- POWDER TYPES (Shape/Burn rate/Coating)
Repost from another thread -
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=10094169#post10094169
Jarhead66 said:
What's what in powders
9mm ... Is there a good all around 1 stop reference site that would give the ups and downs, pros and cons of the powders on the market.
My dilemma is why should I get Hodgdon over IMR over alliant and so on and does a certain powder have a benefit over another.
Welcome to THR.
Below is a compilation of pistol powders by relative burn rate grouping -
http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=9906849&postcount=113
Faster burning pistol powders:
E3 - Competition - Nitro 100 - N310 - Ba10
No. 2 - Bullseye - Clays - WST - Red Dot/Promo - 700X - TiteGroup - Solo 1000 - Am. Select - International - Trail Boss - PB - N320 - Ba9 1/2
No. 5 - W231/HP-38 - Zip - Green Dot - SR7625 - N32C - A1
Slower burning pistol powders:
Unique - Universal - BE-86 - Power Pistol - WSF - N330 - Ba9
HS6 - AutoComp - CFE Pistol - Long Shot - Herco - 800X - True Blue - N340 - 3N37 - A0
No. 7 - SR4756 - Blue Dot - N350 - Ba7 1/2
No. 9 - Enforcer - W296/H110 - 2400 - Steel - SR4759 - H4227 - Lil'Gun - 3N38 - Ba6 1/2
What I found with faster burning than Unique/Universal/BE-86 powders is that faster powders tend to produce more snappy recoil while slower burning powders produce less snappy recoil.
Slower burning powders tend to produce consistent chamber pressures (and more efficient powder burn) at high to near max load data and produce greater velocities. You need consistent chamber pressures for consistent muzzle velocities which translates to smaller shot groups/accuracy. Faster burning powders can produce consistent enough chamber pressures at mid to high range load data for accuracy but will produce lower velocities. For these reasons, slower powders are used for full-power loads while faster powders are used for lighter recoil target loads.
Moderately fast burning W231/HP-38 (they are same exact powder) and Zip/No. 5 are often recommended for new reloaders as they provide flexibility between fast/slower burn rate powders with excellent metering qualities (+/- .1 grain or less variance) in most powder measures.
Powder granule type and size is another consideration. Powders such as No. 2/No. 5 are "ball" powders while W231/HP-38/WSF/AutoComp are "flattened ball" powders. They meter very well with +/- .1 grain or less variance. Powders such as Bullseye/BE-86/Power Pistol are "small flake" powders and also meter very well with +/- .1 grain or less variance. Red Dot/Promo/Unique are bulky "large flake" powders and won't meter very well often with +/- .2 gr+ variance.
Although large flake powders like Unique won't meter well, it is popular with reloaders as most pistol charges will spill over the case with a double charge while more denser powders like W231/HP-38 will not spill over even with a double or triple charge of powder.
I have used Bullseye/Clays/WST/Red Dot/Promo/Titegroup/N320/W231/HP-38/Green Dot/Unique/Universal/BE-86/Power Pistol/WSF/HS-6/AutoComp/Herco for 9mm and found Bullseye/Titegroup/WST/BE-86 to produce more accurate loads than W231/HP-38 -
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9924922#post9924922
I like Red Dot/Promo for general purpose/plinking loads as even though they don't meter well, they produce accurate enough economical loads for range practice (Promo is lowest priced pistol powder at around $110/8 lbs).
Here are some more detailed characteristics and pictures of popular pistol powders compared to W231/HP-38 -
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9890280#post9890280
Alliant Bullseye, Winchester 231/Hodgdon HP-38 and Alliant Power Pistol
W231 and HP-38 are coated flattened ball powders. They are the same exact powder sold by Winchester and licensed to Hodgdon in 2006 and W231 load data can be interchanged with HP-38 if your W231 was manufactured after 2006. Because of small size and smooth coating, W231/HP-38 meters very consistently and drops powder charges from Pro Auto Disk with less than .1 gr variance. The coating helps lubricate Pro Auto Disk surfaces and is my powder of choice for breaking-in new Pro Auto Disk. I use W231/HP-38 for all pistol calibers I load for as it produces accurate mid-range lower pressure target loads that produce milder recoil and is a good powder for new reloaders just starting out, especially if using Pro Auto Disk powder measure. It produces 9mm like recoil in 40S&W with start/low charges and moderate recoil with mid range charges. Because of small size and smooth flowing characteristics, I use it for 380Auto loads requiring small powder charges of 2.6-3.0 gr [successfully tested down to 2.0 gr] (below smallest Auto Disk hole) using this modification to my Auto Disk -
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9318202
Bullseye is a small flake powder and meters with less than .1 gr variance. Bullseye can produce very accurate target loads (more accurate than W231/HP-38) but because it is faster burning than W231/HP-38, felt recoil generated is more snappy but manageable in 9mm and less comfortable in 40S&W. Bullseye downloads well (shoots accurate down to start charge) and is a popular powder with Bullseye match shooters (hence the name). Same Auto Disk mod works well with Bullseye to drop 1.8-2.6 gr [successfully tested down to 1.5 gr] -
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9318360#post9318360
Power Pistol is a small flake powder and meters with less than .1 gr variance. Power Pistol is slower burning than W231/HP-38 and tends to produce larger than typical muzzle flash in some loads and is popular for 40S&W and other calibers for full-power loads.
