Best beginner powder for 9mm Luger

Thanks for the correction - I found the same in my Lyman manual after I posted. Looking at them, the construction of the Unique and W231 granules still look very similar. The 231 granules *are* a little flatter, rounder and more uniform, though.
 
As a newer reloader myself I have already figured out I'm going to learn more every time i work up a batch. Initially I chose IMR 4064 for my rifle(.223). Performance is fine but is a pain through my powder measure so i'll try another(non stick type) when I run through my current stock. For my 9mm I chose Titegroup and couldn't be happier. Performance is good for both my 124 gr. fmj's and my 147gr. jhp's. Also it's flake type and works well with my measure.
Whichever type you choose buy smaller amounts until your satisfied with all aspects of the powder. Would be ashame to get stuck with several pounds of a powder you don't like. Same would go for bullets and primers, it's cheaper in bulk but until you've tried it your gambling on if it works for you. Good luck!
 
Scott,

That is interesting when you mention a load producing more muzzle flash. Will have to take that into consideration. The reason being....I bought these Glocks mainly for self defense. Muzzle flash would seem more of a concern at night, in a defensive use. Would seem dangerous to be blinded by a first shot.

Like mentioned earlier we hav factory made defensive ammo. This is what stays in the pistols when not plinking. We shoot the cheap WWB because it is cheap. My eventual goal is to find the best defensive rounds for our pistols, then later try to reproduce handloads that mimic these for plink practice. We thoroughly found we enjoy shooting, but I want "fun" to reinforce "protection" shooting.

One example: My wife stole my Glock 23 after I installed a LW 9mm conversion barrel. It has reliably shot every kind of ammo we've ran though it in 9mm. When she decided to carry this pistol I wanted a good defensive round for her. The LGS guy (experienced fellow who appears to have his head screwed on right) recommended a box of Hornaday "Custom" 124gr JHP. I let her run two boxes throught the G23 to make sure they, the pistol worked well. She practices with the cheap WWB 115 gr. FMJ's. I have no option to practice with these Hornadays at night, legally, :D to check for muzzle flash. Will have to investigate that. Whatever final decision I make on factory defense ammo, I would eventually like to mimic those with handloads. Right now I'm just trying to mimic the cheap WWB for starters.
 
Just got a Windows pop up....laptop battery almost dead.. Will check this thread again tommorow. Good night, you bunch of night owls. :D
 
W231/HP38 would be a good powder to cross over into .40 S&W, as well.

But, I think Unique is a better "beginner" powder. It's very pressure-tolerant in 9mm (even if it runs dirty in low pressure loads), it has a fairly broad charge range, and it is not primer sensitive. (accidentally using the wrong primer won't cause significant pressure changes)
 
I have used W231/HG38 and it works. It measures well in my powder measure. I prefer AA5 for 124 grain bullets and it works pretty good with 115 grain as well. I have tried 700X powder but I don't like to have to measure each and every load. 700X is a flake powder. It isn't consistent in my powder measure. I have tried other powders with varying results.

AA5 seems to burn cleaner than W231/HG does. For a little softer shooting load AA2 works as well. There are several powders that can be used to load 9 mm ammo. It mostly depends on what is available, the bullet type and weight as well as the performance you are trying to achieve. Some powders will work better closer to the low end and some work better closer to the top end. It just depends on what you want.
 
Not sure any of the suitable powders would overflow the case with a double charge. Be careful, inspect your cases once they are charged, and you should be fine.
 
Just because I'm bored, I did some calculations based on Lee's VMD charts, the predicted case capacity of 9mm and each powder manufacturers starting loads...

9mm case capacity I find listed as 0.862 cm³. It seems to me that most cartridges (that I've measured) run about 10% over minimum numbers, so I'll go with 0.862 cm³x1.1, .9482 cm³.

Lee shows a VMD for W231 as .0931, Bullseye as .1064 and Power Pistol as .08891.

Hodgdon shows the starting load of Win231 and 115gr SGD as 4.7, max 5.1

Alliant shows 6.0 PP starting, max 6.7 and Bullseye 4.2 start and 4.7 max.

Okey dokey then...

A starting load of 231, double charged, would be 9.4gr and occupy .87514 cm³, so 92% case capacity. Max load, doubled, would be 10.2gr and occupy .94962cm³, or exactly 100% capacity.

Power Pistol would be between 12.0 and 13.4gr if double charged, occupying 1.066 and 1.19cm³, or from 112% to 125% capacity.

Bullseye would be 8.4 to 9.4 of doubled, occupying between .893 and 1.000 cm³, or 94 to 105% capacity.


Basically, there's a good chance that a true double charge WOULDN'T over flow the case, except with Power Pistol. The main points, though, being that:

1) I personally doubt a "true" double charge is your most likely mistake, as a (rightfully) paranoid newb.

