Been looking at some military data and noted the 9MM NATO round uses HPC26 as their powder. Where does this powder fall in the burn rate chart? I've tried to do a search and not been able to locate a commercial substitute. The military listing lists 1250FPS or there abouts.

I've used Unique and Win 231 with somewhat less that admirable results in the 9MM. In fact can;t get either to group worth a darn. Cheapie commercial loads shoot better in the 9MM than I've handloaded in the past. [In the .45 I really like the Win231]. I've considered purchasing a pound of Bullseye, but was hoping someone knew a clone of the HPC26 or an outstanding load.

RenegadeRN

I don`t load the 9mm but, I have seen Power Pistol listed as being developed for the 9mm.

The guys at Subguns.com quote the ball load as 112gr bullet with 6 gr of HPC25 yielding 1263 fps.

I do not find that Bullseye or WW231 give wonderful results in 9mm. I prefer medium burn rate powders such as Unique, AA#5, AA#7, WW WSF, or VV 3N37.

Never had difficulty getting accuracy with 9mm. Crimp is important here. I use a taper crimp with a case diameter of 0.375" at the bullet.

No NOT try to hot rod a 9mm pistol too much. Way too many have unsupported chambers and there is lots of not so great brass out there. Major 9mm is a great way to get hurt. Better to go to 9x21, 9x23, or Super if you must race a 9mm at Major velocities.

It's not difficult to get 124-125gr bullets along at 1200fps. I agree w/ mstarling, med. burners are the way to go in 9mm for high end loads. Some of the most accurate loads I have shot use Unique. If your pistol won;t shoot the 124gr XTP under Unique, well, the pistol has probably got problems.

The max load Alliant lists for Power Pistol 9mm is :
147 gr XTP, 1.14", 5.7 gr Power Pistol, 34,000 psi, 1,095 fsp, 4" barrel.


With a typical 9mm barrel with feed ramp only intruding .190" from the rear and typical 9mm brass with a .160" web, there is only .030" of thin unsupported case wall.

This small area can stand up to 11 gr Power Pistol 158 gr .357" XTP, 1.169", resized loaded. double charge

The recoil springs that will work with the mag springs can not stand up to that much recoil.


A 50 pound recoil spring assembly in a typical 15 ounce slide will still slam the frame, and the chamber will come up empty. The mag spring can be doubled so the chamber is fed and Glocks can get a NY trigger so they will reset that fast, but the recoil is still too much for the springs.

What does it all mean?
With Power Pistol in 9mm you can work up a load and get more recoil than you can handle.
With Power Pistol the springs are the limit, not pressure.

Back when I was loading lots of 9mm, I obtained the best combination of accuracy and velocity with AA#5. This was with 115 and 124 gr bullets.