January 17, 2013, 07:10 AM | #1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 4, 2012
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 2,217
|
What powder for 9mm
I am placing an order today for a press and I want to get powder, primers at the same time so I can get started. I dont have a manual so I am looking for a good clean burning powder for 9mm luger. What do you guys suggest? I am sure I will develope favorites of my own after a few batches. Also how many loads can I get from a pound?
__________________
Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it. Milton Freidman "If you find yourself in a fair fight,,, Your tactics suck"- Unknown |
January 17, 2013, 08:07 AM | #2 |
Junior Member
Join Date: January 16, 2013
Location: Eastern Pa
Posts: 2
|
powder choices
I am using Winchester231 - with 4.1 gr loading of 9mm I get about 1000 rounds. Works well in several 1911's!
for lead- check out midatlanticbullets.com. He has some awsome 125 gr bullets and has been pretty fast (till now! in shipping. |
January 17, 2013, 08:17 AM | #3 |
Senior Member
Join Date: October 14, 2009
Location: Sunshine and Keystone States
Posts: 4,461
|
I use 4.1 grains of AA#2 and it runs well in both my Ruger P95 and my Hi-Point carbine with Berry's plated 115 gr. bullets.
1 pound = 7000 grains, so about 1700 rounds per pound of powder. |
January 17, 2013, 09:44 AM | #4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 4, 2012
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 2,217
|
Thanks guys. I am awaiting the delivery of my press. I went with Lee Load Master. I wasnt prepared for the 2 week backlog or powder, primer, bullets not being available.
__________________
Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it. Milton Freidman "If you find yourself in a fair fight,,, Your tactics suck"- Unknown |
January 17, 2013, 09:54 AM | #5 |
Senior Member
Join Date: March 31, 2010
Location: Communist State of IL.
Posts: 1,562
|
The first thing you need for reloading is not a press or powder. You need a good manual first. You should study the manual first then order your equipment and components.
__________________
NRA Life Member, SAF Member |
January 17, 2013, 09:56 AM | #6 |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 4, 2012
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 2,217
|
Who has small pistol primers and powder in stock? I havent found any yet at places like midway and natchez
__________________
Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it. Milton Freidman "If you find yourself in a fair fight,,, Your tactics suck"- Unknown |
January 17, 2013, 09:59 AM | #7 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 4, 2012
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 2,217
|
Quote:
__________________
Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it. Milton Freidman "If you find yourself in a fair fight,,, Your tactics suck"- Unknown |
|
January 17, 2013, 10:34 AM | #8 |
Senior Member
Join Date: June 6, 2007
Location: E. Oregon
Posts: 563
|
The manual that comes with the Lee press is a bit light. I would recommend you buy an additional manual. Lyman, Speer, Hornady, all are good. I have 4 manuals and always cross-reference them when I am developing a load. Information overload is not a bad thing when reloading.
I load a lot of 9mm. It is a great cartridge for reloading and there are a lot of powders and bullet combo's to try. Unique, Universal and 231 have produced the best results for me in that cartridge. I lean toward Universal because it is clean and meters very well in my Lee powder measure. |
January 17, 2013, 11:03 AM | #9 |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 4, 2012
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 2,217
|
DMX@ I probably wont look to re-invent the wheel when loading 9mm. I am going as basic as I can. At this time I am just having problems finding any powder or primers. I have a press, scale, bullets coming and I have a pretty good colection of brass to clean and sort. Luckily I have a large vibratory tumbler to re-purpose for this task. I am going to go to harbor freight and grap walnut shells.
__________________
Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it. Milton Freidman "If you find yourself in a fair fight,,, Your tactics suck"- Unknown |
January 17, 2013, 11:07 AM | #10 |
Senior Member
Join Date: June 25, 2009
Location: Stuttgart, AR
Posts: 1,569
|
Finding powder may be a problem; finding small pistol primers will be even more challenging.
I use W231 for target loads (low recoil, reduced velocity). For medium to high loads I'm using Unique, which isn't super clean or easy to meter; however, it appears to be consistant over a broader range of weights. My more intense 9mm loads use Power Pistol. If you really want clean burning powder, then check out VV-N320 or VV-N340.
__________________
A lack of planning on your part does not necessarily constitute an emergency on my part. |
January 17, 2013, 11:11 AM | #11 |
Junior member
Join Date: November 7, 2004
Location: Mid-Michigan
Posts: 449
|
I use Unique for everything pistol. Only problem is with small charges for .32 acp and like cartridges. My Lee AD powder measure has problems with dinky charges.
|
January 17, 2013, 05:09 PM | #12 |
Staff
Join Date: April 13, 2000
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 41,374
|
Depending on what powder you choose (or can find!), lots of reloading information is often available on the manufacturer's website.
__________________
"The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower. |
January 17, 2013, 05:21 PM | #13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: January 8, 2008
Posts: 803
|
I've gotten to where I pretty much use Universal Clays for all of my pistols and shotguns. Burns pretty clean and not having to keep up with 27 different powders makes life much simpler.
