Hi-Skor 800x

[Brassjunkie]

Always hear that 800x is the perfect powder for 10mm. Im wondering if thats true? I havent tried it because im happy with Longshot and Herco for my 10s, and i guess it meters like oatmeal.
  Is the 800x worth trying?
    I load 180-200gr bullets to good power.

[Kenk]

Another option would be Blue Dot unless you are are looking for nuclear loads. 10.4gr's of BD under a 180gr XTP, or other will get you outstanding accuracy, as well as an awesome fireball 😀

Ken

[Brassjunkie]

Yeah I've played with blue dot but I just really prefer Longshot for the stout loads. Longshot seems to always be available

[Graybeard]

If you're looking for "stout" loads, 800X will get you there. It meters terribly, making it impossible to use safely for max loads  in a progressive press. I switched to LongShot for the hot stuff and Power Pistol is another good choice. I reload mostly 180gr bullets and get 1300fps+, out of a 5" 1911 with all of them. LongShot and Power Pistol meter within .1gr out of my Dillon 550. All 800X loads I weigh individually.

Just my opinion, but I'd have to say the 800X really isn't worth it since the development of LongShot. The factory ammo pulldowns here show that even Underwood has switched from 800X to Longshot for their hot stuff.

[The_Shadow]

800X is a powder that works well, however I will say when you work close to the edge of the higher performance, hand weighing is the best method for optimum match grade performance. 
WARNING!  Just be careful as some of the old published data can cause you serious pressure issues.
I prefer to hand weigh all of my loads to match grade precision because it is that important to me.

There are many good powders out there, Longshot has been used by many boutique loading companies to yield the upper extremes of performance.  These include Underwood, Double Tap, Buffalo Bore, Georgia Arms, Fenix, Bitterroot and SwampFox as well.

Powders like Accurate #7, #9, LOVEX, Silhouette, Power Pistol, BE-86 as well as others tend to measure very close as dropped from the hoppers.

The yield for a given powder can be tricky, velocity vs. pressure vs. clean burn can change quickly when working near the extremes.

[RDub01]

Hi
As a canister grade propellant, it is IMO the most ideal for 10mm. It's not too slow, not too fast. Just right, and it will get you up to max velocities with all bullet weights.
However...  As mentioned, it will not meter in a powder measure.  So you must take the time and check/adjust each charge that is put into a case individually.
It has provided me with some very accurate max pressure handloads, but I only use it for special carry/woods carry loads I load in small batches.
If.. a canister grade propellant were made available with the same burning rate as 800-X but looked like Power Pistol, we would have an instant winner..

Another propellant you might consider, depending on availability in your area is 3N38.  It has a similar burning rate as Blue Dot and seems to be specifically suited for high performance auto loaders. It meters fairly well and doesn't come with any caveats..

There have been a few occasions where I ordered powders that I really wanted to work with on-line just because of availability issues in my area.

[Brassjunkie]

Burn rate can't be the only factor to the performance of a powder

[Taterhead]

I tried 800-X a few ways. Sold my last pound about 5 years ago. I see no practical advantage over Longshot in performance, and the metering issues are a deal killer.

I also like BD, but Accurate No. 9 above all.

The lone exception is under 135 gr JHPs. 800-X absolutely smokes them. Some fun to be had there.

[Graybeard]

Burn rate can't be the only factor to the performance of a powder

Not sure exactly what you meant by performance. Max velocity, accuracy, burning fully, etc, could be described as performance. Do you mean factors like bullet weight, crimp, amount of case fill, can affect the performance of a powder?

[Brassjunkie]

   For instance- power pistol is next to Universal on the burn rate chart. They are two very different powders in my experience. I now there a different shape which could effect output.
    I'm not an expert by any means of the scientific/chemistry part of powders.
   Someone said if there was a powder with the burn rate of 800x that metered as well as power pistol there would be an instant winner. I'm just commenting on that.

