Newbie 9mm Powder Question

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Blind Bat

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Hi Everyone! I've decided to start putting a bench together. For my first load I'm going to try to come up with a fairly inexpensive 9mm load for everyday target shooting. My emphasis will be on 10 yard accuracy and cleanliness. I'm thinking about using Rainer 124gn plated RN bullets (I shoot at an indoor range during the winter months) from mastercast.net and CCI 500 primers with once fired WWB brass.

Since I'm going to be using 124gr plated bullets I'm thinking about aiming for 1000-1100fps range. I'm looking for a powder with the following characteristics:
- Required charge weight >4gr
- Decent spread from min to max charge
- Will perform well with light to medium 9mm loads
- As clean as possible
- Preferably low flash

Would HS-6 or AA#7 be a good fit for this load? Any other powder suggestions?
 
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9 mm

Years ago I loaded for a Browning hi powerand got very good results with Bullseye and two Lyman casts. I dont remember the mold number of the 125gr,but the one I used for indoor was #358477,a 150 gr wadcutter. The Hi power would feed only five rounds but thats all you need for indoor match shooting. Good Shooting ---Papa Smurf.
 
Thanks Rusty. Are you using plated bullets?

The only thing that keeps me away from titegroup is the tolerance on charge is very low at .4gr from min to max. I was originally going to use W231 but decided against it for this reason. I want to make sure my scale is accurate and quality control is good before I work with that type of powder.
 
WW231 has worked well considering the specs you are looking for. I also use a non published loading of International Clays that I worked up that that is exceptionally clean and right in your velocity spec. 4 grains of Bullseye gets me 1090 fps from a Beretta M9 and 124 hard cast bullet, and is really not what I would consider "dirty", or is a 4.2 grain charge of Unique with a 124 cast/plated bullet.

I like HS-6 in 9mm, but more at the near max level, not what you are looking for. IMO, you want to stick with WW231, Bullseye, Unique, Green Dot, and similar propellants to achieve what you want. I personally would not use anything slower than Unique if you want to try and hit on most of what you are looking for.
 
Galil - Thanks! I didn't consider Unique after reading posts where people mentioned it was on the dirty side. I just noticed that Alliant's Unique page says "Now cleaner burning" right at the top.
Is that true?

Maybe I should scratch the low charge tolerance requirement and just get a second scale to double check my measurements until I'm confident in my equipment and myself. I'll put 231 back on the list.


solvability - I had considered PowerPistol because it required quite a bit of powder and the min/max delta was ~1gr. I've heard it has a huge flash and really isn't good for lighter loads...???? I was going to try it once I get enough brass together to load for my Tok. ;)
 
Thanks Rusty. Are you using plated bullets?
Click to expand...
I used to shoot a lot of plated bullets with that load but can buy FMJ cheaper now. I use the same load with the FMJ bullets. What type of reloading setup do you have? Titegroup will measure very well in any powder measure that I know of. I can throw it all day long in my Pro Auto Disk without variation. It's actually the first powder I used when I started learning to reload a couple of years ago.
Rusty
 
Welcome Blind Bat.

4.2 grains of WW231 gets me 1060 fps avg using a 124 grain cast bullet (sized .358"), with extremely consistent velocities and great metering. I can't say if the new Unique is any cleaner, but The pre "clean" stuff I use works so well, that the light gray sooting I get is worth it at target velocities, and is even clearer when you push it toward a safe max. Unique is also good for a beginner because it is so bulky, a double charge would be impossible to miss.

If you should ever want to go to the max, Unique is very good in this dept, and getting 1200 fps plus at relatively low pressures is no problem at all. For example, 5 grains of Unique behind a 124 cast gets me 1175 fps avg, and 6.2 grains using a 124 FMJ gets 1220 fps with absolutely no signs of high pressure. Not that I recommend it, but even a full case of Unique with a 124 grain bullet seated to a "normal" depth I'm fairly certain would be well short of proof pressures... Something that can not be said with T Group, Bullseye, and other very fast, relatively dense propellants.

