9mm Powders: do you use AA#7?

I have used a pound of it, mostly in 9mm. At the time I was powder dropping with a Lee powder device. The #7 leaked like a sieve out of the autodisk. When I used it in the autodrum, it leaked less so. It's a very fine powder. Up side, it measures very consistantly. Down side, it leaks out of some powder feeders. I would consider using it again, but I have so many other powders in the locker right now.

Good powder for full power 9mm. Originally developed as a powder for subgun/+P+ 9mm ammo. Meters wonderfully. Flashy and blasty.

460Shooter said:

I'm about to embark on loading 9mm Luger. In looking at load data, AA#7 seems to produce some nice velocity at standard pressures. I'm curious if many folks use it or not? I don't hear a lot of talk about it. Any usage is dependent on working up accurate loads of course.

I've heard good things about Power Pistol, which I have on hand, and AA#5 seems to produce good results also.

I am planning on loading 124 gr RMR TC Match Winners. Is there a different powder to focus on?

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David Sams, the pistol smith who made this Bullseye Pistol



conducted extensive testing on 50 yard accuracy and the 9mm. And his recommendation: Match Hollowpoints (115 grain I think) and Power Pistol. Also, you had to get the velocities up, somewhere between 1150 and 1200 fps for 50 yard accuracy.

Which is one reason the 9mm has more or less fizzled as a centerfire Bullseye Pistol round. The perceived recoil is not a lot less than a 185 grain bullet out of a 45 ACP. It is less, but not hugely less. And the recoil impulse is sharper and the pistol weirdly twists in your hand. And then, at the end of the day, after hours of driving home, you have three pistols to clean before you get to bed. Two pistols to clean is a lot less work.

I got some when I started reloading.
I don’t like it

I agree it meters consistent but it leaks like crazy.

I prefer BE86 then Win231/HP38

that said if you use #7 it’s ok

Power Pistol may give D. Sams good accuracy but it gave me lots of blast and flash. No wonder he says it is harsh.

I load 9mm mostly with HP38 which meters well.
If I had run out before the conclusion of the Hillary Obama panic, it was going to be Bullseye.

I've used it through three different measures, (Dillon, Hornady and Redding) and it meters perfectly.

It was developed by Israeli Military Industries for the UZI submachinegun. It gives excellent velocity at moderate pressures.

I've worked up some excellent loads with 115 and 124 grain bullets.

IME, AAC#7, Power Pistol and HS-6 are the very best powders available for general reloading of 9mm.

(Longshot for "pumpkin rollers" like 145 and 147 grainers)

A#7 and Power Pistol are some of the better powders for accuracy (and power) in the 9mm. Others are Silhouette, N350.

My Kart barrel prefers 115 and 147 grain bullets with A#7, but occasionally produces nice groups with 124/5s, including RMR 124 FMJ MWs.

So, don't write off A#7 or PP. They deliver! See if your gun likes them.

cheygriz said:

It was developed by Israeli Military Industries

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But contracted from all over the world. After a fire at IMI they were getting powder from Red China. Now "made in USA."
There is a lot of Internet Angst over lot numbers, how well can powder be duplicated in a completely different factory?

I go with BE 86, it's Power Pistol with flash suppressors built in.

460Shooter said:

Hmm. So not so much an endorsement of Power Pistol. Ok. This ammo will be geared towards plinking and SD practice. The latter is more the goal, hence my desire for good velocity. But I don't do any true bullseye shooting. But I'll heed this advice if I do.


I am on a Dillon 550B, and I've found that AA#5 and AA#9 both really meter well in a Dillon powder drop. It's actually one of the things drawing me to AA#7 for this purpose. I assume it's the same consistency, or close to the other two? That's a shame it was so leaky for you guys. I actually like AA powders enough, and can find them locally for good prices that I've been thinking about just focusing my reloading efforts using those powders almost exclusively.


I've got a pound of W231 on hand,

I agree it meters consistent but it leaks like crazy.

I prefer BE86 then Win231/HP38

that said if you use #7 it’s ok

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+1 on W231. I use it for 380, 9mm , 45 acp and 45 colt.

