need ideas for new 9mm powder

[mike_kaleigh]

i am about to buy a 4 lb jug of pistol powder since we finally have some selection, I current cast ww and use 231 and noe 135grain mold and hitek, but i have a lot of range scrap and don't want to use up all my ww. I was wondering what slower powders have people had luck with to keep the pressure down. When i have used 231 in the past with softer lead i had issues of bullets tumbling and leading when i load fast enough to reliably cycle all my handguns.

[Recycled bullet]

Power Pistol is THE best for cast and for jacketed that I have ever used. It does not make problems at min powder charge. At full loadings it's a flame thrower.

Winchester AutoComp is what I am using right now for 124 grain powder coated plain base hollow points.

[P Flados]

The 9mm was my biggest challenge for finding boolit happiness. Some people get lucky and find 9mm success easily. Many do not. I was in the latter group. Even though I used PC, my first attempts leaded badly.

I was determined to use straight range scrap (less than 9 bhn), and I wanted to push full power loads. I tried some slower powders in the middle of my efforts and really did not see very much improvement.

After probably more than a dozen attempts, I found success with the following:


I use a custom deep plug 0.3575" expander
I use 0.3595" PC coated boolits (Lee 120 TC)
I use select brass, a mix of Blazer, FC and CCI
I seat and I do flare removal as separate steps



I can now use any powder I want and loads up to book max with great accuracy and no leading. This load works in a handful of different guns.

I have come to believe that much of the 9mm "just can't figure it out frustration" comes from having boolits sized down by the case more than you think and/or just not going with big enough boolits. I am also convinced that sorting headstamps is an easy thing to try early on when you are having problems.

[Shiloh]

In the current powder availability situation, whatever you can find.
The ones listed on this thread all work fine for me. Unique and AA#5 worked well for me also.
Finding primers and powder is a challenge.

Shiloh

[higgins]

My 9mm cast loading is similar to P Flados' approach. My 9mm has a .358 groove diameter. I load a Lee 358-125-RF cast of wheelweight metal unsized lubed with Lee LLA. I use a 38spl. M-die to seat the larger diameter bullets and taper crimp. I have only used 231 with the cast bullets to get velocity in the upper 900 fps with acceptable level of leading. I have tried AA5 with jacketed bullets and I don't think it's as accurate as 231 in my gun based on comparison loads with cast and jacketed. I too have found that Blazer and Federal brass seems thinner and makes seating the larger bullets easier with less likelihood of squeezing down bullets.

[deltaenterprizes]

I use AA #7!

[Retumbo]

Hs-6. :-p

[dondiego]

bullseye

[Ed_Shot]

Win WSF

[hades]

I have the NOE 135gr RF mold and bought a jug of True Blue to try last spring and really like it.

It meters great and runs pretty clean in my two 9mms and my buddies.

[Bigslug]

Using Bullseye for the NOE 135RF in wheelweight. Off the top of my head somewhere between 3.5-3.9 grains for 1030 fps.

Haven't played with Unique and HS-6 in anything as small as 9mm, but found them a little dirty (incomplete burn) in .45. Faster burn is what these duty rounds seem to like.

[Mr Peabody]

I've been using CFE Pistol in my .45 acp,38 Special and .357 with cast. Does a good job and very available

[fredj338]

I shoot a lot of 9, mostly glocks, but a few others. For 9minor, i like wst or reddot or ramshot comp, or sport pistol. For full power 9, Unique, wsf, cfe & powerpistol are fine.
I use range scrap, coated, sized 0.357”, running 850-1100fps. I dont get leading & accuracy is better than i can hold.

[MT Gianni]

AA2, Ramshot Silhuette are both good.

[rockshooter]

I use the NOE 135gr with 231. I PC and have never had leading issues with that combo.
Loren

[sigep1764]

Red Dot or Promo. Sips the powder.

[justindad]

True Blue and Silhouette both work well for me. Silhouette has great case fill, but True Blue might be needed if your OAL is short.

[paul edward]

Currently using Power Pistol. In the past I have used Bullseye, Win-231 and it's twin HP-38, Win-630 and Unique.

[joebaja]

For a couple of different MP NLG molds that drop 135/140 for me, I have had best results with AA#5 and Power Pistol.

[Wasalmonslayer]

I use bullseye with 124 or 135 grain bullets.
Adjusting loads as neede to stay “middle” of the road.
Great accuracy easy metering and a pound lasts a long time!

