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First load for 9mm


Vesteroid

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Production shooter who has been using 115g Freedom ammo.

I just purchased a 650 here and want to get some supplies on the way.

I shoot a glock 34 and need a recommendation for a competition load for my first 2K loads.

Can someone who has been down this route lay out for me what bullets, powder, load, and primer to buy just to get started on one load. I am fine learning from there, I just want to get started on one to learn the press etc.

Also where are folks buying supplies from?

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I personally like coated lead bullets out of Glocks. Bayou Bullets, SNS Casting, and Blue Bullets are all vendors I've used. I've settled on 124 gr TC (truncated cone) bullets from Bayou Bullets for the majority of my shooting. They're usually cheaper than plated or jacketed bullets and can be safely shot through factory Glock barrels.

For powder, lots of competitive shooters prefer Vihtavuori N320. It's a clean, cool burning, consistent powder. A popular load based on searches of this forum is 3.8 gr N320 behind a coated lead 124 gr bullet at 1.135 OAL. I use 3.8 gr WSF at 1.095" OAL with the 124 TC Bayou Bullet in my 9mm Glocks. This is a practice round that probably won't make minor power factor, but it reliably cycles my guns. I've loaded as short as 1.075" and as long as 1.125" without any issues. It's best to start lower than posted data and work your way up with a chrono.

You'll see several types of powders come up in the searches. Try a few that have been established as working well in 9mm and go from there. Any small pistol primer should do. I haven't had any problems with Winchester, Remington, CCI, and Sellier & Bellot primers. There are small differences between the manufacturers, but they should all work fine in a 650.

Bullets I'll order online from one of the previously listed vendors. Powder and primers I'll get from one of several online vendors--Powder Valley, Graf's, Widener's, etc. You'll have to pay a $27.50 hazmat fee plus shipping when ordering online, so it helps to buy in bulk. There are a few places I buy from locally, too. The price usually comes out to be about the same.

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I would recommend a coated 147 from the manufacturer of your choice. For powder I prefer N320, Vectan A1, and Titegroup (in that order). Pick the primer of your choice and have fun. If you want to stretch your dollar a bit the 135gr bullets have a bit more snap than a 147 but are very manageable.

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Make sure you have access to a chronograph to confirm your loads are making PF.

CCI #500 primers are working well for me.

I've had success with Berry's plated 147gr (on sale at Cabela's right now) and TG in my G17. I have some 147gr Blue Bullets to try this week and am trying to track down VV N320. When developing your personal powder preference look locally to avoid HAZMAT fees.

147gr Berry's and TG was more accurate than 124gr HP from Freedom. YMMV.

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I prefer Zero 115 grain JHP and 5.4 grains of WSF. Very accurate and not horrible recoil.

For practice, I like the Blue Bullets 115 coated (cheap, accurate enough, and generally available). I also like the Precision Delta 124 JHP when Zero bullets aren't available (which is often).

4.6 grains Win 231 also works well for me in 9mm. Availability can be spotty. Titegroup and good old Bullseye also work just fine in 9mm too.

Some folks like the 147 grain bullet for non-compensated guns. I have had trouble getting them to shoot accurately for me, but others do just fine with them. I prefer to stick with the 115s or 124/125 grain bullets.

Winchester Small Pistol Primers or Federal Small Pistol Primers. Any US made primer will generally work well. Some folks like the Eastern European primers; I haven't had good luck with them.

Online vendors. Powder Valley customer service has been superb for me; head and shoulders above their competition. I have no commercial affiliation with them other than being a very satisfied customer. Wideners is also another reliable source. All retailers have spotty availability of preferred components because of the shortages. Powder Valley will combine primers and powder in the same HAZMAT, up to 50 pounds NET weight. Wideners will also combine, but a smaller NET weight limit.

I would recommend you buy a sleeve of 5000 primers and a smaller container of a couple powders you are interested in trying. An 8# jug of titegroup is a safe investment, along with a few 1 # containers of promising powders you want to try. If you don't like the titegroup, you probably wont have much trouble selling it to another shooter.

Pick a primer, bullet weight and a known good 9mm powder. Search the archives for a couple starting loads and get to work.

SAFETY and TOOLS. Forgive me if this sounds a little preachy; just want to emphasize safety. You really need a good set of calipers to measure overall length, a couple of good loading manuals (Lyman, Hornady, and Nosler come to mind immediately), and a good beam scale to go with your press and dies. An experienced mentor to help you set up the press and establish your procedure is highly recommended. Also, an inexpensive chronograph in virtually indispensable. A chrono really helps you understand pressures and velocity to make sure you safely make power factor. On sale, a chono can be had for about $100, give or take a few $.

It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway. ALWAYS have only ONE type of powder at the loading bench at a time. It's just too easy to get confused and make a big mistake if you have more than one powder on the bench. I use painters tape to label the measure with the powder that's in it. I don't want to trust it to memory in case I get interrupted before I empty the measure at the end of loading a batch.

Handloading is a rewarding part of the hobby. Great fun once you get some experience under your belt. The possibilities are nearly endless for off-season entertainment.

This is probably a little more than you asked. Just wanted to share a little additional detail for a newer handloader.

Hope this helps you.

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Keep this simple. Use a jacketed 147- PD,Zero both make great affordable examples. Load with 4.0 grains of WSF. Will get you a whisker over 900 FPS in the 34. Stick with CCI primers. Load will function well in every you run from a 43 to a 17L. Takes the plates down well and has low recoil.

FMJ bullets are forgiving and easy to get to shoot well. Once you get your technique down for a couple thousand rounds, then start to experiment and try all the many choices out there. There are lots of great loads that are easy to put together.

I prefer to buy power and primers from Powder valley and bullets from either Precision Delta or Zero. The PD 147 fmy-TC or Zero 147 JHP loaded to 1.10 are both excellent bullets.

