CFE Pistol vs. HP-38

[Buck13]

Lest the BATFE follow through with their little plan to make shipping powder onerous, I plan to order all I need for the foreseeable future.

My favorite fast powder for lead and target loads has been HP-38, but on paper it looks like CFE Pistol is roughly interchangeable. Any points for or against switching to CFE? Mainly looking at .38/.357 and .44, some 10 mm, *maybe* 9 mm in the future.

 

[LiveLife]

No, CFE Pistol is slower burning than W231/HP-38 and not suitable for lighter target loads W231/HP-38 is better suited for.

CFE Pistol is more on par with WSF/AutoComp in burn rate - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=10271016#post10271016

Faster burning pistol powders:

E3 - Competition - Nitro 100 - N310 - R1 - Ba10 - S011 - Sparta 100/DO13-01

No. 2 - Bullseye - Clays - WST - Red Dot/Promo - 700X - TiteGroup - Solo 1000 - Am. Select - International - Trail Boss - PB - N320 - AS - Ba9 1/2, Ba10 - Prima V/SV - Clean Shot/D032-03

W231/HP-38 - Zip - Green Dot - SR7625 - N32C - 206V - A1 - S020


Slower burning pistol powders:

Unique - Universal - BE-86 - Power Pistol - N330 - Ba9 - Ultimate Pistol/D036-07

No. 5 - HS6 - WSF - AutoComp - CFE Pistol - Herco - Sillouette - 800X - True Blue - N340 - 3N37 - D-20 - A0 - Auto Pistol/D036-03

No. 7 - SR4756 - Blue Dot - Long Shot - N350 - SP2 - Ba7 1/2 - Major Pistol/D037-01

No. 9 - Enforcer - W296/H110 - 2400 - Steel - SR4759 - H4227 - Lil'Gun - 3N38 - R123 - SP3 - Ba6 1/2 - Heavy Pistol/D037-02

 

[Buck13]

Ah. They looked pretty close in the .357 data, but looking at .38 Special, I see the difference. I have heaps of Longshot and some Universal and WSF, so I guess I should stick with HP-38.

 

[Sunray]

It's not the data that matters. It's the burn rate. CFE is Number 44 to HP-38's Number 27.
Bullseye is faster than either of those. It's been the .38 target load powder since before. Works well in .357, .45 and 9mm too.

 

[Buck13]

More often than not, lower burn rate on the table means bigger charge for the same velocity, so the .357 data had me guessing that the nominal burn rate for CFE was closer to HP-38 than it is. Had I looked at the .38 +P table, my guess would have been more nearly correct.

I prefer HP-38 to Bullseye since the charges are a little bulkier. I figure the difference is enough that I would be somewhat more likely to spot a double charge of HP-38. If there is any difference in the target accuracy of the two, I'm nowhere near good enough to notice.

 

[Skinnedknuckles]

You mentioned you also have Universal. In .38 Special and +P I find them almost identical, in case you want to limit the herd you could stock one or the other.

 

[Dudedog]

CFE-P is a lot like Autocomp (burn speed wise) not the same but really close(close VMD wise as well CFE-P .0754 Autocomp about .078).
A little slower than WSF. WSF is a bit slower than Universal.

I have had good results with CFE-P in 9mm but prefer WSF there unless I am after Full power - MAX loads.
Had good results in .380 with CFE-P when loading MAX loads there as well.
Funny you don't get much more vel out of CFE-P in .357 than you do from HP38 since it is slower. (and listed as being slower than HS6)
Most of my pistol loads tend to be more midrange so something a little faster works better for me. (of course H110/W296 for those .357 mag full power loads)
CFE-P is good stuff but just not suited to the same tasks as HP38/W231.

 

[evtSmtx]

I get pretty decent results with it in .45 acp near the upper end but I still have a preference for BE-86 & Power Pistol but it's a slight preference

 

[8ring]

Buy the Hodgdon Annual Manual if you're going to use Hodgdon, Winchester, or IMR powders. There are thousands of rifle and pistol loads and all powders from all three manufacturers are covered.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Buy the Hodgdon Annual Manual if you're going to use Hodgdon, Winchester, or IMR powders. There are thousands of rifle and pistol loads and all powders from all three manufacturers are covered.

The Hodgdon online data site has all the same information too.
http://www.hodgdonreloading.com

 

[RPegram]

CFE Pistol has worked well for me in 38 special. I actually think it is a hair more accurate, but I'm no marksman, just off hand shooting. I plan on loading many, many more if you get my drift. I will not ever try Autocomp in 38 special again. I found it to be very position sensitive. I have seen no changes in CFE Pistol in regards to where powder sits in round.

 

[Dudedog]

CFE-P shot better for me than Autocomp as well.

 

[ColoradoShooter77]

I use CFE-P in 9mm and 40 S&W and I'm very happy with it. It meters awesome and is easy to work with.