95gr fmj ... PCC ... 14.5" barrel. I currently use 124 gr with WSF ... 8 lbs of hp38
What do you guys recommend, the faster hp38 or slower WSF? uspsa and steel challenge shooting, if that matters
If you didn't shoot matches, it won't matter much other than slight reduction in accuracy and increased soot on cases.
using [faster burning powders] like WST, Sport Pistol, N320, etc
But since you are shooting matches, it will matter as for one, there is no published load data from Hodgdon for 9mm 95 gr bullet and WSF (There is for W231/HP-38) and if your PCC is blowback, then you will benefit from faster burning W231/HP-38 sealing the case neck with chamber better before bolt/buffer move back from recoil.
When I started loading for my PCCs with blowback action, I noticed more black soot on cases with slower burning powders or lower powder charges. To me, black soot on case means less efficient powder burn and inadequate case neck seal with chamber (Or in blowback PCC case, bolt/buffer moving back too soon). To increase "dwell" time (Time bolt/buffer stays forward with chamber) and reduce harsh recoil, AR based PCCs running carbine length spring use heavier buffer weight of H3 (5.4 oz) to produce combined bolt/buffer weight of 19-22 oz or heavier -
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...es-and-what-parts-did-you-use-and-why.825314/
3-gun match shooters even use heavier 7 oz buffer weight and stiffer .308 recoil spring to increase dwell time and reduce recoil but cycling would get sluggish and greater bolt/buffer mass moving stiffer .308 recoil spring would pull front sight off the target more to slow down getting front sight back on target (And for USPSA, stage scoring favors faster times).
So I would suggest faster burning W231/HP-38 for your PCC load but you really should do range test comparison to see which powder load you shoot better and faster. And to knock down steel USPSA targets and engage longer distance targets out to 100 yards (Think bullet drop), you may need higher power factor loads than 135, especially with 95 gr bullet so that's something you need to test also.
But as you move up in power factor with faster burning powders, recoil may become more snappy with greater sight pull off target and I suggest using adjustable buffer/short stroke system like Taccom to tune your recoil -
https://taccom3g.com/product/taccom-pcc-adjustable-buffer-system/
There's a thread discussion on transonic effect on bullet vs other reloading/shooting variables you may benefit from but with 95 gr bullet out of your 14.5" barrel, velocity should be higher than 1300-1400 fps so you likely won't need to worry about going transonic -
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/9mm-115gr-velocity-and-accuracy.873960/#post-11618517
After seeing heavy soot on cases and less than desirable accuracy (For me) with relatively slower powders to BE-86, I tested faster powders than W231/HP-38 and found Promo (Which is fast burning close to Red Dot/Bullseye in burn rate) to produce least amount of soot on case with smaller groups.
These are my best groups from various loads tested at 50 yards and this post shows a partial list of chrono data with lighter 100 gr loads producing less bullet drop/group scatter -
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...n-9mm-40s-w-45acp.799231/page-4#post-10338994
And best 100 yard group (So far)
And with recent testing of RMR 95 gr FMJ (50 yard shooting spot was taken on range day and 45 yard was best I could do) with member requested comparison testing of 1:10 PSA barrel with 1:16 JR barrel -
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...endence-from-work.853305/page-4#post-11387109