Load recipe for WST in 9mm

[Buddhabelly]

I've been happy with loading 3.85Grs of W231 for my 124 Montana Gold bullets for my 9mm. Like many here, of course I gotta tinker. So I want to try WST powder. Same bullets, same COAL, same mixed brass and CCI SPP.

I'm thinking I'd start with 3.4 Grs of WST.

I've not found anything for WST on Hodgdon's site, nor any place else.

[XDRoX]

WST is my favorite powder. Excellent in 9mm. Very similar to 231. I load WST pretty exclusively in 9mm and I also shoot mostly 124gr bullets. I'm in the drive thru at In-N-Out right now and have no data in front of me. And unfortunately I'm very busy for the next 4 hours. Tonight when I get 5 minutes I'll post some good stuff for you.

I will tell you that that charge is way too light. My pet load is 4.8gr under 124gr plated bullet. So you're going to want to use a load between 4.5-5.0gr. I've tried all these loads and have chrono results for them.

I'll post later tonight.

[Buddhabelly]

Darn, must be a looooongggg line on that drive through for you to type so much.

Thanks. I'll look forward to your data. I arrived at my load based on rudimentary math:

I load 5.3 Gr of 231 for my .45
Lyman's book for .45 load has both 231 and WST: 5.2 start load of 231 and 4.6 Grs start load of WST.
I load 3.85 of 231 for 9

So 5.2 = 4.6
3.85 = 3.4

I am sure I might have made some wrong assumptions somewhere...

WST is my favorite powder. Excellent in 9mm. Very similar to 231. I load WST pretty exclusively in 9mm and I also shoot mostly 124gr bullets. I'm in the drive thru at In-N-Out right now and have no data in front of me. And unfortunately I'm very busy for the next 4 hours. Tonight when I get 5 minutes I'll post some good stuff for you.

I will tell you that that charge is way too light. My pet load is 4.8gr under 124gr plated bullet. So you're going to want to use a load between 4.5-5.0gr. I've tried all these loads and have chrono results for them.

I'll post later tonight.

[XDRoX]

I don't have access to all of my data right now but here's some stuff to get you started. Take a look at the first set of data. It's 3.5gr of WST under a 147gr plated bullet. It had a velocity of 881fps and felt like a mouse fart. One of the softest 9mm loads I've ever shot.



Here's some data from an old manual.
*WARNING*
Old manuals are not like new ones. They were very liberal with their data. They didn't have a slew of lawyers proof reading every page. Use this at your own risk.

Personally I don't think I've ever loaded over 5.0gr with 124gr bullets. WST is not a good powder for upper velocities and I would not load over 5.0gr without a chrono. I have however chono'd 4.8gr with 124gr bullets at 1050fps out of a 4" glock. So my data has shown to be pretty close to what is on this page.



If you're interested in more of my chrono data I can get it to you in a few days. I'm remodeling right now and can't get to some of my records.

You'll find WST very clean, soft recoiling, and accurate. Plus it meters like water. Just don't try to break any speed records with it and you'll be fine. It excels in light to medium loads. I use it in 45acp, 9mm, and 38spl.

Hope this helps.

[Buddhabelly]

I always get this confused... heavier bullets requires less powder than lighter bullets, right?

For a 147gr bullet, it would take less powder to move a 124gr the same speed, right?

I don't have access to all of my data right now but here's some stuff to get you started. Take a look at the first set of data. It's 3.5gr of WST under a 147gr plated bullet. It had a velocity of 881fps and felt like a mouse fart. One of the softest 9mm loads I've ever shot.



Here's some data from an old manual.
*WARNING*
Old manuals are not like new ones. They were very liberal with their data. They didn't have a slew of lawyers proof reading every page. Use this at your own risk.

Personally I don't think I've ever loaded over 5.0gr with 124gr bullets. WST is not a good powder for upper velocities and I would not load over 5.0gr without a chrono. I have however chono'd 4.8gr with 124gr bullets at 1050fps out of a 4" glock. So my data has shown to be pretty close to what is on this page.



If you're interested in more of my chrono data I can get it to you in a few days. I'm remodeling right now and can't get to some of my records.

You'll find WST very clean, soft recoiling, and accurate. Plus it meters like water. Just don't try to break any speed records with it and you'll be fine. It excels in light to medium loads. I use it in 45acp, 9mm, and 38spl.

Hope this helps.

[XDRoX]

I always get this confused... heavier bullets requires less powder than lighter bullets, right?

For a 147gr bullet, it would take less powder to move a 124gr the same speed, right?

Yes. Heavier bullets create more pressure, therefore require less powder. Same with lead, usually lead will reach the same velocity of a jacketed bullet with less powder.

Usually you shouldn't try to get a heavy bullet to travel the same speed as a lighter one, but yes, you are correct.