Notes - from

http://www.shootingtimes.com/author/brmiller/

Power Factor & Recoil: Which Bullet Weight Gives You the Edge?

How to Measure Relative Handgun Recoil

Compensators: Pressure or Gas?

Reducing Recoil: Traditional vs. Bushing Compensators

A “Fast” Look at Hodgdon CFE Pistol Powder

Making Major with Hodgdon CFE Pistol Powder ( also see the other article above - I think it is even better than this one. )

by Brad Miller, Ph.D. | July 24th, 2014

IPSC and USPSA Open Division shooters will find the new Hodgdon CFE Pistol gunpowder (CFE) of interest. The double base spherical powder has a medium burn rate listed between Winchester AutoComp and Ramshot Silhouette on Hodgdon’s burn rate chart.

Hodgdon’s published data for .38 Super and 9mm Luger indicate that it produces similar velocities and pressures as AutoComp (AC). For these reasons, reloaders will be eyeing it as a potential powder for making Major power factor in .38 Super, 9×23, 9mm Luger and 9×21 since AC is also popular for this purpose.

This gunpowder’s claim to fame is it’s ability to prevent copper fouling; CFE = Copper Fouling Eraser. This benefit might not necessarily be of primary concern to the Open Division shooters since copper fouling in pistols is not as problematic as it is in rifles, but any reduction in copper fouling will be welcome.

Hodgdon’s data suggests that it won’t make Major power factor (160 in IPSC, 165 in USPSA) with light bullets without exceeding SAAMI pressure limits for these cartridges. Experienced competitive shooters know that it is possible to load safe excess pressure ammunition under certain conditions for some pistols. The most important feature is that the gun’s barrel has a fully supported chamber — meaning the chamber surrounds the case all the way up to the extractor groove. This reduces the chance of a case blowout from excess pressure.

CFE Pistol (CFE) and AutoComp (AC) look very similar and have a similar densities. Each 9mm Luger case has an equal weight of gunpowder. These are not charge weights used in this test, and are only used to illustrate the similar density of the two powders.

CFE Pistol (CFE) and AutoComp (AC) look very similar and have similar densities. Each 9mm Luger case has an equal weight of gunpowder. These are not charge weights used in this test, and are only used to illustrate the similar density of the two powders.

CFE looks very much like AC, with similar densities and charge weights to achieve similar velocities. However, it is unwise to assume that CFE will work safely for this task without careful testing. I loaded CFE at charge weights that were “off the books” to see how it responded to excess pressure in order to make Major power factor in the .38 Super and 9mm. I compared it directly with AC.

The pressures of these loads almost certainly exceed SAAMI pressure limits for the 38 Super and 9mm and fall into the +P+ category. These types of loads should ONLY be used by handloaders experienced with excess pressure ammunition and ONLY in guns that are designed for this type of use.

I loaded 10 rounds for each load with Winchester small rifle primers. Three different charge weights were used with both powders to check for linearity over the velocity range tested. Both 115- and 125-grain Hornady Action Pistol bullets were tested since these are in the weight range that is most commonly used by competitive shooters in compensated pistols. Winchester brass was used for the 9mm Luger and Starline .38 Super Comp brass for the .38 Super. Bullets were seated to 1.240” cartridge overall length (COL) in the .38 Super and 1.150” in the 9mm. The lot number of the CFE Pistol powder was 031714-2008 and for the AutoComp was 1022410-137.

The same gun was used by simply changing barrels. The test barrels were a 5” Kart .38 Super and a 5” Para Ordnance 9mm. Both have fully supported chambers. The gun had a Caspian slide with a standard length firing pin. Velocity was recorded with a Shooting Chrony chronograph at about 10 feet.

Velocity
The velocity profiles are shown in the accompanying plots. Both CFE and AC produced more-or-less linear velocity changes with the charge weights tested. CFE produced less velocity than AC for the same charge weight, an average of 32 feet-per-second (fps) less in the 9mm and 38 fps less in the .38 Super. Velocity standard deviations of CFE and AC were similar.

Calculations were made with linear regression for the gunpowder charge weights required for power factors 160, 165 and 170 and are shown in the tables. CFE required 0.2 to 0.4 grains more weight than AC for the same power factor. Keep in mind that these weights apply to my 5” barrels. The velocities you achieve in your barrel will depend on it’s length and if it has ports.

Hodgdon_CFE-ipsc-uspsa_major_power_factor_table_1

Charge weights (in grains) for power factors for 9mm Luger in the Author’s 5” Para Ordnance barrel.

