AA #9 w/.357 Magnum Nosler 158's.

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Crashbox

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Howdy-

I was just curious if anyone has tried using Accurate Arms No. 9 powder with the Nosler 158-grain JHP (Stock No. 44841) bullets and if so, what your results were with this combination. The reason I'm asking is that I have two kegs on order and was originally intending to load some .44 Magnum Nosler 240-grainers with this powder but realized it may also be useful with the aforementioned .357 combination. Of course, I do realize that every firearm is unique...

For what it's worth, these will be fed in my Ruger SP101 3", GP100 4" and Scrutiny Six 6" barrel revolvers.

Thank you very much in advance.
 
I am an AA #9 fan, and really like it in .44 Mag also.

It works pretty well in .357 Mag but doesn't burn as clean at max, by the data, levels in .357 as it does in .44 Mag. Weird.
 
Another fan of #9 here as well. I load it under a variety of weights from 140gr up to 170gr. It doesn't seem to have the same bite to it that 2400 or 296 have when used with the heavier bullets.

Those I use over 158gr are all cast BTW. I have used it with them up into true magnum loads with no issues out of either of my 6" GP100's, and a couple of different length Contender barrels in .357. The leading issue however will rise up if your fit and lube aren't up to snuff. So far so good with both White Label Lube's Carnuba Red and powder coating all sized to .358".
 
AA9 is like IMR4227. Great under 240s in .44 mag, just so-so under 158s in .357.
 
I have loaded the Nosler 158gr jhp with #9 for many years, my Ruger 2.75" Security Six .357 mag. does well with 13.6gr of #9 with WSP or CCI 500. I had over pressure signs below 12.2gr.
#9 does ok in a Ruger RH 7.5" 44 Mag with 240gr jacked but I prefer H-110 or 300 MP with WLP.
 
Don't know about 158gr, but

I've used it for years under 180gr XTPs. My 6" GP loves it. I can crank a little more speed with H110/296, but my gun groups the AA#9 loads so well I don't worry about it. 6 whitetails without a glitch.
 
I load AA#9 with Hornady 158 XTP's. AA#9 is my favorite powder and I shoot the same loads in a 6" barreled pistol and lever action rifle. I load the 158 XTP's at 13.0 grains with CCI 500 standard primers. Accurate Arms has some data on-line.
 
AA#9 is similar to but a little faster than 2400 and load data is generally 1.0 gr less for AA#9 than 2400 for equal bullet weight. I really like #9 in the .357 mag with 158gr hard cast, using 12.2gr it will send the bullet out the muzzle of a 4" revolver at 1,240 fps. With jacketed 13.5 will work well for similar velocity.

I have also used it in the .41 mag with good results and a friend uses it in his 500 S&W.
 
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I like AA#9 with Nosler 158gr JHP, loaded a bunch abut a year ago. As noted there are better powders but I settled on a load that was plenty accurate, close to SteveC's data above. I have some chrony data posted about a year ago using XTP, higher ES than I would like but the accuracy didn't suffer much for the distances I normally shoot, 25yrds or less.
 
Thanks everyone.

Looks like AA #9 can be rather useful for the .357 but perhaps not ideal, although velocity isn't everything...

A semi-related question: how does the muzzle flash of AA #9 compare to, say, H110/W296 , Blue Dot or 2400? Equal? Less? Greater? (kinda doubt the last one!!) Just curious...
 
Looks like AA #9 can be rather useful for the .357 but perhaps not ideal, although velocity isn't everything...
Click to expand...
It's works really well for 357 Mag. my favorite all a round powder for the 357 is 2400. Accurate #9 works very well for 10mm if you don't have one now you have a excuse:)
 
I would like to ask the question, where are others finding AA #9. I thought it was discontinued.
 
Powder Valley had 8-lb. kegs the last time I checked. I haven't heard anything about it being DC'd (although the IMR "SR" series is no more...)-
 
Haven't shot enough H110/296 to comment and Blue Dot I've simply forgotten, but #9 flashes less than 2400 by far. Blue Dot has a reputation for flash, though.

If you care a lot about flash, I'd say compare #9 to 4227. I notice no flash from 4227 max loads in my .43 magnum, while 2400 produces a nice fireball.
 
That's also one thing about '4227 I noticed, no flash. H110/W296, however, produces a LOT of flash IME- similar to 2400 but more orange-y to me...
 
I forgot to add that if AA #9 lacks flash a la '4227, then it should work dandy for loading up some home defense rounds.

Thanks again everyone for your input on this. We have a skookum bunch of folks here at THR.
 
As others have said, AA#9 flashes a little less than 2400. AA#9 is my go to powder for jacketed bullets in 357 (158gr & 180gr) but for 158gr SWC lead I like 2400 the best.

With those Nosler bullets be careful not to crush the soft exposed lead portion of the bullet while seating. I had some inconsistant seating depths on my first batch as my seater die was not the right profile and smashed some more than others. I haven't needed to load another batch yet but when I do i will use some epoxy to make a better "plug" for the seater die.
 
I was doing some checking with QuickLOAD and it appears the seating depth for the Nosler 44841 may be in error. They show 0.475 inches and I measure 0.375± from the base to the center of cannelure. The listed depth produces some wild over-pressure loads!!

If others could verify this I would very much appreciate it. Thank you.
 
Crashbox said:
I was doing some checking with QuickLOAD and it appears the seating depth for the Nosler 44841 may be in error. They show 0.475 inches and I measure 0.375± from the base to the center of cannelure. The listed depth produces some wild over-pressure loads!!

If others could verify this I would very much appreciate it. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Interesting that you get such a low cannelure height on that bullet - I do not have any to measure myself, but Nosler's own data agrees that the seating depth should be 0.475!

Nosler is one of the very few companies that publish the bullet OAL, and they say that their 158g JHP measures 0.775. Does that agree with your measurement?

Nosler also publishes their own load data, which can be seen on their web site (no need to have a current book). Their load data shows the O.A.C.L. as tested to be 1.585", so if their published total bullet length of 0.775 is correct, then the seating depth of their published loads MUST be 0.475", just like QuickLOAD says. Actually, the math with case length of 1.290" as shown on their load data actually works out to 0.480" seating depth, which is even worse!.

If your personal measurements of the Nosler bullets do not match Nosler's published numbers, I'd suggest you contact them for clarification. As you noted, that difference could be dangerous in max loads.
 
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