2) Even if you did it without an actual overflow, it should be painfully obvious.

3)Mike is absolutely right in that you need to be careful and it won't happen anyway. I would add that if you CAN'T or WON'T be that careful, you really should find another hobby.

I was just curious how the numbers came out.
 
A double charge of Herco, Blue Dot, or AA#7 should overflow. I'm not sure even a single max charge of Herco or Blue Dot will fit without overflowing.
 
Brian,

Glad you were bored. :D Interesting.

To all,

Believe me...I love my family's fingers and eyes.....every powder filled shell will get a check.

FrankenMauser said:

But, I think Unique is a better "beginner" powder. It's very pressure-tolerant in 9mm (even if it runs dirty in low pressure loads), it has a fairly broad charge range, and it is not primer sensitive. (accidentally using the wrong primer won't cause significant pressure changes)
Click to expand...

Can you expand on "primer sensitive"? Had not heard that term yet. I was going to use CCI primers. They are locally available at Bass Pro.
 
I started reloading with 9 mm. I use a Dillon XL 650 progressive press. I looked through the Lyman #49 manual, and read through the Lee manual. Also, I use loading data from this site:
http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

However, I want to respectfully offer a different opinion than the other guys here about starting powder for 9 mm and particularly about metering. I started with Winchester 231, (same as Hodgdon HP-38). I read about different types of powder, and read lots of comments on forums about how various powders meter through the powder meters on the presses. As a new guy to reloading, you probably want the fewest possible glitches and fewest sources of variation and error. Every manual I looked at suggested power pistol, BUT that is not a ball powder and it may not meter as well as Winchester 231/Hodgdon HP-38, so why start with Power Pistol? Maybe you get to power pistol someday, maybe you wind up happy with other powders, but why start with something that may not meter as well as Win 231?

On Dillon XL650, I can visibly see into the cases as I place the bullet onto the brass to be seated. I also use a charge alarm, but I would not rely on it to pick up small variations in charges. It will pick up major under-charge or major over-charge, but it is just a back up safety feature since I can see into each case as it goes through the press cycle and the bullet is seated. Hopefully, your set up will allow a similar situation as you make rounds with your press.
 
For what it's worth, Power Pistol meters just fine. It's no ball powder, but it doesn't present any problems. I have no doubt that W231 is probably "better" but good enough is good enough.

I'm sure whatever is easier to get will work just fine.
 
I tried Hdgdon HP-38 and Alliant Power Pistol powders for my 9 mm reloading. There was a major difference in recoil between the two. I put the Power Pistol on the shelf. I am reloading for non sanctioned IDPA club meets and don't have to meet a "power factor" and I don't need the extra recoil the Ppower Pistol delivered.
BTW. A double charge of 4.6 grains of HP-38 in a 9 mm case will be obvious. It won't overflow the case but if you take the time to take a peak at it, you will see that the case is almost completely full rather than about half full.
 
Can you expand on "primer sensitive"? Had not heard that term yet. I was going to use CCI primers. They are locally available at Bass Pro.
Click to expand...
Certain powders show significant pressure and/or velocity changes with different primers in the same load.

W296, for example, does not respond well to "accidentally" using a primer other than what the load was worked up with. Pressures might spike, or drop, depending on the exact substitution. The results are unpredictable.

Unique, on the other hand, is really tolerant of primer "accidents". Pressures don't change much, if at all, unless the load is right on the ragged edge and already near-failure.

I'm not advocating using whatever primer type happens to end up in the reloader's hand when gathering components, but it does add a little bit of a safety buffer.
 
Bullseye, Unique, Universal are all good choices for 9mm. I like about 4.6gr of Unique, with a Berry's plated 115gr or 124gr bullet. I can easily see the powder in the case before I place the bullet in and you can't double charge without an overflow. It's a nice safety. They all meter pretty well too.

Mike
 
I would suggest (and mebbe I'm alone in this) that you consider learning safe reloading habits/methods rather than choose components by "if I make a mistake". Use the powder that best suits your intended purpose with the bullet of your choice, and learn how to reload it safely.

I check every powder charge in every case I reload. I visually inspect every case before I seat a bullet. And there are other "tricks" to safe powder charging; my sized/primed cases are sitting in one reloading block on the bench and as each one is charged, it is set in another reloading block. Then before I seat the bulets I pick up the block and either use a Mini-Maglight or bright desk lamp, look in every case. There's a bunch of methods/quirks to making sure only one powder charge gets in each case, an I'm sure some will be added (flip-flop cases, powder check dies, etc.)...
 
unique

I use Uniuqe for both 9 and .40 which i shoot both in comps. It is a very clean powder and you can not over charge the 9mm case with it. It would over flow. I have never had any problems with measureing unique.
 
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