Fast Single Base (no Nitro) Powders with Lead Bullets.

[Colorado4wheel]

On another forum someone warned me about trying Solo 1000 with lead bullets. Basically his point is that the fast nature of Solo vs Unique (for instance) makes it not that suitable for lead bullets. Solo 1000 has been my go to powder since switching away from Titegroup. I use it to make 130 Power Factor with 124gr 9mm bullets. Basicly 1050fps wtih a 124gr bullet. My Lee mold is pouring at 130grs so I only need a average of 1000fps. I just started casting and I am having leading issues but I am still deep n the process of figuring out the sizing of my bullets and also the hardness of the lead. I am wondering if perhaps Solo isn't my best bet. I don't know if for the time being I should just try and work up some Power Pistol loads if it's less prone to leading then Solo. Then switch back to Solo to see if I get leading with it and not Power Pistol. This is mostly for 9mm minor and .40 people doing Major loads. I would think .45ACP would be different being such a low pressure round. I have 16lbs of Solo. If I have to buy some different powder then I will. I love the way these 130gr bullets track in my gun with this powder. So i would prefer to keep it but don't want to waste a bunch of time trying to get this powder to work if it's just not a good choice. For the record, Solo 1000 is a Single Base (no nitro) powder, about the same burn rate as TiteGroup.

[lylejb]

I doubt solo 1000 is the cause of your leading.

I know I've read plenty of threads here about 9mm's leading with plenty of other powders, not just yours.

more details, such as slugged bore diameter, sized boolit dia. , alloy or hardness of your lead, type of barrel ( is it a glock ?), description of where the leading happens in the barrel, would help to identify the cause of your leading.

It seems the 9mm is one of the more difficult calibers to cast for due to leading.

I'm sure others will soon add to this.

[Colorado4wheel]

Yeah, I'm not really looking for a answer to the Leading issue. I have a couple obvious things to work on with that first. But I am curious about peoples thougths about a faster powder and it causing leading. Lee has a big write up in his book about pressure of the cartridge, hardness of the lead and leading.

[HangFireW8]

Faster powders build a higher peak pressure sooner. If you stick with Lee's suggestion that you load your powder to a peak pressure of 90% of the deformation pressure of your lead alloy, you can pretty much rule out powder as the cause of leading. If this leaves you needing a boolit with a BHN that is hard to achieve with the casting materials you have on hand, you might want to try a different powder.

-HF

[sagacious]

There is considerable risk when shopping for opinions between forums. One is invariably going to find someone who says something like, "HP38 is no darn good for the 38Special!" It's not a matter of if, but when.

For the sake of argument and opinion, let's explore this idea of single-base powders being no darn good for lead bullet pistol reloads.

First, we'd have to toss out all those great recipes for the 9mm using cast bullets with IMR PB. PB is a single-base powder.

Next we'd have to toss out all the great handloading recipes using the Vihta Vuori powders such as N340, which give superb performance in both 9mm and 40SW using cast bullets-- many of which are designated in the Lyman handbook as being the potentially most accurate load. N340 and several other equally-useful VV handgun powders are single-base and are specifically recommended by the manufacturer for use with cast bullets in a wide variety of calibers.

As concerns loading data, it's far better to do one's own homework. Go by the published data, and work from there.

Best of luck. :drinks:

[Colorado4wheel]

Faster powders build a higher peak pressure sooner. If you stick with Lee's suggestion that you load your powder to a peak pressure of 90% of the deformation pressure of your lead alloy, you can pretty much rule out powder as the cause of leading. If this leaves you needing a boolit with a BHN that is hard to achieve with the casting materials you have on hand, you might want to try a different powder.

-HF

The problem is that Solo has switched manufactures. OLD data has pressure ratings but is VERY conservative and proven to be wrong when it comes to actual velocity. New data has no pressure data. If you call Scotts they will say that any load that not exceeding the FPS listed is within pressure more then likely. This is a old powder that fell out of favor and now is gaining popularity due to USPSA shooters liking it compared to VV powders that are too expensive for what you get. Alliant doesn't have any new data for the powder. I work all my loads up on a chrono. So I am comfartable that they are safe. As far as actual pressure. I haven't a clue other then to say below sammi max for 9mm.