9mmMike

I guess I am looking for the least amount of gas production with the highest velocity potential at the lowest expendable pressure... It is a very much a give and take because it is a small threshold of oppprtunity to be working in..

Usually too much crimp will spike pressures. I agree with FLSlim, if FTE was due to low pressure ammo then powder charge weight can be considered too low. Maybe the return spring isn't being charge enough for properly timed slide movement.

I have been chasing a flat shooting, high performance 9mm handgun load for a long time. I really started off on this whole subject because I have a short barreled 3.5/8" HK that I use most of the time. One of the first things I noticed when shooting it over full sized handguns was it's propensity to flip alot more than I was accustomed to. After running a couple drills this perceived "flip" is manageable, but I wasn't satisfied. For a long time I thought it was a mechanical shortcoming of the short recoil, short barrel system on the HK. Then I started to get into reloading. Different powders, different bullets, different primers, somewhere in the component selection I felt I could find the answer I was looking for. After MUCH experimentation, I found 7-7.5 grains of HS-6 with 115 or 124 grain FMJ's and WSP's with COAL 1.125-1.155 to be the best of all variables. I got the velocities up in the short barrel to 1200 fps and I can hit point of aim out to 50 feet with no effort. The recoil and flip are all where I want them in regards to velocity. I felt HS6 was the most NO COMPROMISE powder of all. It is available everywhere, it is very consistent (fps deviations were less than 3 in most 10 shot strings with a high of 7 during one test!) It works well with a variety of bullet weights and other handgun calibers, it isn't noisy, or flashy. I know it isn't a competion load for special race guns, but it is a practical do anything load that makes the shorter gun fun to shoot and keep it safe with very respectable performance numbers. Honarable mentions included with their reason for not working in my gun: Accurate #5- Too low bullet velocity vs pressure expended Accurate #7- Too much gas, alot of muzzle flipper stuff and leftover grit in action and barrel Power Pistol- Too flashy and loud vs. powder charge weight- It just gets louder and more violent as it is pushed-No technical finesse Longshot- Runner up to HS6, but louder than needed as HS6 makes the same velocities with less noise and flash, less consistent fps dvitaions as high as 40 fps= no bueno I want to try Winchester Auto Comp and WSF next....

HS-6 has a progressive burn rate that is ideal for 9mm Major. I like it because of it's availability, recoil impulse, it's high consistency in pressures right at max, and it disposes bullets on target.

Winchester brass is excellent among the names mentioned below. I often buy WWB and pull the bullets and powder and load them to my specifications. I also have experience with Federal's American Eagle and my reloads with their brass worked for me as well.

Too bad they didn't make a hand held quantitative crystallography machine that would tell you the amount of strain a brass case has been subjected to. It could be calibrated much like a headspace guage with three different read outs: "reload", "throw away", and "anneal."

That is good speed for WWB.. I don't like to crimp 9mm cases, but I don't expand them either.. Figureing out a powder by looks isn't a good way to determine what it really is.. It could be 2 different canister powders blended together, or proprietary. I respect your inquiry to find out what it is...

What gun were you using to chronograph with? I chrono'd white box at around 1035fps on average out of a 3.5/8" barreled HK at 12 feet.

They also re-size the case mouth after loading. Take one apart and look at the bullet deformity. It changes pressures in the case, so even if you got the powder you would have to get the re-sizing right.

The p2000 is so well balanced in 9mm that when you shoot it almost becomes telepathic in operation. When i compare handguns, it is always against the p2000 and most place behind it in every catergory.

Get the WSF... It produces velocities similar to HS-6 with a lower charge weight.. WST is a powder better reserved for target loads in lower pressure rounds like 45 ACP, 38 special, etc. I am not saying WST will not work, I am just saying that WSF powder can turn up the 9mm and 125 gr bullets easily and safely, whereas WST can not without concerning pressures.

