Best powder for 9mm?

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Alan2010

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Hey guys (and ladies?), what are your favorite powder(s) for reloading 9mm. I have a Hornady single stage press. I also want to load 38 special and possibly 380. Thanks in advance.
 
Lots of choices in those calibers. Titegroup, bullseye, w231, really any fast pistol powder. Kinda comes down to what you have or can find these days.

You better love the heck out of reloading to do pistol on a single stage.
 
If you want one powder to do all of those calibers, top of my list would be BE86. It is a top powder for 9mm, works great in 45acp for full-throttle loads, works great in 38spl (not very position sensitive). I've also used it very well in 380. In fact, there are load data for BE86 all the way up to 460 S&W (mild loads). Very versatile powder.

Power Pistol is another one I like in 9mm. It will have more flash than BE86, as the latter has a flash suppressant added. One bit of trivia, Power Pistol was originally referred to as BE84 before it was made available to reloaders.

Lots of powders work well in 9mm, and 380. 38spl is a little more finicky, due to the large case volume, low case fill, and lower max pressure. That is where the case position sensitivity comes into play. 38spl is a low pressure cartridge. According to SAAMI, the max pressures are: 38spl, 17,500, 9mm is 35,000, and 380 is 21,500 (psi). Some powders just work better at the higher pressures. I've seen this quite often when I work up new loads, when the standard deviations get better as I go up in charge level.

Other powders that will work well are Bullseye, AA#5, CFE Pistol, HP38/W231, and Titegroup, just to name a few.

Sidenote: For position sensitivity, I will do a "powder forward" test with a chronograph. (I do this with most revolver cartridges, but I've also done it sometimes in 9mm and 45acp). I shoot several rounds, starting out with the gun pointing down at the ground (moves the powder to the front of the case), slowly bring it up on target, and then fire. I then fire several shots starting with the gun pointed up (powder to the rear) and then bring the gun down and fire. For some powders in 357mag, I've seen as much as 300fps difference. The powder-rear shots are always faster.
 
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I looked up some load data for BE 86 and it seems close to a couple of my favorites: Accurate #5 and True Blue. Hard to beat true blue for a slower powder that meters very well. I’ve loaded 9mm w/ accurate #2, but it’s fast, like bullseye and leaves little margins from starting to max load.

Thanks all for the info on BE 86.
 
ColKurtz said:
I looked up some load data for BE 86 and it seems close to a couple of my favorites: Accurate #5 and True Blue. Hard to beat true blue for a slower powder that meters very well. I’ve loaded 9mm w/ accurate #2, but it’s fast, like bullseye and leaves little margins from starting to max load.

Thanks all for the info on BE 86.
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True Blue is one I have not tried yet in 9mm. So far, I've only tried it in 45acp and found a couple of good loads with it, both 200 and 230gn bullets.
 
My personal choice is CFE Pistol. It's been more available lately but lots of powders are still hit it miss.

My first place to go would be powder valley. After that I look at natchezss, grafs, midsouth shooters supply, and a few others.
 
Alan2010 said:
Where do you guys find your powder these days?
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In empty water boxes that you find when your moving (grin)

Powders for 9mm: W231 / Bullseye also use it in 45ACP
N310 for target 45ACP

Finding it :
Up Here the Mom / Pop / Family shop has it off and on
Find 8# Unique, Red Dot, W231, and... Vargot for which I don't use. passed it along

-Snoopz
 
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Mr.Gadget said:
Unique and bullseye have always been my go to on them. At least for 40 years.
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yep...
Unique is another good all around powder.
Powders here back in that time frame were: Bullseye, Unique, W231, 2400, W630, W748
Red Dot, 4895, 4064, 4227, 3031, 4198, H110, Herco and some Blue Dot
TCCI sold surplus pull down powders back then, old 8208, 4895.

-Snoopz
 
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The 4lbs containers have been popping in & out of stock for the past week. The 1lbs are currently in stock:

www.midsouthshooterssupply.com

Ramshot True Blue Smokeless Handgun Powder (4 Lbs)

Ramshot True Blue Smokeless Handgun Powder (4 Lbs) by WESTERN & ACCURATE POWDERTrue Blue is a double based, spherical powder that performs extremely well in most handgun cases. The load range for True Blue is currently from the .380 Auto to .454 Casull weights in progressive loaders. True...
www.midsouthshooterssupply.com www.midsouthshooterssupply.com

www.midsouthshooterssupply.com

Ramshot True Blue Smokeless Handgun Powder (1 Lb)

Ramshot True Blue Smokeless Handgun Powder (1 Lb) by WESTERN & ACCURATE POWDERTrue Blue is a double based, spherical powder that performs extremely well in most handgun cases. The load range for True Blue is currently from the .380 Auto to .454 Casull weights in progressive loaders. True Blue's...
www.midsouthshooterssupply.com www.midsouthshooterssupply.com
 
Snoopz said:
yep...
Unique is another good all around powder.
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Yes, it has been a good powder for around a century. It is probably the most versatile powder there is.

