9mm powder

[gsfxst]

Bought a shield pro had some 147 gr. HP with 231 they shot great .read that Power pistol was best for 9MM. bought a lbs. loaded up some they shot all over the target. I have some 115gr. round nose. I try to work up a load. any one use this powder. and have good luck with it. and what bullets.

[Vortec MAX]

My number one choice for 9mm is CFE Pistol. My number 2 choice is Power Pistol. They both work very well. I only shoot 124 GR bullets, so I don't have a load to share for the bullet weights you are shooting.

Mike

[SMSgt]

Originally Posted by gsfxst

read that Power pistol was best for 9MM.

Don't believe everything you read.

[rwsmith]

Power pistol gets great velocity. I was experimenting with some 165 gr 9mm bullets and the velocity was good. I wasn't looking for target accuracy but I did think that they shot high. I was recovering bullets from a box of paper and I shot at the upper left corner from about 15' away. I was surprised a few shots went so high that they didn't hit the box, probably at least two inches high.

Another one worth trying is Acc #7. I tried some low doses with a 147 gr bullet and accuracy was outstanding. It seems to have a 'smooth' recoil rather than 'sharp'.

[Rogeronimo]

I use Herco for 147gn JHP, and 800X for 124gn JHP. I've not tried anything lighter, as it was all I could do to get the POI on the POA with the 124's. 800X fixed that for me. Best of luck.

[rwsmith]

Originally Posted by SMSgt

Don't believe everything you read.

I guess it depends on what you consider to be 'best for whatever application.

[Mistered]

As with any round there is no 'best' powder but some are much better than others due to they're burn rate and density for the particular round. While the faster powders are no doubt a better choice for 9mm Unique gives some of the highest velocities with good case fill density - but it is usually not a first 'go to' powder choice for 9 mm.

[hdwhit]

With 115 gr bullets, I've had good luck with HP-38.

[flyrobb]

From the Hornady 10th,

"Powders that worked exceptionally well in our test weapon (S&W Model 39 4" barrel) were Accurate #7, and Alliant Power Pistol. Power Pistol produced excellent velocity and uniformity with all bullet weights and is our choice when loading for 9mm Luger"

...for what it's worth.

[JimBianchi]

I found Power Pistol locally for $20 a pound a few years ago, so I bought 8 pounds of it. ( have 4# left)

My goal was minimal powder, reliable cycling and accurate.

I had to play with the OAL length to find a decent load.

Mixed brass, wet tumble, GENX primers: Power Pistol
I loaded 4/4.2/4.4/4.6/4.8/5grn at 1.09/1.100/1.110/1.120/1.130, five each.

Took a while, but worth it. In my Shield and Glocks, 4.6gn at 1.120in is very good. Reliable and accurate.

I used a Chrony and made sure results were repeatable.

Start low, work up. I rarely load hot rounds so I didn't go there.

[Nevada Ed]

Power Pro is in the same class as Unique, HS-6, AA7 and Blue Dot
as being a slower burning powder for High Vel. loads and more powder than the faster powders.
4.5 to 6.8grs of slow powders are not bad for a slow powder to
kick the heavy 147gr bullet out of a 9mm pistol.

4.0-5.0grs can be used for a light target load so you are not
loosing that much vs the fast burning powders.

My book calls out the starting load for a 147gr bullet and P.Pistol
is at 4.5grs with a Speer RN or HP at a OAL of 1.13" You can go
to 1.165" if your pistol will handle this length, which I found gave
good accuracy in my light target loads.

PP will work for you with the heavy 147gr bullet as well as the little 115gr.

Good shooting.

[Collo Rosso]

Shoot mostly 124gr. plated for 9mm plinking rounds and WST has worked well for me. For (really not much) more velocity HS-6 or CFE-P with 124gr. gold dots.

[ripvanwinkle]

To answer the op, Yes. I have tried and worked up loads in the other powders mentioned above and some I had good results. Every pistol will behave differently. I liked Power Pistol because it gave me excellent case fill, consistent metering, and the tightest grouping at 15 yards. And I would like to add I try to choose a powder that gives me a wide range of powder charge/accuracy. CFE Pistol, Power Pistol and Auto Comp have given me almost a 1/2 grain swing with the same bullet. Hope that makes sense!

