Hodgdon HP38 for 9mm plinking ammo

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Venti30

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When I started loading 9mm roughly 4 months ago I started using, and haven't changed since then, HP38. It seemed to have a low cost per round for my bullet weight, (115 grain most times) 4.3-4.8 min max range and my thinking at the time was simply economical choice because my wife and I shoot a good bit, probably 800 to 1000 rounds a month.

Not making match grade of any kind, just good honest target practice ammo. I'd be curious to hear if anyone has another preference for plinking ammo? I'm still new enough at reloading that frankly I don't know that I'd notice the fine nuances of faster/slower burning powder and I'm sure there's reason to consider that as a factor, I'm just not there yet in my learning journey, but would love to hear your input.
 
I don't load 9mm anymore, but loved HP38 in it. Works very well in 357 and 45 auto too. It has all the nice qualities you want, metering, clean burning, soft recoil, economy and accuracy.
 
Hodgdon HP38 for 9mm plinking ammo
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Yes. Most definitely.

For general range shooters, HP-38 (or Winchester 231 - they are the same propellant with different labeling) works great in 9mm. Especially with 115 grain bullets. But will do well with 124's too.

You can look for a better propellant choice, but you won't likely find one significantly better in any way. HP-38/9mm/115 is a great combo. Load away.
 
HP-38 is perfect for the reasons you describe....I use a lot of it.....no reason to change if your happy with it
 
I've been using HP-38 as well for 9mm 124gr FMJ's. Middle of the suggested power charge range gives me a nice round comparable to factory ammo.

The one thing i dislike about HP-38 is it's so light it tends to have a few grains of powder jump out of the case while i'm working the press.

For super light recoil loads i've had success with titegroup just a bit above the minimum suggested powder charge. If you run the minimum i found the powder burns very dirty.
 
I too am a believer in HP-38 in the 9mm. At the same time I have also started using Ramshot Silhouette in the 9mm. The reason being is I do a lot of shooting indoors and I have found that the Ramshot does as advertised and does reduce smoke. This was noticeable right away and even my wife commented after the 1st range trip with it.

It's a little slower powder but burns clean and I haven't noticed any fall-off in performance. So if you too are shooting indoors a lot it might be worth a look.
 
It is certainly a good powder for 9mm but why is cost a factor? For maybe a dollar or two per pound either way there a lot of other powders to try. Thats part of the fun in reloading. Accurate #5 and Win AutoComp are two of my favorites, but thats just me. Considering how many rounds of 9mm come out of one pound cost is just no big deal. Since I tried the two I mentioned I haven't used 231 in 9mm for probably ten years. Experiment a little!
 
Hi Jag2,

I probably worded that too quickly. See, when I was starting out, I was expecting to have experimental and production errors as I got my self oriented. In saying that, my research included how many grains per round for this or that recipe. The HP38 made sense at the time of my initiation with starting loads in the low 4 grain area, so my overall rounds per pound was appearing to be higher with HP38 than some other powders. So I suppose I shouldve said rounds per pound or something else. Puffier/fluffier or whatever it's referred to as powders would have produced less rounds per pound from what information I was looking at in the beginning.

As it turns out, I've found HP38 to work just fine for my purposes, and was just curios what other's input on the topic of powder selection would be.

Thanks to all for your input! I don't have any local friends that reload, so this is where all my discussion is currently occurring. Good to hear all the different points of view.
 
Venti30 I believe what your confusing is burn rate and powder density.

The 2 powders I mentioned have different burn rates but when measured out in a volumetric filler they both use about the same space even though one is using about 1.0 grain more powder. The same is true with the Accurate #5 powder. It is slower but is more dense and takes up less space than HP-38.

With the testing I've done with 3 powders in 9mm; HP-38, Ramshot Silhouette and Accurate #5 I think I've settled on the HP-38 and the Ramshot because it works so well in the 9mm and the Ramshot works very well in my 380. After I use up the AA#5 I am going to try some AA#2 and see how that performs.
 
I use HP-38 in 9mm.

I prefer Hi-Skor 800X. But, I load on a single stage press, throw my charges light and trickle each one up to the desired weight, so the fact 800X does not meter well doesn't impact me. At 800 rounds a month, you need something that will flow readily through the powder measure and HP-38 is hard to beat for that.
 
What bullets?

Venti30: We're curious specifically what bullets you are using.

Brand? Weight? Profile (FP, RN, JHP, etc.)? Construction (lead, plated, jacketed, coated, etc.)?
 
There are a lot of powders that work very well for 9mm 115 fmj. Have switched to hp-38 because 7625 was discontinued, and am already using hp-38 for lead target rounds in multiple calibers. That and it is commonly available and generally inexpensive.
 
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Nick_C_S said:
Venti30: We're curious specifically what bullets you are using.

Brand? Weight? Profile (FP, RN, JHP, etc.)? Construction (lead, plated, jacketed, coated, etc.)?
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Hi Nick

I load 9mm Berry’s plated in two flavors. 115 and 124 grain, RN for both weights.
 
Venti30 I'm using 3 9mm plated bullets. 115gr RN from both Berry's and XTREME depending on who has the best sale at the time and 124gr Berry's Hollow Base Flap Point. The cost a little more but I really like them enough to pay the extra.

So far I haven't tried the Rainiers. Last time they were on Sale at CABELA'S they were completely out of stock. Imagine that!
 
HP-38 is a great powder, but for plinking I like Clays much better. In 9mm I've used HP-38, 700-X, HS6, Titegroup, Accurate#5, Red Dot, and Bullseye with fairly good success. Each has its own particular characteristics and I still use 700-X, HS6, Titegroup, and Clays as my main powders for 9mm. Of these, Clays is my favorite. It's economical, very accurate, burns pretty clean, and seems to have a lighter feeling recoil. Now I know that the recoil is probably a matter of perception, but this is my perception. Your mileage may vary, but I would definitely suggest you give it a try.
 
Berry’s plated in two flavors. 115 and 124 grain, RN
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Thanks. Good choice(s). Yes, HP-38 will do quite well. And since your bullets are plated, TiteGroup should get honorable mention here. TG is quite economical too (keeping in mind that the propellant is the least costly of the components - never factors in on my powder choice).

There's been a good amount of talk about Accurate #5 here. It's really good stuff. But for your application (range shooters), I think AA5 runs a little slow for the 115's. It would do better with the 124's. AA5 is suited to make some pretty spunky ammo for compact 9mm's; including up to defense levels.

All that said, if you already have HP-38, there's really no reason to search for something "better."
 
I am sold on the hp-38 in the 9mm Works well at all levels and is clean and easy to use. Only thing that I find about it is that I cannot find a load with it that works well in my 380 with a 100gr plated bullet. I've talked with many that use it in 380 with success but they all seem to be using lighter bullets.
 
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