H110 in 9mm Luger

Pressure isn’t the only parameter in this game. 357mag and 44mag are far larger cases, proportionate to their bullet weight, than the 9mm.

H110 is to slow and bulky for 9mm. It's almost too slow for 357 Mag.

Useable case volume too small. You couldn't drop enough powder for any useable velocity.

The slowest powders I have used for 9mm is HS-7 and 3N38. Both are faster than H110/w296 and are already compressed loads.

mcb said:

H110 is to slow and bulky for 9mm. It's almost too slow for 357 Mag.

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It's perfect for 357. I burned a lot of it in my 357s.
Fire ball, very high velocity, very accurate, and a concussion that wakes the dead. What more can you ask for?
I totally agree with the 9mm being too low capacity.

Powder needs resistance to burn properly. A 9mm bullet doesn't have enough mass and friction in the bore to build up pressure with slow powders.

Bfh_auto said:

It's perfect for 357. I burned a lot of it in my 357s.
Fire ball, very high velocity, very accurate, and a concussion that wakes the dead. What more can you ask for?
I totally agree with the 9mm being too low capacity.

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The fireball and concussion is due to it being a touch too slow. A modest % of the powder charge burning in open-air in front of the muzzle, after the bullet has already left the barrel. No doubt its a common powder for magnum revolver cartridges. But I have found I can achieve similar velocities with slightly faster powders and then I don't have all that obnoxious muzzle blast and flash. If I was loading 357 Magnum for a carbine then H110 would be a good choice, but for a pistol I find it too slow and use other powders. I save H110 for 410 shotgun shells and 450 Bushmaster.

Magnum revolver powder charges are rarely chosen for combustion efficiency, but rather for bullet velocity. Rightfully so.

Check out this thread:
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/has-anyone-ever-used-h110-in-9mm.589042/
According to what's posted, you'd get about 900 FPS (with a 5% compressed load) and only about 40% powder of your powder would actually burn (per quickload).

I think it would be flat dangerous.

Google "Secondary Explosion Effect" (S.E.E.).

Swampman said:

Google "Secondary Explosion Effect" (S.E.E.).

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Which is a phenomenon that occurs when loading the aforementioned slow powder in a large case, that it was intended for, at very low charge weights.

Or are you saying the same type of thing can happen here?

Based upon the QuickLoad data I would think it would belch half of it on the ground and catch my grass on fire.

I know wouldn’t want to be the one holding the pistol for either of these events...

PO2Hammer said:

Powder needs resistance to burn properly. A 9mm bullet doesn't have enough mass and friction in the bore to build up pressure with slow powders.

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This argument doesn't hold water. The same could be said of the 357 Magnum, since they use the same bullet weights.

Slow powders like H110/296 are also used very effectively in the 22 Remington Jet, 327 Federal Magnum and 7.62X25 Tokarev, which have much lighter bullet weights.

mcb said:

The fireball and concussion is due to it being a touch too slow. A modest % of the powder charge burning in open-air in front of the muzzle, after the bullet has already left the barrel. No doubt its a common powder for magnum revolver cartridges. But I have found I can achieve similar velocities with slightly faster powders and then I don't have all that obnoxious muzzle blast and flash. If I was loading 357 Magnum for a carbine then H110 would be a good choice, but for a pistol I find it too slow and use other powders. I save H110 for 410 shotgun shells and 450 Bushmaster.

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It’s funny you should say that because after shooting my max H110 loads from a 6” revolver, I was a little disappointed in the velocity and a little taken aback by the concussion and fireball. They kicked butt from my lever action, but not so much from the revolver.

May I ask your preferred 357 powder? I’ve been thinking about AA#9 but I think it might be a touch too slow also.

fxvr5 said:

This argument doesn't hold water. The same could be said of the 357 Magnum, since they use the same bullet weights.

Slow powders like H110/296 are also used very effectively in the 22 Remington Jet, 327 Federal Magnum and 7.62X25 Tokarev, which have much lighter bullet weights.

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It is true in a way. Modern smokeless powder's burn rate is proportional to pressure. If you can't generate pressure the powder burns poorly. (Pour a small line of H110 out on concrete and light one end it will take seconds to burn to the other end, no pressure) H110 works in 357 Magnum because you can have enough powder (surface area) in the larger case to generate sufficient pressure to get it to burn properly. In 9mm you can't get enough H110 (thus surface area) to generate pressure fast enough to get the pressure up before the bullet exits. Also H110 tends to work best with heavy for caliber 357 mag loads that are typically heavier than loaded in 9mm.

460Shooter said:

May I ask your preferred 357 powder? I’ve been thinking about AA#9 but I think it might be a touch too slow also.

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I don't have a favorite, yet. I'm in the testing phase. Could be a while.

lack of case volume. h110 powder burns too slow for the available volume. h110 was designed by the military for the 30 carbine cartridge that operates @ 40,000 c.u.p. max pressure. just looking at the 30 carbine case will show that there is a relatively large case volume for a relatively small bullet. the 9 mm cartridge uses the same size bullet with a much reduced case volume. there is just not enough room for this powder in the 9mm.

hs7 is a different story. this powder has a bit slower burn rate and has a very high load density (so you can fit a heavier charge in that little case). I have loaded 124 xtp bullets ahead of a large charge of hs7. muzzle velocity for the top load was 1450 fps out of my bhp. don't try that at home because that load is way over pressure (didn't hurt the gun, though).

bluedot works well for top (legal) loads in the 9mm luger cartridge.

luck,

murf

460Shooter said:

It’s funny you should say that because after shooting my max H110 loads from a 6” revolver, I was a little disappointed in the velocity and a little taken aback by the concussion and fireball. They kicked butt from my lever action, but not so much from the revolver.

May I ask your preferred 357 powder? I’ve been thinking about AA#9 but I think it might be a touch too slow also.

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2400 is THE powder for 357 Mag. Others around the same speed work but it has been the benchmark for years. I believe the original round was developed with 2400. Yes, good results can be had with other powders all depends on if you want true "mag" loads or something else.

But this belongs in another thread not a 9mm thread which H110 is not the powder for,

Rule3 said:

2400 is THE powder for 357 Mag. Others around the same speed work but it has been the benchmark for years. I believe the original round was developed with 2400. Yes, good results can be had with other powders all depends on if you want true "mag" loads or something else.

But this belongs in another thread not a 9mm thread which H110 is not the powder for,

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Sorry. Wasn’t trying to derail. It’s just the first time I think I’ve heard someone say it isn’t optimal for 357 and it validated what I experienced.

Back to the 9mm.

Some things just don't go together and H110 in 9mm is one of them. For a host of reasons, all mentioned above.

Accurate #7 has worked well for me in 9x19 Luger, I have not tried Blue Dot with this cartridge, but it may do well.
H-110 in 9x19 seems like a poor choice.
I have had good results with a 185gr coated FNFP in a Rossi 357 mag lever action 18" barrel with IMR 4759, so who knows.

I have used some H110 in 9X25 Dillon with 124 grain bullets. It is almost too slow in that application & I stick with Longshot in that round.