I believe my last 9mm load was 4.2 grains with a 124gr Precision Delta JHP. |
January 17, 2013, 06:27 PM | #14 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 5, 2009
Posts: 1,411
|
I have used a few different powders for 9 mm. WST, WSF, W231/HP38, AA2, AA5 and AA7. You might like WSF, W231 and AA5 better than the others. WST is no longer listed for 9 mm in most books. It fills the case well but since you probably won't be able to find data to double check what I use I suggest not using it. If you can't confirm load data from a reliable source it is better to find a different load. I like powders that are easy to measure with little difference between powder drops.
The type of bullet you use might make a difference as to which powder might be a better match. Also what you are using the ammo for could also make a difference. Since there are several things that could make differences, it is one reason to have at least one if not two or more manuals. The more you know the better the results become. It also makes it easier to ask the questions you need answers to the most. Some differences are really minor and for plinking ammo it might not make a difference. Others could effect things a lot and maybe too much. I check data with at least two sources before I get near the press. I still have not blown up a gun or lost any fingers doing things this way. |
January 17, 2013, 07:05 PM | #15 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 31, 2004
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 2,432
|
Universal is my favorite for the 9mm. Meters well, good load density and leaves no soot or unburned powder.
W231/HP-38 would be my second choice. |
January 17, 2013, 08:28 PM | #16 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: October 14, 2009
Location: Sunshine and Keystone States
Posts: 4,461
|
Quote:
|
|
January 17, 2013, 08:33 PM | #17 |
Senior Member
Join Date: October 25, 2001
Location: Alabama
Posts: 18,486
|
There are other manuals besides the Lee that comes with your gear.
Lyman is good and will give you a different slant than the self promoting Lee book. You should have time to memorize it by the time you can find components. But for something to look for, I load 9mm exclusively with HP38 which is the same stuff as Win 231. |
January 17, 2013, 08:42 PM | #18 |
Member
Join Date: October 12, 2011
Location: KY
Posts: 19
|
I started with HS-6 it take a lot of powder so double charges are easy to spot. I am now using power pistol. The Speer manual came with my press. Listen to others it is nice to have reference.
Do yourself a favor and also get a three ring binder and write down everything about your loads and how they shoot. Sucks keeping up with post-its. |
January 17, 2013, 08:43 PM | #19 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 20, 2007
Location: S.E. Minnesota
Posts: 4,720
|
Bullseye is my favorite 9mm powder for factory-equivalent or lighter loads. But Green Dot is a good one for lighter loads (especially with light bullets), and GD is one of the few powders you can usually find in stock somewhere even when locusts have devoured everything else off the shelf.
Also watch for Hodgdon's Universal (a.k.a. "Universal Clays"), Unique, AA#5, 231, HP38, Zip, Power Pistol, and WSF. I'm sure there's lots of other good ones too. Whatever powder you use, if you can't find small pistol primers anywhere you *can* use small pistol magnums or Federal small rifles (#205) even if it's not optimal. You have to work up the load from scratch using the hot primer. Depending what powder you end up with, and what bullet weight, you can get up to 2000 loads from a pound of powder. 1700 is probably a better number for estimating.
__________________
"Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire!" —Lucille Bluth Last edited by zxcvbob; January 17, 2013 at 08:48 PM. |
January 17, 2013, 08:45 PM | #20 |
Member
Join Date: April 29, 2012
Location: Ohio
Posts: 27
|
I use HP-38/win 231, auto comp and universal. Hp-38/231 being my go to. I use it in multiple calipers.
__________________
NRA US ARMY Veteran CCFSA |
January 18, 2013, 03:32 PM | #21 |
Member
Join Date: May 31, 2012
Location: Seattle-ish
Posts: 59
|
You can download a bunch of manuals from various places on the web. Look around. You should have several to cross check your loads.
|
January 18, 2013, 04:46 PM | #22 |
Junior Member
Join Date: April 4, 2012
Posts: 1
|
I have used both HS-6 and PowerPistol in a couple of Beretta PX-4's (both full size and compact 9mm) with great results. A point to remember with loading for autos is that each gun is designed for a certain range of recoil to feed properly whether long gun, short gun or shotgun. When I load up for my 9mm the starting load won't even eject the shell without stove piping. So one load that works for my pistol may not be very appetizing to yours. I only hand load for my self defense weapons for target shooting or other practice and use only factory loads for when I conceal carry or on standby at the house. The legal eagles recommend this because the courts tend to think hand loads are only meant to kill or wreak excessive damage and not for just stopping a threat. In addition, ballistic data for handloads cannot be used to determine how far you were from the intended target in order to prove there was an imminent threat or not. OH, THE TIMES WE LIVE IN NOW!! I miss the days when I used to ride through town on my bicycle with my dad's double barrell 12 ga. across the handle bars on my way to my favorite hunting spot a few hundred yards past the last house without even so much as raising an eyebrow!!!
|
January 18, 2013, 08:53 PM | #23 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 23, 2011
Posts: 153
|
Universal is working well for me.
|
January 18, 2013, 10:36 PM | #24 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 29, 2010
Location: Gwinnett County Georgia
Posts: 1,136
|
I like AA#2. I ran out so I am going to try some AA#5 that I have
__________________
Do not follow where the path may lead, go, instead where there is no path and leave a trail - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
January 18, 2013, 11:21 PM | #25 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: March 31, 2010
Location: Communist State of IL.
Posts: 1,562
|
Quote:
__________________
NRA Life Member, SAF Member |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|