New to shooting and reloading (Sept 14).  I have loaded 5000 rounds since then on my XL650 using Bulleseye for 9mm and Power Pistol for .40S&W and 10mm.  Just tested my new MagnetoSpeed V3 chronograph this week....so I am really stoked moving forward.  As you probably know, powder availability has loosened up recently and I have been stocking several pounds waiting to start laddering new cartridges when the weather warms a bit here in Idaho.  While 5000 rounds is just a drop in the bucket, I do have a fairly good idea about ladders, COAL and plunk tests, crimp, component choices etc.

My pistols are a CZ75D 9mm (P01) and a Glock 20SF 10mm with a LW .40S&W barrel as well.

90% will be for range plinking for me and family...including recoil shy wife.  The other 10% I would like some loads that would mimic SD loads for the CZ and bear loads for the 10mm.  Up to now I have been using 124g RNHB and 165 FP Berrys.  I would like to stick with plated but am open to bullet suggestions for the hot loads, preferring jacketed over cast to avoid even a hint of lead exposure.

I intend to ladder up many bullet/powder combos.  When I find a comfortable cartridge, I will stock about 200 and move on to the next powder.  When I have several I like, I will shoot magazines with 5 of A, 5 of B...in comparison testing and MAY come down to two or three that are the bee's knees.  Logical?

E3
Bullseye
HP-38

Unique
BE-86
Power Pistol
Silhouette
N340

Are there any "universal truths" with any of these powders?  As an example "I would save all the Silhouette for your hot 10mm loads" would be helpful.  It does not imply that the powder is a poor choice for 9mm bunny rounds...only that that poster has shared his opinion on where to get the best use out of that particular powder.  Truth is I will probably load hot and cold rounds with each powder....but that will take some time .  Looking to shortcut some of the initial choices.  I am feeling a bit powder-rich and knowledge-poor at this point.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks.

adding....maybe c/p the 8 powders and add your rating behind each using:
9H(ot), 9S(oft)
40H, 40S
10H, 10S
....dunno, just seems like easy/quick, but please add comments if you care to share.  Again, much thanks.

amada8, welcome to the forum!  Seeing you are Sort of New to shooting and handloading, many of the powders you list will good choices for what you seek.

In no particular order all of the powders with exception of E3 are good for all 3 cartridges listed.  American Select has some limited loading shown but not E3.

E3 being a Shotgun performance listed powder it might have some uses in metallic cartridges but you would be working blindly!

Best regards!

For 165 grain the powders you have there are fine.  Many of them are certainly better tailored to lighter bullets in 10mm  Silhouette and Power Pistol are great performers for 10mm bullets less than 150 gr.

Thanks for the replies.   As for the 165g..... have on my mind to try heavier bullets in all guns.  147 in 9mm....and the 180 to 220 in the .401.  Potentially capable in producing the softer recoil I am seeking for The Wife Unit.  (using the slower powders for this, correct?)

Heavier bullets need slower powders for best performance velocity wise in the same cartridge.  Heavier bullets don't really equate to softer recoil.  In fact, the opposite is usually true.  A full power 10mm 200 grain will about 1 additional lb of free recoil than a full power 135 grain load.

got it!  thanks

Heavier bullets don't typically equate to softer recoil, but I would say you're on the right track in looking at heavier bullets in the 9mm as the 124's and 147's do seem to produce noticeably softer recoil than the 115's. As far as your powder inventory, I'm happy to give my take/experience on some of what you've got listed.

E3 is a pretty fast powder that works well for general plinking rounds. I've loaded it in 45ACP and 9mm, although Bullseye is more of a standby for me at a pretty comparable burn rate. So I'd use either of those for some of your general plinking rounds, probably in 9mm or 40 based on what you've listed. HP38 is the same powder as W231, and is a decent all around powder. For the calibers you've got listed I really like 231/HP38 with the heavier weight 9mm bullets. My standard load is 4.6 grains of 231 under a Montana Gold 124, and I've literally shot tens of thousands of those and love that recipe to death.

