SlvrDragon50 Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 I got a chrono, and I discovered last week that my loads were waaaaaay too low (115 HF), and I've finally found my minimum charge. However, I am a little worried about my spread (close to 50). My standard deviation is quite alright based on what I've read (14.4). I was just wondering if these values are acceptable or if I should start to look for another powder. I am using Ramshot True Blue w/ ACME 147gr FPs. I haven't done accuracy tests. I did notice that these seem to kick more than what I am used to, but I also found that I am finding the sights a lot faster which is good. I'm pretty happy with this combination and should hopefully test them out tomorrow at a USPSA shoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 Some guys use true blue for 9MAJOR because it's kind of slow. Your 147 loads will feel much softer with a faster powder. As to your question. SD is the number to watch as it indicates consistency. 14 isn't horrible but generally under 10 is a good target. With the right powder, bullet and technique you can get down to single digits fairly easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlvrDragon50 Posted September 4, 2017 Author Share Posted September 4, 2017 28 minutes ago, Sarge said: Some guys use true blue for 9MAJOR because it's kind of slow. Your 147 loads will feel much softer with a faster powder. As to your question. SD is the number to watch as it indicates consistency. 14 isn't horrible but generally under 10 is a good target. With the right powder, bullet and technique you can get down to single digits fairly easy. Got it. I saw that True Blue was a bit of a slower burning powder, but I like it otherwise. I haven't shot rapidly with it so who knows. An issue I'm having is that whenever I have to shoot weakhand, my wrist gets some pain from the recoil (wrist injury that just isn't healing properly) so I'm really trying to find a soft combination. I am liking the True Blue so far otherwise. I'm really looking forward to trying out the Shooter's World Clean Shot. I know part of my SD issue was OAL since I had some cases that were measuring a bit long, but the seating die wasn't changed and running it through again wasn't changing the OAL. Thanks for the comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 28 minutes ago, SlvrDragon50 said: I'm trying to find a soft combination. I like the True Blue so far As Sarge mentioned, a faster powder (N320, WW231, etc) will feel softer for you. Probably get you better accuracy and lower SD, also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlvrDragon50 Posted September 4, 2017 Author Share Posted September 4, 2017 Just now, Hi-Power Jack said: As Sarge mentioned, a faster powder (N320, WW231, etc) will feel softer for you. Probably get you better accuracy and lower SD, also. Yup! I've got small containers of N320, Prima V, and Clean Shot to try out! This is my first time reloading so I wanted to stick to a powder that was cheap and had good data out there. Feeling a lot more confident now so I will probably try Prima V or Clean Shot next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 N320 is The Drug of Choice for 9mm Minor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlvrDragon50 Posted September 4, 2017 Author Share Posted September 4, 2017 Just now, Hi-Power Jack said: N320 is The Drug of Choice for 9mm Minor That's exactly what I'm scared of Pretty pricey (even though I don't shoot much volume anyways). I'm hoping I try one of the budget powders and fall in love with them first hah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandabooks Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 AA#2 is my go to 147gr minor powder. Very reasonable for price and at 3.2gr a pound goes a long way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 9 minutes ago, SlvrDragon50 said: That's exactly what I'm scared of Pretty pricey (even though I don't shoot much volume anyways). I'm hoping I try one of the budget powders and fall in love with them first hah. It really isn't terribly pricey. A 4lb jug from Powder Valley will run you $114 + hazmat fee $142 ÷ 4 =$35.5 per lb. At around 3.5 grains per round, thats around 8,000 rounds per 4lbs...your primers for that 8k rounds are gonna cost you more than that $142. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlvrDragon50 Posted September 4, 2017 Author Share Posted September 4, 2017 3 minutes ago, aandabooks said: AA#2 is my go to 147gr minor powder. Very reasonable for price and at 3.2gr a pound goes a long way. Yes! That's another powder I really want to try. I believe Clean Shot is very similar to AA#2 though. Just now, GrumpyOne said: It really isn't terribly pricey. A 4lb jug from Powder Valley will run you $114 + hazmat fee $142 ÷ 4 =$35.5 per lb. At around 3.5 grains per round, thats around 8,000 rounds per 4lbs...your primers for that 8k rounds are gonna cost you more than that $142. Shhhh. Stop trying to use reason and logic on me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted September 4, 2017 Share Posted September 4, 2017 Just now, SlvrDragon50 said: Yes! That's another powder I really want to try. I believe Clean Shot is very similar to AA#2 though. Shhhh. Stop trying to use reason and logic on me. You'll end up with N320 anyway. I'm saving you alot of money on other powders...so that drops the cost of the N320 even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmagee67 Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 3 hours ago, SlvrDragon50 said: That's exactly what I'm scared of Pretty pricey (even though I don't shoot much volume anyways). I'm hoping I try one of the budget powders and fall in love with them first hah. If you run a reloading calculator the cost difference between N230 and other powders is very little per round. I ran Clays vs N320 I got $.101/round with Clays and $.106/round with N320. Clays is one of the cheapest powders and N320 is the most expensive. Half a penny per round different.....yes it cost more but just not that much more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlvrDragon50 Posted September 5, 2017 Author Share Posted September 5, 2017 Yea. You guys are right. I think the plan was to end up getting N320 anyways, but everyone was pressuring me to try different powders which I'm doing now. I have a pretty nice spreadsheet of powders and costs, and Ramshot True blue isn't that cheap either at 0.012/round (1 lb tub). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 You are paying a premium for shooting 1 lb tubs - you mention 1.20 cents/round for TrueBlue, and mjmagee67 got 1.06 cents/round for N320, obviously purchased in bulk. The N320 is cheaper than TrueBlue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtrump Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 15 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said: N320 is The Drug of Choice for 9mm Minor I keep going back to titeGroup and letting my jugs of 320 sit because it always ends up more accurately than my loads, 9mm-.40 major. I guess it's not bad to have for a rainy day! The thing with the SD and the case OAL, using mixed brass is pretty terrible honestly because there is such a big spread, but new or once fired win brass is my choice when I want to see how consistent I'm getting my loads down. But when the press is running, everything changes a little, I think because of the pressure/stress in the first station for re-sizing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlvrDragon50 Posted September 5, 2017 Author Share Posted September 5, 2017 11 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said: You are paying a premium for shooting 1 lb tubs - you mention 1.20 cents/round for TrueBlue, and mjmagee67 got 1.06 cents/round for N320, obviously purchased in bulk. The N320 is cheaper than TrueBlue. I blame you lovely people for encouraging me to try multiple powders. I'm not looking forward to preparing all these different loads, but at least I've finally found my bullets! 1lb tub of N320 really hurt my wallet at $0.016/load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 On 9/4/2017 at 5:09 PM, GrumpyOne said: You'll end up with N320 anyway. I'm saving you alot of money on other powders...so that drops the cost of the N320 even more. Unless he tries that jug of Prima V on his shelf. It shoots as clean and as soft and consistent as N320 at half the price. Look at the last two lines here, then load 3.0-3.1 grains with your acme 147s. (The Bayou 150gr semi wadcutters in this chart actually weigh 147) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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