Research on Reloading 9mm

[JTH]

I meant to be specifically asking about his setup for:
 - 9 mm 124 gr CMJ bullets
 - WSF powder
 - Winchester primer
 - for use in a Glock

Just looking for what he found to work for him, and a place to compare with on other research

Sorry it took me so long to respond---I just remembered this thread and came back to read it.

What everyone has said so far in terms of being careful, using the manual, testing, checking, chronoing, etc----all is spot-on.   What works well in my gun may NOT work well (or even safely) in yours.

That being, said, I don't mind giving my recipe because it isn't a high-pressure load by any means.

124 Montana Gold CMJ bullet
Random range brass cases (see?  I'm REALLY not worried about high-pressure if I'm doing that)
5.0 gr Winchester Super Field
Winchester Small Pistol Primers
1.12in Overall Length  (I tend to load them short.  I know, most people say load long.)

Out of my Glock 34 that load has consistently been accurate, and gives me an average velocity of 1090 ft/sec.  (For USPSA competition, that is a 135 power factor.)  The same load out of a Glock 19 consistently gives an average velocity of 1056 ft/sec.  (131 PF.)

I note that Winchester Super Field is reverse-temperature sensitive, meaning that as it gets hotter, the velocity goes down.  (Not much, but it does change.)  Throughout a range of temperatures (I've shot at 105 degrees, and 20 degrees) it is still a safe, reliable round to use for all sorts of practice and competition. 

I note also that the 124 gr Federal HST self-defense ammo goes at approximately 1150 ft/sec (the 124 +P goes ~1200) so if I want to occasionally practice with something that more closely approximately my self-defense ammo, I can just kick up the powder two-tenths of a grain.  This is still within the "safe range" of powder amounts in even the Lee reloading book, which is known to be quite conservative for 9mm. 

I mostly don't bother, because periodically when I shoot my self-defense ammo, while I noticed the recoil is different, it doesn't affect how I shoot.  So, I pretty much just shoot my competition load for both practice and formal competitions.

When I shot 147 gr Montana Gold CMJs, it was the exact same setup but used 3.9 gr WSF.  (I will say that I like the recoil impulse of the 124s better.  The 147 is softer, but the "snap" of the 124 gets me back on target faster.  Counterintuitive, but the timer doesn't lie.  For other people, the opposite may be true.)

[unfy]

Excellent info from jthhapkido.

Being a safety nut, I'll just point out that you can possibly fix feed issues by changing seating depth as well as changing performance of the round... but seating deeper than what a published recipe calls for increases the pressure generated by the round. 

If ya wanna start seating shorter, start with the low end of the tables with your 'tighter' seating and slowly work powder charge up while only firing a couple rounds at a time and checking for signs of over pressuring.


Thanks again to jthapkido for the info!

[dkarp]

Quick question- I am also thinking about reloading for my  Glock 17, I have about 1lb of win 231 ( I think) and 1 lb of titegroup left over from when I was reloading for 45 ACP.

I sure would like to make use of these, would they be ok for 9mm? I have done some research other places and it seems that some recommend a powder with more volume- it seems it would be harder to tell if there is a double charge with these powders.

If so my goal would be that a double charge would overflow the case, making it very apparent. Would unique or WSF be a better choice?

[SemperFiGuy]

dkarp

Win231 is one of the most popular 9mm reloading powders.
And versatile.    It works well in 9mm, .38Spcl, and .45ACP.
It's fairly fast, up around #18-20 on most powder burn rate charts.   Many claim it's made same as Hogdon HP38.   Win231 meters well and drops consistently.   

Hornady, Lee, and Speer manuals all have 9mm loads in Win231.

Recommend use of visual examination on each load to prevent double charge.

sfg

[dkarp]

Sounds good, I now seem to remember that's the reason I bought it, (and the titegroup) it's usable in several calibers. I may just invest in a digital scale, the Lee balance scale works fine, just takes a lot longer to weigh charges when adjusting the powder measure.

Now I just need the $ for bullets, small pistol primers, and 9mm dies. I have brass almost ready to go.

[SemperFiGuy]

dkarp:

DigiScales are fine.  Some are expensive.   Depends.

What some folks do to cope w/oscillations on balance beam scales while weighing is immediately manually move the pointer to the zero point.   Release.   Beam will either stay centered to indicate OK, or move up/down, indicating need for action.

RCBS claims that their magnet-dampened balance beam scale pointer doesn't oscillate.   Does.   Just not so much/long as undampened beam scales.

Good luck.

sfg

[jonm]

titegroup is a good powder for 9mm. It uses very little powder in a 9mm charge but a double charge is easily seen as long as you are looking down into the case while setting the bullet on top.

One thing to note, titegroup burns hot. If you are shooting lead bullets, the smoke after 5-6 shots will make your target disappear at an indoor range.

[unfy]

DigiScales are fine.  Some are expensive.   Depends.

I've got a Mec little digital scale.  Works just fine, and like any digital scale has a 'tear' function. 

Place primed uncharged case on scale.

Press 'tear'.

Charge case.

Place case back on scale.  Read out will be how much powder is in it.

EZPZ