One unexpected result was that the charge weights to achieve Major power factor for the .38 Super and 9mm were so similar. In fact, some of the 38 Super loads required less powder than the 9mm for the same power factor. This was unexpected because under normal conditions the .38 Super usually requires a little more powder to achieve the same velocity as the 9mm. The reasoning here is that the 9mm can be viewed as a .38 Super but with the bullet pushed deeper, and the deeper you seat the bullet, the greater the pressure and the greater the velocity. Therefore, all else being equal, the 9mm should require less powder for the same velocity. This reinforces the notion that every barrel is different and needs to be tested independently.

Hodgdon_CFE-ipsc-uspsa_major_power_factor_table_2

Charge weights (in grains) for power factors for 38 Super in the Author’s 5” Kart barrel.

Primers
The primers were examined for pressure signs. Reading primers is a very poor method for assessing pressure, but it’s one of the few methods we hand loaders have available when monitoring for excess pressure. This procedure was used primarily to assess the relative condition of the CFE primers compared to the AC primers.

Evidence of high pressure in these primers was slight flattening of the corners and cratering around the firing pin strike. The amount and frequency of these signs increased with charge weight.

Primers with the CFE loads appeared to show slightly less evidence of cratering than the same charge weight as the AC. However, the CFE also produced less velocity than AC at the same charge weight. With the .38 Super ammunition, CFE appeared to have slightly less severe pressure signs than the AC at the same power factor. This was not as evident with the 9mm ammunition where the primers looked similar at the same power factor. Certainly, the CFE primers did not look worse than the AC primers at the same power factor.

Keep in mind that this was a small sample of only 10 rounds per load, and for something this imprecise a larger sample would be required for more substantial evidence. Therefore the primer readings should be considered “suggestive” and not conclusive by any means.

Some guns might show excess pressure signs with CFE (or AC) before the desired power factor is reached. In this case slower gunpowder should be used since it is often the case that slower gunpowder will produce the same velocity but at reduced pressure.

Conclusion
Careful testing is always required when selecting any gunpowder for these types of pressures/velocities in these caliber guns. Hodgdon CFE Pistol appeared to be suitable for making Major power factor in my 9mm and .38 Super caliber examples, and others can consider testing it in their guns.

A “Fast” Look at Hodgdon CFE Pistol Powder

Hodgdon recently introduced a new gunpowder to pistol shooters known as CFE Pistol. This is a spherical powder that has a Copper Fouling Eraser (CFE) formula, and follows the 2012 introduction of the rifle version CFE 223. Copper fouling is usually of minor concern for many pistol shooters, since it is not often evident like it can be for rifles. Still, anything that reduces copper fouling is welcome.

According to Hodgdon’s description, CFE technology was originally developed for the U.S. Military and virtually eliminates copper fouling. Hodgdon bills CFE Pistol as a perfect propellant for target and self-defense loads, providing clean burning and low muzzle flash. Hodgdon also claims that CFE Pistol offers top velocities.

RELATED: Making Major with Hodgdon CFE

Let’s face it, some of us are speed freaks. We can’t get enough. If the latest-and-greatest powder claims high velocity, it’s worth a closer look. Indeed, the published numbers are impressive; with CFE Pistol claiming the highest velocities for some calibers and bullet weights among the other gunpowders listed at their website.

Burn Baby Burn
This double base powder falls into the “medium” burn rate range, and is listed between Winchester AutoComp and Ramshot Silhouette on Hodgdon’s burn rate chart. Its spherical shape aids smooth and consistent metering through mechanical powder measures.

Hodgdon has an impressive amount of data for this powder. It includes the .32 H&R Magnum, .327 Federal Magnum, .380 Auto, 9mm Luger, .38 Special, .38 Special +P, .38 Super, .357 SIG, .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, 10mm Auto, .44 S&W Special, .44 Remington Magnum, .45 GAP, .45 ACP and .45 Colt. That’s a lot of popular handgun calibers.

Putting CFE to the Test

A comparison of Hodgdon CFE with similar powders. (click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge) CFE Pistol granules are about the same size as Winchester AutoComp and Hodgdon HS-6. Its granules are smaller than Longshot, 231 and Unique, but larger than Silhouette.

The calibers tested were .45 ACP, 10mm, .40 S&W, .38 Super, 9mm and .38 Special. Two of three bullets tested in the .38 Special were loaded to +P pressures. I used the same bullets and cartridge overall length (COL) that Hodgdon used where possible, but I didn’t always have the same components and had to make substitutions. I used CCI large (300) and small (500) pistol primers and then tested 10 rounds with each load. Velocity was recorded with a Shooting Chrony chronograph at a distance of 10 feet.

