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Thread: PhillySoldier's 9mm Reloading

  1. #1

    PhillySoldier's 9mm Reloading

    • Reloading press used (list modifications if relevant): Dillong 650, case feeder, bullet feeder, rf100 auto primer filler
    • Caliber: 9mm
    • Bullet (Weight, Coating, Profile, Manufacturer): Will try various things to see what works best
    • Brass: I have about 10 gallons worth of Blazer Brass. Probably not the best but I have a ton of it so I'll use it for now.
    • Powder manufacturer, type and charge; volume, type (ball, stick, flake): Titegroup powder. Charges will vary
    • Dies used: Dillon. 2in1 seat and crimp die
    • Primers used: CCI but looking to change to either winchester or federal
    • Cartridge Overall Length (COAL): 1.15" currently but looking to try different seating depths
    • Chronograph data (if possible): Labradar
    • Goals intended with this load: Most accuracy
    • Results - accuracy, smokiness, clean burning, flash, temperature, smell, brass deformation, etc.:
    • Problems encountered and fixes applied:
    • Anything of interest: Will be loading for my Sig P226 legion to start. Looking to test and log what works best in the gun. Will chrono results as well as document test shooting from a ransom rest
    • Case Prep: I use an ultrasonic cleaner for cleaning my guns and brass. Absolutely love it. 20 minutes and done.


    Fairly new to pistol reloading although Ive loaded 308 for a long time now. In search of finding what performs best out of each of my guns; starting w my Sig P226. I just got a ransom rest which I havent used yet but figured I want to start off with documenting running some different types of factory ammo through it as well as the loads im currently using. From there I'll experiment with different reloading components, seating depths etc to see what works best.

    Questions, tips, advice, testing requests etc are welcome. I'd like to be as thorough and methodical as possible. So feel free to throw in your (friendly) two cents in what you might like to see documented/tested.

    One of the things Ive been most curious about is OAL and seating depths for pistol reloading. Ive seen many say the experimented with different seating depths but none that have ever adjusted the charges when seating differently. To me at least, I would think this would skew the results since any changes in seating depth would in itself change the pressure/velocity of the round(s). So Id like to run some tests in the future both with keeping the same charge as well as adjusting it to keep the same velocity and see what has a difference in point of impact.

    I'll start off by posting some pics of my equipment later and hoping to get to the range later this week to try the ransom rest out. If all goes well I can video document some beginning tests from it. I have a few different brands of factory ammo I want to try including some match grade such as atlanta arms.

  2. #2
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    SWLA
    Quote Originally Posted by PhillySoldier View Post
    One of the things Ive been most curious about is OAL and seating depths for pistol reloading. Ive seen many say the experimented with different seating depths but none that have ever adjusted the charges when seating differently. To me at least, I would think this would skew the results since any changes in seating depth would in itself change the pressure/velocity of the round(s). So Id like to run some tests in the future both with keeping the same charge as well as adjusting it to keep the same velocity and see what has a difference in point of impact.
    As far as OAL goes, I think you’ll find most people like to go as long as functionally possible in semis. Plunk test your rounds and test them in the mags, if they pass both you are good to go. Good luck in your journey, I’ve been loading pistol for 20 yrs now and I’m still finding new tricks.

  3. #3
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Illinois
    If you shoot competitive matches, I'd be mindful of whether or not a live loaded round will clear your ejection port. If the unload and show clear command is given and the round gets hung up and you keep trying to clear it, the ejector may spike the primer and cause an out of battery detonation.

    Whether or not it takes bits of your hand with will depend on if you put your hand over the port to clear the chamber.

    Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

  4. #4
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Location
    South Louisiana
    Some notes...

    Titegroup is a good powder for standard velocity jacketed and plated bullet loads. It meters really well in a Dillon powder measure. If you plan on using cast bullets, coated or uncoated, you might want to use a cooler-burning powder.

    COAL varies with bullets, just like with rifles. Some require relatively deep seating due to their abrupt taper and short nose, like Hornady's 124-grain FP-FMJ. OTOH, with some RNs you'll run out of magazine length before the ogive touches the lands. The above-mentioned "plunk test" is used to ensure your rounds aren't too long, and it's simple: Remove the barrel from your pistol. With the muzzle down, insert a loaded round into the chamber. Press it in there with your thumb or finger to ensure it's fully seated. Then invert the barrel so the muzzle is up. The round should fall out of the barrel; if it doesn't, it's too long. The concern with overly-long rounds is well-founded, though the issue with the ejector igniting the cartridge is more likely to occur with 1911s in .45 ACP.

