Getting started loading 9mm, need some pointers

[bkoenig]

I've been loading both bottleneck and straight wall rifle cartridges since I was a kid but I've never loaded pistol until now.  I just bought a set of 9mm dies and a Lee Auto Disk, I'll be loading it on a Lee 4 hole turret press.  I'm planning on loading mostly cast bullets to save money.  Does anyone have any tips or suggested recipes?  My pistol shooting will be mostly geared towards 3-gun and action style shooting, for what it's worth.  I would like to find a single powder that works well with both cast and the occasional jacketed loads, if possible.

[SemperFiGuy]

BKOENIG:

Perhaps the biggest difference in loading pistol bullets, including 9mm, is the addition of a third die:  the belling/flaring die.   This die is used after the de-capping/de-priming die and the tumbler or other case cleaning.   And before re-priming.

Sometimes you can "cheat" and not use the belling die if you are loading (a) jacketed bullets with (b) a bit of a bevel on the base.   In those instances, the bullet will properly enter the cartridge case under force of the bullet seating die, then be crimped (taper or roll), and go on to work OK.   That's how I sometimes seat jacketed .38Special, .357Mag, 9mm, and .40S&W/10mm.   Doesn't work quite so well with Berry Bullets and other bullets which are gilded, rather than jacketed.

However, cast bullets will need a cartridge case that uses the third die to create a bell/flare at the case mouth.   Otherwise, there is a risk that the cartridge case will shave off part of the soft lead bullet and deposit the lead near the mouth of the case.   Been there; done that.   Got samples to show.

Now, for powder.   I use Win231 (same as Hodgdon HP38) for just about everything in the pistol calibers listed above, including cast/lead bullets.   It's a bit of a "hottie" as double-based powders go.   No single manual (Hornady, Speer, Hodgdon Lyman, etc.) shows a Win231 powder load for all these calibers.   So it has been necessary to go to several different manuals and find (a) my caliber of choice with (b) an appropriate Win231 powder load.

I'm not pushing Win231.   I just happen to have 8 pounds of it.   You will want to pick your own more-or-less universal powder, so that you don't have a variety of powder cans on your shelves.   Which means that you may have to go through several reloading manuals to find the right powder.   [And I'm suspicious of Speer; they show higher grain loads for the same velocities than other manuals.]   Possibility of Ka-Boom Factor enters.

Many of the internet reloading forums list various bullet/powder/primer/velocity loads.   Many of these folks are serious reloaders.   However, they are trusted at YOUR own peril.   Not quite the same as using the Old Reliable conservative Hornady manual, for example.   Backed up by Hornady expertise.

I'll get outta here now and give some of the NFOA Forum reloading pros a shot at your questions.

sfg

[Ronvandyn]

I have found that most of the companies that make powder will provide recipies at their online web sites.  You might want to check there, and it will take a bit of a search  My guess is that these are going to be more up-to-date than the books or other sources available.  I dont use the recipies I find in the forums out there, I'm to new to reloading to reall feel comfortable trying a recipie that comes from who-knows-where. 

Ron

[DaveB]

Hogden and Alliant have their data online.

http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

http://www.alliantpowder.com/default.aspx

You can also go here and get some starting points.

http://www.reloadammo.com/

[David Hineline]

If the hard cast is hard and not soft I load the same as jacketed.  You want to crimp with a taper crimp dies in the final spot. You do not want to crimp and seat in the same step.

The Lee Factory crimp works well as it resizes those sometimes oversized lead bullets that will jam up your gun.  Also buy a cartridge size guage so that every round you make will work and fit in your chamber when you need it. I use this.

http://egw-guns.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=172

[bkoenig]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I've found a load using 115gr Hornady JHP and Power Pistol that shoots really well in my gun.  Interestingly enough I found that it doesn't shoot the mild loads well at all, but as I moved up in power the groups got tighter.  By the time I got to the max load according to the Alliant site it was making a ragged hole at 25 yards, shooting from sandbags.

I picked up some 115 grain hard cast bullets from Missouri Bullet Co.  None of the loads I put together with them shot worth a darn.  From reading on the internet it sounds like a lot of people like WSF for cast bullets, so I picked up a pound.  I'll give that a try and see how it works.

[JimP]

I don't use lead bullets as cleaning is a PITA with them.... copper plated are not that expensive, and if you keep the velocity under 1200 f/sec, they work just fine. My brother uses 115 gr. Berry's plated bullets over .5cc  (IIRC, 6.1 grains) of Power Pistol ..... 1.140 OAL.

I like Winchester Jacketed bullets, myself.  Same load as above, just with the spendier bullet.

[bkoenig]

Well, I've found a couple loads so far that shoot well:

115gr Hornady JHP, 6.7 Grains Power Pistol - This is right at the max load according to Alliant.  This is the most accurate load I've found so far.  

115gr Missouri Bullet Co. cast round nose, 4.6 grains WSF.  Not as accurate as the Hornady JHP's, but it's acceptable for practice and 3-gun shooting.  I don't notice any leading with this load, but I've only run maybe 100 rounds of cast through it so far.  The bullets cost half as much and it uses a lot less powder, so I can afford to shoot this load a lot more.

[unfy]

My regular supplier of lead cast bullets is out of commission while doing his senior project for school.  I'll prolly make the switch to MBC or perhaps some other mom & pop shop (i like supporting the little guys hehe).

With the right charge, I've noted that leading isn't an issue.  I've probably put 2000 lead rounds through my Sig P229 .40 with no problems after the initial batches of magazines-at-different-charge-weights to find a non-leading solution.

Sadly, in changing lead supplier, I'll have to rework my recipe to again find something that doesn't lead

bkoenig - i've found hand loads, even in pistols, to be able to offer far superior accuracy.  My S&W 686 357mag absolutely loves hand loads .