[Luke Duke]

Ive had great accuracy from BullEye, no pressure signs. Great in my .38 Special too.

[hammer 1]

Power pistol is the powder I use for 9MMS and 45 auto, I use 6.5 grs, with 124 gr fmj, and it has been very accurate in the wife's 3913, and my nightgown hi power

[Virginia John]

Powder is like anything else in the reloading process, you need to match the powder to the bullet, the gun and the shooter. Each of us has a different idea on what is the ideal powder for a specific round based on our individual application. You need to experiment to find what is your best powder.

[noylj]

1) For me, Power Pistol is number one and Silhouette is #2
2) For me, 115-124gn is best
3) For me, JHP followed by L-SWC is best
4) If you look up keyholing or tumbling bullets on Google, you will find that almost always it will be with plated bullets. Plated, like lead, should almost always be at least 0.001" over actual groove diameter (and not assumed groove diameter).
5) The powder that is generally the most accurate may not be the most accurate for you, but it will almost always be decent.

PS: it would be nice to know what each consider "good" or "accurate." For me, <2" at 25 yards for 9x19 is accurate and <3" is good. I mean, for some, less than 6" at 15 yards is good enough for what they are doing, and it should be mentioned so one can compare what is being meant by the terms.

[Road_Clam]

Unique ! Why you ask ? Because I had a friend whom retired from competitive IPSC shooting back in the 90's and gave me a free unopened 8# keg of the stuff ! Don't care how good or how bad it shoots it was free ! As is the 8K pieces of free gun club range brass I've acquired over the past several years!

[dkelly27]

CFE pistol and Winchester AutoComp are both good/

[LAA]

I have notebooks full of memos regarding loads, powders, bullet weight, gun/barrel length and chrono results. Then they keep coming out with new powders, the stores become better stocked, and I keep trying all the new stuff. Since I'm getting much older, I think I'm loosing track. At this point, I just don't seem to have favorites anymore. If anything, it makes it more interesting.

[DIYguy]

Have multiple bottles of different powders I picked up when first stocking up on reloading equipment. After reading the reviews in the latest Hornady book and how highly they recommended Power Pistol for 9mm that's what I went with.
I've created some spread sheets for my reloading recipes, Chrono reports and even COL test with different bullets in my pistol barrels.
One thing I've found is Berry's RN 115gr, COL 1.13, PP @ 5.9gr, M&P 4.25 barrel gives me an average 1172 FPS. 134.8 Power Factor @ 37 degrees (Winter in MN) and single hole 1.25" at 10 yards with bench rest. (30 rounds) Std Div of 18.
Because I'm shooting USPSA I've been shifting to heavier bullets and softer recoil.
I've found Berry's 147gr FP, COL 1.08, PP @ 4.3gr, M&P 5" barrel gives me an average 915 FPS, Power Factor 134.6 @ 38 degrees and grouping about 2.5" at 10 yards from bench rest. I'm not as happy with the groupings I'm getting but the recoils is definitely softer. The flat point makes a nicer hole in the cardboard. I found that anything less than 4.2gr behind the 147gr bullet started to spread the groupings and were not as accurate. 4.4 and 4.5gr didn't improve the group size just the PF

[Shoo2tr]

Another vote for CFE Pistol and AutoComp. Both are very similar powders that have little variance in performance and load data characteristics, for me anyway. They give me the velocities and accuracy I want, are relatively clean, and readily available in my area. Most importantly though I find they both meter really well out of my Lee Auto Drum powder measure. I load mostly 115-124 FMJ or XTreme plated.

[fredj338]

PP is for max effort 9mm loads imo & it is really loud. This could be why your accuracy is suffering or you are loading too small a charge & not getting uniform combustion. For midrange to full power, I prefer WSF or Unique, RS Sil. For light target loads, below midrange, just about anything that works in 45acp works great for 9mm minor too. I like WST, but RedDot or RS Comp also work fine with 147gr bullets. Some like TG, just not me.

[muddocktor]

I find 9MM to be a very forgiving round as to what powders it likes. I've had great results with a wide variety of different powders. I've never shot PP, but I have shot Accurate #2, 231/HP38, WSF, Unique, Longshot and even Blue Dot with 147 grain bullets and I can't say that I've had bad results with any of those.