Unique is another great all around powder that'll do such a wide range of things it's almost a must-have for the reloader. In the calibers you've listed specifically, I really-really like Unique in the 40. It's one of those powders that I've had best luck with when it's loaded at closer to max levels, and in the 40 it's one that fills the case well and has always provided me good accuracy and velocity. So of the stuff you've got listed I'd personally look at using the Unique in your 40 recipes.

BE-86 is one I've not shot at all yet, so I don't have much to say from first hand experience. My understanding is that it's pretty comparable to Power Pistol, and in fact depending on who you ask some are saying it's the same powder with a flash suppressant added since Power Pistol is known to be a little flashy. But again, I've got no first hand experience to say one way or another. I have however loaded a lot of Power Pistol through the years in a wide range of calibers. It's a powder that works really well with medium-to-full power jacketed rounds, so it's one I've used to duplicate a lot of SD loads. So it would work well in any of the calibers you've got listed, but is obviously a great powder for the 10mm specifically. So based on what you've listed I'd save the Power Pistol for 10mm or any other high velocity jacketed rounds you want to load. But with powders like HP38 and Unique on your bench, Power Pistol would probably be best used for 10mm given what you're looking to load. Silhouette and N340 are powders I've got no experience with, so again I can't say anything to help you much on those.

Hopefully some of that is helpful to you and best of luck on your loading endeavors!

Eric

Quote from: sqlbullet on January 31 2015 12:51:55 PM MST
Heavier bullets need slower powders for best performance velocity wise in the same cartridge.  Heavier bullets don't really equate to softer recoil.  In fact, the opposite is usually true.  A full power 10mm 200 grain will about 1 additional lb of free recoil than a full power 135 grain load.

Force = Mass X velocity

Quote from: gandog56 on February 21 2015 01:05:28 PM MST

Quote from: sqlbullet on January 31 2015 12:51:55 PM MST
Heavier bullets need slower powders for best performance velocity wise in the same cartridge.  Heavier bullets don't really equate to softer recoil.  In fact, the opposite is usually true.  A full power 10mm 200 grain will about 1 additional lb of free recoil than a full power 135 grain load.

Force = Mass X velocity

Perception of recoil might be a totally different story though. Sometimes a faster powder and lighter bullet feels much sharper while a heavier bullet and slower powder might feel like a slow push by comparison. So it's hard to make a lot of hard conclusions based on physics alone when it comes to recoil because so much of it a matter of individual perception.

True dat. I perceive the total recoil of a 10mm and a .45 ACP to be about the same in force. But the 10 mm seems to be a sharper faster recoil, the .45 is a longer drawn out recoil.

eph411, thanks for the post.

tried the HP-38 in the hopper this week.  Ran a light ladder for 9mm with a 3.5g-4.0g load for a Bayou 124g RN.  Very smooth (soft?).  grouped well at 3.9 and 4.0.  No powder charge had a cycling issue....but all failed to keep the slide open with final cartridge.

*forgot to spell out in my OP that the C75D is a compact (3.8" barrel) that after being Cajunized, has a non-factory 14# recoil spring.

Slide open problem is usually the mag, not the bullets, as long as the gun is cycling them normally. Do you have other mags? Do they also fail to lock back?

mags...really?  OK...very possible.  I just got a few 16 cartridge Mecgar mags and have been using them at the range.  Will try some of the original CZ 14s.....maybe this weekend.

I'd check the mags too just to verify their function, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility that the failure to lock is a recoil spring issue. I'm pretty sure the factory spring on the CZ compacts is a 17#, which may mean at 14# your slide is cycling a little too fast for the magazine to lock it open on that last shot. So I'd try maybe swapping back the recoil spring to see if that makes a difference as well. Any specific reason you went with a lighter spring?

Slide may not be traveling far enough to the rear or the follower is not popping up fast enough in relation to the slide's forward travel.  Try adjusting the loading to see if it makes a difference.