Good reloading powders for handguns

[The Legion]

Good reloading powders for handgun ammo

I have been reloading now for about 4 months. I currently load .45 cal 230 grain FMJ and 9mm in 124 and 147 grain FMJ. I have been using HP-38 with both calibers and it seems to be working fine for me. Is this a good handgun powder to use or is there something better I should look at trying?

NRA Member

Glock 34

Glock 23

Glock 17

STI Trojan 5.0 9mm

Kimber Pro TLE II

Wilson Combat CQB

Edited October 3, 2010 by washabra

[Mike]

I've been using Power pistol with 9mm. Tried a 5.7gr load with 124 gr FMJ and it was pretty hot. I dialed it back a bit to minimize the flash. Currently shoting 147gr lead with 4.5 gr PP.

I don't load .45 but a friend of mine does. He uses 7gr of unique.

I load unique in my .38spl loads. 148gr DEWC with 5.4 gr

[Dolomite_supafly]

For 9mm I have used VV 3N38, Power Pistol, HS-6 and Longshot.

For 45 ACP I have used Clays, Power Pistol, HS-6 and Longshot.

I generally stick to the loads listed on the Hogdon website. I will try a few powders until I find one the gun likes and stick with it. But for the most part I like either HS-6 or Longshot for my 9mm and 45 ACP. I am still up in the air about Power Pistol in the 45 ACP. My wife has a bolt action chambered in 45 ACP and it doesn't seem to shoot well when I use Power Pistol. In a pistol it is fine but the rifle it doesn't.

Shooting Clays in 45 ACP does make for a very miserly load. You can get close to 2000 rounds per pound. It also shoots a bit softer. I have tried up to 4.5 grains with a 200 grain bullet without seeing any signs of pressure but I would definitely work up to it because Hogdon's max is 4.3 grains.

Dolomite

[Guest FroggyOne2]

TightGroup

[SonnyCrockett]

ask 25 people and get 25 answers

Tried Unique,way too dirty and I also use Longshot,like it allot - clean too

but I am looking to try PowerPistol next.........

Edited September 27, 2010 by SonnyCrockett

[glockster157]

Power Pistol seems to be the velocity champ...that being said i am an old school guy from way back and I still believe in the classics. I will never be without Bullseye and Unique for good service loads, especially for the 45ACP. My all time favorite(you have already discovered) is WW231/HP38. Same powder, different jug. Best all around powder I have ever used...so far, for the 9mm, 38, 45ACP. I have a closet full of powders, the list is too long to write, and they all have their champions and detractors. I have found it best to pick one or two powders for each purpose and stick with them. It is too expensive and time consuming to try them all. You have began your reloading career with a good. one.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I don't experiment much. Have only tried a few recipes.

Have loaded most 124gr 9mm with W231 for light target loads. It was consistent and accurate. I read that W231 is better with 115gr and lighter 9mm bullets but not so great for 147gr, and W231 burns too fast to go for a high-power load on heavier bullets. Risk of excessive pressure.

My W231 light target loads were 4.3gr W231 with Rainier copper plate JHP. 1.12 OAL. The shape of the Rainier JHP requires fairly long OAL for good feeding. They are long enough to "just barely" fit in some mags. But they feed very reliably.

Have used primarily Blue Dot on .357, good "moderate light" 158gr target loads. Some folks brag that Blue Dot works pretty good for relatively-high-power heavy 9mm bullets. Haven't yet tried Blue Dot on 9mm.

Got one 9mm pistol with a stiffer slide that didn't like the light W231 target loads. Too many stovepipes. Was reluctant to boost a W231 load much more than 4.3gr with a 124gr bullet. Maybe it could safely go a lot higher, but didn't want to try it.

Some folks have reported good success with old Win Action Pistol for high-velocity 124gr. Silhouette is similar to WAP, and some folks reported good success with Silhouette as well. Published loads for WAP and Silhouette are very similar.

Have loaded 124gr XTP JHP with 5.4gr Silhouette at 1.06 OAL. That is a pretty short OAL but is what Hornady recommends. Some published loads for XTP JHP use a longer OAL, but Hornady loads their own "Custom" XTP factory ammo at 1.06.