[StakeOut]

4.3gr of Titegroup under 124gr Berry's Plated RN 1.14 OAL

Very accurate shooting at 50' indoors shooting from a 39-2

Meters very well from a Pro Auto Disk in a Lee Classic Turret Press

[bluetopper]

Green Dot is my main powder for 9mm.

[wrangler5]

When I started using 9mm in IDPA matches, I used Power Pistol under 124g bullets, loaded to exceed the IDPA minimum but not a whole lot more. It worked fine, but then I got invited to a night shoot and almost got thrown off the range because the muzzle flash was killing everybody's night vision. NObody else was using Power Pistol, and nobody else had a solar flare coming out their muzzle with every shot.

I switched to Titegroup, and have used it or AA#5 quite happily for 124g 9mm loads ever since. Have never tried the 147 grainers, but if they need a slower powder than 124s I have had excellent results with AA#7 in several other rounds, and would certainly consider that as a good starting point.

[cafcart]

Originally Posted by StakeOut

4.3gr of Titegroup under 124gr Berry's Plated RN 1.14 OAL

Very accurate shooting at 50' indoors shooting from a 39-2

Meters very well from a Pro Auto Disk in a Lee Classic Turret Press

Ive found titegroup recipes work best for 147gn subsonic loads through my suppressor. Much reduced to negligible particle blowback, leads me to guess most all of it burns. But powerpistol, notsomuch.

[rwsmith]

Originally Posted by LAA

I have notebooks full of memos regarding loads, powders, bullet weight, gun/barrel length and chrono results. Then they keep coming out with new powders, the stores become better stocked, and I keep trying all the new stuff. Since I'm getting much older, I think I'm loosing track. At this point, I just don't seem to have favorites anymore. If anything, it makes it more interesting.

...the shortages made me try powders I wouldn't otherwise have tried and I found that I like a lot of them.

Red Dot, HS-38, Acc#7 are all superb powders. Titegroup is about = to Bullseye.

[muddocktor]

Yeah, I know what you mean, RW. During the last Great Powder Shortage I tried Win WSF and Longshot, as well as 700-X and found that the WSF worked really well in 9MM.The Longshot also works well in 9MM too, as well as making some nice mid-range loads in 357 and 44 and the 700-X works well in 380 Auto.

[boatbum101]

9mm match crowd like & use Power Pistol , WSF , HS-6 , VVN-330 & 340 . If you're looking for accuracy ditch the plated bullets . Barrel twist , chamber & bore dimensions will have major effects on what loads are accurate in your gun . It's also been found by the serious that new or 1x fired cases are the ticket . All the military teams have went to slower twist ( 1 in 32 ) , new brass , Hornady 115 gr XTP JHP or the Sierra 115 FMJ . 50yd 10 shot groups from a well built gun is often 1" or less on ocassion . As stated above if you're getting 2 - 3" @ 25yds it's a good load .

[patrickd]

Try some Hodgdon's Titegroup.

[apollo99]

patrickd, I agree just loaded 500 115 gr. FMJ 9mm,4.3 gr. Titegroup. I tried 50 rounds first and they shot great and the accuracy was very good. Should get 1627 rounds out of a pound, so it's a good value also.

[4barrel]

I bought a $500 Armscore 9mm 1911 last week and loaded 6 grains of PP with a 125 hard cast bullet sized to .356. It was getting late but I benched it with 9 rounds at 25 yards. The group was about 3 inches with 7 about 1 1/2 inch. No muzzle flash out of the ordinary and it shot point of aim. I am not a 9mm fan but it may grow on me. I already had the brass and mold and lead so $5 per 100 will be fun as soon I smooth the trigger a little. The OP is asking about PP.

[Mike, SC Hunter]

Way back when......I used 4.5 grs of reddot behind most any bullet and it worked great in my BHP......

[andy52]

Originally Posted by noylj

1) For me, Power Pistol is number one and Silhouette is #2

I've had some excellent results Ramshot Silhouette also it does like to be run hard it preforms well at near max standard 9mm to low +p, at least in my pistols.