Powder for Heavy 9mm reloading

[SSGSAD]

What do you want to do with the load?
If you are going to shoot action pistol where heavy bullets and fast powders rule, you want AA2, Bullseye, or other fast powder.
If you are thinking that you want to load for self-defense, and you think 147gn is the right weight, you would want a slow powder for maximum velocity.
The thing is, you have to know what you want before you can make a decision: maximum velocity, minimum felt recoil, what?

JMHO I do not reload 147 gr., but I am "old school", and Bullseye, and W231, have ABOUT the same burning rate .....

I have used multiple Hercules, Alliant powders, in my lifetime .....

Herco, is the dirtiest..... I like Green dot, Red Dot, Unique .....

That is all I can think of right now .....

 

[autogun]

My other is blue dot.

 

[Dundee]

I started out loading 147's and now load 125's for the cost savings.

I find the difference in recoil to be negligible.

I shoot the same Bill Drill times with either load.

I agree with this. Before you spend extra on 147, you should try the 125 gr. Bet you agree with us!

 

[ljk]

147 is for subsonic, that's all I shoot now.

Had my buddy tried out my loads this afternoon, too cold for me after my surgery, 13 degrees under clear sky up in Elwood.

Both my 4.0gr and 4.2gr CFE-P worked flawlessly on my 4.5" and 16.5" guns, suppressed and unsuppressed and stayed subsonic(no crack).

So, I guess I need to go to an indoor range to figure out which one is better on accuracy before I start to crank them out in large numbers.

 

[Ngdonut]

I ended up going with WSF for the 147 grainers and so far I like it. I have some w231 that I may try some different powder charges with as well to compare.

 

[natetheace]

I have been using unique. It was all I could find at the time and I have stuck with it. I load 3.8 gr with Xtreme 147 gr bullets. Very soft shooting and doesn't seem dirty. I have over 2000 rounds with this combination through my CZ 75B and P-07. They love them.

 

[Ngdonut]

I have been using unique. It was all I could find at the time and I have stuck with it. I load 3.8 gr with Xtreme 147 gr bullets. Very soft shooting and doesn't seem dirty. I have over 2000 rounds with this combination through my CZ 75B and P-07. They love them.

Seems like a lot have recommended Unique. I may pick up a lb of it at the next 1500.
What OAL are you loading at for your 9mm CZ's, just curious?

 

[RMC]

I don't like TiteGroup in 9mm only because it's harder for me to see the smaller amount of powder in the case. That's with 115 gr bullets and it would be even harder with heavier bullets. I'm having very good results with Power Pistol and it works good in the other calibers I shoot too.

 

[superluckycat]

I don't like TiteGroup in 9mm only because it's harder for me to see the smaller amount of powder in the case. That's with 115 gr bullets and it would be even harder with heavier bullets. I'm having very good results with Power Pistol and it works good in the other calibers I shoot too.

I shoot TG mainly because it's cheap and economical but that sh*t is dirty as hell. A couple hundred rounds through my Tanfo and it looks like I dropped it in the Porta Potty.

I may try out some Nobel Prima V next time I order from Powder Valley.

 

[bigbaloo95]

+1 for bullseye. It is an economical load and not as pressure sensitive as titegroup and cleaner than unique.

 

[kludge]

All y'all people that say Bullseye and Unique aren't all that dirty really need to try Universal. Jus' sayin'.

 

[bigbaloo95]

Bullseye isn't as dirty as unique but it is dirty. It's also cheap and easy to find round here. Wanna try dirty I just loaded 45acp with some 800x I bought. Out of a commander length barrel I think only half the powder actually burnt but woohoo the fireball was a thing to behold.

 

[Thegeek]

Voted for Titegroup, I've just recently started reloading 147 gr 9mm's with Titegroup for low recoil loads. It took a little more adjusting to get the desired results than the 115gr projectiles, but I think I'm going to stick with this load for a while due to the accuracy and faster double taps.

And I would disagree (although I have 5 lb of the stuff). I've found that Titegroup is just too sensitive. Unless you're using a trickler of some kind, even a quality powder measure will vary too much. That being said, if you have a precision power measure (loadmaster, etc.), it's a very cost effective powder.

 

[bwframe]

The Dillon powder measure varies hardly at all for me with Titegroup?

 

[rvb]

The Dillon powder measure varies hardly at all for me with Titegroup?

ditto. I get single digit STd Dev over the chrono.

-rvb

 

[natetheace]

Seems like a lot have recommended Unique. I may pick up a lb of it at the next 1500.
What OAL are you loading at for your 9mm CZ's, just curious?

My OAL is 1.164.

 

[Broom_jm]

"Heavy" must mean something different in handgun loads than it means in rifle loads. With rifle loads, getting the best velocity and accuracy from heavy bullets generally means choosing a powder that is on the slow side of suitable. Say you're shooting a 270 Winchester with 150gr bullets. You would not want to use IMR4895 or Varget (medium burn rate powders), you'd want to go with a 4350, 4831 or RL19, which are all slower-burning powders. Now, if you were shooting 110gr bullets from a 270 Win, you might go with the faster powders.

What I see in this thread is most folks recommending TG, which is just about the fastest-burning powder suitable for 9mm. I'm not sure if the OP is asking about 147gr loads, exclusively, but the only reason I've ever seen for using TG is economy; you get more loads per pound of powder. For the best velocity with heavy bullets, there are better choices, like W231 and Power Pistol.

Maybe the OP can clear this up a bit: When you say "heavy" 9mm loads, what do you mean, exactly?

 

[rvb]

He didn't ask how to get the max velocity. That probably would have been a different answer. best powder doesn't have to mean max velocity. I like TG under 147s because it meters and chromos extremely consistently, shows very little temperature variation, fully burns at reasonable pressures, and being fast the recoil / muzzle rise is reduced compared to slower powders, yet I can still get reasonable power factors easily (my match loads are 133-137 PF depending on the gun they are shot out of. 140-145 wouldn't be pushing it too much). oh, and using a faster powder vs slower seems to be quieter in the silencers since it gets fully burnt while the bullet is in the barrel. I actually like vvn310/320 better, but its availability is always so sketchy I stick with TG.

-rvb

 

[Broom_jm]

So, that goes back to my question about what "heavy" means, in this context. Is it a certain Power Factor?

 

[rvb]

So, that goes back to my question about what "heavy" means, in this context. Is it a certain Power Factor?

seemed pretty clear in the OP .....

Looking to start reloading 147 gr (or something around that weight) 9mm

ETA: if he wants max velocity or power factor or flash or smoke from his heavy bullets, he didn't state that.

-rvb