Found a pound of hp38 school me

It’s the same as Win 231.
It’s just rebranded.
Often you’ll see references as HP38/Win 231

it’s a common powder and used by many for many calibers.
It’s not my favorite but it works well.

Yup, same as W231. It'll work for what you are trying to do. Was my go to powder for 9mm for years.

-Jeff

"School me"

Okay. Look up the suggested charges on the Hodgdon site and go to work. Pay attention to COALand its effect on pressure with 9 mm.

HP 38 is all that I use on my 9MM's.

Bill M. said:

"School me"

Okay. Look up the suggested charges on the Hodgdon site and go to work. Pay attention to COALand its effect on pressure with 9 mm.

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Better yet: Check your reloading manuals for loads. You have them, right?

JO JO said:

HP38 ... 9mm 124gr targets load ... School me

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Since many types of bullets can vary in weight by around 1 gr or more, I interchange load data for 124 gr and 125 gr bullets.

Here are Hodgdon load data - https://shop.hodgdon.com/reloading-data-center

• 9mm 125 gr Lead CN W231/HP-38 Dia. .356" COL 1.125" Start 3.9 gr (1,009 fps) - Max 4.4 gr (1,086 fps)
• 9mm 124 gr Berry's HBRN W231/HP-38 Dia. .356" COL 1.150" Start 3.9 gr (920 fps) - Max 4.4 gr (1,037 fps)
• 9mm 125 gr Sierra FMJ W231/HP-38 Dia. .355" COL 1.090" Start 4.4 gr (1,009 fps) - Max 4.8 gr (1,088 fps)

Here's Speer lead load data - https://reloadingdata.speer.com/downloads/speer/reloading-pdfs/handgun/9mm_Luger_125.pdf

• 9mm 125 gr Lead RN HP-38 (Likely .356") COL 1.130" Start 3.9 gr (917 fps) - Max 4.2 gr (995 fps)

And here's Speer load data for TMJ which is thick plated bullet - https://reloadingdata.speer.com/downloads/speer/reloading-pdfs/handgun/9mm_Luger__124_rev1.pdf

• 9mm 124 gr TMJ RN W231 Dia. .3555" COL 1.135" Start 4.0 gr (887 fps) - Max 4.5 gr (998 fps)

So if you are looking for lighter target load, first determine the max/working OAL for your bullet type using the pistol/barrel/magazine.

If you are using lead/coated lead RN bullet sized larger at .356" that require shorter working OAL below 1.125", I would start out at 3.9 gr.

If you are using plated/jacketed RN bullet sized smaller at .355" that can be loaded longer at 1.135"-1.150", I would start out at 4.0 gr. You may find that accuracy could be optimized at 4.3 gr using shorter 1.135" OAL.

Kevin Rohrer said:

Better yet: Check your reloading manuals for loads. You have them, right?

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The powder companies will send you a free reloading manual if you go to the or site and request one.
Personally I always check their sites and the manuals especially in a new to me powder.

Love HP-38. Use it in .45 ACP exclusively. Never tried in 9MM though but it won’t let you down.

HP38/W231 is a great powder for 9mm.

HP38 is my powder of choice for 9mm.. Ramshot Silhouette or AA#@ for everything else pistol.

I use it for 380, 9mm, 45acp and 45 colt. Shoots well in all of them.

I love H38 for casual 9mm loads. I prefer H6 for full power as there's proportionally more margin for error in metering full house charges.

My H38 loads before I opted to reserve my remaining supply for. 38 cast, were near start loads, just fast enough to reliably cycle actions. I found them clean and accurate at such levels.

kmw1954 said:

HP38 is my powder of choice for 9mm.. Ramshot Silhouette or AA#@ for everything else pistol.

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Only reason, the HP-38 uses about .5gr less powder to achieve the same speed. Otherwise I see no difference. The HP-38 when fired from my 45acp Witness or my wifes 45acp XP we experience a lot more muzzle flash. Also the Ramshot is a little more consistent in the 45acp.

W231/HP-38 is a very versatile medium speed powder.
I use it in :
32 Auto
380 Auto
9mm
.38 S&W
.38 Special
45 Auto
45 Colt

Good for the 40 S&W and 44 Special too...

I used the Hodgdon data and worked up loads for my P226, ended up with a Rainier 124gr plated, 4.2gr of W231 at a 1.120” COL. That makes a comfortable minor PF and is an ok target load. It is not as light as it could be, if you’re looking for a really light target load. If you load a FMJ like the RMR FP MW, you’ll need a bit more powder to make minor.
W231 meters well, burns fairly clean, and produces good groups in my guns. Let us know how it goes. Good luck.

school you????

I use it in any non magnum handgun cartridge. It works very well in 38spl and 45 acp.

I use HP38 with cast 124's, 124g RMR MPR's, and am about to load some Berry's plated 124's with it. Lots of data out there. The RMR's and the cast have been loaded basically at minimum for my two Taurus 9mm's and cycle/group just fine for self defense practice blasting. I'm expecting the same result with the Berrys.

If you are asking for specific load data you will have to specify the exact bullet otherwise recommendations will be pretty general and your results may differ by quite a bit. Most importantly your barrel will tell you what it likes.

HP38/W231 as mentioned is a good powder for 9mm but for "target" it may not be the best in your gun. This powder can be pretty "dirty" at lower pressures. Although it produced stellar performance in 38 Special target loads it was really "dirty"! WST was very clean in my "target" semiautos!

Post #7 has covered your question very well!

Review: Good stuff, I have loaded most of my 9mm and much of my other non magnum ammo with W231, now HP38 because it is a bit cheaper under that label.

Recipe: All I will say on that is that I am loading 124 gr coated lead bullets at the Hodgdon starting load and getting a bit more velocity than they did. The last time I loaded 124 gr jacketed bullets, I was at their maximum by the time I got up to factory velocity.

JO JO said:

Was looking for options from someone that uses it and their review

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My opinion/experience with HP38/W231;
32 ACP, good.
380 ACP, good.
38 Special, good. (light to heavy loads bullets of everal different weights.).
9mm, good. (only tried in 124 JHP).
.357 Mag, good. (light bullet loads)
44 Special, good. (light bullet loads)
44 Magnum, good. (light loads, light bullets).

I use W231/HP38 mostly for lighter loads for a number of cartridges. It is a great powder.

Just follow published data and you will do well.