hellscomin Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 I'm looking at moving to open and currently researching custom open pistols. I need some input so I can decide which cal. Would be best. 9mm major or 38 super. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 No significant difference between the two. Many select 9mm because of the ease of finding inexpensive brass. (Like me ... ) Some select .38 super for the wider selection of suitable powders and ease of using lighter bullets. There has been a LOT written and posted here at BE on this subject in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanc Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 I had a gun built last summer without really thinking it through in 38sc. Its at the smith getting a 9mm barrel right now... Chasing brass is the sole reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parallax3D Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Brass is really the driving factor. 9mm is everywhere. Not only is 38 Super not frequently carried by retailers, when manufacturers make it, they make it in smaller runs than they do other calibers like 9mm, .40 or .45. Simple supply and demand. The demand is less, so they make less.The powder selection issue is less of a problem these days since the power factor was lowered years ago to 165.. There are more powders today that will make major in 9mm than there used to be. I can name at least half a dozen off the top of my head. The problem right now is finding ANY powder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellscomin Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 Looks like i will be going with the 9mm major. I have quite a bit of vv-n320, is there a load combination for this powder that will work and meet power factor ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
open17 Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Looks like i will be going with the 9mm major. I have quite a bit of vv-n320, is there a load combination for this powder that will work and meet power factor ? No. VV N320 is a FAST powder. Great stuff for 9mm minor. You want a slow powder to make the comp work and make major in Open. The list is long---Auto Comp seems popular lately. Hit the reloading part of the forum for a pile of info on loads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parallax3D Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 (edited) Win AutocompWin CFE PistolHodgdon HS-6Ramshot True BlueRamshot SilhouetteVV 3N37VV 3N38Hodgdon Longshot SEEMS like a good choice, but it's not. You can't get to the velocities needed because it's TOO slow and won't burn completely.Those are just what I remember off the top of my head. Search the reloading forum for 9mm major loads and you can find data for pretty much all of these.Personally, i am using 7.2 gr of Autocomp with a 124 gr Montana Gold CMJ. OAL = 1.170 Small Rife primers. PF out of my gun is about 172-173, with no primer flattening. CFE Pistol should be very close to the same load and results. Edited April 11, 2015 by Parallax3D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmj3 Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Looks like i will be going with the 9mm major. I have quite a bit of vv-n320, is there a load combination for this powder that will work and meet power factor ? As already posted, N320 is a no-go for 9mm major. All those posted just above will work fine and HS-6 just happens to be available at Powder Valley right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatland Shooter Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Add VV N350 to your wish list. I've used HS-6 and N350 in 9 Major for years now. The N350, though more expensive, burns much cleaner than the HS-6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellscomin Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 I have some Nobel sport vectan powder AO. I don't think it's been around for awhile but I happened to have some anyone using it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 AO might work, but probably not as good as AutoComp, HS6, CFE Pistol, etc. It's a single base flake shotgun powder (albeit a slow one). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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