The 5.4gr Silhouette chronos very close to the Hornady Custom factory ammo. I suspect 5.5gr would match the Hornady factory loads. My std dev was lower than the Hornady factory ammo. It feeds good and works all the pistols including the stiff one and seems to shoot accurate.

That Hornady Custom factory ammo is not 'hot as a firecracker' though. It is not much hotter than walmart Federal or Win white box 9mm.

The above loads might be crummy compared to other powders and recipes. Dunno. Its all I know about the topic.

Edit: All the above were with Federal primers.

Edited September 27, 2010 by Lester Weevils

[SpacemanSpiff]

I'll second that on the Tightgroup. Good powder for most pistol calibers. I've used it for both the .45 acp and the 9mm.

[seez52]

Hard to beat Unique. Yeah, maybe a little dirty but I shoot a lot of cast lead with a lube groove so it's gonna be dirty regardless. If I were going to stock pile some powder for a rainy day, Unique would be a big part of it.

[Guest Archminister01]

TightGroup

Agreed. I have used this powder in .45, .40, .38spl, .357. Works well and allows me to not have six different powders on my shelves. Lots of load info on different calibers using this powder on the web.

[Mike]

How is tight group as far as smokiness?

I use unique right now in .38spl and it smokes like crazy.

[Guest DaG]

I love Titegroup for 9,40 and 45 but it does burn a little hotter. On days with high heat and humidity it will smoke a liitle more with lead but it is probably the best all around powder for handgun IMHO. It's cheap and readily availible just about anywhere you look.

DaG

[SonnyCrockett]

How is tight group as far as smokiness?

I use unique right now in .38spl and it smokes like crazy.

I started with Unique as my first powder.........I wont even touch it now,its filthy dirty,smokes to high heaven and well there are LOTS of better powders that are cleaner and more accurate.......

Weeding through the many brands and models and landing on a powder that works for myself/yourself is the trial and error part .....Tightgroup is very popular with many positive reviews .....Its on my list of "trys" but my local shop's selection is limited

[Mike]

What's your opinion on bullseye?

I picked up a pound of it at the gun show yesterday in addition to a case of primers and some 158gr swc 38 bullets.

[seez52]

I just love the smell of Unique and lead bullets in the morning!

[timcalhoun]

Vihtavuori powders are the sweetest shooting and cleanest powders by far IMO, but they are pricey. Titegroup and clays are great ones but as said, titegroup is hotter and snappier (but I like snappy) and clays is too fast for some calibers and the pressure spike curve is quick. In 9, 40, 45, and 38S the Vihtavuorin powders have proven themselves to me as the best, but I do shoot others as a cheaper alternative through the year, but I'm trying to get the gun to fell and act like it does with the Vihtavuori powders.

[leroy]

....How is tight group as far as smokiness?

ullet

I use unique right now in .38spl and it smokes like crazy. ....

Mike:____________

Just noticed this post. Always remember: IF YOU USE LUBRICATED BULLETS (...lead or linotype...) you will always have smoke. The smoke comes from the bullet lube; not the powder. You cant get away from it if you use lubricated bullets. We've shot thousands of them in our revolvers. That being said; Tightgroup is a great powder. So is Unique. If you want powder to burn cleaner (...that is, fewer unburned flakes or particles...), always resize your brass for the heaviest neck tension you can get and crimp (....rolled for revolvers, and taper for autos...). That will improve the "dirty" problem considerably. I think this is the biggest complaint that most people have with handloads vs factory ammo. Take the time to crimp any pistol loads you use. That will make them shoot better and burn cleaner.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Leeroy

[Mike]

Thanks, Leroy. I usually crimp the hell out of my .38 loads to try to increase the pressure, burn efficiency, and to try to combat the grime. I use lubed 9mm bullets in my reloads with power pistol and I don't have any smoke cloud at all. I'd like my .38 loads to be more like that.

Mike

[Guest spoolie]

..............and you were complaining about me wanting a tight crimp set up on the press.