Winchester loads their 115 grain FMJ looong... They also crimp the bullet tight.. Pull one and you can see the deformity that it causes.. Shoots great in everything I have, albeit a little too slow for my liking...

I chronographed HS6 in 9mm last week while temperatures were in the high 20's and had very consistent velocities across the board with different weight bullets and case manufacturers. I would say HS6 is insensitive, and non-tempermental. I also used some Accurate No. 5 and noted that it was consistent at lower temps as well.

Bearing surface and bullet shape are the biggest factors affecting bullet seating depth. Since Delta made the bullets I would give them the details of your situation and they can get you started on the right path.

I agree with Sarge, 4.5 grains with 147 grain is light. Bump it up .1 grain to see if you can get the case mouth to seal in chamber. If not bump up another .1 grain. Power Pistol doesn't do well loaded really light with autoloaders and Glock chambers are reamed generously. From what it looks like in your picture, the extractor is making contact prematurely with the case mouth as the claw goes to grip the extractor groove on the case. Have you had a FTE or stovepipe with this load? Also are you crimping the case mouth?

New brass. I shot 5 again with pretty much same results. Great target load. I would have done more but I just discovered hs6.

The target was 15 feet away. I'm sure I could get more deviation if I tried. I shot 15 rounds and was under 10 fps on all. I will do some more and see what happens.

I had the chance to use a chronograph for a nice shooting load in 9x19 that is very accurate. The temperature outside was 51 degrees and the barrel I was shooting measures 3.5" in length. I set up the chrony 10 feet away from muzzle to the first sensor. Powder Accurate No. 5 Charge 6.2 grains Case Winchester 9x19 Bullet Hornady 124 gr XTP HP Primer CCI-500 COAL 1.075" No Crimp Five shot group 1034 FPS 1035 FPS 1035 FPS 1031 FPS 1036 FPS All shots touched each other with 2 going through the same hole. Brass cases just laid down about 3 feet to my right. Recoil was modest and muzzle report was quiet. I was satisfied with this load. I also used Winchester small primers but velocity dropped 20 fps and bumping charge weight .2 grains brought it back up but accuracy started to wane. I really wanted to get 1100 fps out of the 3.5" barrel but I just couldn't get the load there without going too overpressure and losing accuracy to powders that can get there a lot easier. For sh*ts I chronoed' Winchester white box 9mm 115 grain fmj and was consistently getting around 1030 fps out of the same 3.5" barrel. It was very accurate as well.

What do you mean by "it isn't the best performer"? I haven't found anything as good as Solo 1000 for 9mm Minor. Sorry.. I meant it isn't the best for making maximum velocity in relationship to pressure. In minor yeah, go for it.

No, my difference was with the same bullet. Nothing changed except the powder. According to the interwebs, Accurate has acknowledged the lot to lot variances, because they say it should be used as a shotgun powder (where supposed variances wouldnt show as much), not pistol. Hence why their pistol data is also so out of date. You said you switched to jacketed when you got new powder. Accurate shows loads for Solo in 9mm, although using it with 147 grain, it isn't the best performer. Good luck!

Lead shoots faster than copper because of differences in softness. More pressure, hence a higher charge weight in powder, is required to move copper at the same velocities you are used to getting with lead. Powder should be fine, as they take many measures to make sure a batch of solo bought 3 years ago is the same as solo bought today.

Use Accurate Powder's website for their loading data or email them for your particular application if you want up to date information. Last time I talked to Accurate 6.3 grains and 115 gr fmj at 1.20 is within SAAMI limits. Just watch your COAL. I use #5 a lot becuase it is, of course, very accurate and soft shooting. It is also very dense and has a fair amount of speed when it comes to the rate of burn. Although their is redundancy built in to max suggested loads, just remember that not all powders behave the same when they are pushed above SAAMI specs in 9mm. #5 will act eccentric when pressures are pushed too high. I tend to load right at or slightly above suggested loads when using #5 in the tiny 9mm case. If you want more from 9mm and want to do it safely #7 will get you there alot more easily.