I have 185 grain JHP Zero bullets and have conflicting data from 3 sources. For CFE Pistol Hodgdon has 5.5 grains (860 fps) starting and 6.3 (1005 fps) max. Hornady 10th addition has 6.8 grains (850 fps) starting and 8.0 grains (1000 fps) max. I also have Power Pistol powder and Hornady 10th has 6.1 grains (850 fps) starting and 8.9 grains (1050) max. My old Speer book has 8.2 grains (939 fps) starting and 9.5 grains (1047 fps) max.

Just has me concerned that Hodgdon has max load for jacketed 185 grain bullets at 6.3 grains of CFE Pistol and Hornady has starting at higher 6.8 grains of powder. And if I use Power Pistol for max at the same FPS there is a 1.1 grain difference. That seems to be a great difference for basically the same fps.

Looking to load some SHTF defense loads to stock the ammo safe so I do want some speed but also am concerned about damage to my pistols and and my self firing them.

Thoughts?

CFEp is still a rather new powder and the data is a little "Green" right now.

Just the other day I tested loads with CFEp in my 9mm pistol with two diferent type 124gr bullets
with loads higher than what was in three manuals.
I did get Full +P loads and flattened primers.......
but the loads were all in the safe fps for that bullet for my 5" weapon.

Just start with the lower charges to be safe and work up to more powder
if things work out for you.
I am sure that you can get higher fps, just that you need to test out this
new powder.

Have fun.

Hornaday is great to talk to. Call them and see if there might be a misprint.

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Front sight and squeeze

Well it seems I made an error in chart data I was looking at for Hodgdon and when I did find the correct chart the data was in the 7.1 to 8.1 range for CFE. My error. I did contact Hornady and they were very nice and helped me find my mistake. Thank you for the replies. Wooo hoooo! Back to work loading ammo.

It is always nice to.................

be on the right page, so to speak !!

Where are the target pictures....................... ??

Any time you are concerned with "conflicting data", start with the lowest data of the sources and work up a load.

I am just spending time at home loading right now. Most likely will not get to the range until next month. After I get these done I have some others to work on. I decided on .57 cc auto disk works out to 7.55968 grains of CFE Pistol powder. Should give respectable speed and enough room for differences in bullets, case mfg., primers, powder drop and crimp. I don't have a chronometer to check though. If I can remember I will post some pictures of a target.

Conflicting data when trying to tweek the upper end is why I choose the 45 ACP and am happy with the standard velo's. If my load functions the action 100%, that's good enough for me.

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"Don't Give Up the Ship"

Anytime I work with load data I triple check both the printed factory data (paper or online). If possible I check another reliable source to corroborate. Same checking continues with zero of powder measure and delivery of specified amount of powder to the case. Can't be too careful. The hand or gun you save may be your own.

Oooh Rah! And happy birthday. Mostly I run in the lower end of things because I am frugal. The less powder, and lowest cost bullets are what I use to make holes in paper or the such. Lower end is a check mostly in my experience to make sure the weapon cycles and the bullet stabilizes. I have even loaded them so low the bullet tumbles and key holes my target. Never had a problem on the starting number with it being too hot. For carry and home protection I use factory ammo. Don't need a lot. But I need something to do with my 1500 or so primers I bought long ago. Next is 7.62x25 then a couple of boxes of .44 Mag.

I have a sort of hierarchy for load data:

1. Powder manufacturer's recent data.
2. Bullet manufacturer's reloading data.
3. Third party manuals like Lyman's for cast bullets.
4. Internet opinions.

You did two things that so many new reloaders don't do -
(1) You bought a reloading manual - congratulations
(2) You bought more than one manual and compared data. No two manuals will give the same load because they use different bullets, primers, testing methods, etc. By having more that two (and the more the merry) you can compare date to pick a starting load or find errors in your interpolation. And here's another big piece of advice. Reloading manual printers do make mistakes. Comparing loads will find the outlier.

This is a case where a chronograph is a very useful tool

Start at the lowest starting load and work up.
You may only fire one or two rounds to determine cycling.
Load data is specific to gun tested and lot number of each component.
Powder has the largest lot-to-lot variation.
Did they use the same bullet? Are you using the same bullet?
Generally, the lower data works best for me.

No, velocity is not important excapt for action Pistol events.
What counts is reliability and accuracy. The best a chrono can do is save you a few rounds

AU CONTRAIRE...? Well, velocity most certainly can affect accuracy and reliability and is often quite important in achieving both: OP was looking for "some SHTF defense loads" and minimum powered "bunny farts" probably won't suffice...?

Cheers!

Don't look at just the powder charges. The brand of case used, the brand of primer used, the brand of bullet used, and the gun (or test barrel?) used are all part of the data. Since I know of no "officially" published data for Zero bullets (good bullets, by the way), load to SAAMI overall length, use the START load of the data you choose, and work up. I would suggest stopping when the load under test achieves full reliability and maybe going one-tenth of a grain higher. A plus would be if the load shoots to the sights. Maximum loads are, I think, meaningless unless you own a chronograph. All bullets of the same weight are not created equal.

Equality of Opportunity vs. Equality of Performance...?

That's the way of the world, IMHO...?

Years ago, before I knew better, I was using published data to work up 9mm loads. I often used data "A" for bullets "B" and "C" of the same weight. This was before I learned of things like bullet length, profile, and bearing surface. I thought nothing of the empties flying from the gun, landing 10-12 feet behind. The gun finally broke. Judged to be excess slide velocity and impact. It got fixed and I quit loading 9mm for several years. I eventually tried again, using the method I mentioned earlier, and had no issues. Learning curve. Just sharing my experience, for whatever it's worth.