If you have Loudshot, ah er Longshot give it a try, It makes nice load full power 9mms
My favorites for full power 9mm are Silhouette, BE86 and then WSF and CFE-P.
Ramshot lists P+ data.
BE86 gives excellent vels on top, works well for some people in milder loads as well but my pistols just don't seem to care for it in milder loads.
WSF gives up velocity on top to some of the others but works well for milder practice laods as well.
My current favorite minor PF load is 4.3-4.4 WSF with a RMR MPR 124, so WSF works well there as well.
Mixed range brass, S+P SP 5" 9mm 1911
String: 6
Date: 3/31/2017
Time: 3:18:05 PM
Grains: 124
Hi Vel: 1180
Low Vel: 1143
Ave Vel: 1158
Ext Spread: 37
Std Dev: 14
RMR 124 RN 1.12 OAL BE86 5.5gr
Velocity Power Factor Ft/Lbs
1180 146.32 383.343
1163 144.212 372.377
1160 143.84 370.458
1143 141.732 359.68
1146 142.104 361.57

Still a couple 1/10ths under Alliants MAX.

I've used some AA#7 in 9x19 but during the Obama years I discovered True Blue. At the time, it seemed True Blue had not been "discovered" so it was plentiful.

True Blue is my main powder for 9x19 now. I'd fall back to AA#7 as a back up if I could not get True Blue.

I am a novice handloader and don't claim to know much, but I have been pleased with W231 for my 9mm, 380acp and 32acp rounds. When I feel the need for something different, for no particular reason, I switch to CFE Pistol. I've never used AA#7 and for now don't have a compelling reason to consider trying it. As I said I don't know jack, but I'm having fun. I hope you find the powder that works best for you.

I have used #7 for 9x19 luger with 135gr bullets and it worked very well. For 124gr RMR TCFP I prefer Be-86 and Accurate #5.
Accurate #5 has been very consistent for a decade for me.

I looked up some old data I had:
Brass was mixed, Xtreme plated FP in 124gr. #7 powder, avg was 964 FPS.
Overalll, tried it in 40 also and just moved on to other powders. If times got tight and I needed a powder to stand in, wouldn't hesitate to use it, just not my go to

Walkalong said:

True Blue seems like a real "under the radar" powder. Good stuff IMHO.

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I have had unbelievably low ES and SD numbers with True Blue for 9x19, but I get better accuracy with BE-86 and Accurate #5

Am using AA_7 for full power 9mm loads and 124/147 grain bullets. For my purposes it is more accurate with Fed 200 mag primers. Have not had as good luck using AA7 with lighter bullets or plinking loads. It burns clean carbon wise, but leaves little yellow particles.

I have a very compelling reason to use AA#7; several years ago I found an 8 lb. keg at the Dallas Gun Show for a paltry $80. I love the stuff as it meters very well. And on that subject, if a powder leaks from a powder measure, it most assuredly isn't the powders fault. I've run it through an RCBS Uniflow and an old Lyman #55 with zero problems.

I've found the powder to be surprisingly versatile. I've used it in my .357's, .44 Special's, 45 Colt's and in my 7.5 Swiss for reduced cast bullet loads which I used for High Power competition. Oh yeah, and I currently use it in my 9mm's for full power loads. My load log is some 200' away in the shop, so I'll wait until tomorrow to get the data and chronograph results.

35W

Digging up some old data, I used 7.0 gr A#7 with RMR 124 FMJ FP MW seated to 1.100 and CCI 500 primers in Lapua cases.

Average velocity was 1179 fps from a 5" Kart barrel. The 50-shot group (from a Ransom Rest) was 1.80".

Another session I used 7.5 gr A#7, same bullets, same gun, average speed was 1241 fps, 15-shot group measured 0.83". I don't think I could replicate this. Small groups happen by chance sometimes.

Folks might find the articles below of some interest as they discuss the randomness of group size.

http://accuracy.martinchick.com/handgun_rifle.html

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nra/ssusa_201909/index.php#/36