Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 21 to 23 of 23

Thread: Loads useing reduced OAL

  1. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by GuanoLoco View Post
    Attachment 32612

    Those primer strikes look VERY deep but I dont’ see signs of primer flow or flattening. You could probably back off on the weight of your striker spring.

    What’s going on with the two I circled? I’m hoping that is a trick of the light and not primer piercing.

    Yes, WSP are softer primers, but those striker (firing pin) strikes seem quite deep.
    All my glocks hit deep including factory ammo, always figured it was normal.

    Yep those two are black inside the primer strike, guessing that they are the ones that were seated below 1.075.

  2. #22
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Location
    South Louisiana
    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.

  3. #23
    Member GuanoLoco's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Birmingham, AL
    Quote Originally Posted by olstyn View Post
    It would not shock me at all if that FC case second from the right on the bottom row was the one at 1.063. That much flattening of the primer makes me a little bit nervous. You'll probably want to figure out what's causing the OAL variation you're seeing, and you're right that you should invest in (or borrow) a chronograph. Honestly, even a cheapo one will do - IIRC I paid about $120 for mine all in, including the tripod, and the readings it has given me have always matched up with the chrono at the USPSA state section match. If you want to get something fancy, you can certainly spend a lot more, but for most load development purposes, it's not really necessary to break the bank.
    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?

User Tag List

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •