Best 9mm Powders for.....?

[MadDuner]

This is a spinoff thread to quit cluttering the 9mm bullet size thread.

I am looking for the most accurate powder both target shooting and drills.

In the past I was dangerously overloading my 9mm rounds to simulate +P defensive rounds for felt recoil.  This was used for Mozambique drills.  I want to practice shooting with felt recoil most closely resembling the ammo I run defensively.

I am not competing, or shooting steel challenge - although I may in the future.

I am also looking for the most accurate bullet/powder combo for both target shooting, but also shooting out at 50 or 100 yards. Yes, with my CZ75 9mm. 

Who uses what?
And why?

[BLUEPSTU]

I shoot a Tactical Sport Orange for competitions. I have always used Hodgdon Tite Group. To be honest, the it was the cheapest I could find when I got into reloading. It has always worked with no problems so I continued to use it. I recently took a two day class with Robert Vogel. (Don't know if you are familiar with him or not. If not, please look him up.) I asked him what he uses and he said he reloads with Tite Group as well. If it is good for a multiple time National and World champ, I guess it will do for me as well.   

[M1A4ME]

Sometimes, what shoots well in my pistol(s) may not shoot well in yours.

Having said that, I've tried Bullseye, Unique, AA#5, Blue Dot and either 700X or Red Dot (my reloading log is in the garage).  For bullets I've tried Berry's 124 grain hollow points, Ranier 124 and 147 grain hollow points, Missouri Bullet Co. 147 grain (lead and coated), Summers Enterprise 124 grain LRN, Precision Delta 115 grain hollow points and 115 grain hollow points from Everglades (don't remember who makes those).

My P09, my son's CZ75 SA, my wife's CZ75 Compact, my P01 Omega and CZ75 Compact all shoot the 115 grain hollow points on top of a less than max. charge (according to my reloading manual) of Blue Dot.  Lots of bang, lots of flash, lots of snap, but man to they shoot good.

[SI VIS PACEM PARRABELLUM]

At present Power Pistol is my go to 9mm powder,some like it some do not,I like it.
I have in the past used Unique,Herco,And HS-6. Way back when Herco really made some sweet accurate rounds but it can be hard to meter.

[SoCal]

For my 75B the most accurate load was 5.9 gr. of VV N-350 with a Hornady HAP 115 gr. bullet.  The chrono. gave an average of 1182 FPS.

[jameslovesjammie]

"Best" is a very subjective term.  What's best for me may bot be best for you.

Titegroup was mentioned.  Lots of folks use it and like it because it's pretty much the cheapest thing there is.  When you're shooting 10's of thousands of rounds a year and trying to pinch pennies at every opportunity to maximize the quantity of rounds manufactured per dollar.  I don't personally like Titegroup.  I don't like that it burns very hot (there are documented cases of it melting fiber optic rods in handguns in compeitition).  I don't like that it leaves a white soot on the exterior of the pistol.  I don't like that it has a small load window.  I don't like that in 9mm, to make minor powerfactor, you pretty much are at the very top of the load window.  If you are looking to duplicate a high pressure, high velocity round, this powder will fall short on the velocity spectrum.  But it goes bang, and it's cheap.  It's prolific not because it's good...but because it's cheap.

If you are looking to duplicate self defense loads, Silhouette or HS6 are great powders.  They can deliver top velocity with great accuracy.  However, if you are looking for minor powerfactor loads for USPSA they will need to be loaded with lighter charges.  In a lighter charge they don't burn efficiently and will have quite a bit of unburnt powder granules all over the action. 

Bullseye and Unique are dinosaurs: left over from the transitional age from Holy Black to Smokeless.  But they work well, are accurate, and have a ton of load data available.  That being said...they are sooty.  Even the newer "Cleaner Burning" formulas will leave your hands black after a box or two.

Lately, I've been using N320 for my 9mm minor loads in both pistol and PCC.  It burns cleanly, meters well, is and is accurate.  The downsides are cost (it will be one of the most expensive powders on the market) and availability.  Another good one is HP-38/231.

Like I said, there is really no "perfect powder" for all applications.  But we ARE blessed with a wide spectrum of usable powders.

I guess a good question would be what powders do you currently have and what is your definition of accuracy?

[MadDuner]

I currently load with Titegroup and Unique.

I am looking for any improvement in accuracy - IF changing powder and projectile helps me get there.
I reload and shoot about 15k rounds of 9mm a year.

[DWARREN]

Titegroup, Longshot and CFE Pistol is what I use. They work very well for me.

[IDescribe]

I want to practice shooting with felt recoil most closely resembling the ammo I run defensively.

To make recommendations here, we'd need to know what bullet weight and the average velocity of your defense loads.  Personally, my defense load is the Barnes 115gr TAC-XP, which is a soft soft 125PF load.  My defensive loads aren't stout at all. 

I am not competing, or shooting steel challenge - although I may in the future.

Bullseye is my go-to for 9mm minor action pistol sports as it has produced the most accurate loads for me at 9mm minor velocities, AND I use my 9mm minor loads for Steel Challenge.  For 9mm minor, N320, American Select, and HP38/Win231 are also excellent choices.  And though I haven't loaded it yet, Alliant Sport Pistol seems perfect for 9mm minor and has been well reviewed.  If all my powder vanished today, my first purchase would be an 8-pound jug of Alliant Sport Pistol to try with 9mm minor.

I am also looking for the most accurate bullet/powder combo for both target shooting, but also shooting out at 50 or 100 yards.

THE standard 50-yard bullseye combo is Power Pistol with a 115gr match JHP, such as the 115gr Hornady HAP, loaded to accuracy at or a little above 1200 feet/sec at the muzzle.  I'd name Silhouette a very close second, and N340, N350, and AA7 would also be excellent choices. 

I have no interest in shooting a pistol at 100 yards unless it's a Thompson Contender in .223, in which case it's quite fun to show targets with 1-inch groups to people and say "I did this at a 100 yards with a pistol".     So... no help with 100 yard loads. 

[MadDuner]

Thanks for all the input guys!

The 100 yard pistol shooting thing is only important because it usually decides who is buying lunch!

[CPTKILLER]

https://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/9mm-luger-parabellum/

This is a good starting place.

[PistolShooter]

I've had great results with W231. I've loaded 9mm, 40 s&w, 45 acp, 38 special and 357 mag with it. Its not the best for 357 mag in terms of hot loads but it was accurate in all of them and it meters great.

[J Lee]

231/HP-38 for 124gr HPs
WSF for 147 gr SNS FPs

Works great for me.

[armoredman]

Accurate Arms #7 has been my "go-to" powder for years, though I'll use #2 and #5 at times. Unique works, but for me it's not quite as accurate as the AA stuff. Purely subjective, of course.