Clays Powder

[Manitu]

Passed up other powders in the stash to have a run of 9mm plated reloads. The unopened 1lb of Clays caught my eye so I popped the lid, then thought better of the scant info I was finding. Eventually stumbled on somewhat consistent comments of no not with 9mm for a variety of reasons. Dumped it back in loaded hopper with bullseye. Question does Clays excel at any handgun caliber loads?

[Old Jeff H]

I've never used it myself, but I know some guys on other forums like it in 45 ACP.

[Pale Rider]

I assume you're talking about Hodgdon Clays. According to my burn rate chart it's #9 and Bullseye is #13, so it's pretty fast powder. Alliant Red Dot is slightly faster at #7, so if you find any loads for Red Dot it should be somewhere in between the two. I'd just be careful and start at the low end if you want to use it. My Lyman book does have 9MM loads for a 125gr lead bullet with Clays, with starting load at 2.2gr and max load at 3.1gr.

[Flash]

A recently deceased friend used Clays exclusively for 9mm and his loads were clean and accurate.

[Packer]

A popular powder for 45 Colt and 45ACP. Been using Clays for both for many years. Burns clean and works through the powder measure without difficulty. 9mm is possible but why when Titegroup is better.