Need Low Recoil Load for 9mm

[jwrowland77]

I have several loads that I shoot for my 9mm Luger but am trying to come up with a easy recoil load to introduce my wife to 9mm.

I currently use Titegroup, Unique and Autocomp under a 115gr FMJ for the loads I shoot.

I have ordered some 124gr Berrys TP-DS for loads to use for my wife. Problem is, Titegroup has more of a snap to it, and I'm looking more for a push type recoil for introduction for my wife. I know Unique has more of a push type recoil but I can't find anymore of it right now.

I have thought about using Universal but don't know the type of recoil this powder gives. Was thinking about using a nice starting load to get her use to shooting it. I currently have a 4lb unopened jug and was wondering if anyone could fill me in on how the recoil of this powder is and if it would work for a good intro to the 9mm for my wife.

Thanks in advance.

 

[1KPerDay]

IMO any starting load under a 124 will be suitable. So far I've used Red Dot, Bullseye, HP-38, and American Select. All produce pleasant, accurate loads at the recommended starting charges or a couple tenths above starting. I seriously doubt your wife would be able to tell the difference between powders if you didn't tell her. I seriously doubt I would be able to tell.

 

[rsrocket1]

Universal is essentially the same class as Unique. It's Hodgdon's competitor to the Alliant powder. While not grain-for-grain equivalent, it can be used in all the same applications and it burns more completely and cleanly than Unique. The downside is that it is more expensive.

What you need is low recoil, but you also need to have enough momentum to work the action unless you are shooting a 9mm revolver (not likely). Another problem is that if you down-load too much, a load that will work for someone holding a proper grip may FTE on someone limp-wristing it.

With the 124g bullets, Unique/Universal will work fine as will a lower charge of Titegroup than what you are using with the 115g bullets. 3.5g should be fine. If you go with Universal, I would start at about 3.6g and see if it cycles and work up if it doesn't.

I shoot 4.2g Unique under a 120g Lead TC bullet and it gives be about 1050-1100 fps. Compared to my 1911 or 40 S&W, this load feels like an airsoft gun, but that's relative to the shooter.

Of course you should double check with a manual or Hodgdon's website to make sure.

Good luck.

 

[LiveLife]

With lighter 9mm 115 gr bullet, I need to use high-to- near max load data to reliably cycle the slides of my pistols, especially for compact/subcompacts. With heavier 124/125 gr bullets, I can reliably cycle the slides with mid-range load data (with some faster burn rate powders, even at start-to-mid range) which produce less felt recoil.

With Unique/Universal and slower burn rate powders, reducing powder charges below high-to-near max load data will affect consistency of powder burn/chamber presures and accuracy.

If you want the lowest recoil 9mm loads, I would work up loads using heavier 147 gr bullets.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I have a very light load for the 9mm that will still cycle the slide on any pistol I've shot them in. I shoot a 124gr LRN bullet over 4.0gr W231/HP-38. That charge weight will work just as well under a 124gr plated bullet.

 

[jwrowland77]

That's a thought of using 147gr.

I shoot a Walther PPS, and it eats about anything even with starting loads. Of course, I haven't used a heavier bullet, but with the 115gr, I shoot a lot of Autocomp at 4.8gr and Titegroup at 3.9 easy shooting to me, but not so much to my wife. Those seem to cycle every time. In Unique though, the most accurate was at 5.6gr.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

With lighter 9mm 115 gr bullet, I need to use high-to- near max load data to reliably cycle the slides of my pistols

Yep. I also was going to warn against light bullets with starting charges. I picked a horrible time to get my first 9mm (when you couldn't find anything on the shelves), and got some 100 grain fmj bullets from a guy on the castboolits site. Loaded middle of the road loads and would get 2-3 stovepipes per mag. Those light bullets are best left to .380s.

I would go with starting loads in a heavier bullet to insure reliability.

 

[Rule3]

With lighter 9mm 115 gr bullet, I need to use high-to- near max load data to reliably cycle the slides of my pistols, especially for compact/subcompacts. With heavier 124/125 gr bullets, I can reliably cycle the slides with mid-range load data (with some faster burn rate powders, even at start-to-mid range) which produce less felt recoil.

With Unique/Universal and slower burn rate powders, reducing powder charges below high-to-near max load data will affect consistency of powder burn/chamber presures and accuracy.

If you want the lowest recoil 9mm loads, I would work up loads using heavier 147 gr bullets.

^^^That right there is the Winner.^^^^^

Yes, heavier bullets , less powder, less recoil perceived and otherwise

 

[TfflHndn]

Clays and HP-38 are both fairly soft-shooting and accurate, if you don't mind some variation in the load, or hand-measuring your loads if you want consistency, since they don't meter well. AA#2 or AA#5 are also fairly soft-shooting and meter much better, IMO.

 

[Bovice]

I just chrono-ed a 9mm load today.

124 grain plated flat nose bullet
4.5 grains of Universal
1.065" OAL (equal to the seating depth of a 1.125" OAL 124 round nose, approximately)

it shoots about 1015-1020 FPS from my P226 and reliably cycles the stock spring. Recoil is not bad at all.

