with white label. I may try some pc just to see what happens.

[jonp]

I'm wondering if this is a marketing thing as I don't recall ever having a great deal of trouble with copper coating in a pistol.

[tazman]

I'm wondering if this is a marketing thing as I don't recall ever having a great deal of trouble with copper coating in a pistol.

It probably is somewhat. They made a CFE rifle powder as well. The reports I have read say it does reduce if not eliminate copper fouling in many rifles.
Like you said , I never had a problem with copper fouling in a handgun anyway. Particularly with my cast boolits.

[Petrol & Powder]

Tazman, within the ranges listed by Hodgdon, in your experience what are the best loads for 9mm & 38 Special using CFE?

[tazman]

Tazman, within the ranges listed by Hodgdon, in your experience what are the best loads for 9mm & 38 Special using CFE?

In the 9mm, I load slightly below max(.2-.3 grains). I use a Lee auto disk mostly so I want to be sure the variance stays safe. I did work them up from the starting loads but like the hotter loads better.
In the 38 I load whatever I want. I have loaded from starting loads to +P loads and they all shoot well. I shoot my 38 special loads in my 357 mag so I have lots of room for safety even though I try to stay within 38 special specs. You never know who might get hold of them and shoot them in an older 38.

[9w1911]

only problem Ive had with copper fouling is when I crimp them too much lol

[Mauser48]

I also just bought some for my 40 s&w. Meters very well. Havent tested the rounds yet. I used berrys plated bullets.

[Petrol & Powder]

Tazman, Thank you for sharing that knowledge.

I may have a new powder for my 9mm & 38 Special loads!

[starburst]

I like it in 38 spcl. Need to work up some on the 9mm.

[Petrol & Powder]

What load do you use in 38 Special?

[starburst]

5.0 gr. 158 lswc
5.3 gr. 125 lrn

6.4 gr. is what I am running under 125 gr. golden sabre +p load.

The more I use it the more I like it. I guess its growing on Me.

[Petrol & Powder]

Thanks.

[tazman]

I second the 5.0 grain load for 158 grain boolits in 38 special. I used it with superb accuracy.
114105
I was using a rest that day. 10 shots

[Bonz]

Fantastic powder for .380 also very good in 9mm and .40 Not enough pressure to use in a 45acp, end up with lots of unburned powder

[Charley]

Found a pound at $23.00, couldn't pass it up. So far I've tested it in .38 Special, 9x19, and .45 ACP. No better or worse than anything else in the same speed range. Quite a bit of cast data available from Hogdon. It is available now, many other powders are not!

[Petrol & Powder]

I second the 5.0 grain load for 158 grain boolits in 38 special. I used it with superb accuracy.
114105
I was using a rest that day. 10 shots

I would be thrilled with that!

CFE is looking good.

[Mike Malat]

40 S&w - 6.9gr CFE Pistol under a NOE 402-160-RN. Hi Tec coated and sized .402 RP Brass. Sig 2340

2 handed unsupported

5 rds @ 7yds
114178

10 rds @ 15yds

114179

Meters well in a Dillon. Have not tried it in other cals yet but yea I'll be buying more.

[Petrol & Powder]

A quick update:
Using 5.0 grains of CFE Pistol powder behind a 158gr LSWC (RCBS), I received good results. I was shooting steel so I can't talk about the groups but it seemed to shoot point of aim. That load was very similar to my 4.4 grains of WW231 behind the same bullet. The CFE appeared to produce a little less smoke than the 231 (what powder doesn't :neutral:). I use BAC lube and I'm sure that accounts for a lot of the smoke but the CFE did seem to produce a bit less smoke.
The loads performed flawlessly with no signs of excessive pressure and no leading.
The rounds were loaded on a Dillon 550 and the CFE metered very well. I checked numerous rounds before seating the bullet and every charge was exactly the correct weight. The powder takes up little space in the 38 Special casing so it's like Bullseye in that regard. A double charge is certainly possible but that's not unique to CFE powder and vigilance is always called for when reloading.
Considering it is available, it meters well in a powder measure and produces good results; it may be my new 38 Special powder!

P.S. Just an observation, but Hodgdon powders seem to be a bit more available than other powders. Don't know if that's a local aberration or they have increased their production.

[tazman]

I went back to the store I purchased my first batch from to get more. Guess what? They were out. Nothing on the shelves but rifle powders.
Back to square one when I run it out I guess.

[Petrol & Powder]

Unpredictable powder supply seems to be the new normal.
I'm hopeful the market is about saturated.

