CFE Pistol-Has Anyone Used It?

[Ben_hutcherson]

I checked in with a local shop that I buy a lot of powder from, and was told that they would be getting some of this in next week.

Has anyone used it yet? Looking around the net, I can't find any reports. I checked the Hogdon load data for several of the calibers I shoot, and it looks to, at least weight wise, load in the same ballpark as Unique. Hogdon seems to have a fair bit of load data for it, too.

My curiosity will get the better of me, I have no doubt, and I'll likely pick up a pound of it just to see if I like it.

I was also told that this shop had ordered some BE-86(along with a bunch of other Alliant powders) and that it was supposed to arrive in mid-April. That's another one that I'll definitely try out when it comes in.

 

[venomballistics]

hate to disappoint, but at the day .. its just another powder.
CFE pistol doesn't make a lot of sense to me. no pistol generates a velocity to justify it.
BE 86 makes a good bit more sense as its claim to "flame" is its reduction there of which reduces muzzle flash. at the indoor range ... that'll be great.

 

[Bkreutz]

Given the current powder condition, I'd be happy to test it. . Honestly, I've seen the magazine write ups about it but have never seen it for sale (or listed). I'll believe it when I see it. (I might even try it).

 

[tlay]

I have to agree. I use the CFE for 223/5.56 and it works really great. But this is a bullet that has enough speed to coat the barrel with copper. If the CFE powder is no more expensive than some of the other pistol powders, I would buy it just because it meters well and throws a consistent charge. But I don't see the point in a pistol.

 

[MichiganScott]

hate to disappoint, but at the day .. its just another powder.
CFE pistol doesn't make a lot of sense to me. no pistol generates a velocity to justify it.
BE 86 makes a good bit more sense as its claim to "flame" is its reduction there of which reduces muzzle flash. at the indoor range ... that'll be great.

I'm in agreement that the CFE part really doesn't matter, but like the BE-86 the OP mentioned, it is one of the newer high energy powders. If someone is interested in an extra 50-75FPS without jacking up pressures, it's worth a try.

I still load PB and 700-X, so I doubt I'll try it.

 

[venomballistics]

I'm in agreement that the CFE part really doesn't matter, but like the BE-86 the OP mentioned, it is one of the newer high energy powders. If someone is interested in an extra 50-75FPS without jacking up pressures, it's worth a try.

I still load PB and 700-X, so I doubt I'll try it.

Yeah ... till you look at the pressure listed and see where the extr 50 to 75 isccoming from

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Try it? I have never even seen any!

I agree using a CFE powder in a handgun is more a gimmick than necessity. That doesn't mean it won't be a good performing powder though. I think AutoComp is a good powder and probably does the same thing as CFE-pistol but for the CFE part....

 

[MDaly]

CFE Pistol is not out yet. It is delayed due to the same factors that are in play regarding powder availability of all powders.

Mdaly

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

I agree that the CFE part sounds gimmicky. Even shooting jacketed bullets in 357 and 44 magnum, I don't get any more copper build-up than regular old Hoppes #9 can handle.

I'm still going to try it, though, as it is a new powder on the market that can be used for cartridges I load. As mentioned above, any powder being available these days is a good thing. I'll report back assuming a. it actually comes in next week as promised, and b. I buy some and get a chance to try it.

I too am really a lot more excited about BE-86, and am hoping it comes in mid-April as promised.

 

[roughedgekid]

I'm going to pick some up tomorrow and try it.If nothing else its pistol powder and thats better than nothing.

 

[nawilson]

The Hogdon manual/magazine lists some interesting velocities, but the copper cleaning part seems like a gimmick.

 

[chasman52]

I just ordered some. It's pistol powder that ,I hope, will meter well. Besides , I don't have any actual pistol powder right now. I'll post a followup when I get to load with it.

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

I can report that I have a pound of CFE Pistol in my hands.

I'll try to get some loaded up and report back here on it as soon as I can.

As I said, I'm not super excited about the copper removing part, but none the less I'll try to come up with some sort of experiment to test that out anyway.

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

I loaded up 50 rounds in 357 magnum with some Berry's bullets, although I kept things at the low end of load data so as to avoid driving the plated bullets too fast.

The felt recoil was similar to the Unique loads I use with this same bullet(and that I was trying to replicate) when shot through my 6" 28-2. I was at an indoor range, so was not able to set up the chronograph. The report does seem a bit "sharper" than the Unique loads I was comparing it to. It also gave me about as much muzzle flash and barrel/cylinder gap flash as the comparable Unique load.

As for the CFE part-I wasn't expecting much copper fouling anyway, and there seems to be very little. I'm probably going to try loading some max loads with lightweight jacketed bullets and shooting them out of my 357 rifle to see if the "CFE" part is true. It does seem to be relatively clean burning, at least.

 

[Nemo288]

I, too, am a little mystified at the burning rate they chose for this powder.
It would make more sense in a true magnum revolver powder like 2400, H110, or 4227.
I DO get copper deposits in my Encore shooting 44 bullets at 1800 fps (or more) using 4227.
But as everyone says, not so much in any revolvers.

If anyone knows the chemistry of how the CFE works, I would be interested.
I seem to remember something about there being tin involved,
the theory being that it combines with the copper and hardens it
to the point where it is more brittle and can be fired off by the next round.

===
Nemo

 

[Alk8944]

On 2-26-14 I received the following e-mail response from
Alliant concerning BE-86. I seriously doubt the
situation will be any different by mid-April.

"Right now the BE-86 has only been available to the
ammunition manufacturers. It has not as of yet been
released to the public as its demand has been extremely
high from the ammo companies."

 

[curlysir]

Picked up some of the CFE Pistol at a gun show today. Didn't know much about it except it said on the container it was for 9MM, 38 Super, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP. That was good enough for me as I hadn't seen any power for pistol on the shelves is a while. Got home and did some research and it does appear to be potentially a good powder.