Alternative 9mm Powders: TiteWad, Nitro 100NF, MP254

[steve urquell]

Come on. Are you in or are you out?

Maybe put it in a coffee grinder and then remotely turn it on with an extension cord

Remember to first put out your lit cigarettes when you grind your gunpowder

I'll stand back with my phone running video while you guys lead here

[Recycled bullet]

Please forgive my humor. I am curious if that MP powder would produce better results on target than Bullseye does with my 308 Winchester barely supersonic loads. I had good results with Winchester Auto comp and unique at 10 grain I wonder if this MP powder would be safe for that same type of load or would it need an increase in powder charge.

[steve urquell]

Please forgive my humor. I am curious if that MP powder would produce better results on target than Bullseye does with my 308 Winchester barely supersonic loads. I had good results with Winchester Auto comp and unique at 10 grain I wonder if this MP powder would be safe for that same type of load or would it need an increase in powder charge.

I'm not worried about this powder in that role because of it's burn rate. Fast enough to not be an issue and fairly/very bulky.
GMDR has many Blue Dot loads for bigger cases and I'm treating the MP like it.

I loaded the 4.7gr load under some Lee 160gr boolits in .300blk and fired them Wed night. Velocity was 950fps. Cases were sooty. I will increase charge and see if it'll clean up. I still haven't found a role for it although the 1300fps load with 110gr plated RN is a good one and cases clean.

[Tracy]

I haven't tried MP-254, but I do have some MP-248 and also have some MP-249 on the way. Both say similar to IMR Blue. The 248 is listed as 915 fps for a 230 grain TMJ over 8 grains in a 5" 1911 .45. The 249 is slightly slower; 900 fps with all other factors being equal.

As I said, the 249 has not arrived yet but I have fired a few rounds of 248 in .44 Mag and .454 Casull. I started with 1cc (8.8 grains) under a 240 grain cast swc. That seemed like a nice midrange load and there was no unburned powder left behind. From there I went to 10 grains. Those shot well too, but were more powerful than what I really wanted. No noticeable pressure signs and certainly not a hot .44 Mag load; just a bit hotter than what I was looking for. I didn't chronograph them but the the 8.8 grain load felt and sounded about like the ~1000 fps load I was looking for. Increasing the charge to 10 grains made a very noticeable difference in power.

I tried 1.3cc (11.4 grains) in .454 Casull under a 250 grain cast swc and didn't like that one. Certainly nowhere near full power, but still not what I would consider a pleasant shooting load. I also had one blooper. CCI 400 primers.
I think I need to forget this powder in .454, and instead load 8.8 grains under the same bullet in .45 Colt cases.

This powder metered well using both Lee dippers and my RCBS Uniflow.

[steve urquell]

I haven't tried MP-254, but I do have some MP-248 and also have some MP-249 on the way. Both say similar to IMR Blue. The 248 is listed as 915 fps for a 230 grain TMJ over 8 grains in a 5" 1911 .45. The 249 is slightly slower; 900 fps with all other factors being equal.

As I said, the 249 has not arrived yet but I have fired a few rounds of 248 in .44 Mag and .454 Casull. I started with 1cc (8.8 grains) under a 240 grain cast swc. That seemed like a nice midrange load and there was no unburned powder left behind. From there I went to 10 grains. Those shot well too, but were more powerful than what I really wanted. No noticeable pressure signs and certainly not a hot .44 Mag load; just a bit hotter than what I was looking for. I didn't chronograph them but the the 8.8 grain load felt and sounded about like the ~1000 fps load I was looking for. Increasing the charge to 10 grains made a very noticeable difference in power.

I tried 1.3cc (11.4 grains) in .454 Casull under a 250 grain cast swc and didn't like that one. Certainly nowhere near full power, but still not what I would consider a pleasant shooting load. I also had one blooper. CCI 400 primers.
I think I need to forget this powder in .454, and instead load 8.8 grains under the same bullet in .45 Colt cases.

This powder metered well using both Lee dippers and my RCBS Uniflow.

Thanks for the detailed post. The impression I'm getting from MP254 is that it has to be pushed a little bit to burn cleanly. Maybe more so in smaller calibers. I'm hoping to find a subsonic load in 9mm or .300blk that will burn clean for me.

[steve urquell]

OK, MP254 round 2 on .300BLK:

5.0gr
160gr Lee .309"
case neck expanded with Lee .311" (.32S&W L)PTE die
1.95" OAL


Subsonic


25yds, 4 shots


Less sooty than before. Gonna load some more and push the target back

[steve urquell]

OK, I feel like I've got a good MP254 load especially considering how this stuff meters and mixed brass.
9 shots(all I had left with bases painted).
ES: 65
SD: 19


Brass looks cleaner than my old Unique loads


5/8" 35yd group with flyer opening it to 1"