[Duarteus]

Easy powder to work with on my dillon 550b

.38 ,and 9mm are shooting well with on starting loads
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/24/0334347eba9a55fff06a81547bb92fea.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/24/27687f37b4170074fb7e39fb4c97df39.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/24/249add127c163573a26f8324ca195091.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/24/e11d2b4fe6c2d7dafcbe872f8d6f9aeb.jpg
3/4 of my first 1 pound all down the barrel
:-) 7 1/4 pounds to go.

[tazman]

Those are all good loads, but that 9mm 125 grain load is impressive. Very consistent.
Is it as accurate as the numbers suggest it might be?

[starburst]

I tried 4.0 gr under 147gr. cop plated 9mm, and wasnt satisfied 4.2 gr. did much better. Didnt have time to drag out chrono. Almost to hot to shoot, but guess it never really gets to hot to go a few rounds.

[dnotarianni]

playing with it in 10mm but trying to get all the info so I can use it in quickload. Called Hodgen and they refered me to St Marks powder in Fl. Waiting for a reply. Hodgen has no info for a 220gr in 10mm so I am guessing so far.

[SSGOldfart]

Hmmm anybody tried it in a 44special yet.I just got three new cans@ 21.00 a pound

[hollywood63]

Do you coat boolits or traditional lube them? I wonder if the CFE has any adverse effect on coated boolits?

I use it in 9mm, 40, 38 sp and 357 with hi tek coating and Acme bullets I didn't notice any issues and seems accurate for what I
do.

[USMC87]

I have been wondering about the CFE pistol powder and I now think I will give it a try in 9mm and 380 the next time around, It looks like it will do exactly what I want.

[Landy]

CFE Pistol, and similarly BE86, do seem to outrun the older powders as promised in pistols; but has anyone tested them for reduced loads in rifles?

That versatility made this new handgun but longtime rifle loader forgo some FPS and stick with ancient, pricey, and hard to find Unique.

[tazman]

On the Hodgdon data site, there are recommended starting loads in handgun cartridges with pressures listed as low as 12600PSI. Since they seem to think it will work consistently at low pressures and up through magnum handgun pressures, I would think it would be suitable for reduced loads in rifle. You would just need to work up a load for your gun/cartridge.

[Blackwater]

One of the most interesting factors in CFE Pistol, to me at least, is the data listed by Hodgdon for the 200 gr. LSWC data that shows nearly a 100 fps. advantage compared to any other of their listed powders. That ain't a bad thing. Has anyone tried this powder and thier data and confirmed the velocity increase in a 5" .45 ACP?

[tazman]

I don't have a 45 Acp(HERESY!!!!) but I have confirmed the velocities listed on the site for 38 special, 9mm, 357 mag, and 40S&W. I can't think that the 45 would be off by much.

[Blackwater]

Thanks, Taz. So far, I've been a day late and a dollar short on finding any, but first chance I get, I'll be getting some to try, and comparing it to my Unique, 700X and other loads for accuracy and velocity. I've got a few powders I've been looking for for a long time now, so maybe it'll turn up before I keel over?

[popper]

Tried the 6gr starting load with 165gr plated, very snappy compared to my normal 40sw 4.5gr 231 load under HiTek coated 165gr cast TC. Of course a 100 fps more and supposedly less flash, lower pressure. Hard to shoot one handed. Wonder if it can be downloaded 10%.

[tazman]

Tried the 6gr starting load with 165gr plated, very snappy compared to my normal 40sw 4.5gr 231 load under HiTek coated 165gr cast TC. Of course a 100 fps more and supposedly less flash, lower pressure. Hard to shoot one handed. Wonder if it can be downloaded 10%.

I would expect you could reduce the charge until your gun no longer cycled properly. The powder is used in low pressure cartridges such as 38 special after all.

[KVO]

Old thread but I thought worth a revisit, not much new news on this powder...

CFE Pistol is working for me as a slightly slower Unique, in many of the same applications.
217023
This is 7.5gr CFE under an Arsenal Molds 210gr RNFP, .44 magnum brass in a 6" S&W 629, 25 yards. Basically the Skeeter load. The powder didn't behave well with lighter loadings, erratic POI and some unburnt powder.

217024
4.5gr CFE Pistol, 9mm cylinder in a Ruger flattop Blackhawk. Boolit is the Mihec 135gr RNFP, again fired at 25 yards. (If I can stop throwing the ever present one round flier I'll die happy.)

FWIW I tried it in .40 S&W and had short cycling with a Glock 22, multiple failures to feed per magazine, but it worked fine in a S&W M&P40 compact.