Veterans Reloading

I’ve been having some mixed results with CFE Pistol with .45 and 9mm rounds using Hornady, Nosler and some generic FMJ RP, HP and Polly coated bullets . The bullets do shoot very nicely - good FPS speed, and good groupings but the fired cartridge shells seem a little dirty to me.

I’ve messed with tightening my crimps slightly (bullets look good/ no scratches or damage when pulled apart and checked) and increased the loads (under the max) The guns I’ve been using are actually quite clean though.

Has anyone else used CFE Pistol and if so what are your thoughts on the powder? I’m pretty new to this reloading stuff and thought I’d asked if any experienced Reloader's what they thought. Thanks, Steve aka Shadowcat

I'm a long ways from experienced, but I do use CFE Pistol for my 9mm and .45. It seems to be a pretty consistent and stable powder, but I have noticed that it does get a bit sooty sometimes. With my .45, it seemed to be a little dirtier, and there have been a few times where I have found some unburned powder left in the barrel. No idea if that was from the powder itself, other components, reloading processes, or just pure bad luck.

I moved away from cfe223 and cfe pistol. I use Unique for most standard pistols, and lil' gun, blue dot snd H110 for magnums.