Home Forums Reloading Handgun Reloading Vectan shotgun powders for handguns ?

Hello all, - I presume many of you have seen Nobel Sport Vectan powders advertised for several years, yet their "official" reloading data leaves something to be desired, i.e. one has to search for third-party recipes in some cases to fill-in the blanks Vectan doesn't publish. An example is I discovered their shotgun powder "GM3" is widely used in Europe for reloading 9x21 (a lengthened 9x19 Luger chambering). This begs the question if their similar powder "D20" of same burning rate on their chart is equally applicable to handgun reloading, and if not, why ? Factory has no information to shed, so I'm floating this here, anybody with a stock of D20 ever tried it in 9mm or 38 or 357 ? Respectfully, - Vince

Do you have an actual Vectan manual or just the pamphlet?

Thanks for your reply. I have both an old version of the Vectan pamphlet shipped by Graf & Sons when I bought powders and I've downloaded newer updates and whatever the Eurosport Italia & France & UK websites have available, - (which are ludicrous by American standards please try to be thorough !)
Then there's Brian Eno's Forum and others where I discovered Vectan "AO" similar to Herco can be used for 9mm (Lee reloading manual sez this too), and another site where someone divulged Vectan "GM3" is widely used in Europe for 9x21 auto pistol. I'm a longtime reloader by the way, and years ago when "Unique" wasn't available I bought some "A0" & "D20" from Graf and have plenty of it whereas Unique is hard to find again. Just thinking pure logistics if I can use what I have safely and smartly so be it, and in fact I just loaded some 9mm w/A0 per Brian Eno's & Lee's low-to-midrange data and I'll clock them with my chronograph soon. However, the Herco-speed of A0 is not really optimum for 9mm because we all know it usually takes "faster" powders, and this is where I lit-onto the data that "GM3" (faster than Herco or Unique and almost W-231 speed) is popular in 9x21, but try to find data ? Ha !
This also brought me to my initial question, if Vectan "GM3" (which I don't have) and Vectan "D20" (which I DO have) are equal on Nobelsport's burning speed chart, could "D20" be used in 9mm, and if not, why ? Here is where I solicit some expert thoughts short of just loading some with a ginger hand and work-up to what the chronograph reports as in the ballpark of my typical "practice" 9mm loads for cast 124gr RN (which is 4.6gr Unique @ 950fps which
is faultless). Thanks for your interest. Any thoughts ?

According to Nobel Sport D20 is similar to AA5 and AA5 works very well in 9mm, 38 and 357. Although there are better powders for 357.
Start low and work up using Accurate’s data for 124.
http://www.accuratepowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/WPHandloading-Guide-7.0-Web-REV.pdf

Thanks Swifty. Makes good sense and I'll be careful and safe with this endeavor. Will report on my results shortly which may be of benefit to the community here. Best ! - Vinnie

I don't know what you have for data, but here is a link to the Vectan manual:

https://www.grafs.com/uploads/technical-resource-pdf-file/20.pdf

Problem is Waders, Vectan doesn’t give load data for GM3 or D20 in pistols. However the only difference in the 2 is one is a disc powder the other is ball.

Thanks ! Got It !

Hello fellow members. I'm happy to report my chronograph results with Nobelsport D20 powder in 9x19mm cartridge reloading although there's no “officially published” data about it to the best of my knowledge. It's evidently a disk-granulated form of their GM3 flake powder used in Europe for 9x21mm reloading and I used that as a guideline Thank You contributor "Swifty" for the datasheet reference. These are truthful test results for data purposes only and I disclaim any liability for offering these test results. I'm a cast boolit shooter only, and the Ruger EC9S handgun these loads were tested in functioned flawlessly, but that too is a matter of individual test results and not an imprimateur that these loads are applicable to all 9x19mm pistols.

Overview: my benchmark of a perfectly acceptable and functional 9mm plinking load has always been 4.6gr Alliant “Unique” powder, Win WSP primers, and any generic 124gr LRN will generally prove itself to fly as true as any other. As for OAL of assembled rounds I've experimented with different seating depths yet don't lose sleep over it, - once the lube band is within the ctg the ctg takes-on a certain dimensional aesthetic we all know and 124-grainers nowhere reach Max ctg length. The ballpark velocity of loads with this Unique / 124gr LRN combo has always been 970-1000fps for me which is pleasant to shoot and not too snappy and I like it this way.

For load development with Vectan D20 powder I started with 4.0gr and the same protocols as above and my test ctgs resolved a remarkable consistency in the 950-970fps ballpark and were very pleasant to shoot and utterly clean and functioned w/o hiccup.