[The_Shadow]

BURN RATES

[RDub01]

Brassjunkie
Burning rates are just a general guideline of how powders are stacked up against others.
My comment was based upon my findings with Buffalo Bore's 180gr JHP load pull-down which is an outstanding load.
Why did Buffalo Bore choose a propellant with this particular burning rate?

http://www.handgunforum.net/range-report/32001-glock-20sf-buffalo-bore-180grjhc.html

Where BB used 10.0grs of a non-canister propellant that 'looks' a lot like Power Pistol with a velocity yield of around 1240 fps.  I can get the same result with 180gr JHP bullets with 10.0-10.2grs 800-X.   We can conclude that these two propellants have roughly similar burning rates and yield similar velocities in this application.  This factory propellant would certainly meter better than 800-X.  But a spherical propellant of similar burning rate and velocity yield (chemical properties) would qualify as well and be better yet.  So would an extruded propellant of the same properties. Shape is not a determining factor really.  Vihtavuori offers 3N37(faster) and 3N38(slower) that are very useful in 10mm.  3N37 with 180gr bullets max out at about 9.3grs. with a velocity yield of around 1180 fps, loading density 80%, out of a G20-SF.  3N38 maxes out at about 11.2grs., slightly compressed, with a velocity yield of 1230 fps, same gun.  If Vihtavuori  offered a propellant with a burning rate right between these two, max load should be around 10.0grs and loading density would more than likely be around 95-100%, velocity would have to be seen, but would probably be at least as fast as 3N38.

Now Longshot and Blue Dot..  Both are designed to be shot shell propellants, but both just happen to work well in handguns.  Longshot with 180gr bullets max out somewhere between 9.0 to 9.5grs., opinions vary on this..  Where Blue Dot with 180gr bullets max out at 11.0 -11.4grs.. opinions vary. 
So what about a propellant right between these two?  We have one, but it won't meter..  800-X..

AA#9, on the slower extreme, maxes out at about 14.5-14.9grs with 180gr. bullets depending on available powder space with different bullet lengths.  Because of its burning rate, powder space is more the limiting factor here than pressure. Which is why it a favorite among 10mm loaders.  Good velocity with relatively lower pressures.

Hope this didn't muddy the waters any more..

[Longslide]

Here is my loaddata for 800X. All charges were hand weighed and fired through my 6" Glock model 40.

10MM175SWCPC
800X8.5gr WLP

String 3
     1)   1260.0     33.8
     2)   1191.0    -35.2
     3)   1242.0     15.8
     4)   1238.0     11.8
     5)   1184.0    -42.2
     6)   1242.0     15.8

       High:   1260.0
        Low:   1184.0
       E.S.:     76.0
       Ave.:   1226.2
       S.D.:     28.3

10MM175SWCPC
800X9.0WLP

String 4
     1)   1330.0     53.1
     2)   1252.0    -24.9
     3)   1237.0    -39.9
     4)   1241.0    -35.9
     5)   1243.0    -33.9
     6)   1317.0     40.1
     7)   1215.0    -61.9
        1264.0    -12.9
     9)   1342.0     65.1
    10)   1345.0     68.1
    11)   1260.0    -16.9

       High:   1345.0
        Low:   1215.0
       E.S.:    130.0
       Ave.:   1276.9
       S.D.:     45.0

10mm175LeeSWCPC
800X 9.5gr

String 5
     1)   1386.0      6.1
     2)   1342.0    -37.9
     3)   1445.0     65.1 f
     4)   1403.0     23.1
     5)   1365.0    -14.9
     6)   1364.0    -15.9
     7)   1385.0      5.1
        1350.0    -29.9
     9)   1379.0     -0.9

       High:   1445.0
        Low:   1342.0
       E.S.:    103.0
       Ave.:   1379.9
       S.D.:     29.1

The pills were cast from the Lee 175SWC 6cav mold which works well, but has a 3-4 grain weight variation between cavities. Bullets were then powder coated and sized to .401". I need to run a similar test with bullets from my NOE mold which had almost no weight variation between the 4 cavities.

[Longslide]

Ummm...I have no idea how the smiley faces got there in place of the number eight. lets see if it happens again: