Anyone shooting RedDot behind 9mm lead?

[Skunkhome]

Though I have been loading for decades I am going to be loading 9mm for the very first time. Due to the market's craziness my choice of powders is pretty limited. I have RedDot and an ample supply of 126gr conical casts bullets. Has anyone had experience with this powder behind this bullet in 9mm. I do have 700x, Bullseye and Win 231 in limited quantity also but until things get better I would like to reserve those for my .45acp and/or .38 spec. I purchased the RedDot for my .45 ACP and was not thrilled with the performance.

[Warren Sear]

Red Dot should work well with cast bullets in either of these calibers. I used some a long time ago, but don't remember anything unusual about it.

What did you not like about using it in the 45?

[Skunkhome]

Despite playing with the loads I could not avoid the occasional failure to feed. It is the only loading that has not been flawless in my 4567.

[TANKER]

I would suspect it's not metering well and your getting light loads that won't function the gun. I just switched from Unique to Universal in a 38 Spec load because the Unique wouldn't meter well in small charges. I've had that problem with other flake powders like 700x and Bluedot. 800x is probably the worst powder to meter in small charges of any I have loaded except maybe AL-8. 231 is excellent in 9mm lead loads, about 4 gr with 124-125 grain bullets. I buy a lot of 125 gr RNFP cowboy bullets and load them in both 38 spec and 9mm with good results. With powders that are particular I often batch load using 50 count loading blocks, especially with high intensity calibers like 9x23 and 10mm. I use a wooden dowel inserted into the case after the powder is dropped to check the charges. Put a line on the dowel even with the case mouth, you can tell if your even 1/2 gr off. This is not high speed reloading, but I don't shoot that many max loads anyway. Try changing powder measures. I use Lee disc measures, lyman 55's, and RCBS drum type. The Lee's give the most trouble, the Lymans good, the RCBS is best.

[J. R. WEEMS]

I haven't loaded any 9 since 1989, according to my records. Am getting ready to do so and would love to find a good load using RD behind 124/147/plated bullets. Would love to hear more of this. If all else fails, I can use 231. Anyone else??

[Nevada Ed]

I used RedDot in my 38 snub nose along with Bull,231,unique,blue,Universal Clays,sr4756 and Trail Boss with......
125,148 and 158 lead bullets.

RedDot was accurate and accually out performed Bullseye in the velocity department and reached a +P with the 158 where the Bull maxed out at only 752 fps at 8 feet on my chrony. A max load of 231 only beat reddot by 16 fps.

What I like about RedDot is that it fills the case up more than Bullseye, which to me is a bonus. It should work out great for you at around 4.0 to a maximum of 5.0. I don't have any lead data in front of me............
Trying to see bullseye in the bottom of a used 9mm is the pits..................its dark down there !!
Good shooting.

[Skunkhome]

Originally Posted by Nevada Ed

I used RedDot in my 38 snub nose along with Bull,231,unique,blue,Universal Clays,sr4756 and Trail Boss with......
125,148 and 158 lead bullets.

RedDot was accurate and accually out performed Bullseye in the velocity department and reached a +P with the 158 where the Bull maxed out at only 752 fps at 8 feet on my chrony. A max load of 231 only beat reddot by 16 fps.

What I like about RedDot is that it fills the case up more than Bullseye, which to me is a bonus. It should work out great for you at around 4.0 to a maximum of 5.0. I don't have any lead data in front of me............
Trying to see bullseye in the bottom of a used 9mm is the pits..................its dark down there !!
Good shooting.

Your RedDot load sounds in the ballpark. I just want to use RedDot cause I have it and am not confident of it metering in my old CH progressive press for my 38 spec. Not sure what the issue is with my .45 and RedDot as I manually load each round. It is not as if I am having a major issue it's just not perfect like my pistol is with W231. Love W231 but can't find it right now and don't want to use it if I get great results with RD in the nine. I did find some Bullseye a couple of weeks ago so I am going to switch back to it on .38 from 700x when I finish up the last of my HBWC's. That will free up the 700x for the nine or .45.

[KLYDE]

Tried a lb. for expermination purposes about 10 years ago for my .44 Mag. 6 gr. under a 240 gr cast swc. Made for a great reduced power / Spl. load. Good performance and clean. Just not worth keeping another powder on the shelf. In this climate though it is pretty much use what you can get your hands on.