I like BE86 over Unique because it has worked as well as Unique, at least in the calibers that I have tried, and BE86 measures more consistently for me. Unique is a larger flake powder.
 
My curiosity got the best of me. Brown Ella sent an email offering up Aquila spp. Since I’m paying hazmat anyway may as well throw in a few lbs of BE86.

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Wish I had known I wanted to reload pre-pandemic.

Bad influence, the lot of you. :)
 
Titegroup is what I use for 147gr subsonic 9mm and True Blue is a good option also.

Titegroup wasn’t the best for my competition shooting because it burns really hot. I switched to CFE pistol and 124gr 9mm for match/comp shooting for this reason and although I haven’t used it nearly as long as I have Titegroup, I’ve shot a couple thousand rounds loaded with it and am happy with how it performs
 
Maybe not the best but one that works and could be found when you needed it.

Blue Dot

All my 9mm’s get a charge of this.
 
I reload on a Hornady single stage press. I also have a MEC 600 that I really enjoy loading and shooting shotshell. Any thoughts on presses?
 
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Alan2010 said:
I reload on a Hornady single stage press. I also have a MEC 600 that I really enjoy loading and shooting shotshell. Any thoughts presses?
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Dillon for volume pistol reloading. Square Deal B is a good starting point but uses cheap but proprietary dies. THe 550 is the next step up but it is semi progressive and (I think) it is too easy to double charge for a newbie. The 650 is the cat daddy for the average pistol reloader. Fully progressive. Dillon is the standard for competiton pistol reloading.
 
Personally I have a Hornady progressive. I also have the Hornady single stage. I still use the single stage for resizing/depriming and hand clean primer pockets, swage if needed, and seat the primers. I'll do a whole batch of 1000+ for the resizing and depriming then just set it aside for when I want to load some for the range. Since a lot of 9mm brass has crimped primer pockets, I don't trust that as a part of the progressive process.
 
A Dillon 550 was my first press and I still use it for most of my semi-auto handgun rounds. I also decap and clean the brass before I introduce it to the Dillon for loading. I do more loading on my Lee Classic Turret press, though.
 
Alan2010 said:
I reload on a Hornady single stage press. I also have a MEC 600 that I really enjoy loading and shooting shotshell. Any thoughts presses?
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You have a good start equipment, and enjoy it.

Presses:
Determine you needs, the amount of shooting, the type of shooting, where you want to go
down the road.
honestly your gonna get, all the lines this one works, get that, get this. Simple get what works for you, in your
budget. You can always upgrade, addon, expand. Find some one that will let you "try before you buy" the other
presses.

Started on Rock Chuckers in the 70's still use them to this day, then to Pacific (Hornady) Pro 7, Projector(s), CH
Auto Champs for pistol, Hornady LNL-AP, Dillon 550, 650. Redding Big Boss II, Stars, MECS, P&W and the list
goes on. The Stars are my go to Pistol presses, bar none. The LNL-AP, Projectors, Dillons all reload, all produce
a finished round. They need tweaks, fine tuning, etc. Once again they all work.? You will also hear the "save time"
"quicker", "faster".... then the numbers being reloaded, never in over 50+ years of reloading "it's about numbers /
time." Not to piss people off, what you shoot and the amount you shoot is "your choice" I love taking the NFA toys
out, reloading not so much, but that's my choice.

Once again I don't care what color it is, who makes it, it's what works for me. I won't comment on Lee Products, as
the only thing I currently own is a LEE APP Just .50 worth (adjusted for inflation)

Note: clean your brass before you start, your presses will appreciate it and save a lot of ^$%^^&$&%
I use the LEE APP to deprime my brass, best investment so far. Recommended by some members here and
on another forum.

Back on subject
Presses:
Single stage: Forester Co-Ax, RCBS Rock Chuckers, Redding Big Boss II
Progressive: Hornady LNL-AP, Dillon 550. Remember the cost involved with Dillons "Tool heads vs. Hornady Bushings
Shotgun: P&W Spolar, 900's, 800's, MEC 650's, Grabbers

Now you can get higher end single stage presses, progressives, etc.

-Snoopz
 
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I'd say a single-stage press is ok if you aren't going to load more than 100 rounds at a time. If more than 100, maybe a Lee turret press will work (you can do about 200-250 rounds and hour with the auto-index enabled). If more than 300-500 rounds at a time, maybe consider a progressive.
 
I just got my progressive earlier this year. I've been using that single stage for a good ten years. I loaded thousands upon thousands on that single stage. So yes, absolutely, that can be all you need.
 
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