I stopped being fastidious in working up loads when I got out of competition. But back then, when working up loads, I'd use the same headstamp brass, usually FC. That lessened the variations in OAL and velocity. Once I settled on a load I'd exclusively use that headstamp brass for matches. Practice ammo was loaded with whatever brass I had that was clean at the time. This worked with both revolvers and bottomfeeders.
FWIW, my go-to 9x19 load was 4.2 grains of TG under a 125-grain Zero JHP at 1.12" OAL. It was an honest 1.5"@25 yards load from my CZ-75B. I forget the velocity, but the PF was between 130 and 135.
Last edited by revchuck38; 11-22-2018 at 01:17 PM.
Good catch @olstyn!
I was so focused on the possible primer piercing that I missed the very clear primer flattening on that specific case. Between the flattening and the primer flow/piercing I’d say something was amiss on the circled case on the right and quite possibly both the circled cases. These were all WSP primers, right? OAL range? Charge weights?
I’ll often write the charge weight and even OAL on the sides of the cartridges when doing load testing. I’ll also arrange the cases in order of OAL - you can sometimes see detectable velocity differences for, say, 10 cases with the same charge weight running from shortest to longest case.
One more thing - selecting for cases with the same head stamp removes one more variable from the load workup process. Also, beg/borrow/buy a Chrono. If you want to borrow one, offer to replace it if you soot it or leave a $100 bill as collateral. Working blind with respect to velocity is doable for blasting ammo, but no bueno for competition or if you are serious about quality and consistency.
Last edited by GuanoLoco; 11-22-2018 at 09:44 PM.
Are you now, or have you ever been a member of the Doodie Project?