[photobiker]

Haven't tried it in 9 yet, give me a few weeks. I have used it in 38 spl with LSWC and the accuracy is line with Unique , HP38 and Titegroup.
I'm loading on a old single stage CH press.

[Treeman]

I've loaded thousands of 125 grain lead and 124 grain plated bullets in 9mm over 4.0-4.1 grains of Red Dot. It works.

[J. R. WEEMS]

Originally Posted by Treeman

I've loaded thousands of 125 grain lead and 124 grain plated bullets in 9mm over 4.0-4.1 grains of Red Dot. It works.

Cannot find this load in any books so far, but Will give it try. THere is a lot of loads in 16 lbs of RD.

[scattershot]

A friend gave me 12# of Red Dot a while back, so guess what I use most? In the 9mm, I have had good luck with a 124 grain LTC bullet and 4.0 Red Dot, for 1050 fps or so. Functions well in my 9s, and is accurate enough for me. That load would work well with your bullet, too.

Good luck!

[ArchAngelCD]

Originally Posted by Skunkhome

It is not as if I am having a major issue it's just not perfect like my pistol is with W231. Love W231 but can't find it right now and don't want to use it if I get great results with RD in the nine.

You do know Hodgdon HP-38 is the same exact powder as W231 but with a different label, right? If you can't find W231/HP-38 you can give Ramshot Zip a try since it's a very close match to W231/HP-38. (not exact but very close in performance)

Red Dot seems to be a very versatile powder. Although I've never tried it I hear very good things about it.

Handloads.com has some older Alliant data for a 125gr Lead bullet and Red Dot you might like to look at.
9 mm Load Data - Handloads.Com

[Hansli]

I use it's alter ego Promo (same powder by weight) as a shotgun powder but it is also very versatile for 9mm, 38 special and 45 ACP. I use 4.0 under a 125 grain 9mm lead round nose for a budget utility load. An 8# jug is about $80.

[Wee Hooker]

As mentioned above, red dot can be finicky in a powder measure. Being a flake powder and using so little, I never got consistent performance or reliability when I tried it in 38 spl and 9mm target loads some time back. I didn't like the way it burned /dirtied the gun.
I'd suggest the W231. I use it regularly under 147 gr cast bullets with very happy results. Check the Winchester Powder website for min/max and OAL for your 125 gr cast bullet..


P.s. another option would be offer to trade your red dot with someone.

[Skunkhome]

Originally Posted by ArchAngelCD

You do know Hodgdon HP-38 is the same exact powder as W231 but with a different label, right? If you can't find W231/HP-38 you can give Ramshot Zip a try since it's a very close match to W231/HP-38. (not exact but very close in performance)

Red Dot seems to be a very versatile powder. Although I've never tried it I hear very good things about it.

Handloads.com has some older Alliant data for a 125gr Lead bullet and Red Dot you might like to look at.
9 mm Load Data - Handloads.Com

Oh I have seen the RD loads but loads in manuals don't tell you if it will be worth a plug nickel. Those of you who are shooting RD are the first people I have communicated with that use it in 9mm. I am glad to hear that ya'll have had good results.

[revolvergeek]

All my 9mmP reloads for the last couple years have been with Red Dot and 120-130 grn lead bullets from various molds. Charges are normally somewhere 3.5-3.9 depending on gun and projectile. Nothing hot, but they cycle all my pistols and shoot accurately.

[Nevada Ed]

Red Dot will work in the 9mm since it is close to Bullseye but my 9mm had its best accuracy with Bullseye and Unique powders with only JHP and Ball ammo from 115gr up to the speer 124gr bullet. For some odd reason the Radom did not like lead bullets.

Good luck with all that Red Dot powder, it should be a winner, I did not test out enough loads to give it a fair shake, since I was saving it for my 12Ga. trap loads but 4.0grs should be a starting load with the 115 and 124 FMC bullets per my Speer manual.

[S&WProtected]

I have only used Red Dot for 9mm, I use 3.5gr with a 120gr TC lead bullet. The load functions fine in my XD9 and my Ruger P95