9mm load for open Glock 34

[Sam Houston]

I am building an Open Glock 34 with a ported barrel, not one with a comp.

I am not looking to make major but to shoot steel.

I will be shooting a 126 gr jacketed bullet.

I currently load Bullseye, Tac, and H-335 are any of these powders suitable for driving a 126 gr down a ported barrel effectively?

Thanks for your input.

[GeoffLinder]

TAC and H335 are rifle powders and won't work here. I don't have any experience with Bullseye in 9mm

For low power loads using porting I would suggest WW231 or AA5. These are fast enuff burning powders to to get a full burn on the powder at lower power levels.

For stouter loads I would suggest HS6 or AA7 as the slower burn rate will give you plenty of gas pressure at the ports to control the extra recoil.

[Sam Houston]

GeoffLinder,

Thanks for the input, but I'm not really concerned about the low power aspect.
I'm just not really concerned about making major.

As for using Bullseye, I currently load 4.3 in my limited 9's and it pushes it about 1025fps.
I don't know how fast I need to drive an open ported gun?

[bohoki]

i use bullseye in my glock i load my lead cast 124 with 3.5gn it knocks down little steel plates easy cause they really flatten like a quarter when they hit

but you are using jacketed so take it up to 4.5gn

bullseye is my go to for 45acp and 9mm

tac is my favorite for .223 and 308 win it meters well and never crunches like that overrated varget stuff

[GeoffLinder]

GeoffLinder,

Thanks for the input, but I'm not really concerned about the low power aspect.
I'm just not really concerned about making major.

As for using Bullseye, I currently load 4.3 in my limited 9's and it pushes it about 1025fps.
I don't know how fast I need to drive an open ported gun?

I understand. When I speak of "low power" loads, I mean ones that don't make major and are very light. This is where I recommended WW231 or AA5 as faster burning powders suitable for light loads in a ported barrel.

Bullseye is pretty darned fast powder and may work well with a ported barrel and low power factor loads, but it also may be a bit too fast for the longer barrel with ports of your 34 where you want the burning to continue as long as possible.

Medium fast powders like WW231, HS5 and AA5 will generate lots of gas pressure for a longer length of time which is what is required for some decent effect from the porting in controlling muzzle flip for fast repeat shots.

Generally speaking, the heftier a load is the better the ports work which is why you want a faster than slower powder here to get some response from the ports with the light loads you want to use. But if you use too fast of a powder and the gas pressure has dissipated by the time the bullet clears the ports, you will get minimal effect from the ports because the fast powder is all burned and the bullet is just coasting at the point the ports are uncovered.

Hopefully this clarifies things a bit.

[Sam Houston]

I understand. When I speak of "low power" loads, I mean ones that don't make major and are very light. This is where I recommended WW231 or AA5 as faster burning powders suitable for light loads in a ported barrel.

Bullseye is pretty darned fast powder and may work well with a ported barrel and low power factor loads, but it also may be a bit too fast for the longer barrel with ports of your 34 where you want the burning to continue as long as possible.

Medium fast powders like WW231, HS5 and AA5 will generate lots of gas pressure for a longer length of time which is what is required for some decent effect from the porting in controlling muzzle flip for fast repeat shots.

Generally speaking, the heftier a load is the better the ports work which is why you want a faster than slower powder here to get some response from the ports with the light loads you want to use. But if you use too fast of a powder and the gas pressure has dissipated by the time the bullet clears the ports, you will get minimal effect from the ports because the fast powder is all burned and the bullet is just coasting at the point the ports are uncovered.

Hopefully this clarifies things a bit.

GeoffLinder,
Thanks that helps alot.
I do not know HS5 and AA5 powders, I will have to look them up on the burn chart to see where they fall and who makes them.

again, thanks for the input.


If anyone has any pet loads for a ported 9mm Glock, feel free to throw them out here.

[GeoffLinder]

OK, my favorite bullet for my Glocks is the Remington Golden Saber 124gr JHP. generally available and generally reasonable in price.

HS6 8.6gr at 1.155" OAL = 1370fos 172PF in 6" barrel Glock (ported Barsto barrel in Glock 17L)
HS6 7.3gr at 1.155" OAL = 1060fps 132 PF same gun

Both worked the ports well.

A slightly faster powder like HS5 or WW231 may be a little more efficient with ports at the lower power factor range (125-140).

For WW231 I would look in the 4.2 to 4.6 gr range with a 126gr bullet.

Hope this helps