I'm a new reloader who has been looking into a nice, versatile starting powder suitable for reloading several major calibers (9mm and .45ACP to start). I've shot a fairly wide variety of factory ammunition, which has led me to suspect that the type of powder used makes a big difference in the recoil characteristics.
For instance, Speer Lawman 9mm ammo has a very snappy, fast recoil, but despite this seems to have more trouble cycling stiff slides than other brands, such as Winchester white box. My guess is that Speer uses a small amount of fast-burning powder, which accounts for the snappy ignition and occasionally insufficient follow-through. This suspicion appears to be bourne out by my reloading manual. Taking Bullseye and Unique as examples, Unique almost universally produces much faster loads (especially with heavier bullet), albeit at the cost of a little more powder. This suggests to me that the burn process takes more time, providing more push but less snap. (For those who are interested, Alliant's website claims Unique burns about 60% as fast as Bullseye.)
Am I on base to assume that slower powder translates into less snappy recoil?
For instance, Speer Lawman 9mm ammo has a very snappy, fast recoil, but despite this seems to have more trouble cycling stiff slides than other brands, such as Winchester white box. My guess is that Speer uses a small amount of fast-burning powder, which accounts for the snappy ignition and occasionally insufficient follow-through. This suspicion appears to be bourne out by my reloading manual. Taking Bullseye and Unique as examples, Unique almost universally produces much faster loads (especially with heavier bullet), albeit at the cost of a little more powder. This suggests to me that the burn process takes more time, providing more push but less snap. (For those who are interested, Alliant's website claims Unique burns about 60% as fast as Bullseye.)
Am I on base to assume that slower powder translates into less snappy recoil?