Widder, SASS #59054 Posted October 27 Share Posted October 27 I was curious about velocity in relation to a couple favorite powders I use in 4 different 9mm pistols. 1. CZ P01 3.6" barrel 2. CZ Shadow 2 Compact. 3.8" barrel 3. H&K P30 4.2" barrel 4. S&W Competitor. 4.9" barrel Powders: charges listed are around the mid-range based on manufactures load data. 5.4 grains BE-86. 124 grain JHP 5.0 grains CFE. 124 grain JHP CZ P01 BE-86. vel avg 1092 CFE. vel avg. 1082 CZ Shadow 2 Compact BE-86 vel avg. 1093 CFE vel avg. 1089 H&K P30 BE-86. vel avg 1146 CFE vel avg. 1113 S&W Competitor BE-86. vel avg 1164 CFE. vel avg. 1125 Velocity was measured at 8 feet from muzzle. Surprising (although accuracy is relevant to the shooter, proper rest, technique, etc...). the accuracy of each pistol was basically the same on any given group, whether it be with the BE-86 or the CFE powder. They both have served me well and BOTH are very accurate in all the pistols. The velocity results of the BE-86 seem to be more impressive in all 4 pistols. And personally speaking, my favorite load will be the Nosler 124 grain 'ASP' bullet using 5.4 grains of BE-86 powder. Hope some of this data might help someone. ..........Widder 2 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Rich Posted October 31 Share Posted October 31 On 10/26/2024 at 9:55 PM, Widder, SASS #59054 said: I was curious about velocity in relation to a couple favorite powders I use in 4 different 9mm pistols. 1. CZ P01 3.6" barrel 2. CZ Shadow 2 Compact. 3.8" barrel 3. H&K P30 4.2" barrel 4. S&W Competitor. 4.9" barrel Powders: charges listed are around the mid-range based on manufactures load data. 5.4 grains BE-86. 124 grain JHP 5.0 grains CFE. 124 grain JHP CZ P01 BE-86. vel avg 1092 CFE. vel avg. 1082 CZ Shadow 2 Compact BE-86 vel avg. 1093 CFE vel avg. 1089 H&K P30 BE-86. vel avg 1146 CFE vel avg. 1113 S&W Competitor BE-86. vel avg 1164 CFE. vel avg. 1125 Velocity was measured at 8 feet from muzzle. Surprising (although accuracy is relevant to the shooter, proper rest, technique, etc...). the accuracy of each pistol was basically the same on any given group, whether it be with the BE-86 or the CFE powder. They both have served me well and BOTH are very accurate in all the pistols. The velocity results of the BE-86 seem to be more impressive in all 4 pistols. And personally speaking, my favorite load will be the Nosler 124 grain 'ASP' bullet using 5.4 grains of BE-86 powder. Hope some of this data might help someone. ..........Widder Just wondering which one is the cleanest burning? At leastas far as the gun not getting significant fouling. kR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted October 31 Author Share Posted October 31 Howdy Kid Rich. Because I didn't use any one specific powder for a 'clean burn' test, I can't tell which one might be cleaner. PLUS, when doing my test, my shooting with each pistol and ammo is usually limited to just the shooting test and not much more. I have shot each pistol around 50-100 rounds each but I also swab the barrel before and after testing using one of those LARGE q'tip type swabs on a long stick. They work great. This I can tell you is that when I used the CFE powder in my 460 Rowland pistols, it does appear to leave the bores fairly clean considering the power of those 460 Rowlands. BUT, again..... I haven't tried the BE-86 in the Rowlands. The reason I posted the info for the BE-86 and CFE is because those are the two powders that have given me the best performance in my 9mm testing. I've actually tried 700-X, Blue Dot, and TiteGroup with "O.K." results but the BE86 and CFE are my favorites. I've gotten pretty good results with Clean Shot but only with lead bullets. I rarely shoot lead bullets. My main bullets have been various JHP bullets and some of the coated 115 grain 'conical' shaped bullets from Berry's. Berry's does make a nice 'Hybrid' hollow point which I have tried with good results. But still, after all my shooting for accuracy and velocity recording, the BE86 and CFE seem to give me best results in the 124 and 125 grain JHP bullet usage. Hope you are doing well. ..........Widder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Rich Posted October 31 Share Posted October 31 Thanks, we are doing pretty good. We have been shooting pro steel and plinking and seems like the guns get pretty dirty. I may try some of the Clean Shot with the lead we have been using. It is coated. kR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted October 31 Share Posted October 31 Try Blue Dot in that 9mm. Meters great and very clean burning. I run 7.5gn of BD w/124gn FMJ bullet. Equals NATO load. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted October 31 Share Posted October 31 @Widder, SASS #59054 Thank you for posting that info. @Kid Rich The cleanest powder I have found / used in 9mm is Winchester 244. This powder is clean in smaller cases ammo like 9mm, .38 Special & .357 Magnum. In .45 Colt it’s very sooty. It was designed for .38 Special and 9mm. