flat9999

Bullet is a 147 grain Precision Delta FMJ. Ammo will plunk test just fine. I can load out to approx. 1.170 in the chamber, but load it to 1.150" to keep it well away from the rifling. Bullet is definitely hitting feed ramp and hanging-up.

Just throwing this out there in case anyone has gone thru the same problems, and found a fix. Have a PM9 for about 2 years now. Most of the time, the gun shoots flawlessly and is very, very accurate. Occasionally, it has little fits and has ftf problems. It appears that the bullets are diving into the feed ramp and basically just stalling. Forcefully racking the slide a few times will usually prod it into battery. This happens whether I load mags to 10 rounds or even download them to 9, and pretty much only happens from slide lock. I am using Dawson 10rd. mags and have lightly polished the feed lips. Other things I've done include: Installing Aftec extractor Polishing feed ramp Installing a 12 lb recoil spring My reloads run about 132 pf and are 1.150" in length. My next step to resolve will be to try CMC 10 rd. mags, as I've heard that they seem to work well. And possibly going to a shorter OAL on my reloads to get the slide a little more inertia??? Any ideas?

^^^^ This. Same thing happened to me a few years ago, turns the gun in a auto-doubletap machine. Pretty scary actually; and very easy to do if your not paying attention to the FPS spring as it goes in. The extra hang-up to the trigger bar is what makes it "catch" before returning completely into battery. I actually had several Glock armorers look at it, and they could'nt find the problem.

Perhaps I'm just seeing things. I'll attach another pic for comparison, an unfired round and one that I fired today. To me, it seems like there is some slight flattening. I'll probably end-up going a touch over .1 grain less and keep the same OACL for my next test batch. My reason for going a little long is due to some occasional feeding issues with 10 rd. mags. Iv'e tried a bunch of them and have come to the conclusion that Dawson and Tripp work the best for me so far, but not perfect, especially with JHPs.

Thanks for the advice! FWIW - I don't normally use nickel plated brass for standard reloading, but have a container of cleaned and prepped nickel that I use for any quick small batches.

Loaded up some 145 grain Ibejihead coated RN bullets behind 3.3 grains of N320 loaded to 1.150". Outside temp was around 45 degrees and slightly overcast, so I think the chrono was getting accurate readings. I had loaded a similar combination several years ago, but was not entirely happy with the accuracy. Both old and new loading were fired in the same gun, a 5" 1911. The only thing changed on the gun is recoil spring (9lb). The old loading chrono'ed avg of 907 fps Today's loading chrono'ed at : 3.3 gr N320, 145 gr Ibejihead, 1.150 OAL 937 948 953 942 956 943 955 951 951 944 AVG 948 SD 6 PF 137460 While PF was a little higher than expected, accuracy and SD looked very impressive; BUT, it did look like the primers were being flattened (see attached pic). Question is, what would have caused this? Only things I can think of are that can even be a possibility: - I applied a fairly heavy crimp in order to drop-in to my EGW chamber checker. - Different batches of powder ( I think I recall some saying that N320 formulation has changed in recent years). - New recoil spring is changing the timing and increasing pressure. Admittedly, I am reaching ~ I will be loading up another batch, but plan on dropping .1 and maybe even .2 grains - just hope that the gun runs as well. Anybody else ever see this? Would .1 grains be enough of a drop?

OneShot sprayed into a 1 qt. ziploc for about a second, 2-3 handfuls of brass into same bag, shake for a bit and away it goes to reloading. Never had a problem in +40k rounds so far.

Just did some load testing with Blue Bullets 180gr. and N320. I did discover that my barrel is extremely fast, and I was able to easily make minor PF with a scant 3.4gr @ 1.170". 2.8gr. of Clay's at the same OAL also put me comfortably at around 130pf. While accuracy was acceptable with either of the two loads I tried, I felt that the groups started to shrink as the velocity increased. Before I go and order a few thousand 180gr. bullets, has anyone noticed accuracy gains in going with 165gr bullets? How has recoil impulse felt when going down in bullet weight and staying within minor PF? Thanks in advance!

The VV load data is a touch higher PF than I need. I don't mind working-down some loads thru a chrono, but would hate to have to pull too many bullets going one tenth grain at a time

what type of gun will these be shot out of? That will determine your col 5" 2011

Looking to get started with loading .40 to a nice and accurate IDPA load. I have several pounds of N320, along with some Clays and Titegroup, but would prefer to use the VV. I will be loading range brass and initially using Bayou 180gr. bullets. Anyone have load details (charge weight, COAL) for N320 and coated bullets? Also, fairly new to the 40 S&W cartridge, but have been seeing alot of folks adding an extra step of sizing down to the rim with either a U-die or GRx dies. I'll get the GRx if its really needed, but what's the consensus on its requirement? TIA

Had similar issues with my PM9 and several coated bullet brands. I tried shortening the OAL all the way down to 1.110" (carefully) with no help. The bullet profile was engaging the rifling and causing out-of-battery problems. I've since gone back to my pet load of 147gr. Zero JHP at 1.142" OAL and they seem to work just fine. I'm sure that the chamber can be reamed to fix the problem, just load-up some dummy rounds and send it to a gunsmith with the barrel so they they get it right, should only cost a few bucks.

Correction to my above post. I am actually not touching the rifling, but rather the throat area of the barrel is tight against the bullet ogive. I tried shortening the OAL, but same happens regardless of length. In doing a plunk test on the barrel, the bullet falls in easily, however it does not spin or fall out without some prompting. Anybody else have this happen? I'd hate to have to scrap 1K bullets, but certainly don't want any unsafe loads.

Understood, and I am hoping to not have to do this, since most other bullet profiles allow me to load much longer. As an aside, my chamber checker would also have to be expanded in order to work correctly. I'd much sooner go with another bullet.

Having a little bit of an issue (or not) with coated 135 grain bullets. These are from BBI, and I would like to get them to 1.135" OAL. Now, loading other bullets, I never had a problem in either an EGW chamber checker or with a plunk test on the barrel getting OAL to1.140-1.150". Various JHPs, FMJs and coated lead bullets all passed the chamber checker barrel tests. With these 135 grain bullets, I am getting slight rifling contact at 1.130-1.135", and chamber checker fails. Not 100% sure if this will cause an issue or not, since I haven't gotten them to the range just yet. Anybody have a similar observation? Should this be a concern?