Powder for comfortable 9x19 and 38 spl loads

[Wooserco]

I'm not sure where to post this.

I'm loading for 9x19 and 38 spl. In this shortage era, I'm looking for a powder that will load for comfortable plinking/range loads. I'm down to less than half a pound of Bullseye and looking for a powder that will work for both.

[Jester560]

I use CFE Pistol for everything from mouse farther loads to 9mm major power factor.

I do not load .38 Sp but load data is available for it.

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[Pete44mag]

I use either W231 or Titegroup for both loads. W231 seems most accurate in the mid range in my guns and Titegroup more so on the higher end. HP38 is the same as W231.

[Outpost75]

WST also works well in this application and is an excellent .45 ACP powder as well.

A charge of 3.7-3.9 grains with 158 LRN matches old school police service velocity in .38 Special and is a safe start load in 9mm with 124-grain cast lead. May need to increase to 4.2 to get reliable function. In .45 ACP 4.2-4.5 grains approximates factory wadcutter with H&G #130 and 5.0-5.2 approximates hardball velocity with #452374.

[Huskerguy]

I am with Pete above. I tend to favor W231/HP38 with Titegroup a close second and somewhat dependent on the firearm. I also have CFE Pistol but have only used it in 45. There are others but any of these three will serve you well.

[racepres]

Red Dot... in everything I own...
Plus is... most shops have it in stock...and Not as Pricey...
But... there are more glamorous options...

[johnsonian09]

I use bullseye for 38sp and 9mm

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[Divil]

I like Winchester 244 in .38 Special. With a 125-130 lead boolit 4.6 grains is magic.

[ryanmattes]

I'll second titegroup. If you aren't loading hot you can get 1800-2000 rounds out of a pound.

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[Tar Heel]

The question will be answered by what is available.

[badguybuster]

Sport Pistol makes some pretty mild loads

[dverna]

The question will be answered by what is available.

Agree...what I use is useless to you if you cannot get it. Some good suggestions but look at a manual and write all the powders they used. You may not have the best powder but one that works and is safe.

Good luck.

[Lloyd Smale]

The question will be answered by what is available.

thats about it. today we feed them with what we can get. thankfully i have 4 kegs of aa2 and still have 3 kegs of pr200 which is the same thing in surplus. clean burning and accurate. If it was all available again id stick with aa2.

[avogunner]

Bullseye seems to have lost favor over the years but that's been my go-to for .38, .45ACP, and 9mm for a long time. A pound goes a long way.

[Green Frog]

Another vote for 231/HP38 if you can find it. I’m actually moving toward this powder over my long preferred Bullseye. Also, around here at least, it’s more readily available. I’ve also used both Green Dot and 700X for a bunch of 38 WC and SWC loads but I can’t speak to their suitability in 9mm.

Froggie

[Thunder Stick]

Never had great accuracy success with Bullseye and I found it to be a dirty powder. Some of my best loads in both 9X19 and 38 Special are made with WW231.

[GhostHawk]

I'm with racepres Red Dot in everything. 5-6 years ago I started looking for single powder that could do it all, shotgun, rifle low velocity and pistol. Red Dot was the answer I have found and I have stashed 30 pounds, much of it at times when powder was scarce as hen's teeth.

9mm I have run from 3 gr in pistol up to 4,5 gr in carbine or single shot rifle. That gives you a pretty wide range.
.38special I have not loaded a lot of, but I followed my bood recomendation of 158 gr cast round nose over 3.5 grains.
Good shooting accurate load.

From 2 grains in .32sw long to 13 grains in .444marlin it just plain works.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

In 9mm with a 125 grain boolit I use 6 of HS-6 for about 1100 fps. 231 or bullseye work well in .38 spl. I will add that I tried unigue in 9mm and found it accurate with it's typically pleasing recoil impulse. ( if you can live with it's poor metering ).

[rintinglen]

Powders useful for the 9x19 and 38 Spl are numerous. Bullseye, Red Dot, Promo, Green Dot, American Select, Unique, BE 86, Power Pistol, Titegroup, Titewad, HP38/WW231, Autocomp, CFE Pistol, Universal, AA #2, AA #5, Solo 100,True Blue, Zip: all have published data for both cartridges.
Also Vitavouri powders N320, N330, N340 and N37C, Shooters World Clean Shot, Sport Pistol have data available. Then there are shot gun powders Like Herco, HS-6, Clays, and WST that have some applications.

My personal preferences are for HP38/WW231, Power Pistol, Titegroup, Bullseye, Unique, but these were conditioned by what has been most available and cheapest where I lived in the last 50 years.

There are many, many choices available. You see what's available, and check for loads that might work for you, then buy what you can. Security comes from having an 8 lb keg of what you like, with 2 or three years worth of primers.

[jonp]

Promo.