10mm Gold Dots & BE-86

S

Swifty Morgan

New member
I decided to try BE-86 for 10mm rounds. I'm using Speer GDHP 180-grain bullets.

I could not find a recipe, so I decided to start with Alliant's BE-86 recipe for Federal 180-grain JHP.

The Federal bullet is 0.637" long. The GDHP is 0.630" long. I am keeping the OAL at 1.250". That tells me the cartridge volume will be bigger with GDHP bullets, presumably reducing pressure and velocity. Does that sound correct?

I dropped back 0.4 grains from the Alliant recipe, to 7.8 grains. I got this result:

06 17 20 10mm 180 GDHP BE-86 Digital Link
Temperature: 79° F
Pressure: 30 in Hg
Bullet Weight: N/A
Number of Shots: 5
Minimum: 1074
Maximum: 1101
Spread: 27
Average: 1086
Standard Deviation: 10
Custom Attributes
Caliber 10 mm
Bullet Speer GDHP 180 grains
Brass Starline new
Powder BE-86
Charge 7.8 grains
OAL 1.250"
# Velocity Date
5 1093 6/17/20 8:08 PM
4 1086 6/17/20 8:08 PM
3 1101 6/17/20 8:08 PM
2 1074 6/17/20 8:08 PM
1 1078 6/17/20 8:08 PM
Click to expand...

The spent casings look fine.

I am thinking I'll just increase the charge 0.2 grains at a time until I get to 1200 fps from this pistol. Seem reasonable?
 
It sounds like it is fine in your gun. But for anyone else reading, I want to point out that if you download the PDF version of Alliant's data, it tells you their "recipes" are actually maximum loads, and they operate on the assumption you will reduce them by 10% for your starting load. So they expect people to start at 7.0 grains with this "recipe" and work up.

In this instance, however, the Gold Dot, with its plated jacket, is a bit softer than a cup and core bullet, so it tends to produce lower start pressures. A Speer tech told me they often find they can run higher charges in Gold Dots than with the same-weight cup and core bullets, so there was at least a small additional safety margin in the bullet hardness in addition to the 0.007" extra powder space. The casual reader should be aware that starting with a middle load, though many do it, doesn't work out with all load combinations in all guns and can sometimes produce high-pressure signs. Therefore starting with the recommended starting load is generally prudent.
 
I am very pleased. I just put some rounds through the chronograph, and I got about 1190 fps with BE-86. The casings look fine, and the weird thing is that it doesn't feel as harsh as AA#7. I don't see how that can be possible, but it's true. I guess the burn rate has an effect on recoil.

I made a mistake and shot the wrong magazine first. I shot some old rounds full of AA#7 rounds. It worked out well, though, because it gave me a great basis for comparing recoil. The No.7 seemed harsh and snappy. The BE-86 seemed to go out with a friendly "pop," sort of like a .45 ACP.

The spread on all shots was crazy tight.

I'll post the results. First, the No.7.

06 22 20 10mm 180 GDHP AA#7 Old Digital Link
Temperature: N/A
Pressure: N/A
Bullet Weight: N/A
Number of Shots: 8
Minimum: 1188
Maximum: 1194
Spread: 6
Average: 1191
Standard Deviation: 2
Custom Attributes
Caliber 10 mm
Bullet Speer GDHP 180 grains
Brass Starline new
Powder No.7
Charge Check records
OAL 1.260"
Barrel Storm Lake
Gun Glock 29
# Velocity Date
8 1194 6/22/20 1:34 PM
7 1192 6/22/20 1:34 PM
6 1192 6/22/20 1:34 PM
5 1190 6/22/20 1:34 PM
4 1192 6/22/20 1:33 PM
3 1191 6/22/20 1:33 PM
2 1188 6/22/20 1:33 PM
1 1191 6/22/20 1:33 PM

Now the BE-86.

06 22 20 10mm 180 GDHP BE-86 Digital Link
Temperature: N/A
Pressure: N/A
Bullet Weight: N/A
Number of Shots: 6
Minimum: 1188
Maximum: 1191
Spread: 3
Average: 1189
Standard Deviation: 1
Custom Attributes
Caliber 10 mm
Bullet Speer GDHP 180 grains
Brass Starline new
Powder BE-86
Charge 8.0 grains
OAL 1.250"
Primer Federal 150
Barrel Storm Lake
Gun Glock 29
# Velocity Date
6 1189 6/22/20 1:38 PM
5 1191 6/22/20 1:38 PM
4 1188 6/22/20 1:38 PM
3 1188 6/22/20 1:38 PM
2 1190 6/22/20 1:38 PM
1 1190 6/22/20 1:38 PM

I am reluctant to go too fast, because I've seen people complain about the way this bullet performs at 1300. I originally wanted 1250 from the short barrel in the Glock 29, but if I go that high, I may hit 1300 in the Glock 20.

The speed went up by around 100 fps when I added 0.2 grains, so I don't know if it's even possible to increase the charge without breaking 1300 in the longer barrel.

I got good velocity, pleasant recoil, and suppressed flash. This looks ideal.
 
Last edited:
I decided to try 8.1 grains before quitting. I got 1590 fps, suggesting something MIGHT be wrong with the chronograph. The manual says to paint your bullets black on bright days, so I did that. With 8.1 grains, it gave me 1100 fps, or 90 fps SLOWER than 8.0 grains.

No idea what's going on.

At least I didn't get pressure signs.
 
This keeps getting more interesting.

Someone on another forum had a problem with Power Pistol and 180-grain 10mm loads. The velocity peaked at a certain charge weight and then dropped. Power Pistol is the base for BE-86, so if Power Pistol behaves this way, it would make sense for BE-86 to do the same thing.
 
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