Solo 1000?

[Lonnie]

Anyone using or tried Solo 1000 for .40 and 9mm? I saw RayZ likes it.

[Carlos]

Have yet to chrono it under .40 cal 180; primers looked OK & 50 meter accuarcy was good. Will have to do more testing; no idea how close to/over Major it could be.

[LukeDuke]

Anyone using or tried Solo 1000 for .40 and 9mm? I saw RayZ likes it.

RayZ's charge didn't quite make major in my .40. I (cautiously) stepped it up, keeping a close eye on my primers. 4.7 grains made major. 4.8 gives me a comfortable cushion (171PF) in my gun. I'm loading 180gr HAP bullets. About 1 in 7 primers show very slight flattening or flow. So I upped the bullet weight, moved to moly-coated, and dropped the powder charge. The following load gets me 172PF with no pressure signs:

(Gun is a custom STI 5-inch):

Federal Small Pistol primer

4.1 grains Solo 1000

200gr Billy bullets

COL = 1.208

The feel of Solo 1000 is superb, but I realize that's a personal preference. The feel and recoil is nearly identical to my VVN320 loads, but now at half the price! Being a single base powder, the Solo 1000 burns pretty clean. I'm sold.

P.S. I learned something interesting while testing my loads. Using Federal primers gave me an addition 4fps on average over Winchester (using small pistol). Not much, but any little edge that lets me keep my powder charge down is helpful when using powders this fast. In fact, that additional 4fps came out to almost one full power factor.

One addition to my last post. I realize you guys are probably more experienced reloaders than I am, but I gotta say this anyway...

Be careful!! Solo 1000 is fast. You'll find it near the top of any burn rate chart. Don't take any chances with it. I went all the way up to 5.1 grains and had obvious pressure signs. So know your gun, and adjust your starting load accordingly!

Ok, I feel better