New to reloading: 9mm Luger

[Hambo]

Hey guys, I've officially reloaded 3 rounds in my entire life. A good buddy who does reload gave me some dies and primers as a birthday gift back in May and is currently letting me borrow his Lee hand press until I can get my own press. I'm looking to load some 9mm ammo to shoot in my Glocks for cheaper practice/enhanced accuracy. The problem is I don't know what I don't now. I do have some brass, bullets and primers. I have no idea about loads and/or what powder to even buy.

Can anyone give me some recommended loads and steer me towards 3 or 4 good all-around powder options (solely for 9mm) that I can start trying to find?

Thanks!

Reloading is safe if you do it right, and unforgiving if you do it wrong.

I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet. If your 9mm dies don't have a taper crimp die, I'd recommend buying one.

[LSP972]

I like Winchester WST as a 9mm powder for one simple reason. It's a voluminous (I guess that's the right word) powder, so a double charge (probably your biggest worry) will overflow and should be very noticeable.

Many other 9mm powders will let you throw a double charge without overflowing and seat a bullet.

This is exactly right. The downside is, a moderate charge of WST nearly fills the case, which leads to spilled powder on progressive machines as the charged case is advanced to the seating station.

FWIW, I use WST almost exclusively, for 9mm, .40, and .45.

4.6 of WST under a 115gr/124gr bullet is close to factory dupe, yet doesn't spill from the case if I'm GENTLE when advancing the shell plate on my 550.

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[ranger]

I use WSF for 9mm - Many shotgun powders (not all!) are good in pistol too. When pistol specific powders become unavailable, you can often still find the shotgun powders.

[Trooper224]

4.2 grains of Titegroup (not Tightgroup) or 4.2 grains of Bullseye work well for me with a, 124-125 grain cast lead bullet. Both have a muzzle velocity of around 1135 feet per second and are accurate. Ensuring the bullet is properly sized to the pistol's bore is the biggest key to getting accuracy and avoiding leading with cast bullets in the 9mm. I prefer Dardas Casting, as they offer several different sizes in each caliber and their lube is a bit softer than others. This ensures the lube won't fall out of the bullets during shipping in cold weather.

[deputyG23]

4.2 grains of Titegroup (not Tightgroup) or 4.2 grains of Bullseye work well for me with a, 124-125 grain cast lead bullet. Both have a muzzle velocity of around 1135 feet per second and are accurate. Ensuring the bullet is properly sized to the pistol's bore is the biggest key to getting accuracy and avoiding leading with cast bullets in the 9mm. I prefer Dardas Casting, as they offer several different sizes in each caliber and their lube is a bit softer than others. This ensures the lube won't fall out of the bullets during shipping in cold weather.

+1 on Dardas bullets. I used the 124 grain FP bullet sized .357 for my P228, Beretta 92, and Glock 17 and 19 with no leading issues.

[taadski]

I use WSF for 9mm - Many shotgun powders (not all!) are good in pistol too. When pistol specific powders become unavailable, you can often still find the shotgun powders.

I loaded a good 20K worth of 9mm using Hodgdon's Universal Clays a couple years ago. 4.4 grains underneath a 124 plated FP made a very accurate and soft shooting minor load. I've switched back to Titegroup, which has been my goto, after finding it available again in bulk quantities, but I still have some Universal sitting around and I've dabbled with the idea of trying it again. Only downsides I've found with it were it's a bit flakey and fills the 9mm case at 4.4 to the point where it can -----> some minor spillage on the progressive.

[LSP972]

I use WSF for 9mm - Many shotgun powders (not all!) are good in pistol too. When pistol specific powders become unavailable, you can often still find the shotgun powders.

WST is a re-do of Winchester 452AA; a shotgun powder that was great in .45ACP back in the day. It has become very popular, as evidenced by the fact that it almost unobtainium in the places I get my powder. The only thing more scarce, in my experience, is 231.

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[CCT125US]

+1 on Dardas bullets. I used the 124 grain FP bullet sized .357 for my P228, Beretta 92, and Glock 17 and 19 with no leading issues.

What's your o.a.l. with that load? I just came across a case in the basement I had forgotten about.

ETA: Mine are 122 grain

[Hauptmann]

I guess I'm the odd guy here in that I got into match components and still prefer to use them. During that last dry spell for powder, I bought a bunch of Vihtavuori pistol powder and now I love the stuff. Clean burning, virtually no flash, meters extremely well since it is tubular, and very consistent velocities. I also like their number designation system which allows you to better predict burn rates and powder bulk. I love Federal HSTs, but their velocities are all over the place, and they have pretty bad muzzle flash. I would love to be able to buy HSTs as a reloading component as I would load them up with Vihtavuori.

I would say my favorite Vihtavuori powders for 9mm are N340, and 3N37. N340 is the most versatile if you want a powder that works well with 124gr and 147gr, or you want to expand its use into .40 or .45. However, if you prefer to shoot 147gr for its superior accuracy, wind resistance, and duty load duplication 3N37 really shines as it is more compact.

[GuanoLoco]

I guess I'm the odd guy here in that I got into match components and still prefer to use them. During that last dry spell for powder, I bought a bunch of Vihtavuori pistol powder and now I love the stuff. Clean burning, virtually no flash, meters extremely well since it is tubular, and very consistent velocities. I also like their number designation system which allows you to better predict burn rates and powder bulk. I love Federal HSTs, but their velocities are all over the place, and they have pretty bad muzzle flash. I would love to be able to buy HSTs as a reloading component as I would load them up with Vihtavuori.

I would say my favorite Vihtavuori powders for 9mm are N340, and 3N37. N340 is the most versatile if you want a powder that works well with 124gr and 147gr, or you want to expand its use into .40 or .45. However, if you prefer to shoot 147gr for its superior accuracy, wind resistance, and duty load duplication 3N37 really shines as it is more compact.

I became a big fan of ETR-7 as a replacement for VV N320. Hard to argue with the price or performance.

http://expansion-industries.com/etr7...owder-4lb.html