Which powder for 9mm?

[sammy]

I have it narrowed down to Accurate #7 and Hodgdon HS-6. Both powders seem to give excellent velocity at the upper end of the scale with fairly low chamber pressures. What I am looking for is which one meters best, which one has less or more muzzle flash, which is more accurate, dirty ect.

I also have Longshot that I use for the 10mm but the chamber pressures are about 7000 psi more than the HS-6 or #7.

Which powder would you choose and why.

[Daffsbro]

I know this is not on your list, but I have been using bullseye and it works great, just thought I would let you know. I only reload 9mm for my glock

[AEC1]

I like W231, for 9 and .45

[f4tweet]

231

[eaglemike]

HS6 will work mighty fine. You can up the load considerably over the 231 and BE loads with HS6. With good gun and shooter, the right HS6 can be under 2" at 25 meters. I used HS6 in the 9X21, shooting 135 major loads. Easily under 2" in a Witness.

all the best,
Mike

[cassius]

231. Fast, clean(er), compact and good for stuffing near-max charges should you desire to try such.
700x, Unique, Bullseye, Red Dot, all work fine, with no discernable difference (to me) in a 9mm cartridge. All seem to leave a few unburnt flakes on my arms.

[buffybuster]

If you're looking for hot 9mm loads then Power Pistol, WAP or 3N37 is hard to beat with ~125gr bullets.

For general loads, W231, Titegroup, Reddot or Unique (Reddot and Unique are flake powders and depending on your measure, may not meter too well).

In my experience, the single most versatile pistol powder is Unique. I use it from 38Spl, 9x19, 40SW, 45ACP, 44Spl, and mid-range .357 & .44 Magnum and mid-range 10mm loads. Unique IS my goto powder. IMO you can't go wrong with Unique.

[bruceflinch]

The W231 is a lot cleaner than Unique & Bullseye.

[Bill92869]

W231 Not only great performance, available at more outlets than almost any other powder, available when other powders are not, preferred for other popular calibers (especially .45acp) and you can buy it in bulk. You'll almost always have access to it and at a fair price.

[Sideline Shooter]

231 vs. HS-6

Sammy,

I have always used Wincherster 231 for years. Mainly for the reason of the previous posts, it's clean, cheaper and available mostly everywhere. I have begun to use HS-6 this year because I wanted to move up in bullet weight 125 and try 147gr in 9mm. There are better loads available with HS-6 in those weights than Win.231. You have to decide what bullet weight you mainly want to shoot. Try a 1lb bottle of each with your loads out of your gun and see what works best for you.

Sideline Shooter

[FeelthySanchez]

AA #7 & Hodgdon HS-6: both are on the long end of the spectrum

For this caliber.
Also sounds as if yer asking for too much from too little, so ya need to decide upon some priorities here: reloading economy/residue/muz flash, etc.

Post-up what bullet weight yer pushin' here & the savvy folks will soon weigh-in some pertinent info.

[NRAhighpowershooter]

231 here as well.....

[Sunwolf]

W-231

[4D5auto]

Hodgdon Tight Group here.. Somewhat equal in burn rates as to Bullseye. All I used in competition.

[J-cat]

I like WSF under 147's.

Slow burning powdera at low pressure levels equal lotsa flash, muzzle blast, and unburnt powder in the action. They are great for nuclear 9mm, but a poor choice for target work.