Based only on the burn rate chart it's right there with Unique and Hp 38/W 231. States it's for "high performance" 9 and 40.?

I guess I do not know what a high performance 9 or 40 is??

I bought a bunch of Win Auto Comp (only because they were out of my go to HP 38, and I can not see much difference in it, other than you use a little more of it. It flows and meters great but nothing more than HP 38.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Basically +P loadings. Power Pistol is the propellant used by many major manufacturers to load several cartridges for semi-automatic pistols including 9mm, .45 ACP, .40 S&W, and similar cartridges. It produces the desired ballistic performance within the pressure standards for the various cartridges, and does it economically. Power Pistol has been used in the trade for many years and is referred to as Bullseye 84 in that context.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

Thanks.
I due know of +P loads, just never heard of them as high performance.

That is interesting about the commercial Bullseye 84. Are there any other powders that you know of that have crossed over from the commercial to general retail side use??

I found this, among others searching Bullseye 84

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Still Running Against the Wind

really good powder, I was really excited about it, but saw nothing superior to my old favorite AA#5

Just be warned, it's produces a lot of flash and it's on the loud side too.

AA#5, HS-6 and Longshot are similar powders but with less flash. (although Longshot is a little more flashy than the other 2)

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

If you load 9mm for a pistol caliber carbine Power Pistol is a great powder. It will always yield 100 to 300 fps increased velocity in a carbine over a pistol with 115 and 124 grain bullets. You will also get a slight or no increase in velocity with 147s too instead of the decrease you get with some powders in a carbine.

What the others said about flash and smoke is true - not so much IMHO about the noise though. Not the best powder for indoor range use or in low light tactical situations.

I use it in 40 and 10. Burns clean. Very factory like.

Power Pistol is an excellent choice for full power loads in 9mm, 40 S&W and similar cartridges for semi auto pistols. It burns fairly clean, meters very well and produces some muzzle flash much like other slower burning powders.

Works well for me in 9x18 Mak too.

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Andy

I HAVE USED IT A LOT IN 50YD 9MM LOADS. VERY ACCURATE, BUT THE FLASH . RECOIL, AND NOISE LEVEL, RULED IT OUT. I HAVE REPLACED IT WITH VV330 OR WSF.

VV330 EXPENSIVE BUT WORTH IT.
WSF MUCH CHEAPER THAT VV330, 1 NOTCH BELOW VV330

JIM P

What will Power Pistol do for you?

You'll grow at least four inches in height, increase your bench press by at least 100 lbs, men will fear you, women will want you, and your mom and dad will (still) love you.

Oh, you mean for your reloading? A great powder for full power 9mm Luger loads, but flashy in this application. Fully the equivalent of VihtaVuori 3N37, which I consider to be the best 9mm Luger powder for full power loads, except for Power Pistol's muzzle flash. YMMV.

I've good results with PP in .380 on up to .45acp under jacketed slugs.
not much luck with cast though. BEye or RDot beats it for cast slugs

I've been using it for 9mm competition loads. It is accurate and clean burning. I recently have loaded some high performance .38 SPL and .357 Mag. loads, but I have yet to try them out. I'm trying to duplicate the Speer 135 gr. JHP load for 2" revolvers.

I'm going to the store tomorrow!! My wife won't be pushing me around any more!

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Still Running Against the Wind

I've used it in several handgun cartridges, almost exclusively with cast bullets. While it provides good velocities and sometimes decent accuracy, I always seem to return to something like Bullseye, 231, etc. Velocities will often be lower than with Power Pistol but accuracy is almost always better.

I did just that 2 years ago with Power Pistol. Be prepared for a real nasty muzzle blast.

Power Pistol is the best powder I have used for semiautomatic pistol cartridges that are used in revolvers. In my 9mm Model 940 I can duplicate or exceed Cor-Bon factory loads without the brass sticking in the chambers. It will shoot jacketed 124 gr. bullets at 1180 FPS and 147 gr. bullets at 1080 FPS, all out of a 2" barrel. In my 625s I can get .45 Super performance with ACP brass. It will easily shoot 250 gr. jacketed bullets over 900 FPS in my 3" barrel. The flash can be severe in the dark or low light but the accuracy and velocity are very consistent.

I get mixed results when loading heavy .38 Special loads. Depending on what kind of 158 gr. bullet I use I get best results with Power Pistol or SR 4756. Usually SR 4756 wins, but for some reason Power Pistol generally comes out on top with plated bullets.

Dave Sinko

I use it pretty regularly, and like it quite a bit for .357 Mag (moderate loads), .38 Spl (+Ps), .380 (best velocities I've gotten - though I've given up on futzing with handloading .380s) and .45 ACP (+P - as Dave notes). It is flashy but it's accurate and seems to burn pretty clean. It meters better than Unique for me (makes me happy to use it through my RCBS Chargemaster 1500 - man, that's a stupid name) but you use a bit more.

So basically from what I have read so far, PP gives a bit more zip or zing to the load but with a lot more flash?

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Still Running Against the Wind

I've used it in .45 ACP and .44 S&W Special to get a bit more velocity out of heavy bullets and stay within pressure limits.

So, with having HP38, Win Auto Comp, Bullseye, Unique, H 110 and 2400, I guess I do not see a "need" to have any Power Pistol in my reloading lineup, it does not seem it is going to do much more or better than any of these powders.

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Still Running Against the Wind

In my opinion, despite what the burn rate charts say, Power Pistol is much slower than HP38 and a little slower than Unique. Everyone thinks Power Pistol is only for "high performance" semi-auto cartridges, and it works well in those applications, but to me, it really shines in big bore revolver cartridges.

In .44 Special and Magnum, and .45 Colt, it is SUPERB. Low recoil and pressure, greater velocity over HP38 and Unique.

I do not have increased flash in those cartridges, nor in .45 Auto (which it is also good for). However, in 9mm, yes there is quite a bit of flash.

Brian Pearce has shown excellent results using PP in his "Handloader" articles for revolver cartridges. I have not yet found a load he lists that did not shoot sub 2 inch groups at 25 yards, with greater velocity than other similar powder loadings.

Just to give you an example, I chrono'd the "Skeeter" load in .44 Special of 7.5 grains of Unique under a 250 grain LSWC, and got 975 fps out of my 5.5" barreled Blackhawk. Using 8.5 grains of PP, which gave similar recoil (maybe a touch less), I got 100 fps more. That's not max loading, either.

Here's a mid-range .44 Magnum load that works like a champ in my 629.



I recommend giving PP a try. Of the powders you have, it is closest to Unique. I prefer it over Unique, now. Meters a lot better, and is cleaner.

I did mention it was good in .45 Auto with cast bullets too, didn't I?

Thanks and nice shooting!. I shoot all those calibers and could certainly give it a try if I can find 1lb local. I do not use much Unique as it does not meter well in my Lee Pro disc.(it varies a lot) If I load individually with the RCBS powder measure it is a great powder.

There is only one place local that may sell it and that is Bass Pro, it is a long drive for me and I really don't care for the place. The 3 local gun shops are great but do not carry reloading essentials.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I use the Pro Auto Disk, too. PP meters like Bullseye through the Auto Disk. Looks like Bullseye, too. And it's cheap!

Cheap is always good

I will give Bass Pro a call, I am sure the boss can find some shopping places in the huge mall it's located near.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I agree with above posters. I used power pistol for about 300 loads to test it out vs imr 700x. (two powders I used) flash, recoil, noise were significantly higher then the 700x. accuracy seemed about the same IMO. No chronograph tho but Im sure the Power Pistol was higher.

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sw9ve, 24/7 pro Ds, Hs M4