How Low Can I Go - Power Pistol or CFE Pistol in 9mm?

[trackcage]

So I'm trying to load up some realllllllly light loads in 9mm using power pistol and 115r plated projectiles. Basically trying to make them as light as I can go while still cycling the slide. Obviously I will have cycling issues before I have to start worrying about squib loads.

Here's what I know: the minimum starting load for 115 gr bullets is 6.0gr of power pistol. What I don't know is how low I'll need to go with my work up (well, work down in this case...) before I hit the "sweet spot" I'm looking for. I'm planning to work down 0.2gr at a time, but if I'm not going to have issues until way down there, my ladder might not be robust enough. Conversely, if I hit the cycling issue early on, I don't want to have to pull a ton of test rounds I never used. Just wanted to check in with some fellow reloaders to see if someone's been down this road before to at least give me some expectations/first-hand experiences. Thoughts?


I do not care about velocity or power factor (so long as I can maintain decent accuracy at distances within ~15 yards). These are purely for fun (mostly for my recoil-sensitive GF to shoot) when we aren't shooting .22LR. She is perfectly capable shooting regular 9mm stuff, and even other calibers, but it causes me no harm to make some extra powder puff loads for her since I can.

P.S. these will only be shot out of my G19. I'm not super interested in stocking another special powder for this purpose since it's a bit of an experiment at this point in time, so hoping I can stick to power pistol.

EDIT: I also have CFE pistol powder at my disposal if that would make a better choice

[scotty99]

That bullet and powder are not really going to give you the powder puff load you're looking for. A heavier bullet together with a faster powder will produce a much softer shooting load. That being said, I might go as low as 4.8grs as a starting point, and if that still reliably cycles the gun, try -0.2 and -0.4grs. I'd be very surprised if you still have a reliable load at that point.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[rsrocket1]

Power pistol will burn really dirty and give highly variable velocities at low pressures (like any powder). Unfortunately, you'll need to get above a minimum threshold of recoil in order to make the slide cycle and 9mm is already a weak recoiling cartridge.

Unless you are willing to go to a faster powder and heavier bullet, you'll be wasting a valuable powder on something you won't likely be able to attain.

Have her stick to the .22LR. You won't want to hear this but a heavier gun like an all metal Beretta 92FS or CZ-75 will also reduce the effects of recoil.

[trackcage]

That bullet and powder are not really going to give you the powder puff load you're looking for. A heavier bullet together with a faster powder will produce a much softer shooting load. That being said, I might go as low as 4.8grs as a starting point, and if that still reliably cycles the gun, try -0.2 and -0.4grs. I'd be very surprised if you still have a reliable load at that point.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Power pistol will burn really dirty and give highly variable velocities at low pressures (like any powder). Unfortunately, you'll need to get above a minimum threshold of recoil in order to make the slide cycle and 9mm is already a weak recoiling cartridge.

Unless you are willing to go to a faster powder and heavier bullet, you'll be wasting a valuable powder on something you won't likely be able to attain.

Have her stick to the .22LR. You won't want to hear this but a heavier gun like an all metal Beretta 92FS or CZ-75 will also reduce the effects of recoil.

Thank you both so far. I do actually also have a beretta 92fs, but the grip is a little big for her hands. My CZ is a P-01 (compact size), so not really any better from a recoil-dampening standpoint.

I guess I should have laid out all the options from the get-go. I also have 124r projectiles (sounds like may be better suited) and some CFE Pistol powder. I believe CFE is faster than Power Pistol, but not by a ton - I think. Maybe abandon the Power Pistol idea and try to go with 124r/CFE combo?

[trackcage]

Bumping this up... Surely someone knows!

[rsrocket1]

You might also want to look into thin grips for the 92FS. I got my gun used and the previous owner put Trausch grips on it and it makes a big difference in shooting comfort.

[rm1911]

How Low Can I Go - Power Pistol or CFE Pistol in 9mm?

I love power pistol for 9. It is kind of a performance powder though designed for rounds like the 9. I shoot 6gr with 115's and I believe 5.8 with 124gr. Both plated. Works well in my sigs and 1911's. But I don't think they're overly recoily. My kids both shoot my 9's and have no problem with them. But then again 1911's and sigs are a little heavier than glocks. I think.

I've just started using/trying bullseye in my 9's with a 125 lead bullet. Damn. 4.0-4.2gr feels like a 22 . Just a sweet little pop and the guns cycle. Accurate too. Really fun.

[Bumslie]

Step 1. Buy a faster powder
Step 2. Buy some recoil springs in varying weights
Step 3. Work your way down

[scotty99]

3.2grs of Titegroup under a 147gr bullet is the load you are looking for.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[trackcage]

An update to this thread in case anyone is interested. I decided to try out 124gr xtreme plated with CFE pistol powder. I only tried these in my G19 with stock springs, etc. All were loaded to 1.1" OAL, slight crimp.

4.8 gr - felt lighter than full power, but not as light as I was looking for
4.6 gr - slightly lighter than 4.8 gr, but still not there
4.4 gr - very soft shooting, very little recoil. Still accurate and cycling fine
4.2 gr - slide cycled in slow motion. Felt like I might be getting close to failure to cycle but did not work up any loads lower than this to know for sure

With all of the above loads - although below minimum powder charge - I did not have any malfunctions or failures of any kind. All rounds were accurate at 10 yrds. I did not have a chrono to test for velocity. I also shot each test load alternating with my standard powder reloads for comparison purposes. Although I never experienced any ill effects with any of the loads above, I decided to go with 4.4 gr going forward. When I shot the 4.2 gr loads, the slide felt like it recoiled almost in slow motion. Would have been nice to have some 4.0 gr loads to see if I could still go lower, but I felt I achieved my original goal of some soft shooting loads for the GF.

Try at your own risk.

[Two Shots]

Thanks for coming back with your results.

[rogdigity]

[trackcage]

Did you ever try lighter bullets?

I did not wind up trying any lighter bullets, although I still probably will at some point. Not that I couldn't buy them, but I usually only stock 115 and 124 gr projectiles for 9mm. Seemed like the consensus here was to try heavier so that's where I started. Once I get my hands on a faster powder, I'll try this again.