Who's happy with Blue Dot and 9mm?

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Just wondering, LGS has massive amount of it, and no Power Pistol, so since Blue Dot seems popular, I figured I'd see who all likes it for 9mm? Specifically 147gr plated RN?

Not looking for a load, just your experience with it.
 
I used BD for years for my 9mm loads. I liked it, but it was a pretty touchy powder in terms of pressure management with 124 gr. bullets and lighter. I would use it again without too much hesitation, but I much prefer Longshot for those type of powders for sure. I never down charged with it, so I can't tell you how it acts when reduced to below published starting charges. But in the mid range of the tables, it always got the job done, and with consistent upper end velocities. It also seemed to calm down a tad with the heavier 147 gr. bullets, which is pretty typical with slower burning powders though. Give it a shot and see how you like it. Like I said, it's not bad in my opinion, just treat it accordingly, and it should serve you well.

GS
 
I've tried out Blue Dot for some 124 gr. 9x19 loads before, but really prefer to use this powder in my .357SIG and 10mm loads.

My concern with your scenario is the smaller 9x19 case volume and the longer 147 gr. projectile. You may end up having to load a compressed charge to get everything in there with the right OAL.

On the bright side, at least you won't miss a double charge!
 
I have BD and I am working on loads with it for 115 gr plated, and 135 grain cast. On the lighter bullets the case is so full my press jiggles powder out of the case when indexing. With the 135's the fill level is low enough it hasn't caused any problems.

On the 115 when you get up near max it is loud.

If there were other powders available I wouldn't pick BD as my first choice - but i have about 3 lbs of the stuff.

I'm getting some relatively high velocity spreads over the chrono +/- 75 fps or so. I haven't spent enough time to determine if its from mixed cases, variations in throw weights, my chrono set up, or what. I suppose the next thing I'll do is sort some brass out by brands and weights and charge each case by hand and see what effect it has.

john
 
Cabela's had some BD and it was all they had, so beggars cant be choosers I figured so I grabbed a pound. First time I have loaded with it so I am curious to see how it performs. I read a lot of comments on it "sensitivity" so I went middle of the road with the loads. Will post up report after a range trip.
 
I find Blue Dot too unpredictable in the 9. I got lots of velocity and flash and not much else.I now use Power Pistol for all HV loads in the 9,40 & 45ACP.:)
 
Not the greatest pistol powder. Too slow for 9MM and is hard to get consistent velocity. ONLY use it if you can't find another more popular powder for 9MM.
 
I love BD for 357 mag but i have to agree that the case capacity of the 9mm is too small for it. for plinkers i like AA#5 and for full power loads AA#7.
 
It will do in a pinch. I use it for hot 9mm/357 loads with JHP. IME it is fairly close to PP, but is more temp sensitive (amongst other quirks). If it is available, I would recommend it over an indefinite wait for PP.
 
I've used blue dot with 124 and 147 gr loads in the past. I wouldn't recommend it for anything lighter than 124 grains. The 147s should be fine. As already said its not the optimal powder but will get you by until something else comes along. Oh, its flashy out of a short barrel, g26 in my experience. Larger deviation than with most of the faster powders but still accurate enough for plinking.
 
Lj1941 said: I find Blue Dot too unpredictable in the 9. I got lots of velocity and flash and not much else.
Click to expand...

Same here. I got wide spreads on the chrono and pathetic accuracy. Put it in 10mm or .357 and it's awesome.
 
Have used blue and green in several small calibers--and of course Red.
Click to expand...
Lots of advice available. Most of it bad.
Red Dot, Green Dot and Blue Dot are three entirely different powders, and are appropriate for very different chamberings/loadings.

Can you "make" them work for something else? Yes, maybe...

Blue Dot is good for .357 Mag, 10mm and perhaps a few others.

If you already have (and have read and understand) several loading manuals, the next step is a powder burn rate chart (or several). Then you need to read, understand, interpret and (finally) interpolate.

Then (maybe) you can start to deviate from what the loading data gives you.

Skipping any of these steps invites anything from misfortune to disaster.
 
