Best Powder

[RugerSteve]

Is there an agreeable choice made by many, of a particular powder that is a good choice for 9mm in both 115gr plated or coated, and 124 plated or coated, both RN & FP?

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Unique would be my choice due to available data. BE-86 would be my second choice. Data is limited. You would like have to work up your own.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

It used to be there were too many powders to choose from. In today's market my advice is to look in your manuals, write down a list of the powders there are loads for, then go to the gun shop and see what is available. A year ago you might have found one choice. Now you might find 2 or 3.

 

[LiveLife]

My recommendation would be - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=744995

1. W231/HP-38 (same powder) - Meters well and due to moderately fast burn rate, can produce milder recoil than faster burn rate powders.

2. Bullseye/Titegroup - Meters well and fast burning so snappier recoil but can produce slightly more accurate loads than W231/HP-38.

3. N320 - Many match shooters consider N320 "the" 9mm powder for clean burn and accuracy.

4. Unique/BE-86 (similar burn rate powders) - Moderate burn rate allow these powders to produce higher velocities. BE-86 meters well due to small granule size similar to Bullseye/Power Pistol and has become my new favorite powder for 40S&W. Unique has not metered well for me but Lee's new powder measure may change that - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9874989#post9874989

5. Red Dot/Promo (same burn rate powders) - Although fast burning with large flake size powders which meter with .2+ gr variance, they are my designated plinking load powders as I use the same 4.0 gr charge for 124/125 gr 9mm, 180 gr 40S&W and 200 gr 45ACP lead loads. They work well for plated and jacketed bullets also and while burn dirtier than other powders, can produce accurate loads.

6. WSF - Moderately slower burn rate powder that meters well. I use it for full power loads and Speer Gold Dots with higher velocities.

 

[moxie]

I've had great results with Bullseye. Works great in 9mm. I've not tried BE-86 yet but if I see a pound I might be tempted.

 

[Schwing]

I have had the best luck with Unique and Bullseye. I have also used Power Pistol with good results.

 

[Blue68f100]

Since I reload on a AP a powder that meters accurately. Which leaves out Unique. WSF is my go to powder for the 9mm. I don't like high density powders like TG. Such a narrow load range and can be moody.

But in today's world you may have to use what you can find. But the supply chain is getting better.

 

[Toprudder]

I like Power Pistol and BE-86 in 9mm (and 40 as well).

I have some WSF I have not tried in 9mm. Add that to my list.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Since I reload on a AP a powder that meters accurately. Which leaves out Unique..

I have no trouble metering Unique with my LnL AP. I have ran at least 25 lbs thru it since I have had the machine.

 

[fatal wound]

Any powder that gets the bullet down range is good.

 

[oneounceload]

I have used (and liked):
Bullseye
Win 231
Unique
Universal Clays (now just called Universal)
Clays
Titegroup

Universal was the cleanest burning and tied for accuracy with Bullseye in MY guns.

 

[JO JO]

I agree with Idea above to make a list of what you want
to try and go to the man store and see what you can find
most likely the choice will be made for you as not all powders are easy to find getting a bit better but still limited stock out there.
Over the last few years of supply shortages I have tried
different powders that I normally would not of bought and I noticed for handgun they all worked for the most part just fine for target practice stuff follow published load data work up some loads, I do avoid fast burn powders but that me.

 

[CZ9shooter]

Power Pistol is my choice for middle-of-the-road to full power 9mm loads with plated or jacketed bullets. Meters very well and has displayed above average accuracy. It works pretty well with coated bullets too, just not my top pick. I like WST for that, even though data is tough to come by.

 

[Average Joe]

Another vote for Power Pistol in 9mm. Meters well and burns really clean.

 

[Dudedog]

My favorites are
1. Universal (have not seen any for wuite a while.
2. HP38, SR7625 (7625 is discontinued I believe.)
3. Titegroup
In about a tie for 4th,
BE86, WSF, Bullseye, Promo, Power Pistol, SR4756 (4756 is discontinued I believe)
N320 (liked it but not worth the extra cost IMO)

Will miss the to SR powders.

If your after heavy or max loads Longshot works great in 9mm, works for medium loads, just not as well as others.

I like the way Unique shoots but for me it just does not meter well in 9mm size charges so I prefer to use something else. For me Promo actually meteres better in my Lee Pro disk.

 

[cfullgraf]

I currently use True Blue in my 9x19 loads but in the past i have used many of the powders already listed.

Look in your manuals for choices and see what's on the shelves at the stores.

 

[GLOOB]

Is there an agreeable choice made by many

There are so many different fast to medium pistol powders for what you need, really just take your pic. Unless you have a specific goal you are shooting for, there are probably 30 different powders you could use and not tell a difference.

 

[savanahsdad]

I've used most of what is listed above , but for a all around powder for plated, FMJ,s HP's and cast , I have found AutoComp works great for any 9mm load , funny thing is I got it for 45acp, works great with 45 SWC, but the rest of my 45acp loading is done with Bullseye , for +p 9mm I use HS-6 ,

 

[PO2Hammer]

My favorite for 9mm is Universal. Meters very well, not too fast, good load density.

 

[Walkalong]

There are many good powders for the 9MM. What application?

There are a great many W-231 & Unique users for a reason however.

I am using N320 and a plated bullet for my casual target/plinking load.

 

[cheep]

I've used Unique and now am using AA#5-that stuff goes a long way.

 

[mgmorden]

For 9mm I've used:

Bullseye: No real complaints.
Unique: Doesn't meter as well - slower burning.
Titegroup: Good powder, but burns too hot to use with cast lead.
Power Pistol: Too slow burning for the light target loads I generally like.
IMR 700-X: Metered horribly. Not so bad that I couldn't use it, but it had a lot of variance between throws.

I tried (unsuccessfully) to use Ramshot Competition and Red Dot. Red Dot just wouldn't meter for me well enough. Competition I was like 0.5gr over the maxt listed load and the load still wasn't powerful enough to cycle my gun. I was able to get some good .45 ACP loads for the Ramshot Competition and will probably end up using the Red Dot for the same purpose.

Personally, I've come to prefer Bullseye out of everything I've tried. I'm anxious to give AA #2 a try too but I've never found it on the shelf at a time when I needed powder.

 

[LiveLife]

mgmorden, why no W231/HP-38?

My experience with Unique is similar to yours but you should definitely try BE-86. To me, it is the modern day Unique that meters like Bullseye/Power Pistol and produces very accurate loads.

With RMR HM 124 gr RN bullet and 5.2 gr of BE-86, I am getting sub 2" shot groups at 25 yards using G22 and KKM 40-9 barrel - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9655361#post9655361

 

[Zendude]

Unique and Bullseye are all I have used. I prefer Bullseye because it meters better, as others have said. My Hornady manual has 9mm 124 grain FMJ recipes for HS-6, Blue Dot, Accurate No.7, Power Pistol, AutoComp, and IMR SR-4756 but I haven't tried any of these.

 

[mgmorden]

mgmorden, why no W231/HP-38?

No particular reason - just haven't gotten around to trying it. If I was at a point where I was buying powder and it was available I'd get it in a heartbeat.

I will probably give BE-86 a try as well if I can find some.