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Old November 4, 2011, 08:37 PM   #1
xMINORxTHREATx
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Powder Suggestions?

Like I've mentioned before, I am just getting into reloading, and I am using Hornady bullets in 9mm and from what their manual says, Alliant Power Pistol seems to be the most efficient. So that's what I have been using but I have noticed it has a considerable amount of flash compared to my Hornady factory ammo.


Soooo. What do you guys use for your hand loads, and what would you suggest for regular use and what powders out there are low flash. I haven't had any issues with Power Pistol, just seeing what else is out there that's used often with good results.
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Old November 4, 2011, 09:33 PM   #2
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Powder suggestions

Bulls-eye or aa#2 are very clean burning & low muzzle flash.

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Old November 4, 2011, 09:36 PM   #3
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If your looking for standard loads Universal and SR 7625 are very nice powders for 9mm with no/low flash.
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Old November 4, 2011, 09:58 PM   #4
Charlie98
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I've always used Unique...
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Old November 4, 2011, 11:59 PM   #5
Sevens
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I made a lot of 9mm with Power Pistol and then transitioned to Hodgdon Universal. Other folks like Bullseye and Titegroup. Personally... Titegroup simply isn't for me and I pretty much avoid that stuff these days.

Unique has been popular for 9mm for a long time, but it meters too poorly for my tastes. W231 and Accurate #2 or #5 would also be good choices.

I'm sticking with Universal now, because it seems to run my Witness Match incredibly well with 125gr LRN.
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Old November 5, 2011, 02:44 AM   #6
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First, buy some FMJ or JHPs from Montana Gold, Precision Delta, or Zero (see Powder Valley for Zero Bullets).
Next, what is your basis for efficiency? Velocity/grain of powder? Maximum velocity? The powder that Lyman thinks may be most accurate for your bullet weight?
I find real "efficiency" with AA2 and Competition. Other excellent 9x19 powders low- to mid-range loads are AA5, 231/HP38, Zip, and N320.
If you want velocity and accuracy, look to Silhouette and HS6. Silhouette is my first choice for accurate and near-max loads in 9x19, 9x21, 38 Super, and .40S&W.
True Blue and Longshot can generally get you above factory velocity without over pressure.
Before all the new powders, Herco was generally the powder that would give you the best accuracy and near-max pressure and velocity. I still use it quite a bit.
Now, what do want your loads for?
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Old November 5, 2011, 04:13 AM   #7
xMINORxTHREATx
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I was judging efficiency on the grains of powder - velocity ratio.

I have heard a lot of good stuff about Unique and Bullseye.

Sevens, when you say it meters too poorly, what do you mean?



In general, I am just trying to make accurate loads for competitions. I started hand loading because I noticed that when I shoot my Walmart special ammo VS my home defense ammo, my groups were noticeably tighter with the HD/SD ammo. I did some research and from what I gathered it was more accurate because it's higher quality. Figured I would save myself some money in the long run and make my own ammo, find out what my gun likes best, and roll my own from there. The inquiry about low flash was just curiosity.
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Old November 5, 2011, 05:02 AM   #8
excelerater
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I like power pistol and its all I use now for handguns..It has flash
but if you shoot outdoors flash is a non issue,great powder,super clean
and fills the casing just right... I used prior to PP Universal,Unique,Longshot,and a few others but PP is still my fav
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Old November 5, 2011, 05:57 AM   #9
WESHOOT2
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The proper low-flash substitutes for 9x19 / Power Pistol remain Ramshot Silhouette and Vihtavuori 3N37.

Power Pistol offers superb accuracy potential, easy metering, clean burning, low residue, and low-cost consistency.
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Old November 5, 2011, 09:53 AM   #10
Sevens
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Quote:
Sevens, when you say it meters too poorly, what do you mean?
When we say "meters poorly" (and btw, Unique is almost always associated with this in any thread! ) it means that the powder is typically flaky or in large chunks (like IMR 800X) and it doesn't reliably drop from a powder measure with a consistency as well as tiny flake powders (like Titegroup, Power Pistol) or spherical powders (like W231, AA#7)

The end result is that when you use a mechanical measure to dump a set charge, the actual weight of the powder in each drop tends to vary a bit more than with a better metering powder. This problem is magnified with a smaller charge weight. I.E., if you are making .44 Mag loads with 9 grains of Unique, it's often not as big an issue than if you were making 4 grain loads of Unique for .380 Auto.

