Cleanest Powder for 9MM

[1SOW]

Looking for opinions as to which would be the cleanest powder suitable for 9MM 125ge and 147gr loads. From past experience probably Titegroup is probably as good as it gets.

I agree with many above "DEPENDING ON THE LOAD".

For LIGHT LOADS/COMP: Vit n320-N340 Single base powders burn cleaner at light loads.

If you prefer MID-RANGE AND HIGHER LOADS: Many powders will burn clean if there is enough pressure for efficient combustion.

918:

Silhouette is twice as clean as N320.

In an open class major power factor 9mm load it does pretty well. "Oatmeal" is the common description of the residue.

 

[Krogen]

To me, asking which powder is cleanest is like asking which car is cleanest to work on? It matters not to me - I'm going to get dirty working on a car. You get your hands dirty shooting handguns too. If you don't care for the dirt buy an airsoft.

Now I will say I shoot a lot of Unique in revolvers and it's annoying when an unburned flake gets under the extractor star. That's why I keep a toothbrush in my shooting bag. It's just part of the game.

 

[918v]

In an open class major power factor 9mm load it does pretty well. "Oatmeal" is the common description of the residue.

But even in normal loads, I challenge anyone to tell the difference between a soiled case using Silhouette and one using only the primer. Primers cause more fouling than Silhouette.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

RDot under cast 125gr, Power Pistol under 124gr jhp is all I've ever loaded, no reason to try anything different as these do great.

 

[1SOW]

But even in normal loads, I challenge anyone to tell the difference between a soiled case using Silhouette and one using only the primer. Primers cause more fouling than Silhouette.

Mostly I was poking fun, but I don't care what the case looks like. I do care that the pistol will run in an all-day competition without failures due to soot or crud build-up. Slow burn powders will not do this reliably with light loads. With heavier loads they are fine.

 

[777TRUTH]

I load with powders I like rather than chase the possible cleanest powder (which may not be the cleanest for every load I use).

Clean your guns regularly and there should be no issue.

 

[hentown]

I use AA#5, exclusively, for 9mm and .45acp reloading. Works great for me. Meters well, burns cleanly.

 

[1SOW]

I load with powders I like rather than chase the possible cleanest powder (which may not be the cleanest for every load I use).

Clean your guns regularly and there should be no issue.

Different shooters have different uses for their pistols.

I do the same "for my use". Go out and shoot 500-600 rds in an all day shoot with a semi-auto, lightly sprung and shooting 9mm 125gr at 1040 speeds/130 PF. Sooty or dirty powder can cause a big change in your shooting scores at the end of the day. My 75B has well over 50K rds through it, mostly my reloads. It will run all day and more, quite a bit more.

"hentown's" AA#5 does also perform well with light loads. It's also accurate. I wanted to use it as my back-up powder. Unfortunately my LEE turret press Pro-Powder system is not happy with it.

Vit n320 single base powder shoots fairly accurately and ALSO shoots cleanly with light loads. It's not temp or position sensitive, burns 'cool' and has a good load range up to around 1100'/sec with 124/125gr bullets. What's not to like?

Thoroughly cleaning your pistol is not the issue the OP asked about.

 

[greenlion]

I've never understood why some people spend so much energy trying to convince someone who wants clean burning loads that they REALLY DON'T want clean burning loads in threads like this. Look, if one brand of powder performs as well or better that some dirty smoky powder, and costs less at the same time, you'd really have to be close to being an idiot to keep using the dirty powder brand, unless you just really like bigger messes to clean up.

Clays btw...