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Old January 17, 2013, 07:10 AM   #1
BoogieMan
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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?
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Old January 17, 2013, 08:07 AM   #2
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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.
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Old January 17, 2013, 08:17 AM   #3
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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.
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Old January 17, 2013, 09:44 AM   #4
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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.
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Old January 17, 2013, 09:54 AM   #5
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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.
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Old January 17, 2013, 09:56 AM   #6
BoogieMan
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Who has small pistol primers and powder in stock? I havent found any yet at places like midway and natchez
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Old January 17, 2013, 09:59 AM   #7
BoogieMan
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Quote:
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.
The reloading manual comes with the press. I have been watching tutorials on youtube and other sites. Just decided the only way to do this is jump in with both feet
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Old January 17, 2013, 10:34 AM   #8
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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.
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Old January 17, 2013, 11:03 AM   #9
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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.
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Old January 17, 2013, 11:07 AM   #10
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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.
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Old January 17, 2013, 11:11 AM   #11
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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.
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Old January 17, 2013, 05:09 PM   #12
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Depending on what powder you choose (or can find!), lots of reloading information is often available on the manufacturer's website.
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Old January 17, 2013, 05:21 PM   #13
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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.
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Old January 17, 2013, 06:27 PM   #14
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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.
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Old January 17, 2013, 07:05 PM   #15
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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.
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Old January 17, 2013, 08:28 PM   #16
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Quote:
Who has small pistol primers and powder in stock? I havent found any yet at places like midway and natchez
When you find out please let the rest of us know...
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Old January 17, 2013, 08:33 PM   #17
Jim Watson
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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.
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Old January 17, 2013, 08:42 PM   #18
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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.
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Old January 17, 2013, 08:43 PM   #19
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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.
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Old January 17, 2013, 08:45 PM   #20
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I use HP-38/win 231, auto comp and universal. Hp-38/231 being my go to. I use it in multiple calipers.
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Old January 18, 2013, 03:32 PM   #21
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You can download a bunch of manuals from various places on the web. Look around. You should have several to cross check your loads.
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Old January 18, 2013, 04:46 PM   #22
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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!!!
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Old January 18, 2013, 08:53 PM   #23
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Universal is working well for me.
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Old January 18, 2013, 10:36 PM   #24
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I like AA#2. I ran out so I am going to try some AA#5 that I have
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Old January 18, 2013, 11:21 PM   #25
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Quote:
so I am going to try some AA#5 that I have
I had good luck using AA#5 in 9mm.
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