Obviously, one of the keys to accuracy in handguns is a consistent powder charge. If you set up a powder measure to dump a charge of Power Pistol across 20 pieces of brass, you could dispense them and then weigh each piece to find them all within a tenth of a grain of each other, and out of my Lyman 55, even less than a tenth of a grain.

If you meter out a similar weight of Unique through your measure, you may find over 20 pieces that you have a fluctuation of 0.2 or 0.3 grains in weight because the powder doesn't meter well, and measure & dump as smoothly.

The other relevant thing I'd mention when you noticed that your premium defense ammo seemed to be more accurate. It's my opinion that if you want to do the MOST for accuracy in handgun loads, your best bet in one single item is to find an accurate bullet, or a bullet that your handgun likes.

Every thing you do to promote piece-to-piece consistency will give you the most potential reward in accuracy, but I don't think anything we can do or any powder we can choose will do more than finding the best bullet for accuracy.

The best bullet is a compromise of performance & price. (for me, anyway!)
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Old November 5, 2011, 10:00 AM   #11
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Quote:
The best bullet is a compromise of performance & price. (for me, anyway!)

You can say that again.

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Old November 5, 2011, 10:09 AM   #12
Charlie98
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What Sevens says about Unique and it's metering issues is true, but I've learned to adjust my loading technique to accomodate it. I do, in fact, load 4.0 & 4.2grn charges of Unique into my .380 loads using my Hornady powder measure, I just tap the handle to settle the powder before rotating the measure and everything comes out fine. Originally, I had a Lee Perfect Powder measure and I coud not sucessfully meter small charges of Unique, and I gave up with it and got the Hornady, so much may depend on what you are using.

I've actually just got back into the 9mm reloading game, and I have been experimenting with W231 & WST in some of my other rounds, certainly I will be giving W231 a try in the 9mm.
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Old November 5, 2011, 04:04 PM   #13
xMINORxTHREATx
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I think I have my ideal bullet picked out. Hornady HAP 125 grain. I've used them in factory ammo and it was the most accurate thing I had shot up to that point. I haven't experimented with other companies yet. I'm wanting to get familiar with the reloading process and get it down to a science before I starting changing a ton of variables.
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Old November 5, 2011, 10:15 PM   #14
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I love Bullseye but I can't believe I just saw someone accuse it of being clean

Personally I've been using Green Dot in 9mm for a while...I don't notice excessive muzzle flash.

-cls
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Old November 5, 2011, 10:53 PM   #15
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I'm an old school fan of Bullseye and Unique. If it ain't broke, don't fix it -- but, some of my buddies favor the newer powders.
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Old November 5, 2011, 11:52 PM   #16
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The thing with Unique that has kept it as a top choice for almost ten decades is that it simply isn't fussy.
It meters "indifferently," but the loads are still astoundingly accurate.
It has only really been in the past 10-20 years that people have "worried" about how Unique meters. Before that, they simply accepted a ±0.2gn variation and let the target do the talking.
Now, the shooters are so OCD about consistency that they reject many things without trying them. One of the main reasons to reload is to find what works for you and your gun(s) and not to simply make assumption.
You will find the 5.0gn and 6.0gn or Unique in many cartridges are very accurate loads.
However, my guns seem to prefer AA2 for light target loads and Silhouette for full power loads. Of course, the only thing I care about is accuracy and not some random power factor or recoil impulse.
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Old November 6, 2011, 05:14 AM   #17
Mike Irwin
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WW 231 is my go to powder for 9mm. Or it was when I was regularly loading 9mm.

It's clean, it has no discernible muzzle flash that I've ever seen, it meters wonderfully, and it produces very accurate ammunition.
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