Burn Rate Question

[shane8168]

I've been looking for a while now, trying to decide what powder to go to.

I've been using W231 under 125 gr LRN in my 9mm and I like the load, no problem, but the smoke inside sucks!!!

Looking to cut the smoke down.

I'm leaning toward Solo 1000, WST or WSF as a replacement.

I've got about 5k projectiles laying on the floor waiting to be loaded, so I will load those first, but also thinking about (have some samples on the way) moving to Bayou Bullets or some comparable Moly Bullet.

These are all for USPSA type games.

When I look at burn rate charts, sometimes I see Solo 1k ahead of the rest of them and sometimes I see WST ahead, one chart even lists Solo 1k ahead of Tight Group (which I have four unopened pounds of and could use those if I get down to it).

So, what is the deal with burn rate, can Solo 1k really burn faster than TG and not smoke? Is burn rate different than burn temperature?

[GrumpyOne]

You want smoke with lead? Try some plain Clays.....

[rback]

Solo or WST for lead.

[prebancolt]

Also Try Some N310. Almost No Smoke With Lead

[gng4life]

Don't get too hung up on the burn rate charts. They are not "perfect" and each source seems to have a different ranking for powders.

It's better to look for other proven loads and go with them. The burn rate is good for comparison only and generalizations, I would NOT use it to build loads off of.

Anyway, it is well documented that Solo is an excellent powder for lead bullets, TG is the opposite. I like the VV powders myself, like N320 and they don't smoke.

Good luck...

[shane8168]

Had my mind made up on Solo 1000, went to the Gun Show today (seems like the only place I can find powder) and the guy made up my mind for me... No Solo 1k there, but I did get to trade him my 4 lbs. of Tight Group for 4 lbs. of WST (and bought two more lbs just in case, along with 3,000 primers to go in the stockpile).

So... I'm going with WST loads for the remaining 5,000 Lead bullets I have and then on to Bayou Bullets after that.

I hear it smells like cologne or christmas!

Good news is that I saw several places with primers at this gun show and a month ago there were none to be had. One guy had probably six cases of Winchester SPP sitting there. Too bad he only took cash, I had already spent my cash... Oh well, maybe next time!

[9X23Guy]

WST is what I would try. Everything lead that I have tried with Tite Group smokes like a train.

[wes777]

if you are gaming it, then vv n310 is THE powder for reduced recoil impulse, it is more expensive. An alternative is TiteWad. Most of the loads you will be looking to use cannot be found in a reloading manual. They are deemed to be "unsafe" due to the high pressure they produce. Testimony to their effectiveness can be found in the threads of this forum.

[Scootertheshooter]

I've been using solo 1k for a while and love it with molys. I did try wst but think that the feel of solo was better . I thought the solo smoked less too