Reloading for Short Barrel Pistol

[togmaster]

I have been looking for some SD ammo for a short barrel 3" pistol. I see a bunch of short barrel cartridges for sale and the reviews are all over the place so I figured why not do it myself. My goal is to develop a load that would maximize velocity while minimizing flash and felt recoil. Penetration and expansion is also a consideration but I have no real way of testing for that now.

So to start, what powder and projectile do I start with? My first thought is a fast burning powder like Titegroup. For a projectile I was thinking 115 grain or less HP.

I would appreciate your thoughts.

 

[MilesTeg]

I've been dreaming about using some of these with BE 86 and doing some testing. 9mm 124 Gr. RMR Jacketed Hollow Point (Multi Purpose Round) Bullets *NEW* | RMR Bullets

 

[togmaster]

How fast is BE 86? Not sure if you can maximum velocity from a 124 gr. Bullet through a 3" barrel.

 

[MilesTeg]

I'm not sure it's been a while since looking at the charts and all my stuff is still packed away.

 

[Robin]

Unique is an old tried and true powder that produces a relatively fast burn and has a reputation for consistent accuracy.
Robin

 

[togmaster]

Just looked it up Just slightly faster than Titegroup but formulated to suppress flash. Sounds interesting.

 

[GTN]

Unique is an old tried and true powder that produces a relatively fast burn and has a reputation for consistent accuracy.
Robin

Unique is my powder of choice with Red Dot a close 2nd

 

[togmaster]

Unique is my powder of choice with Red Dot a close 2nd

How do they perform based on the parmaters of this thread? Flash and burn rates? Have you loaded for short barrel pistol? What projectile did you use?

 

[GTN]

How do they perform based on the parmaters of this thread? Flash and burn rates? Have you loaded for short barrel pistol? What projectile did you use?

I'm only loading for range for my Glock 19&43. Using copper plated RN I started my loads at the lowest for lead and worked way way up. 1st thing I looked for was reliable functioning of the gun. Once I got that I looking for accuracy. Once I hit acceptable accuracy I went no higher in the load. To be honest I'm not sure what flash & burn rates mean.

 

[MilesTeg]

Just looked it up Just slightly faster than Titegroup but formulated to suppress flash. Sounds interesting.

Ya I knew there was a reason I was looking at it but couldn't remember. The faster burn rate should help what your trying to do.

I read a lot on "the highroad" forum. Theres some people doing some good testing. I cant remember if someone did a short barrel pistol there or not. I do know a few people have tested those projectiles with success.

 

[togmaster]

I'm only loading for range for my Glock 19&43. Using copper plated RN I started my loads at the lowest for lead and worked way way up. 1st thing I looked for was reliable functioning of the gun. Once I got that I looking for accuracy. Once I hit acceptable accuracy I went no higher in the load. To be honest I'm not sure what flash & burn rates mean.

By flash I mean muzzle flash. Trying to avoid a fire ball of burning powder coming out of the barrel. Burn rate is how fast the powder burns. My theory being you need a quicker burning powder in a short barrel because you have less time before the bullet leaves the muzzle.

 

[GTN]

By flash I mean muzzle flash. Trying to avoid a fire ball of burning powder coming out of the barrel. Burn rate is how fast the powder burns. My theory being you need a quicker burning powder in a short barrel because you have less time before the bullet leaves the muzzle.

Ok that’s what t thought but wasn’t sure.
Not sure how much of a fireball it has.
Unique is not a fast burning powder. Ranks #31 out of 145 powders. I have seen/felt sparks of burning powder come out the ejection port.
Red dot might be a better choice as its #8

 

[Robin]

https://www.hodgdon.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/burn-rate-color.pdf

 

[Robin]