Power Pistol can be used very well at light charges, and I have gone as low as 4.3 grains to get 995 fps avg with a 124 cast (will not cycle a lot of pistols) and 5.2 grains using a 120 cast which got 1160 fps avg. Both loads were very consistent, and PP meters very well. Power Pistol is flashy as you know, but burns clean and is VERY forgiving. Just be very careful never to misidentify it with Bullseye. AFAIK, Power Pistol is a form of chemically treated Bullseye to control burn rate, but they look identical. 9mm is a fun, efficient round to reload with a ton of great options... I hope you have fun.
 
Since you are not trying to get max velocity, 700X and AA #2 will do the job with that plated 124 Gr bullet while being accurate, very clean and giving good ES & SD numbers. 700X will give surprisingly good velocities in a 16" barrel with 115 Gr plated RN bullets as well. Obviously slower powders will outdo it, but for the charge weight, it does quite well.

W-231 is a good choice, but I would give the edge to those two.

If you want to get the velocity up, N330 and AA #5 are the next step, with AA #5 giving the better velocity, while using more powder, of the two.
 
W231 and Unique are all I use for my 9mm and .380 loads. I find that the "new" Unique is still a bit dirty in lighter loads, but very clean as you approach max. Nice thing about Unique though is that it is darn near impossible to miss a double charge. A 9mm case will only hold about 6.5gr of the stuff before it overflows.
 
I suggest that you try Hodgdon Universal Clays, aka Universal. This is a medium speed powder that burns at nearly the same rate as Unique. However, it is much cleaner, has low muzzle flash, and a mild report. 4.2 to 4.4 gr should work well with your 124gr plated bullets.

Another excellent powder is Vithavouri N-320. This is a very high quality single base powder that meters superbly and is very consistent. It has given me good accuracy with my CZ 85. 3.8 to 4.0 gr. should give you about 1,000 fps.
Folks claim that Vithavouri powders are too expensive but they cost only a fraction of a cent more per load.

Chris
 
Another vote to start with UNIQUE. Excellent high-volume powder in 9mm to help make a double charge more obvious. I started with UNIQUE and liked it enough to stick with it in 9mm.
 
WW231 is hard to beat overall. I use 4.0 gns with a 115 gn bullet; clean, soft, and accurate, I can shoot 150+ and my shooting gets better toward the end of a session, typically.

Ramshot Silhoutte, with a 5.3 gn charge, good for about 1050 fps, is becoming my standard 9mm plinking load. It's even cleaner than 231 and seems to have an edge in accuracy as well.
 
Another excellent powder is Vithavouri N-320.
Click to expand...
4.5 Grs N320 and a 115 Gr Ranier or 115 Hornady RN Encapsulated bullet is mild, accurate, & super clean.
4.6 Grs is too much. ;)
 
Titegroup would be my first choice, it meters exceptionally consistently in every Dillon powder measure I've tried it in.

Universal Clays would be my second choice. Meters OK, average recoil, not too much flash, clean burning.
 
HS6 and AA7 are pretty slow powders for the 9mm. In the 9mm you need 6 to 8 grs and it fulls up the case so that your loads will usually be compressed.

For what you ask for, get a faster powder like Win 231, Bullseye, Red Dot, Green Dot, HP38, AA#2.
 
I load HS-6. It covers both 9mm and .40 S&W and it is accurate for what I use it for. For my target loads, I use 6.8 gr of HS-6 behind a Montana Gold FMJ seated at 1.130".
 
+1 for Titegroup, 4.2 gr, 1.125" with 124 or 125 gr, plated or not.

I also like VVN320, 4.3 gr.
 
WOW, you guys rock! I can't believe how much great info I've received from this thread. It's now clear to me why there are always copious containers of powder in the loading bench pics on this forum.

I did a quick tally of what everyone has recommended for their first choice powder. It looks like 231 is clearly the winner, followed closely by Titegroup. Unique, Universal, and VV320 seem to all popular backup/runner up powders. I'm going to head down to my local toy store (Riley's in Hooksett, NH) after work tomorrow and see what they have in stock for powder. I'm hoping to pick up at least 231 and TG. Hopefully they will have at least one of the runner up powders as well.

Once I get my bench going I'll update the thread with the results of my powder "shoot off". Thanks to everyone. Feel free to keep the recommendations coming. Cheers.
 
FWIW, I like N-320 for 9mm as well. I just can't seem to find any to re stock my inventory in southern Cali. so I have been kinda saving my last 1.5 - 2 lbs worth and using my stand by powder - Power pistol.
 
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