BE-86 First Shoot

Hello
I picked up some BE-86 powder a while ago and had a chance to take it around the block a little.
I’ve seen some interest in finding out more about BE-86 as it looks like it hasn’t reached the shelves everywhere yet. So here is what I have so far.

Everything was shot at 25 yards. Circles 5½"
Data listed top down;

Velocity
Extreme Spread
Standard Deviation
Temp F°

First, .38 Special with 158gr Speer LRN;
Started with a ‘feeler’ load in a 4” 686 of 5.7grs. This was max for a 158gr jacketed bullet. Target #24.







Velocity was impressive.
Dropped down to 5.3grs. Target #6






Pretty good load.


Moving on to .40 S&W
Alliant’s recommended load of 6.6 grs with a 180gr jacketed bullet was less than spectacular in the 40F pistol. Didn’t care for it much at all. High velocity though. Target below #2.





I noticed chronographing 180gr FMJ factory loads, they all fall in the high 900’s. Must be a reason for that. I'll drop that load down some and see what happens.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f...erican Eagle 180 FMC_zpsbo39ttlw.jpg~original

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f218/rafswede/40 S-W/RemUMC 180grFMJ_zps3uvaaiiu.jpg~original

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f218/rafswede/40 S-W/Fed 180 FMC-FN_zps33kkqiec.jpg~original


But with a 155gr JHP in front of Alliant’s recommended load of 7.5 grs., it did much better. I had a chrono issue at that moment, but recall seeing velocities around 1150 fps.




In the 10mm Glock 20-SF I shot some 180gr FMJ and Alliant’s recommended load of 8.5 grs. Alliant lists a velocity of 1265 fps with this load. Well, didn’t quite get there.



After miking the cases it became clear that 8.5 grs is not nearly a max load for a 10mm. So, bumped it up in 0.2gr increments.



Case expansion indicated there was still some room to go.
I was also playing with some N350 which shot better groups overall with this bullet.

Also with the 10mm, I was shooting some Lyman #401043 cast bullets, that weight out at 170grs., out of a KKM 4.6” SS barrel.
BE-86 did pretty well here. Targets 2 and 3.



Someone said that BE-86 is in a class by itself. What I’ve seen so far I believe that is correct. It is a high energy powder with seemingly unlimited applications.
Putting a burning rate on it right now is difficult. Considering in the 10mm, I can safely shoot 9.0grs of Power Pistol behind a Hornady FMJ, but 8.9 grs of BE-86 with the same bullets gives less pressure indications that the 9.0 gr Power Pistol load.
So I believe burning rate will be a little different with each cartridge it is used in. We’ll see as more folks start using it.

Here is a very rough draft of a graph I've been working on which will provide a birds-eye view of how BE-86 compares with other powders of similar burning rate in the 10mm. Also at the bottom are some factory loads for comparison.



Well that’s about it for now. Winter is setting in around here so I don’t think I’ll be doing much more with handguns until spring.

Hopefully the ballistics labs that will contribute to subsequent loading manuals will properly vet this powder.

Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!

Outstanding work, RDub! I am looking forward to getting my Para P16 10mm conversion (new 6" Clark bbl. and some other mods) back from my 'smith soon, and this is very useful information!

Proving Exactly what I have been saying for a year.
Thanks for doing this.
I still cant believe Recobs cant sell out of it
I have said it before.
BE86 will be the next Bullseye/Unique combo for the future.
I have had BE 86 work on the low end, and I have had it work pushing it hard.
Depends on the pistol, but it does work, just have to find the right recipe.

Thanks for all the great info...............
that is a lot of work you have done there.

I have wondered how that powder was and where it fit in the burn rate. Looks like the fps are in the Unique rang, which is a good thing.

Now if I can only find some............

Thanks for that. My Recob's order which includes 4# of BE86 just happens to be "Out for Delivery" as we type.

I recently added a couple .44 Magnums and a .454 Casull to my inventory & was looking for a medium powder to load light target fodder.

Everything I've seen indicates that the BE86 is Unique-like but better metering & cleaner burning. I've seen more than one source that claims BE86 is Power Pistol with a flash suppresant.

Nevada Ed said:

Now if I can only find some............

Click to expand...

Here ya go...

Browsing ALLIANT

Yep, had to break down a order some new powders on-line.. The only way to get some presently..

Didn't try any BE-86 in .44 Mag.. Would be most interested in how it performs.

BTW here is what BE-86 looks like.



Glad to hear this was useful.

You will get the same results with the 357, and 44.
According to Alliant's manual you will come close or surpass
2400 in velocity in the 357, but will get close in the 44.
I use it as a target load in 44, not a full house.

I have been using BE-86 for over a year now. It has given me good results in several calibers from 327 FM to 45 Colt and excellent results in some. It is my favorite powder for mid range loads in the Magnums.

RDub said:

BTW here is what BE-86 looks like.

Click to expand...

Interesting. It looks so similar to Unique, I'm surprised to hear people say it meters so much better....

Here's a photo of BE86 & Power Pistol side by side... plus a writeup/data

Performance of Alliant's New BE-86 Pistol Powder - Shooting Times

Hey Fishslayer, thanks for sharing that. Haven't seen that write-up. It indicates BE_86 and Power Pistol are pretty close.

Curious though.. I haven't owned or worked with 45ACP for some time, so I'm out of school here, but I wonder why is Silhouette loaded a whole two grains hotter that BE-86?

Strictly a GUESS but maybe the author was just using bullet mfgr published data?

Since I'm using it for range fodder I'm just going to use Unique data as a starting point and see what puts the little holes closer together.

RDub said:

Curious though.. I haven't owned or worked with 45ACP for some time, so I'm out of school here, but I wonder why is Silhouette loaded a whole two grains hotter that BE-86?

Click to expand...

I have 1# of BE-86 which I haven't used yet. I was planning on using it for 230 gr FMJ (hardball) for my .45 auto.

According to the research I've done, the sweet spot for accuracy is around 6.7 gr (below the max load of 7.??). In comparison, sweet spot for Power Pistol is around 7.0 gr. My Unique accuracy load is 6.2 gr. From this info, my interpretation is BE-86 is somewhere between Unique and Power Pistol.

Note: I don't have any Power Pistol, and I haven't opened my can of BE-86 yet, so my opinion is based entirely on research I've read.

I really like power pistol it's been my "go to" for a few years now in 9mm. BE-86 looks like a versatile powder and a welcome addition to the pistol powder offerings we have today.

Finally snagged a M-1006 for a shooter, so the 10mm data is VERY interesting.

Glad to hear positive things about this powder since I stumbled across an 8 LB jug at my local Sportsman's Warehouse and decided to buy it.

8 LBs is a lot to be stuck with if it wasn't much good.

Mike