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted October 31 Author Share Posted October 31 Hey Pat. I knew pretty much, from other velocity testing, that BE86 and CFE would make good powders to test those 4 pistols of different barrel lengths. Both powders gave a consistent velocity increase in relationship to barrel length. It was almost predictable. I thought for the shorter barrels in both of the CZ pistols, both powders gave respectable velocities, ESPECIALLY considering neither is max load. I do a reasonable amount of these kind of test with various calibers, but I thought this particular test using the 9mm would help more folks due to the popularity of the 9mm and popular pistols of various sizes. I recently posted a Thread on my "HOT" .45 Colt loads that probably helped a few folks. The info helped some folks decide to try the load data I posted....... and it helped some folks decide NOT to use those HOT loads in their guns. Either way, it helped some folks. Take care. ..........Widder 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted October 31 Author Share Posted October 31 IN ADDITION: its hard to post or brag about accuracy because to me, accuracy is subjective to the shooter and their shooting methods. I test all my velocity readings with the chronograph a measured 8 feet from muzzle.... regardless of caliber. And for accuracy, I use a rest and wear my best shooting glasses..... ..........Widder 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted October 31 Share Posted October 31 3 hours ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said: Hey Pat. I knew pretty much, from other velocity testing, that BE86 and CFE would make good powders to test those 4 pistols of different barrel lengths. Both powders gave a consistent velocity increase in relationship to barrel length. It was almost predictable. I thought for the shorter barrels in both of the CZ pistols, both powders gave respectable velocities, ESPECIALLY considering neither is max load. I am going to have to keep my eyes open for that powder. I can’t recall the last time I saw BE86 at a store. It sounds like a very consistent powder. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted October 31 Share Posted October 31 Powder Valley has BE-86 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted October 31 Share Posted October 31 50 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said: Powder Valley has BE-86 Thank you. I only buy test powders in stores and I only buy one pound. Buying 1 pound online costs too much. Especially if you don’t like it for some reason. I can’t tell you how many times powders that I didn’t care for ended up being fertilizer. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted October 31 Share Posted October 31 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Pat Riot said: Thank you. I only buy test powders in stores and I only buy one pound. Buying 1 pound online costs too much. Especially if you don’t like it for some reason. I can’t tell you how many times powders that I didn’t care for ended up being fertilizer. Sure agree with that. I had a $50 PV gift cert I had to use. Wasn't til I got to checkout that I realized their "free hazmat" didn't include smokeless powder! Even after the $50 off, it still cost $72+ for a pound of BE-86 and a pound of WST. Damn! And the BE-86 was on sale! Don't remember on the wst. Edited October 31 by Eyesa Horg Added text 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted October 31 Author Share Posted October 31 You fellers will hate me cause I read up a lot on some of these powders and watch a lot of videos on a bunch of powders then buy the 'favored' powders. I have 8+ pound jugs of CFE, BE-86, Titegroup, H110, Longshot, LilGun, Power Pistol and a few others like 700-X and #7. Course, I been reloading for 50 years now so having those powders and using them all the time gives me some insite as to their performance levels. Most are pretty darn good but sometimes, some of them are noticably better than the others for certain applications. The powder that Lumpy stated....Blue Dot....... is a very good powder in 9mm and 10mm, based on my testing. But I wasn't able to find much of it and I also found that its volume in the cases was a high % and created a compressed load with some bullets. So I stopped using it. BUT, it did give good performance in the 9mm and 10mm. But I ended up preferring BE86 in the 9mm and Longshot in the 10mm. Power Pistol is also a great powder in the 10mm, 45 ACP +P, 45 Super and 460 Rowland. But I still prefer Longshot in those calibers. Another test I performed also was velocity vs. bullet seating depth. The results were very interesting. ..........Widder 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted October 31 Share Posted October 31 It’s interesting that BE-86 is available on AmmoSeek at reasonable prices. I was under the impression that Alliant was not selling powder to consumers. https://ammoseek.com/reloading/powder/Alliant?ikw=BE-86 Or maybe BE-86 powder is just what has been available since the announcement. Unique definitely is not available anywhere. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted November 1 Share Posted November 1 14 hours ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said: You fellers will hate me cause I read up a lot on some of these powders and watch a lot of videos on a bunch of powders then buy the 'favored' powders. I have 8+ pound jugs of CFE, BE-86, Titegroup, H110, Longshot, LilGun, Power Pistol and a few others like 700-X and #7. Course, I been reloading for 50 years now so having those powders and using them all the time gives me some insite as to their performance levels. Most are pretty darn good but sometimes, some of them are noticably better than the others for certain applications. The powder that Lumpy stated....Blue Dot....... is a very good powder in 9mm and 10mm, based on my testing. But I wasn't able to find much of it and I also found that its volume in the cases was a high % and created a compressed load with some bullets. So I stopped using it. BUT, it did give good performance in the 9mm and 10mm. But I ended up preferring BE86 in the 9mm and Longshot in the 10mm. Power Pistol is also a great powder in the 10mm, 45 ACP +P, 45 Super and 460 Rowland. But I still prefer Longshot in those calibers. Another test I performed also was velocity vs. bullet seating depth. The results were very interesting. ..........Widder Blue Dot is great in .40 S&W too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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