    Don't be afraid to play around with different weight bullets. The heaviest you can fit in 9x19 is a 160-165 grain RNL. The typical rate of twist in this cartridge is 1-10", which is way faster than needed even for the 160s. Bullets lighter than 115 grains are meant for .380s and aren't known for accuracy.

    Best of luck with the loading!

  5. #5
    I meant to post some pictures and beginning stats last night but winded up falling asleep early. I received my fold up cart last night. I finally turned into that old guy at the range with a cart; which I swore I never would be. The new ransom rest adds at least another 50 lbs to my carry load though and my days of humping 70+ lbs of gear around are at least a decade behind me.

    As far as chronoing results can someone tell me what is a good range as far as extreme spread and STD? Wasnt really needed outside of ladder testing but fooling around w my new chrono I let it run for the entirety of my last couple sessions. So its recording 100 round strings. Out of which Id have that 1-2 rounds that would really skew the averages of the total.

  6. #6
    Dies used: Dillon. 2in1 seat and crimp die
    Why? You have plenty of room on D650 for separate seat and crimp dies as is usually recommended for autopistol loading.

    My PPC Master friend loads 9mm with the Magnus/Zero "conical nose" JHP. I don't know whether he prefers 115 or 125 gr, though. I would lean 125.
    http://saas.shopsite.com/magnusbulle...-jacketed.html

    My PhD friend shot a lot of .38 wadcutters. He concluded that a Coefficient of Variation (Standard deviation as a percentage of the average.) of 1% was very good.
    I have achieved that with heavy plated or jacketed bullets and fast powder in 9mm (147 + HP38.)
    Last edited by Jim Watson; 05-17-2018 at 08:58 AM.
    Code Name: JET STREAM

  7. #7
    The 2in1 die is so I can keep the powder checker and bullet feeder. The die seems to work fine so far and as long as it works Id rather keep all the extra safety checkers I can get.

  8. #8
    OK, Carry on.
    Just that when I saw "Ransom Rest" I figured you were out for quality over quantity.
    Code Name: JET STREAM

  9. #9
    I went to the range on friday and spent a good amount of time RR testing different brands of ammo. Tested 6-7 different brands of factory ammo as well as some of my currently reloaded stuff. Only a couple small surprises w the factory ammo. One of which was seeing that my generally used target ammo didnt group well out at 25 yards from the rest. This was actually a good surprise since I just considered it my shooting and limit in the past. The second was to see Browning Performance Target 147g did as well (if not slightly better) than the match ammo I tested at a much cheaper price. They also had a 115 gr target ammo that was even cheaper but sort of fell in the middle in grouping sizes between the other regular brands and the match. I think I would use this ladder in the future if for some reason I needed to stock bulk factory training ammo. I took pics, vid and chronoed everything. Didnt really put it all together and create a log book yet though. With the rest of the weekend I picked up and ordered some different components to try. Differing brands of brass, primers and projectiles. Wanted to get some different powder to try but wanted to research that all a bit more first.

  10. #10
    I ran a couple tests since my last post. One which was running some of my old loads which I thought were pretty decent at 10-15 yards but didnt do so well at 25 yards from the ransom rest. I was using Titegroup and both Berry's and Precision Delta 124g at the time. These were grouping lousy at like 5-6" at 25 yards, 10 round shot groups.

    Instead of experimenting further with full ladder tests above the above, I went in a different direction to try something new.

    Ladder Test
    Powder: Alliant Power Pistol (From 5.0g to 6.6g)
    Bullet: Hornaday 115g FMJ's
    Primer: Winschester Small Pistol
    Brass: Starline (new)
    OAL: 1.12"

    From the ransom rest this ladder test proved much better than my last one. I shot two groups of 10 rounds each per run and went in 0.2g increments till the results narrowed down a bit what was working best and then used 0.1g increments. 5.8g of power pistol seemed to have the best groups and going up or down 0.1g were very close. So Im comfortable if a charge is =/- 0.1g it wont throw the groupings much. Most of these three increments shot between 1" to 1.4" groups of 10 rounds each. I do want to quickly retest these three increments though because I had one grouping that was off from the above and came in at 2".

    I feel pretty comfortable loading at 5.8g in the meantime. My next test will experiment with that charge weight and varying seating depths. I also want to run a comparison to see if I used a different brand brass how much it may change the results.
    Last edited by PhillySoldier; 06-18-2018 at 11:59 AM.

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