My guns love 147 gr ferderal hst oem ammo. I would like to duplicate that load as close as possible. I have 3 pistol powders:
Unique, Bullseye, and CFE pistol.
Which of these 3 powders do you all feel is more suitable for the 147 grain jhp's?

Also, I always start low and work up so with that inn mind anyone mind sharing any pet loads you may have that uses one of those 3 powder?

Thanks in advance.

Kevin

I load thousands of 147 gn round nose plated bullets every year. CFE Pistol is my go-to powder. I like the recoil feel it creates.
My mild Steel Challenge loads are 3.7 gn
Warmer loads are 4.0-4.1 gn
Note that my rounds are 1.11 COL.
As always, start low and work your way up for your firearm, and watch for signs of overpressure.

147gr Black Bullets International.

3.2g Vitavhori N320. Gets moving at 830fps. It's like shooting cotton balls.

Andrew

Thanks to both of you all for the replies. VNM - Glad to hear you have had good results with the CFE!

My go-to for 147 RN is 3.9gr of WSF.

I did some experiments with CFE-P but didn't get further than 3.6gr before primers started going scarce enough that I decided to put away my pistols as fun guns for the time being. I'll revisit this sometime, but not for a while.

I have been working a new load for my suppressed 9mm PCC.

3.8 3.9 4.0 CFE-P
147 gr. Xtreme RN
1.110 OAL

All worked fine, 4.0 was most accurate at 25 yrds.

quote:

Originally posted by El Cid 92:
147gr Black Bullets International.

3.2g Vitavhori N320. Gets moving at 830fps. It's like shooting cotton balls.

Andrew

Are those polymer coated? Not much info on their web site but the price is good
Thanks Greg

quote:

Originally posted by greg1147:

quote:

Originally posted by El Cid 92:
147gr Black Bullets International.

3.2g Vitavhori N320. Gets moving at 830fps. It's like shooting cotton balls.

Andrew

Are those polymer coated? Not much info on their web site but the price is good
Thanks Greg

Here's the info on the bullets:
https://www.blackbulletsintern...out-our-product.html

Black Bullets International manufactures coated bullets, applying the J&M Specialty Products P/L HI-TEK Lube coating that encases the complete bullet.

This makes the bullets clean and accurate. They are also uniform in weight and dimension.

Coated bullets produce higher velocities while reducing lead fouling and smoke.

HI-Tek Lube coating bullets are safe to shoot indoors and your dies will remain clean during the reloading process.



We use a certified 92/6/2 lead alloy that produces a BHN of 16-17

Our goal is to offer high performance, accurate bullets at competitive lead bullet prices.



We provide personal service and exceptional quality. Our unparalleled service, competitive prices and overall value are why our loyal customers keep coming back. We look forward to serving you!

My choice for high energy 9mm is Vihtavouri 3N37. It works very well with 147 grain loads and I've found that the Ruger LC9S Pro I carry has the sights regulated for 147 grain bullets. Among the powders you list I expect that the best choice of powder will be the CFE Pistol with Unique being worth taking a poke at 5 or 10 test rounds. Just be careful with the Unique, with a Standard Deviation of 0.17 grains it will exhibit a variation of +/- 1/2 grain.

Many thanks for the info. on Black Bullets, LB. Didn't know they existed until your post, but now that I do know I'll be placing an order!

Ordered 1K
Thanks for the tech
Greg

quote:

Originally posted by VictimNoMore:
I load thousands of 147 gn round nose plated bullets every year. CFE Pistol is my go-to powder. I like the recoil feel it creates.
My mild Steel Challenge loads are 3.7 gn
Warmer loads are 4.0-4.1 gn
Note that my rounds are 1.11 COL.
As always, start low and work your way up for your firearm, and watch for signs of overpressure.

VNM - What does your brass look like after shooting? Mine are very dirty, wondering if I am not crimping enough, or is the dirtiness par for the course with CFE-P?

I also use a 147gr. bullet (Bayou bullets) over 3.2gr of VV N320. Very soft load.

My pet load for both self defense and plinking steel for most 147 grain 9mm offerings is 4.1 grns of VV330 over any good SPP.

For target and steel dinging I'll go with (prefer) RMR 147 FMJs but I'll use Berry's when they're priced right.

For personal defense I've used everything from HSTs to Gold Dots but my preference are the SIG V-Crowns. A 147 grn VCrown over 4.1 grains of VV330 is pure silky butter out of all of my P320s and my P365s. Matter of fact I just recently got a new XMacro with the 3.1" comped barrel and I ran some of my pet 147 grain V-Crown loads through it and it consistently chronied in the 950ish range out of the X-Macro. Not the 1050 I get out of the others but still plenty fast and ultra accurate.

Disclaimer, I'm a big fan of VihtaVuori and Sierra.

quote:

Originally posted by eLLegitLegit:

quote:

Originally posted by VictimNoMore:
I load thousands of 147 gn round nose plated bullets every year. CFE Pistol is my go-to powder. I like the recoil feel it creates.
My mild Steel Challenge loads are 3.7 gn
Warmer loads are 4.0-4.1 gn
Note that my rounds are 1.11 COL.
As always, start low and work your way up for your firearm, and watch for signs of overpressure.

VNM - What does your brass look like after shooting? Mine are very dirty, wondering if I am not crimping enough, or is the dirtiness par for the course with CFE-P?

That was my experience with CFE-P as well. I couldn't seem to get it to shoot clean like I can with WSF. Add to that how I was able to get my hands on 4lbs of WSF (for just pistols, that's a multi year supply at the rate I shoot currently) and my experiment with CFE-P was pretty much over. I've kept it because I don't know when it might come in handy, like what recently happened with Titegroup - I needed to roll some spicy 115's to aid in the break in of my Caniks (my usual 147gr RN recipe has a tendency to stovepipe right now - 4.1gr of TG and minimal oil will do the job quite nicely), but I don't use it because it's DIRTY.

Thanks for sharing y’all’s favorite loads!
A few years ago I got what I thought was a deal on 4,000 round nose plated 147’s and interest in in suppressing. I bought a 45suppressor which my dealer said I could use for 9mm as well, it works but not as well as I’d hoped. I wonder if he just needed to move it.

I’ve been using 3.7 grains of tite-group. Any less than that and my Glock 19 & 34 don’t cycle reliably. Also, it doesn’t seem very quiet. I’m not looking for Hollywood quiet, just better than what I’m getting. I think I’ll try some powders mentioned above.