Choosing the right powder for 9mm 115gr

[Jack the Toad]

I like Unique and Power Pistol .

[fredj338]

I am another TG hater, just don't see the point. NEVER take powder recommendations from some gun show goof & gun shops are just as bad. Most don't reload or reload very little. IMO, put the TG on the shelf, get 1# of WSF or Unique or Universal or PP, start there. Broader load range & most have higher volume per wt, a big plus for noobs, you can actually see if the case has powder in it.
How to choose powder? Look at your reloading manual. Look at the bullet you want to use & the vel you want to achieve. Choose a powder that gets you the vel level you want without hitting max. That is the best place to start. Uberfast powder like TG & faster, are best left for more exp reloaders IMO. Powder is the cheapest part of a pistol reload, choose for performance, not cost. The diff between TG & say WSF is about 1/3 of a penny per round!

[rayikeo2]

Mike, my question is what do you do when you get a "poof"? Do you just continue to shoot or do you stop and check your gun to see if the bullet made it out of the barrell? You could soon be getting a squib round stuck in the barrell and the next shot is going in cause injury to you and your gun.
Before worrying about what kind of powder to use, worry about why you are getting low charges and what you need to do to correct this very dangerous result.

[Keltyke]

Check your Lyman's #49 to see what powder they recommend. Do DO have a Lyman's #49, don't you??? FWIW, large flake powders often don't meter well in Lee delivery systems.

[Mike1388]

To answer a couple of questions:
When I get a "poof", I drop the magazine, open the chamber to eject the spent shell and check the barrel to make sure it's clear.

No, I don't have a Lyman's reloading manual. I have one for Hodgdon and one from Lee.

[Keltyke]

No, I don't have a Lyman's reloading manual

Maybe you should get one...

Originally Posted by Mike1388

I've loaded and fired about 200 rounds and only 5 of them failed to fire (just "poofed").

I missed this the first time I read your OP. STOP right NOW! 5 "poofs" in 200 is a major percentage. Mine are more like 1 in 10,000. Seriously, a poof, if shot again. can severely damage your gun and/or your hand. If you're rapid firing when it happens, you may not catch the difference in sound and recoil to stop yourself from pulling the trigger again. At that point, you can only hope the poof didn't have enough power to rack the slide and chamber another round.

Visually check EVERY case for a powder charge.

[fredj338]

If you are getting squibs, you aren't paying attention to your reloading process. Visually check every round prior to seating a bullet. Use a powder & charge that insures enough pressure to get the bullet out of the bbl, even if the charge wt varies by 0.2gr, possible on many measures. One reason I hate TG, the charge vol is so small it's diff to see partial charge or in bigger cases, no charge. Do as you like, but I would stop, get a slower powder & start your learning curve over. Five squibs in 200rds is really, really not good. I don't hink I have had 5 squibs in my last 20K+ rds.

[Rugby3]

Originally Posted by fredj338

If you are getting squibs, you aren't paying attention to your reloading process. Visually check every round prior to seating a bullet. Use a powder & charge that insures enough pressure to get the bullet out of the bbl, even if the charge wt varies by 0.2gr, possible on many measures. One reason I hate TG, the charge vol is so small it's diff to see partial charge or in bigger cases, no charge. Do as you like, but I would stop, get a slower powder & start your learning curve over. Five squibs in 200rds is really, really not good. I don't hink I have had 5 squibs in my last 20K+ rds.

There is the key to successful reloading! Regardless of whether you have a single stage or a progressive, low charge powder or one that fills the case. I won't disagree with FredJ that TG is a powder that is unforgiving to learn on but in the end it still comes down to the person pulling the handle. Going to a slower burning powder and one that fills the case certainly helps the new reloader.

I would also take a closer look at your powder measure and clean and polish it to ensure reliability. Going from a 3.9 gr charge to an empty case indicates some serious issues vs. a variance.

[fredj338]

Originally Posted by Rugby3

There is the key to successful reloading! Regardless of whether you have a single stage or a progressive, low charge powder or one that fills the case. I won't disagree with FredJ that TG is a powder that is unforgiving to learn on but in the end it still comes down to the person pulling the handle. Going to a slower burning powder and one that fills the case certainly helps the new reloader.

I would also take a closer look at your powder measure and clean and polish it to ensure reliability. Going from a 3.9 gr charge to an empty case indicates some serious issues vs. a variance.

Even w/ mediocre metering Unqiue, I get 0.1gr accuracy w/ my Dillon or RCBS measures. So yes, somethign is wrong w/ the OP's measure or setup or technique to get partial charges or no charge. It's almost always the nut pulling the handle that causes poor ammo.

[Mike1388]

Originally Posted by fredj338

Visually check every round prior to seating a bullet. Use a powder & charge that insures enough pressure to get the bullet out of the bbl, even if the charge wt varies by 0.2gr, possible on many measures. One reason I hate TG, the charge vol is so small it's diff to see partial charge or in bigger cases, no charge.

I think that's the type of feedback I was looking for. I do check every round before seating the bullet. However, the powder (TG) doesn't fill the case so it's sometimes difficult to see. It seems like changing to a powder that uses a larger volume would definitely be helpful. That leads to my next question - what powder would that be? I think others have already made some recommendations on that, so I'll review the responses in this thread.

That still leaves one question regarding "+ P" - is loading at the top end of the suggested charge (4.3gr for TG, which ranges from 3.9 to 4.3) considered + P? Or is + P when you go over the recommended top load?