I focused on velocity performance and report the velocities from my pistols for the maximum published weight. Starting with the maximum load is not the recommended procedure for testing, and wise folks will work their loads up gradually from the starting load watching for pressure signs. I also loaded some other powders that list high velocities, such as AutoComp, HS-6 and Longshot to compare relative performance. All semi-automatic test guns had 5-inch barrels, which were: .45 ACP – Para Ordnance; 10mm – Clark; .40 S&W – Para Ordnance; .38 Super – Kart; 9mm – Para Ordnance. Hodgdon’s published load data from the .45 ACP, 10mm and .38 Super were from 5” barrels, while their published data for .40 S&W and 9mm data were from 4-inch barrels. The .38 Special was tested in a Smith & Wesson Model 66 with a 2.5-inch barrel. Hodgdon’s published data was from a 7.7-inch barrel.

Calibers used for testing CFE Pistol powder in this comparison.

Results
Overall, CFE Pistol produced impressive velocities. Some velocities were less than the published speed, while others were higher. There are many reasons why a shooter’s velocities won’t match the manufacturer’s published speeds. The simplest reason is that they are different barrels or barrel lengths. Other factors include different bullets, a different COL, a different lot number of powder, different primers and different brass. Therefore, the question is not so much whether my results match the published results, but instead is whether my results show that CFE Pistol offers high velocity performance in general. The overall results (shown in the tables) suggest that it does.

.45 ACP
The .45 ACP velocities I obtained with CFE Pistol were lower than the published values. CFE Pistol propelled the 200-grain bullet to 1086 feet-per-second (fps), and the 230-grain bullets in the mid-800 fps range. The 230-grain lead bullet was the farthest from the published value (-103 fps) but I loaded mine longer than the COL on Hodgdon’s website, so this could account for some of that difference because loading longer decreases pressure. The same reason could contribute to the slower 200-grain SWC results as well. The AutoComp loads in the .45 were higher than Hodgdon’s values, and were faster than CFE Pistol with the 230-grain bullets but not the 200-grain bullet.

45 ACP results. *Used Hornady FMJ FP data. **Loaded longer than Hodgdon’s data to accommodate this specific bullet profile. The lead SWC bullet was Master Blaster Moly coated. The 230 LRN bullet was Oregon Trail. The color-coded boxes indicate the velocity rank among Hodgdon’s website for the data used.

10mm
CFE Pistol 10mm velocities were only slightly lower than Hodgdon’s, giving high speeds overall, and higher speeds than AutoComp. It pushed the 135-grain Nosler to 1511 fps and the 155-grain bullet to 1361 fps. The AutoComp loads were 30-40 fps slower but a little closer to their published values.

.40 S&W
The 135-grain Nosler bullet in the .40 S&W exceeded Hodgdon’s values and reached 1456 fps in my 5” barrel with CFE Pistol, which was only 55 fps less than the 10mm load with the same bullet. AutoComp pushed this bullet even faster at 1472 fps, which was 130 fps faster than Hodgdon’s data. In fact, AutoComp’s performance with this bullet was two fps faster than it produced in the 10mm. It’s proof that it’s hard to predict what actual velocity you’ll get until you try it. The 180-grain speeds with both powders were just a bit over 1,000 fps.

.38 Super
The CFE Pistol .38 Super loads produced over 1300 fps with the 115-grain bullet and over 1200 fps with the 125-grain bullet. These velocities are okay, but the HS-6 loads were significantly faster. HS-6 pushed the 115-grain bullet to over 1400 fps and the 125-grain bullet to over 1300 fps.

9mm Luger
Both CFE Pistol and Longshot launched the 115-grain bullet in the 9mm Luger in the 1200 fps range, with CFE Pistol being the faster by 30 fps. The two powders produced nearly identical speeds with the 147-grain bullet at just over 900 fps.

.38 Special
My .38 Special velocities were far lower than Hodgdon’s published velocities because my 2.5-inch barrel is far shorter than their 7.7-inch test barrel. But a useful comparison can be made with the other powder tested. CFE Pistol produced 888 fps with the 125-grain bullet, slightly less velocity than AutoComp at 901 fps. CFE Pistol also produced slightly less velocity than Longshot with the 110-grain bullet, though both powders yielded speeds over 1000 fps. CFE Pistol produced slightly more speed than AutoComp with the 158-grain bullet clocking at 750 fps. All of these speeds are respectable velocities from such a short barrel.

Summary
CFE Pistol shows promise for producing high velocities in a variety of pistol calibers, and if that’s what you’re looking for, it’s worth trying. Even folks who are not concerned with copper fouling or mostly shoot lead should still consider CFE Pistol powder. Any powder that offers good performance, whether it is velocity, accuracy, cleanliness, low flash, etc., is desirable. If it also eliminates copper fouling, that’s icing on the cake.