Alliant Red Dot, W231/HP-38 and Alliant Promo
Red Dot is a large flake powder and meters with up to .2+ gr variance. If you look at Red Dot closely, you'll see occasional red flakes. Red Dot is a faster burning powder than W231/HP-38 (I think on par with Bullseye) and well suited for various pistol calibers. Despite the larger metering variance, it produces accurate enough loads for range practice/plinking rounds. If you find current load data from Alliant limited, you can find more FMJ/lead loads in 2004 Alliant load data -
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=182147&d=1364769070
Promo is a large flake powder and meters with up to .2+ gr variance. Promo burn rate is comparable to Red Dot and
Alliant says to use Red Dot load data by weight as Promo is more dense. It is my favorite powder for lead 9mm and 45ACP practice/plinking loads as the same 4.0 gr charge is used for 9mm 124/125 gr RN bullets and 45ACP 200 gr SWC bullets. (Promo thread for
9mm/40S&W range test and
45ACP range test).
Although Red Dot/Promo can be used for 40S&W, like Bullseye, they tend to produce more snappy recoil than W231/HP-38 and slower burning powders with the exception of Green Dot.
W231/HP-38, Vihtavuori N320 and Winchester Super Target (WST)
N320 is cut extruded powder (like most rifle powder) that meters with .1 gr variance. N320 is a fast burning powder and many match shooters consider it to be the best 9mm match powder that burns clean and shoots accurate.
WST is flattened ball powder without the black coating. It is a fast burn rate powder that meters with less than .1 gr variance. [Although Hodgdon does not publish load data for 9mm, many match shooters use it. With 124/125 gr bullet pushed to beyond 125 power factor velocities, powder charge may be compressed to varying degree so anticipate spiking of pressure with higher than 4.0 gr charge with FMJ/RN loaded to 1.160" OAL/COL. Many seasoned match shooters told me WST was spiky at the top]
Hodgdon Clays, W231/HP-38 and Hodgdon Titegroup
Clays is a very clean burning fast burn rate powder that meters with .1 gr variance. It is capable of producing accurate light target loads.
Reloaders have either love or hate relationship with Titegroup. Titegroup meters with less than .1 gr variance and is a fast burning powder that burns hot and violent (spiky chamber pressure build up) at near max load data with very narrow load range for many loads (some may consider the start charge to be already near max ). It is a powder that I do not recommend to new reloaders, particularly with lead bullets. However, it is a popular powder with many match shooters as match loads that meet velocity/power factor requirements are less temperature sensitive than W231/HP-38.
Alliant Green Dot, W231/HP-38 and Alliant Herco
Green Dot is sized between Bullseye and Red Dot/Unique and has green flakes. It meters with .1 gr variance and I consider it Alliant's closest powder to W231/HP-38. I found I needed to use .2-.3 gr more powder than my W231/HP-38 loads and produces slightly less accurate loads but if you can't find W231/HP-38 or Ramshot Zip, Green Dot is a good alternative. It is particularly good powder for 40S&W as it produces lower pressure target loads with lighter recoil.
Herco is a flake powder sized comparable to Green Dot and meters with .1 gr variance. It's burn rate is listed between Power Pistol and WSF. This thread covers Herco load development with 9mm jacketed/plated/lead bullets -
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=745656
Hodgdon Universal, W231/HP-38 and Alliant Unique
Unique is popular with many reloaders as it is versatile for most pistol calibers at high to full power loads. It meters with .2+ gr variance and while I tried to like it, since most of my loads are lighter mid-to-high range load data target loads, I prefer to use W231/HP-38 and faster burning powders that are able to produce accuracy at below high-to-near max load data. However, even if Unique was the only powder I had to reload pistol calibers, I would not complain.
Many claim Universal is Hodgdon's version of Unique as it too is versatile for most pistol calibers yet it meters better with .1 gr variance.
Winchester Super Field (WSF), W231/HP-38 and Winchester AutoComp
WSF is the powder I prefer to load full power loads, especially for practice/backup/near duplicate factory JHP rounds using bulk Speer Gold Dot HP and Remington Golden Saber JHP bullets for higher velocities it can produce. Walkalong suggested I try N340 for higher velocity loads and I am planning to do a comparison with WSF, N340 and CFE Pistol as soon as I get some. Like W231/HP-38, WSF is also coated flattened ball powder that meters with less than .1 gr variance.
Some suggested Auto Comp is WSF with flash suppressant but as you can see from the close up comparison picture, the granules are smaller and meters with less than .1 gr variance. I like AutoComp for 9mm/40S&W full power loads."