[jdgabbard]

Red Dot is my go-to powder for anything 9mm. It’s a fluffy powder that fills cases nicely. But it can also hit max pressure quick. So carefully work up loads. But generally speaking, I’ve had fantastic luck in the 4.0-4.2gr range with 125gr cast loads. No idea where this sit speed wise, as I don’t own a Chrony. But they function the guns I run them in well, and accurate.


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[popper]

135gr PB @ 357 PCd with WST in a couple sub compact. ~900 fps.

[Willie T]

Power Pistol as already mentioned. Also used AA #5, W-231, and Solhouette. Silhouette works very well in 9mm.
Willie

[ioon44]

I have been using Sport Pistol for over a year and have been testing W-244 with good results using a 140gr FP cast Hi-Tek coated bullet in 9 mm.

[WRideout]

Red Dot is my go-to powder for anything 9mm. It’s a fluffy powder that fills cases nicely. But it can also hit max pressure quick. So carefully work up loads. But generally speaking, I’ve had fantastic luck in the 4.0-4.2gr range with 125gr cast loads. No idea where this sit speed wise, as I don’t own a Chrony. But they function the guns I run them in well, and accurate.


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I have had the same experience with Red Dot, although I am still working out of my eight pound jug of Promo, which is equivalent to Red Dot.

Wayne

[Dom]

I have had excellent results with my home cast ( BHN 10.5 ) 127 gr ( Lee 124gr ) with my alloy. A loading manual load of 6.4grs. Excellent results all around.

[243winxb]

Add W244 to this list. Starting loads all worked well in my Taurus G3C. https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?media/speer-9mm-luger-data-rifle-primers-fired-ok.5001/full⅕

[kevin c]

I’ll throw in an exotic here: Vihtavuori N320

Pricey, but works great in the action pistol games. Meters very well, burns clean, and very consistent velocity wise (important as the rules specify a minimum velocity for a given bullet weight to get maximum scoring values).

[Kraschenbirn]

I’ll throw in an exotic here: Vihtavuori N320...

Not so exotic, Kevin...I'm using VV N350 with an NOE 124 gr RNFP and my SIG loves it. Last year I snagged an unopened 4 lb. jug for $70 (+ auction commission) thinking '.357 Mag' as I was getting close to my last lb. of A2400. Checking VV data, noticed loads for 9mm and gave it a try when I ran out of HP38. May never go back.

Bill

[jdgabbard]

I have had the same experience with Red Dot, although I am still working out of my eight pound jug of Promo, which is equivalent to Red Dot.

Wayne

Wayne, I was hesitant when I first picked up a keg of it. But I have found it to be one of my best powders for 9mm, 380acp, and even 45acp. Cleaner than Unique, and fills the case nicely. However, I will say that it often makes me nervous sometimes. I find that 4.2gr actually gets "tamped down" a bit by seating a 115gr FMJ to book OAL - which is necessary in my AR9 (but not required in my pistols). No negative affects on pressures from what I can tell. But it is a FLUFFY powder. A pound goes a long ways though at 4.0gr. I'm currently about 1/3 the way through a 4lb jug, and I'm hoping prices come back down a little before I have to buy another. Might have to switch over to Unique for a little while once I'm out if not...

[Thumbcocker]

Very early testing with Br5 is showing promise.

[WRideout]

Wayne, I was hesitant when I first picked up a keg of it. But I have found it to be one of my best powders for 9mm, 380acp, and even 45acp. Cleaner than Unique, and fills the case nicely. However, I will say that it often makes me nervous sometimes. I find that 4.2gr actually gets "tamped down" a bit by seating a 115gr FMJ to book OAL - which is necessary in my AR9 (but not required in my pistols). No negative affects on pressures from what I can tell. But it is a FLUFFY powder. A pound goes a long ways though at 4.0gr. I'm currently about 1/3 the way through a 4lb jug, and I'm hoping prices come back down a little before I have to buy another. Might have to switch over to Unique for a little while once I'm out if not...

Red Dot/Promo is the one powder I can't do without. Unique is great given enough pressure. Low pressure loads of Unique truly earn it the title "flaming dirt."

Wayne

[Rickf1985]

I shoot a lot of 9, mostly glocks, but a few others. For 9minor, i like wst or reddot or ramshot comp, or sport pistol. For full power 9, Unique, wsf, cfe & powerpistol are fine.
I use range scrap, coated, sized 0.357”, running 850-1100fps. I dont get leading & accuracy is better than i can hold.