Starting load according to Lee is 4.3 grains of Universal. DO NOT USE MY OAL FOR ROUND NOSE BULLETS. The flat points have to be loaded shorter.

 

[Shmackey]

Clays and HP-38 are both fairly soft-shooting and accurate, if you don't mind some variation in the load, or hand-measuring your loads if you want consistency, since they don't meter well. AA#2 or AA#5 are also fairly soft-shooting and meter much better, IMO.

Compared with Unique, Clays and HP-38/W231 meter like water. I get +/- 0.1 grain with Clays out of both Hornady and Dillon measures with no trickery. Granted, WST and Bullseye meter even better.

I'll add to the chorus of voices saying it's easy to load them too light. A little while ago, after not having shot any 9x19 for months, I took a new (famously reliable) 9mm pistol to the range with some of my reloads. For a while I was convinced I had a lemon until I realized that I was shooting some powderpuff loads that just barely run an undersprung gun.

 

[Thompsoncustom]

Heaviest bullet with the fastest powder you can load safely. The heavy bullet mixed with the fast powder raises your pressure levels where they need to be with less powder resulting in less recoil but the other side of the coin is you also get less velocity.

I would say the biggest fear with doing something like this is you need to be sure you don't mess up. Because there is less powder in the case if your not paying attention you could triple charge a round.

My personal favorite is a 168gr SWC over 2.7grs of AA#2 Avg velocity out of a 4.75in barrel is 730fps.

 

[BYJO4]

I use 4.2 gr of Bullseye with a 115 gr FMJ bullet. This is a nice target load and very accurate.

 

[TfflHndn]

"Compared with Unique, Clays and HP-38/W231 meter like water."

Can't argue with you, Schmackey, but compared with Unique, corn flakes meter well. I don't get the small variances you get in my Hornady meter with Clays or HP-38, and use them in the meter only when I am loading mid-range plinkers and can tolerate "close enough."

 

[HexHead]

When I loaded 124s, I used WSF. 5.0 gr. I've since switched to 147gr PRN over 3.6-3.7 of 231. Gives me a nice soft shooting load, just over minimum power factor.

 

[Mohave-Tec]

Never mind. I had some ideas but might cause some cycling issues.

 

[1SOW]

Win 231/Hp-38 just into mid-range data (1030-1050 fps) will push a 124gr Berry's HBRN with light recoil, reliable cycling and good accuracy in most pistols.

It will burn a little "sooty" when loaded light , but not a dealbreaker.

Meters perfectly, inexpensive and usually available.


Vihtavuori n320 will do the same and burn clean. Cost is 1.2 cents/rd higher. Not as easy to find.

 

[MarshallDodge]

Along the lines of what 1SOW said, I find Vit N320 to shoot very soft with 124 grain bullets. I would start at 3.8 grains and try seating them on the longer side. The downside is that my wife shoots a smaller 9mm and these loads just don't have enough snap to run the slide due to the low mass in her arms. The load that I have found that runs best is 5.0 WSF under the 124 grain bullet.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Clays and HP-38 are both fairly soft-shooting and accurate, if you don't mind some variation in the load, or hand-measuring your loads if you want consistency, since they don't meter well. AA#2 or AA#5 are also fairly soft-shooting and meter much better, IMO.

Compared with Unique, Clays and HP-38/W231 meter like water. I get +/- 0.1 grain with Clays out of both Hornady and Dillon measures with no trickery. Granted, WST and Bullseye meter even better.

I can not agree with W231/HP-38 not metering well at all! W231 is the original "Ball Powder" and being a ball powder is why it meters so well. Clays doesn't meter well but W231 meters just as well or better than AA#2 and AA#5 which are copies of W231 but called Spherical instead of Ball powders not to infringe on the copy written name of "Ball Powder".

I find it hard to believe anyone who has actually used W231 saying it doesn't meter well.

 

[jwrowland77]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate all the comments. Now to just get to the bench and do the workup and see how she likes it.

 

[jwrowland77]

PS: my wife comes home from being away with the military tomorrow, so she'll be happy I was able to get some ideas for a nice easy load for her for my 9mm.

 

[TfflHndn]

HP-38 is most definitely not a ball powder, unless they put the wrong powder in my jug or changed it since I bought mine. It is a flat flake. Not as poor metering as fluffier, chunkier powders, but not as good as ball powders for sure.

 

[LiveLife]

Not to hijack the thread ...

TfflHndn, HP-38 is coated flattened ball powder. They start out as balls like Accurate ball powders but get flattened. There are other flattened ball powders like WSF, AutoComp, etc.

OK, back to OP.

jwrowland77, if your wife has been shooting 9mm NATO rounds, most of our mid-range 124/125 gr bullets loaded to around 1000 fps will feel wimpy in comparison.

 

[sellersm]

How old is your HP-38? Today, it's the same as W231 (not to beat a dead horse that's now turned to glue)...

 

[sellersm]

And to the OP, I too vote for a low/mid W231 load with the 124gr bullets. Barely cycles my Glock but it's a powder puff load for sure.