Good loading and shooting.

Edited by rdinga
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Notice how none of the answers match? Yeah. That's going to continue as long as you talk to people who reload. There's almost no standardization. Ask ten of us and you'll get eleven different answers.

I'll paint with a broad brush rather than give you even more favorite pet loads:

Coated bullets are where it's at for cost. I ran FMJ's and plated for the first 10,000 rounds I reloaded. I now use Black Bullets International because they're close to me (no shipping) and the owner is a shooter, a friend, and sponsors matches... but any of the coated bullets listed above are also good options.

Pick a bullet weight between 124 and 147 and run with it. 147s are the softest recoiling but the slide cycles noticeably slower - some people don't care for that.124s are still softer than your snappy 115's are, and cheaper. Split the difference between the sluggish cycling of the 147 and the snappiness of the 115.

(I shoot a 135gr - nearly as soft as the 147 but just a bit cheaper)

Run a 13-lb ISMI spring in your Glock and it'll shoot flatter and eat absolutely any of the loads that make power factor. I pried the plug out of the end of the factory Glock guide rod and ran a lighter spring on it before I went to the M&P.

Lead or moly or other coated rounds (black bullets and blue bullets) will always shoot more softly because they use less powder than jacketed bullets. The soft bullet seals into the bore more quickly than a harder copper projectile so less of the gas is wasted. It's common to need 0.1-0.2 gr additional powder to get an FMJ up to the same velocity.

VV N320 and other VitaVouri powders are the most desirable. Super clean burning, meter well in Dillon powder measures, accurate, and consistent... and due to their high cost and limited supply, I have never used them.

I've used titegroup, WSF, WST, Clays, Solo1000, and probably 10 other powders in 9mm. Pick one, develop a consistent load, and leave the press alone. WST and Ramshot Competition are favorites of mine out of the powders that you can find easily these days.

Load to around 132-135 power factor. The gun will run more reliably and a slightly faster load is often more accurate and knocks steel down better than a 125.5 PF "bunny fart" round. You'll also never have sweaty palms at the chrono of a major match.

Edited by MemphisMechanic
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Thanks for all the input. I have a buddy who reloads (locally) and I decided to copy his load so I could lean from him. I went with xtreme 125 round and Hp38 at 3.8 and 1.45 oal

I bought Winchester primers.

This will get me started but I expect to go with larger projectiles in the future and I will look to buy powder off the INet. I picked all this up at scheels just to get started.

Of course since I posted this I purchased a ck arms 40 and will now have to start loading .40

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Thanks for all the input. I have a buddy who reloads (locally) and I decided to copy his load so I could lean from him. I went with xtreme 125 round and Hp38 at 3.8 and 1.45 oal

I bought Winchester primers.

This will get me started but I expect to go with larger projectiles in the future and I will look to buy powder off the INet. I picked all this up at scheels just to get started.

Of course since I posted this I purchased a ck arms 40 and will now have to start loading .40

Have you shot that load over a chrono to make sure it makes minor? Sounds light

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Not to be picky, but I hope you mean 1.145" for OAL rather than 1.45". If you go with what you listed, the round won't fit in your gun.

Garmil sounds right also. That does seem light. I load a 135 Black Bullets over 5.2 grains of Silhouette to get a 149 power factor. A bit high for competition, but your load sounds really light in comparison.

Edited by LocoGringo
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  • 3 months later...

Mechanic, it's been a while, but I'd like to answer your question and get your thoughts if you catch this thread...or replies from anyone. 

I'm loading 149 power factor because I want to get ready for the MGM Ironman East and I want to be able to hit the spinner targets with authority and send them over with 2 or 3 solid hits.  I've never actually shot them, so I don't really know what it takes.  Since I THINK that's what it will take, that's what I'm loading to shoot all the time to get accustomed to the recoil.  I hope I'm not loading so hot that I'll damage my pistol.  I couldn't find load data for the components I'm using, so I was told by a technician at Ramshot to pick a load between the 124 and 147 and start there.  I started at 4.8 grains, then went to 5.0 and settled on 5.2. 

Please feel free to tell me if my thinking is off base since I've never had the opportunity to shoot an MGM spinner. 

Edited by LocoGringo
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I am kinda new to reloading.  I have had great experience with Bayou bullets and N320.  The Bullets are reasonably priced and I get them about 3 days after I order them.   The hi tech coating and n320 are very clean 

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1 hour ago, LocoGringo said:

I'm loading 149 power factor because I want to get ready for the MGM Ironman East and I want to be able to hit the spinner targets with authority and send them over with 2 or 3 solid hits.  I've never actually shot them, so I don't really know what it takes.  Since I THINK that's what it will take, that's what I'm loading to shoot all the time to get accustomed to the recoil.  I hope I'm not loading so hot that I'll damage my pistol.  I couldn't find load data for the components I'm using, so I was told by a technician at Ramshot to pick a load between the 124 and 147 and start there.  I started at 4.8 grains, then went to 5.0 and settled on 5.2. 

Please feel free to tell me if my thinking is off base since I've never had the opportunity to shoot an MGM spinner. 

Might have to wait a while. Ironman East is cancelled.

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That's disappointing.  I was thinking about 2017, but got more info?

Edit to add:  I just looked on the Practiscore website and it said registration is closed, but nothing was said about the match being canceled.  Also checked the Peacemaker site and nothing is mentioned about Ironman East being canceled.

 

Edited by LocoGringo
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  • 3 months later...

No matter how "hot" you load that 9mm, you are not gonna turn that spinner (even at 23 feet) with 2-3 well placed/well timed shots....sorry

I have shot at the MGM spinner many times (own one similar) and shot placement and timing is key to success.  Have fun!

 

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