Upping the dose to 4.5gr D20 resolved 970-1000fps just like Unique and I had my “Eureka moment” I dun good and this is a great new load combo. Accuracy was equal to any plinking load I've made with Unique or W-231, and accordingly, I'll set my powder measure to throw 4.1gr D20 in the future and it'll be right in the sweet-spot of where it wants to be and there's no worry of double-charging a case, - it will become immediately evident by overflow.

Also while I was at it, Nobelsport has another inexpensive shotgun powder called
Vectan “A0” which is a slower burner (in the range of Herco according to their chart).
I have some of this too and loaded 4.0gr A0 in 9mm to the same protocols as above and it resolved basically the same ballpark of 950-970fps and pleasant to shoot and functional and reliable in an EC9S. Was a good day at the range testing all this stuff, and if anybody's interested, Vectan A0 is listed to be applicable to almost any rifle ctg with cast loads and proper load development. I happened upon a great plinking load for .30-30 using it and I plan to work-up loads for all my non-automatic rifles with A0 as an alternative to Unique. So, all's well that ends well and I'm not at a loss for nitrocellulose to power a variety of ctgs w/o excessive inventory of specialized powders. Useful experiments I hope the community here finds useful.
Cheers and happy reloading, - Vince.

Update: I added a two more 9mm pistols to my fold since last posting including a SCCY and another Ruger, and a Hi-Point 9mm carbine, and I'm happy to report my recipe for Vectan D20 in 9mm continues to be faultless. ANY 100-124gr boolit whether cast, plated, or J-word will fly and function perfectly with 4.1 - 4.2gr D20. It is not a hotrod load and there is no overpressure or overspeed approaching anything like +P. It's simply a tried and standardized load that went from "experimental load" in my notebook
to "keeper load" in the absence of Alliant Unique. In 2020, D20 was available from some suppliers because it evidently wasn't too popular in the public eye, and of late
(April 2021) I've seen it disappear like all other powders as "unavailable." If it ever returns and you can't find Unique test my recipe above and post a thank you here. Cheers, - Vince

Update II: Oh, by the way, if any of you wonder how it meters, it meters +/- 0.05 gr from a Lyman No55 measure, and it's noncritical anyway once you're in the ballpark of the measure throwing a max charge of 4.2. I've obsoleted that however because the "Lee Dipper Method" has more economy of motion than operating the Lyman charge drum and knocker dingus. A Lee .5cc dipper throws a nominal of 3.8gr of D20 which is a little short of the 4.1 - 4.2 my recipe desires, which motivated me to make my own dipper which I'll relate here. A piece of .32 ACP brass is the ideal size to make a custom dipper for 9mm or .380. (Once dipped and levelled its slightly smaller diameter than a 9mm case is an advantage). If you have these, or 9mm cases could do as well, clean a few fired cases and partially fill them with epoxy and let it cure.
Experiment when the epoxy cures how much the cup throws and you can modify this incrementally with a drill bit ever so slightly until it throws the desired charge.
(Wrap the case with electrical tape and hold with pliers while you're drilling and experimenting, it can get hot from drilling friction and you don't want to mar the case with ugly indents and scratches). When you arrive at your finished volume, then cut a 3/8" round wooden dowel to about 3-1/2" and file a "ledge" to epoxy your new charge cup to. The finished product should look like a Lee dipper or a smoking pipe. When that cures and you sand epoxy overflows then you'll have a lifetime custom dipper made from your own hand, and it's exceedingly quick and efficient to charge cases in this manner. It works, and remember, we're talking 9mm and not critical benchrest cartridges. To eliminate static and assure smooth powder pouring I like to swab a Q-Tip of Imperial Case Neck Lube which is finely powdered graphite, or with repeated dipping the powdered graphite on all powders will season your new tool to a smooth-flowing nature. If you noticed I like to write and you've stuck with me here I'll give you a bonus recipe for D20 in .380 ACP. Works like a charm and obsoletes my former recipes of Unique or W-231, but you must make your own dipper for it. (The charge is too small to throw consistently from a Lyman No55 measure, or perhaps others). Make a custom dipper to throw 2.8gr D20 from 32 ACP or equiv brass. It's the bee's knees of a
perfectly viable, cheep, clean, accurate, and functional 380 round, and I've tested this like my 9mm above, ANY 95gr - 102gr boolit whether cast, plated, or J-word will work with this singular recipe. Simplifies things a-lot. Two custom dippers, one for 380 and one for 9mm specifically dedicated to throw Vectan D20 and I never look back if I can "improve" a recipe or powder/boolit combo. I can't. Can't knock what works, and these recipes work. Enjoy ! - Vince

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