Well I can look around and see what else they've got. Gonna pick up some Blue Dot anyway, just since they've got a ton of it. I'm not in a hurry to load now, so I'll stick it out for a better-suited powder.

Thanks fellas.
 
rcmodel said:
Ever stop to think why they still have a ton of it??

Just say'n!

rc
Click to expand...
My reloading mentor has been using it for years & loves it.

...just not in 9mm. ;)

Just for grins I tried some in .45ACP (Yes. There is data out there for it.) It was "OK." Think the BD will sit in the magazine in case I run out of 2400 some day. With a 200gr bullet it makes some noise. ;)

I MIGHT give it a try with the 147gr 9mm though...
 
Ever stop to think why they still have a ton of it??

Just say'n!

rc
Click to expand...

I just assumed it was a popular powder they'd just got a shipment of. But hey, if there's load data, I'm willing to keep some on-hand just in case.
 
I actually use Blue Dot in all my 12ga hunting loads I have a 2 3/4" pheasant load that uses 36g BD with 1 1/4 oz of #4's (or 5's) at 1350 FPS that patterns like a dream from my model 12 and knock's the crap outta ring-necks out to 40yds
 
I never liked it in 9mm.. you'd almost have to make a volcano/molehill in that case with it for what? I use Red-Dot for all handgun mainly.. for many decades.
I'd use Blue-Dot for some stuff again if I had to but I see no real reason to.
 
I have used it with 124 FMJ and had excellent accuracy with near top end loads. I never pushed it to the book max and .2 or .3 below max worked quite well for me. It was a touch dirty only in the sense that after about 400 rounds I had a jam. I attribute that to a dirty chamber from a bit of powder residue. It does have a lot of flash and bang and not really the best "target" ammo, but quite accurate. I have a lb. left and would use it again if I didn't have any powerpistol. If I had any W231, I wouldn't be using PowerPistol.
 
Last edited:
I will not use Blue Dot in the 9mm after experimenting with the powder. Look at my data, compared to Bullseye extreme spreads, Blue Dot's are huge, until I reached an over maximum load. There are better alternatives.


Code: 
[SIZE="3"]M92 FS Beretta Bar Sto Barrel					
					
125 gr FMJ Olympic Factory 					
27-Mar-06	T = 61 °F				
Ave Vel =	1261		 		
Std Dev =	20				 
ES		63.11		 		 
High		1288		 		 
Low		1225		 		
N =		10		 		
					
					
125 LRN .356"   4.0 grs Bullseye S&W cases WSP 	OAL: 1.110'	
9-Apr-06	T = 58 °F	accurate			

Ave Vel =	1099	 			
Std Dev =	12.16			 	 
ES		44.48			 	 
High		1124			 	 
Low		1080			 	 
N =		15				 
					
					
125 LRN   .356"  6.0 grs Blue Dot S&W cases WSP 	OAL: 1.110'	
9-Apr-06	T = 58 °F	v. accurate functioned each shot	
Ave Vel =	1048				
Std Dev =	32				
ES		94				
Low		1012				
High		1106				 
N =		14				 
					
					
					
125 LRN   .356' 6.5 grs Blue Dot  S&W cases WSP 					
9-Apr-06	T = 59 °F   v. accurate slight leading at  muzzle	
Ave Vel =	1148	 			
Std Dev =	30.87				 
ES		140.6			 	 
High		1226				 
Low		1085			 	 
N =		33				 
					
					
125 LRN   .356" 7.5 grs Blue Dot  S&W cases WSP OAL 1.110" 					
27-Mar-06	T = 60 °F   accurate, too much recoil leading at end of barrel		
Ave Vel =	1326		 		
Std Dev =	29.81				 
ES		105.2				 
High		1383		 		 
Low		1278		 		
N =		27		 		
					
					
125 LRN   .356" 8.0 grs Blue Dot  S&W cases WSP OAL 1.110" 					
27-Mar-06	T = 60 °F  

way too much recoil! violent operation!		
					
Ave Vel =	1414		 		
Std Dev =	14.42				 
ES		42.1				 
High		1434		 		 
Low		1392		 		
N =		8		[/SIZE]
 
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