MrYuk Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Working my way through The Great Powder Shortage of the 21st Century and got some CFE Pistol powder. Couldn't find W231 which is what I usually load. Working up to a different bullet also just because... Got some data so I thought I'd share. Range conditions were HOT. 95F+ but it was a dry heat... Powder burned clean, no smell of ammonia that some have noted. I've got 8 lbs of it so I'll be shooting it awhile... I used the reference data from the Hodgdon site to get started. Powder wasn't in any of my books since it is so new. Gun: Glock 17 Bullet: Montana Gold Hollow Point Bullet wgt: 124 COAL: 1.070 Powder: CFE Pistol Powder charge: 4.2 High: 983.7 Low: 951.6 Average: 970.0 (10 rounds) Gun: Glock 17 Bullet: Montana Gold Hollow Point Bullet wgt: 124 COAL: 1.070 Powder: CFE Pistol Powder charge: 4.6 High: 1078 Low: 1009 (but this was kind of an outlier... next lowest was 1032) Average: 1051.5 (10 rounds) Gun: Glock 34 Bullet: Montana Gold Hollow Point Bullet wgt: 124 COAL: 1.070 Powder: CFE Pistol Powder charge: 4.8 High: 1103 Low: 1058 Average: 1085.2 (9 rounds) Gun: Glock 34 Bullet: Montana Gold Hollow Point Bullet wgt: 124 COAL: 1.090 Powder: CFE Pistol Powder charge: 4.8 High: 1099 Low: 1062 Average: 1081.6 (9 rounds) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philrcptx Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 (edited) Here are my results w/ Xtreme 124 gn HPCB (chrono at ~ 5 ft from the muzzle, hot ~ 95F) Gun: XDM 9mm/4.5" Bullet: Xtreme HPCB Bullet wgt: 124 gn COAL: 1.125 Powder: CFE Pistol Powder Charge: 4.6 gn High: 1025 Low: 971 Avg: 1003.2 (5 rounds) Gun: Gen4 Glock 19 Bullet: Xtreme HPCB Bullet wgt: 124 gn COAL: 1.125 Powder: CFE Pistol Powder Charge: 4.6 gn High: 988 Low: 948 Avg: 963.6 (5 rounds) Gun: XDM 9mm/4.5" Bullet: Xtreme HPCB Bullet wgt: 124 gn COAL: 1.125 Powder: CFE Pistol Powder Charge: 4.8 gn High: 1036 Low: 986 Avg: 1012.6 (10 rounds) Gun: XDM 9mm/4.5" Bullet: Xtreme HPCB Bullet wgt: 124 gn COAL: 1.125 Powder: CFE Pistol Powder Charge: 5.0 gn High: 1078 Low: 1033 Avg: 1049.6 (10 rounds) Gun: XDM 9mm/4.5" Bullet: Xtreme HPCB Bullet wgt: 124 gn COAL: 1.125 Powder: CFE Pistol Powder Charge: 5.1 gn High: 1029 Low: 1081 Avg: 1056.8 (10 rounds) If I throw out the flyer at 1029 on the last batch, the numbers come out to: High: 1055 Low: 1081 Avg: 1063.8 (10 rounds) PF: 131 to 134 Some notes: I'm new to reloading. YMMV. As always, start low and work up your own loads. I used Hodgdon data for 125 gr. SIE FMJ as a quasi-starting point: 4.6 gn @ 1.090" COAL with the following adjustments/rationalizationsThe projectile weight difference is negligible Xtreme states that the HPCB are good up to 1500 fps I find that my pistols feed just fine at 1.125; I'll probably do some experimenting with shorter COAL I'm using a very light taper crimp Accuracy: can't tell ya, I'm not that good and didn't shoot from a rest. Batches at 4.6 and 4.8 seemed to be hitting low, though. Both guns cycled fine at 4.6, didn't test the Glock at higher charges I didn't see any indication of overpressure at 5.1 gn Powder seems to meter consistently through Lee Pro AutoDisk w/ adjustable charge bar. Calculated VMD for powder was .0758 cc/gn Edited August 6, 2014 by philrcptx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake617 Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 (edited) I loaded my first jug of CFE /124FMJ for a G34 in sub-max listed charge. Disappointed with failure to cycle slide at even top published charge less .1 and .2g as erratic slide function was evident. Even the published "1150fps" load was not quite enough. The slide mount Burris FastFire II may have slowed slide just enough to make erratic slide function. EXCEPT: same load into old reliable Browning HiPower did same 'not quite enough' for reliable slide function. Loaded CFE the previous week at max loads for 38 special /130/158 cast lead revolver use. Liked the result; good function (of course) and great accuracy for close-up match games. Was told by (unnamed official) at recent Glock match "G34 was designed for 124 FMJ at 1200 fps. I asked twice to make sure I heard that right. Have been searching for powders with sparse luck, those that produce that fps with 124 FMJ. Edited August 7, 2014 by jake34 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrYuk Posted August 7, 2014 Author Share Posted August 7, 2014 I didn't have any slide cycling issues with my loads above. Only shot about 50 rounds or so getting chrono info, so certainly not a lot. The sub-minor loads were certainly light but the others felt "normal" for a full minor load. Shooting a match this weekend so we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrYuk Posted August 12, 2014 Author Share Posted August 12, 2014 Shot the 4.8 g load this past weekend at the NW Challenge. Ran flawlessly all weekend in a glock 34. Chrono'd at 133 PF. Very clean, accuracy seemed good although I have not shot it off a bench yet. Local store gets a good supply so I picked up a couple more. Not that I'm hoarding or anything... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backtonorthidaho Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I tried CFE for the first time last month. I was loading 124 grain plated 9mm. I started at 5 grains of powder. I loaded about a dozen and went out in the yard with me Beretta for testing. They worked flawlessly so I went back in and knocked out another couple hundred. I went back out to yard figuring I'd spend a couple hours poking holes in paper. This time I took my Glock 26. The loads would not cycle the action. I tried my Beretta again and they were fine. Tried my S&W, they worked fine. Back to the 26 - no go. I had to up the load to 5.5 grains to get it to cycle properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judgecrater Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 On 9/16/2014 at 3:43 AM, backtonorthidaho said: I tried CFE for the first time last month. I was loading 124 grain plated 9mm. I started at 5 grains of powder. I loaded about a dozen and went out in the yard with me Beretta for testing. They worked flawlessly so I went back in and knocked out another couple hundred. I went back out to yard figuring I'd spend a couple hours poking holes in paper. This time I took my Glock 26. The loads would not cycle the action. I tried my Beretta again and they were fine. Tried my S&W, they worked fine. Back to the 26 - no go. I had to up the load to 5.5 grains to get it to cycle properly. I am loading 4.8 and get good function from my stock Glock 19 using 124 gr. HiTek coated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demp223 Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 most accurate loads in this order... 1-SNS 147 fp, Gallant 147 fp both .356 dia 1.135 OAL. 4.0 CFE. CCI 500 -930 fps . 2-Xtreme 147rn .356 dia 1.140 OAL 3.9 CFE-930 fps 3-Xtreme 124 rn, 1.15 OAL. 4.8CFE @1130fps. Blue 147fp .355 dia 1.105 OAL 3.8 CFE 920fps. Tested in XDm 5.25” and 4.5”( minus appx 20fps) as well as Shadow 2 and brothers Sig P320 X5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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