9mm powder

[RustyFN]

I am just starting to reload. Everything will be 9mm for now. I was going to buy some plated bullets and some jacketed bullets 115 grain and 124 grain. I am looking at Unique, Bullseye and HS-6 and wanted to know what everybody thought. Any suggestions on a preferred powder would be appreciated.
Rusty

 

[Hazzard]

I've used unique and it works well, but is kind of dirty. A lot of unburned powder no matter what charge I was using. Nothing wrong with it other than that. Have you thought about universal clays? I find it accurate and it is very clean for me. It's what I currently use for 9mm.

 

[benedict1]

Unique

I use Unique--4.7 gr with 124 gr plated bullet. Shoots nice and I don't get the unburned powder that some people complain about with more charge weight.

What pistol? I shoot mine in a Kimber 9mm. Spring weight will be a factor for you depending on gun and load. You'll know when it's too light because the pistol won't cycle.

Just be very careful with Unique or any flake powder if you are trying to load less than about 4 gr--doesn't meter well. In my Lee Auto Disk Pro at 4.7 gr it is an near perfect as I could want. Under 4 gr. and it becomes inconsistent.

Unique will also generally weigh less than your Auto Disk instructions suggest--you just have to find a cavity that will throw what you want--that's why you have the scale, so you can check it. Each lot of powder will be different.--

With ball powders you can go to smaller charges with good consistency because they flow better.

 

[MCgunner]

I shoot bullseye for most loads and Unique for my hot +P ammo. Bullseye is slightly more economical than Unique, but Unique gives the best velocities with 115 grain stuff.

 

[RustyFN]

Thanks, I'm going to Cabelas in the morning with a friend and this helps a lot. I think I will buy one pound each of Universal, Unique and Bullseye.

Benedict1,
I will be shooting these in a CZ 75BD Police. I think the only thing I need to do different from my list is buy a digital scale. I can see now where it will be a lot easier and faster than the Lee safety scale. I have done a few searches and didn't find anything on this. The Berrys plated bullets are .356 and jacketed are .355, so do I need to use the load data from lead bullets or jacketed? Thanks,
Rusty

 

[robctwo]

I've used a lot of HS6. Seems pretty clean. Recently started using some Clay's as well.

 

[benedict1]

Use lead data for the plated bullets--see Berry's website.

Good to try a couple of powders, just make darned sure you never mix them up in your powder measure! Good practice--after each reloading session dump the unused powder back into the container it came from. Can't be too careful.

 

[Ditchtiger]

Bulleye has always been a good powder, Red Dot is a fair shooter also

 

[RustyFN]

I just got back from Barry's web site and found it in FAQ. They said to load in the middle rage of jacketed. I am going to try to keep them under 1100 FPS. I will let you know how everything goes. I guess once I get started I will find out if my dies are set up correct or not. I have been warned by all the great minds not to over do it so here is my plan. I am going to load 20 rounds each of a lot of different loads. Shoot them in groups of five and find out what works best and then fine tune from there. Once I find the best round for my gun then I might go a little crazy. Thanks,
Rusty

 

[WayneConrad]

I've got three loads in my record book for 9mm 124 gr plated RN. OAL for all is 1.100". The bullets are X-Treme (formerly West Coast).

AA#2, 4.0 gr. Smoky and dirty. Meters well.
Unique, 5.3+ gr. Dirty. Meters slightly irregularly.
HS-6, 6.3 gr. Clean, meters well. My current favorite.

All of these loads are a few tenths of a grain below book max. for jacketed bullets.
+ means "compressed" (there's enough powder in the case that seating the bullet squishes it down).

 

[huntershooter]

I run HS-6 with 124 gr. JHP/FMJ. Great accuracy, upper end velocity potential.

 

[Wags]

Over the years I've mainly used Unique powder and been happy. I am currently stocked up with Accurate ball powder. It burns fairly clean and throws consistantly.

 

[GSPKurt]

I like Universal for .38 and 9mm.

 

[JDGray]

HS6, Universal, Clays, Power Pistol, All good for me

 

[Jake in TX]

I use 4.5 grains of Red Dot, with 124 grain Rainier plated round nose bullets.

Jake in TX

 

[kart racer]

I use unique and power pistol.Power pistol is impressive.

 

[aka108]

Satisfied with Accurate NO. 7.

 

[GunAdmirer]

I use Bullseye for lighter range loads and Power Pistol for heavier loads.

I find Bullseye residue easy to wipe away with just a cloth. Some say its dirty, but I haven't found that to be true in 9mm.

I use 4.2 grains of Bullseye with a Berry's 124 grain plated round nose bullet seated to an OAL of 1.150" for range plinking and IDPA use. Light recoil and plenty accurate. I get around 1,050 fps out of my 9mms with this load.

I use 6.2 grains of Power Pistol with the same configuration as above for about 1,180 fps. Power Pistol burns clean and makes a loud bang and big flash.

I would like to try something with about the same burn rate as Unique, but I'm pretty happy with what I have developed so far. Be sure to work up your loads carefully.

 

[Sistema1927]

Another good powder for 9mm is W231 (same as HP38). Since this is a ball powder, it meters well, and produces consistent results.

 

[armoredman]

Another vote for Accurate - use #2, #5, and #7, in my CZ PO1 and CZ PCR. Good stuff!

 

[gandog56]

I found that Unique does not work too well with my Lee Auto-disk Powder Measure. I was not getting consistant weight throws. I got much better results with HS-6 and HP-38. Am currently making a batch with Winchester 231 just to try it out.

 

[benedict1]

gandog56

What charge weights were you trying to throw with Unique? It is not recommended to throw anything less than about 4 gr or use a cavity smaller than .4 cc. This goes for any flake powder--Red Dot, Green Dot, etc.

See my post above for Sept. 29

 

[Hazzard]

gandog56

I never had problems with powder throw using Unique in my Lee autodisk with an adjustable charge bar. As benedict1 suggested, perhaps your charges were a bit light for the measure?

 

[kansas45]

I like Power Pistol the best for my 9mm re-loads. I also use W231 a lot with lighter bullets. I have found that Unique in small loads is hard to meter & really isn't better than the others I mentioned.

 

[RustyFN]

Thanks everybody for all of your input. Wow, a lot of choices. I started with Bullseye and HS-6. I am going to try those and later on get some Unique and maybe Tite group.
Rusty