Fred, are you using the factory Glock barrels or aftermarket barrels? I know they say to not use a factory barrel with cast.

[scattershot]

Red Dot/Promo

[kevin c]

Fred, are you using the factory Glock barrels or aftermarket barrels? I know they say to not use a factory barrel with cast.

I’ve shot cast in my factory Glock barrels for years, numbering rounds into six figures. Of course, they were all Hitek coated, either commercial or home cast and coated. I’ve never seen much in the way of leading once I got the coating technique down. I still void my warranty, but I haven’t appreciated any pressure issues.

[mike_kaleigh]

sorry took a minute to get back, working a lot, but i do have some reddot that i use for shotgun, never thought about using it for softer 9mm bullets, well i got a project for tomorrow. thanks for the suggestion

[gloob]

Glock mandrel forged barrels are amazing with cast bullets, when you sort out your loads. They will stay spotlessly clean in a way that no button cut barrel can, because there are no machine marks in there. Completely smooth. I suppose this would hold true for any mandrel forged barrel; I think HK does this on some of their handguns? I used to think if you got things wrong, a Glock barrel would foul worse than standard barrels, simply because people said so, and that's the first gun I loaded and sorted through mistakes for. But it turns out I have the ability to foul any barrel just as bad!

While you are still going through the learning curve, a Glock barrel is easy to clean. The tennifer coating will dull carbide reamers with just a few uses, it's so hard. It'll destroy high speed steel cutters. You can clean the barrel with steel wool, if you like.

Seems like a lot of people are suggesting powders that are faster than what OP was curious about, or which are unobtanium right now. Or both. I think the "winner" so far for "slowest" was from the first reply. Power Pistol and Winchester AutoComp. I would have never thought to try WAC for cast pistol. It's also available.

[Electrod47]

All my 9 loadin' is Red Dot, If I have less than 10-12lbs on hand I start to get nervous. It always seems to be out there when I'm looking.

[schutzen-jager]

for decades Red Dot - many bullet types + weights - also in many ca;libers, pistol, rifle, + shotgun -

[Kosh75287]

Alliant BE-86, or Herco, if you can find them. AA#5 is another, possibly more obtainable propellant that is well suited to 9mmP. These three are "okay" at the milder end of the performance scale, but generally give outstanding performance, as they are pushed harder.

[gloob]

Didn't realize how popular Red Dot was for cast 9mm.

I use Promo so far with cast bullets in 9mm, 40, and 45ACP. The density is not guaranteed like with Red Dot, so I suppose it might be slightly different, mind. But I found after working up my loads, I ended up with exactly the same charge volumes as with Unique, in these particular calibers, using the same bullets. And per the data, I'm right at the max for both powders.

Per my measurements, Unique has a density of 7.82 gr/cc, and my particular jug of Promo is 6.93.

I also ended up at the same throw for 125 cast in 9mm as I do with 180 cast in 40 with both powders.

Only gripe is there's no visual difference between Promo and Unique.

[Dom]

I have been using Win 540/ HS-6 for my 127 & 143 gr bullets. Right out of the Hodgon manual. Works great.

[jameslovesjammie]

VV N320. It meters perfectly and is super clean. I go YEARS without cleaning my competition pistols.

[jgstrug]

Not slow, but BE-86 is going to be an absolute must experience in 9mm,but be prepared to find the new favorite.

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[gloob]

This thread is pretty good. I want to try some new powders from these suggestions. Only problem is I have more powder than primers, already.

[WRideout]

Didn't realize how popular Red Dot was for cast 9mm.

I use Promo so far with cast bullets in 9mm, 40, and 45ACP. The density is not guaranteed like with Red Dot, so I suppose it might be slightly different, mind. But I found after working up my loads, I ended up with exactly the same charge volumes as with Unique, in these particular calibers, using the same bullets. And per the data, I'm right at the max for both powders.

Per my measurements, Unique has a density of 7.82 gr/cc, and my particular jug of Promo is 6.93.

I also ended up at the same throw for 125 cast in 9mm as I do with 180 cast in 40 with both powders.

Only gripe is there's no visual difference between Promo and Unique.

This is why I have to leave the bottle out on the bench until I empty the hopper on the powder measure.

Wayne

[mainiac]

Aa7 favorite
Hs6 good
Powerpistol
These 3 are my picks

[460S&W]

Autocomp has become my go to for semi automatics as well as my wheel guns where suitable.