Blue Dot for 9mm 115g HP-Opinions?

[gerrym526]

I bought a can of Blue Dot, intending to load 357 mag with it. In looking through the Lyman reloading guide, found it was good for 9mm 147g FMJ rounds (my target range 9mm bullet)-with Lyman saying good results with heavier bullets-ie. accuracy. So, I loaded a bunch of 147 rounds and will be testing them this week at the range.
Since I already had the Blue Dot in my powder measure, I found Lyman showing it could be used for 9mm 115g HP, with fairly high pressures (27,000).
I will be loading the 115g HP next.
In looking at posts here, it's seems there are mixed opinions on Blue Dot, some positive, some negative.
What are your opinions on Blue Dot for lighter 9mm bullets. I'm somewhat concerned because my alternative powder for 9mm would be Bullseye, where the pressures are way lower than with Blue Dot.
My objective is always to reload my rounds for accuracy and handling (ie. how I shoot)-not to have the "hottest" loads on the range.
Your opinions on this are appreciated.
Thanks guys,
Gerry

 

[DanTheFarmer]

Hi Gerry,

I've had good luck with Bullseye in 9mm with 115 grain bullets. I've been using fmj's so not exactly what you're thinking about but close enough that I believe you are likely to have good luck developing a load to meet your criteria. Bullseye is definitely worth a try.

I've also got a pound of Blue Dot that I'm planning to use in my 9mm and 45 ACP. I'm doing this for fun of it more than anything else; Blue Dot is suppossed to be very flashy in these cartridges. I have loaded a few rounds of 45 ACP but my powder measure doesn't like Blue Dot. With other powders I can use a volume measure and spot check every 10th round. With Blue Dot I have to throw a weight below my target and then trickle in powder up to the target weight.

Good Luck,

Dan

 

[Steve C]

I have loaded 115gr Remington JHP on top of 8.0grs of Blue Dot. BD fills the case and the load seems slightly compressed. The load chrono'd at 1,224 fps from my Beretta 92 and is accurate. The only down side is the amount of powder used vrs faster powders.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Blue Dot is a mighty slow powder for 9mm. Can you make it work? Probably, but there are a ton of better choices out there.

 

[JLDickmon]

thing you have to remember, is what Blue Dot was developed for..
magnum loads in shotguns.

That being said, it's usable in the 9mm because of the pressures it operates at.
But, you can get nearly the same velocities out of Power Pistol at 2-ish grains less in charge weight.. and PP is a stitch cleaner, because Blue Dot likes to burn dirty at less than max loads.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I got away from it like thirty years ago. You pretty much have to fill the case to the tippytop for not even astounding numbers or performance. Powder gets flung/spilled unless you load/seat singly and are very careful.
Been using Red-Dot for many years.. about perfect case fill.. no way to double charge essentially (it's pretty "fluffy" for its weight) and generally nowhere being filled with good performance.
I say BD isn't worth bothering with in the 9.

 

[Mike 27]

I use BD for 10mm, and some 44mag stuff. Never considered it for 9mm or 45acp. I use Bullseye with very good results in both of them and a pound for those calibers lasts for a while. I really don't know how well it will work for those applications.

 

[rcmodel]

IMO:

Blue Dot is too slow for 115 9mm.

And Bullseye is way too fast.

There are many better choices in medium burn rate powders then either of them for the 9mm with a 115 grain bullet.

Unique, Power Pistol, HS-6, heck even W231 would all be better.

rc

 

[clone]

Blue dot is excellent in 9mm for Carbine loads.
There will be a lot of unburned powder and a large flash from a pistol though.

 

[colonelhogan44]

It has an awesome flash. I've used it with cast bullets, and it leaded the barrel much less than the faster powders.

 

[Certaindeaf]

It has an awesome flash. I've used it with cast bullets, and it leaded the barrel much less than the faster powders.

I made myself chuckle looking for the "then" RC style but doing a double take.
nevermind

 

[colonelhogan44]

Sorry, I'm fluent in written English.

Especially for someone holding a BS in mechanical engineering.

 

[Certaindeaf]

^
It was an inside joke only to me. no slight intended, sir

 

[colonelhogan44]

None taken. I too have seen the poor usage of then/than.

Our language is slowly falling apart into gibberish thanks to texting and such.

 

[Certaindeaf]

^
Ah, I think it's a purposeful affectation in this singular case for whatever reason.

 

[dgod]

I have (And Continue) to load 9mm, .357, .45ACP, .45LC, 5.56, all with Blue Dot. I have used it since 1980 and always had superb results. Now I also use other powders for different desired results, but Bluedot is a great powder.

Dan

 

[hAkron]

I had poor luck with BlueDot in low/mid 10mm. Mid/Low range 357 sig did very well with it.

 

[HOWARD J]

A while back I read not to use Blue Dot with 125 gr bullet in 357 mag.
I used to use this load all the time--never noticed any problem.
Does this still hold ???????????