suggestions on powders for newbie for 9mm/.380

[sltintexas]

My reloading stuff should arrive in a week or so. I thought I'd better start the hunt for components.

There is so much different powders out there I don't know where to start. I know one answer will be read your manuals... they don't come until next week with the reloading stuff.

Anyway..to the point.

I want to start off reloading for 9mm and move to .380 soon after. I want to make some target loads that mimic blazer (9mm 115 grain).

Can I get some suggestions on a powder to start off on. Maybe one that is a little more forgiving for a newbie. I've heard that .380 is a little harder to start on so I'm a little worried about that one.

thx in advance!

 

[lgbloader]

I don't load for 380, but for 9mm Luger, grab a can of N320 for nice light target loads, N330 for all around loads and 3N37 for the Hardcore.

If you want severe muzzle flash, Power Pistol may be the ticket. It's my back up powder. When I can't find any of the VV powders listed above, I have some good worked up loads for my 9's.
LGB.

 

[ants]

Those VihtaVuori powders are nice, but harder to find and rather pricey. A very common powder for all around pistol applications is Winchester W231 (or Hodgdon HP-38 which is the same powder). It works great in both 9mm and 380.

Unique is sometimes a little more difficult to meter in a powder measure, but a very flexible powder with excellent performance.

Bullseye, Titegroup, Clays, and two dozen other powders are also good choices and used often. These days, powder seems to be hard to find. Maybe you should use the next 7 days finding out what components you can actually get (powder, primers, bullets).

 

[Corner Pocket]

I don't load 380 so am no help to you with that. When I first started reloading 9mm, I used 125 gr LRN bullets and Hodgson's HS-6 powder. That combination worked pretty well for me. I later got some 147 grain FP lead bullets, loading them using HS-6. This is a great combination, and is all that I load now for 9mm.

FWIW, HS-6 is a powder that I like a lot. I can use it for all of the calibers that I load for, which are .38 Special, .45 ACP, and 9mm. It meters very well, which is a plus.

Corner Pocket

 

[marcodo]

W231 and titegroup have been my go to powders for both the 380 and the 9.

Meters great and cycles all my guns without issue.

 

[Walkalong]

Another W-231 vote. Great all around powder. Hard to beat for a first powder.

N320 & N330 are great powders though.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

Bullseye does fine for cast slugs for .380acp & 9mm.
Red Dot does equally well, has more bulk and is cleaner to boot.

 

[oneounceload]

I'll add Universal Clays to the mix - I use it for 38, 9mm, 20 gauge and 28 gauge

 

[moooose102]

i use titegroup 4 my 380's.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

As said above, there are plenty of good powders appropriate for loading 9mm and 380 Auto rounds. I'll add my voice to W231/HP-38. It's a clean accurate powder but more importantly for a new reloader, it meters very well so you can throw consistent charges.

Welcome to reloading, be safe and have fun...

 

[Eb1]

Unique

 

[Yo2slick]

I dont load .380 but for my 9mm and .38 special I use Titegroup. You have to pay attention as it is fairly easy to double charge a case with Titegroup, but you should be paying attention anyway regardless of what powder you are using.

 

[Texastbird]

.380 isn't hard to load at all. Maybe a little more tedious due to my fat fingers and small cases. I usually load 88 to 90 grain bullets with Unique or Titegroup. Unique is my favorite go to powder for just about any pistol caliber for plinking and target shooting. With your 9mm, just use the starting load for whatever powder you get and work up from there. My Ruger P89 definitely has found a sweet spot for 115 grain fmj at about the mid range loading for Titegroup.

 

[RidgwayCO]

My top choices would be Vihtavuori N320 for target loads and 3N37 for high performance loads in both.

If they're not available (or too expensive for you to justify), then you'll be fine with W231/HP38 for target loads and Power Pistol for high performance (and consider PP's light show as just a bonus).

 

[sltintexas]

thx for everyone's comments and help!

 

[helg]

Attached PDF sheet is a set of screenshots from online loading manuals of five major powder manufactures. All powders there are recommended for 9mm loads. Powders with less load weight give smaller muzzle velocity for the same max chamber pressure, and are more appropriate for target loads. Be careful not to double charge the small loads. Powders from the other side burn slower, and give higher bullet speed, as they burn and pump chamber pressure longer when bullet is traveling through barrel. Some slow-powder loads may not completely burn in short-barrel guns. This gives visible muzzle flash when shooting.

As you are just starting, do not buy big powder cans. Better try with couple of different powders. Print the attached sheet, complement it with the one for your 380, and take it with you to gun shop or gunshow. It is more convenient to look for a set of powders than for just one or two.

 

[Steve H]

Right now I see moer Unique and 231 available than anything else.

 

[Redneck with a 40]

Unique and Universal, both are very versatile and will give good performance, Universal will be cleaner.

 

[MetalMan52]

powder

Another fan of WW 231. It's my go to powder for midrange pistol loads.
Pat

 

[wrangler5]

I tend to use Accurate #5 for most of my pistol loads - 380, 9mm Luger, 9mm Makarov, 38 Spl and light 357. Not what you want if you're looking for maximum velocity loads, but for light to medium it's very flexible. It meters very consistently in my Lee disk powder measures.

 

[MrBlackHawk]

I'm pretty new at reloading. I load just pistol. for 9mm, 38 and 357 I started with Titegroup and it worked out well. it works especially well in loads where the actual volume of powder is small. Titegroup burns well regardless of where it lays in the case. I just bought a pound of HP-38 and I am experimenting with some loads with it. I think you cant go wrong with titegroup.

 

[lostinrockford]

How about this?

I'm new to reloading also. With the ongoing shortage of components, I'll tell you what components I have and open it up for suggestions. I shoot 9x19 & these loads will strictly be for IPSC shooting.

9mm Black Bullet International Round Nose Bullets 115 gr

Federal small pistol primers

Bullseye Powder

Are these components workable and will they make a safe, accurate round?

 

[rcmodel]

Yes, they will work.

I'm not familiar with Black Bullet International bullets.

If they are jacketed bullets:
Bullseye powder.
3.5 starting load.
4.8 MAX load will give you about 1,184 FPS

If they are lead bullets:
3.4 start
4.2 MAX for 1,175 FPS.

With that said, there are better powders for the 9mm if maximum velocity is desired.

rc

 

[lostinrockford]

Black Bullet Int. make moly coated lead bullets. Here's a link to their website:

https://blackbulletsinternational.com/Home_Page.php

I'm just starting to reload and the only powder I could find in my area was Bullseye. What powder would you recommend?

Thanks for any & all info !!!

 

[Afy]

N 320.. clean and good.