Glock 17 major loads

[jtrump]

Hey guys, I promise I hit the search button multiple times but I keep getting an error!

 

First off, jumping into open with a Carver custom Glock 17,   I've loaded for various pistol calibers for uspsa SS/limited/production but never 9mm major. 

Any extra pointers would be great "do's and don't of 9mm major"  and some load recipes that may be compatible with this platform.   I probably do not have any of the right bullet weights, types or powder on hand.  I will keep reading as well!

 

Bullets/powder/accuracy/flatness etc.   

 

Thank you in advance.

[Gooldylocks]

Go to the reloading section, and search 9 major. There will be a gazillion results.

With a glock, toy are probably going to want to keep your loads at 1.155 or less. Gives you a little extra leeway in your chamber/mags which is a good thing.

Generally for major:
Slow powder (CFE is as fast as I would even consider, I would be looking at power pistol or slower personally. Or just skip all the silly testing and just buy some HS6.)
Light bullets. No heavier than 124/5. I use 115s and think they are the best, but it won't effect your results either way.

Flatness isn't as important as predictable dot movement.

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[jtrump]

Yep my head is buried in the reloading section, I'm just trying to figure it out since the 17 is a shorter barrel it won't help with velocity, and since it's a glock I have to keep the OAL down as you mentioned.    I'm seeing a pattern with hs6.

 

 

[TeedOff]

I've watched a guy at my club struggle for a year to get a plastic open gun working. In this case, an m&p. If you are serious about open do your self a favour and get a metal gun like a 2011.


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[jtrump]

Well I happen to live about 15 minutes from one of the best plastic gun builders around so I have a feeling we will get it running.   I wanna post the casual glock vs 1911 meme here haha.  

 

But no, it really comes down to reloading,  I've never done 9 major and I want to do it right.   Curious when some other plastic open gun shooters are gonna pop in here.   All advice is greatly appreciated except to switch platforms ;P.   GRANTED I believe you are correct and a 2011 style pistol would be better.... The plastic gun is much more obtainable on my budget, and to be honest I'm not sure how much deep I plan to dive into open division.

Edited September 12, 2017 by jtrump

[TeedOff]

Fair enough. Sounds like you've set your course. I found it a little unnerving the first time I dumped 7+ grains of autocomp into a 9mm case. Good luck and work your load up safely. Slower powders like WAC or HS6 with lighter bullets are likely to be your best best.


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[jtrump]

3 hours ago, TeedOff said:

Fair enough. Sounds like you've set your course. I found it a little unnerving the first time I dumped 7+ grains of autocomp into a 9mm case. Good luck and work your load up safely. Slower powders like WAC or HS6 with lighter bullets are likely to be your best best.


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Thank you sir!     the last 20k rounds I've loaded were with 3.1g titegroup,  I'm going to think I've thrown a double charge every single time.

[Gooldylocks]

The slower the powder, the lower the pressure. Whenever you hear about people blowing up guns, what is it they are shooting? Autocomp. Almost every single time. WAC/CFE (same powder) are just too much on the edge of too fast for my liking.

A threaded glock barrel is actually not that much shorter. People think that they are a shooting a shorty, but really it is a 5" barrel, which is the same as many 2011s out there. A "full size" 2011 open gun has a 5.4" barrel, most middy guns are in the 5" range, and shortys are between true commander 4.25 and 4.75. Also, barrel length doesn't make nearly as big of a difference in velocity as people think in my experience.

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[jtrump]

3 hours ago, Gooldylocks said:

The slower the powder, the lower the pressure. Whenever you hear about people blowing up guns, what is it they are shooting? Autocomp. Almost every single time. WAC/CFE (same powder) are just too much on the edge of too fast for my liking.

A threaded glock barrel is actually not that much shorter. People think that they are a shooting a shorty, but really it is a 5" barrel, which is the same as many 2011s out there. A "full size" 2011 open gun has a 5.4" barrel, most middy guns are in the 5" range, and shortys are between true commander 4.25 and 4.75. Also, barrel length doesn't make nearly as big of a difference in velocity as people think in my experience.

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I think I've heard autocomp/hs-6  more than any.     But isn't that kind of the same thing with people reloading minor with powders like titegroup which I use?

 

What are some other good alternatives autocomp/cfe?    I don't have the chart memorized on powder burn rates/pressures etc.  I don't wanna play on that "EDGE" you speak of, as I know I'm running a non steel gun.   But I need something to make major, run the comp and have the dot stay pretty flat.    I've heard sil and a VV powder mentioned.   Betting VV is hard to come by, like n320 a year ago.

[Sarge]

31 minutes ago, Gooldylocks said:

The slower the powder, the lower the pressure. Whenever you hear about people blowing up guns, what is it they are shooting? Autocomp. Almost every single time. WAC/CFE (same powder) are just too much on the edge of too fast for my liking.

A threaded glock barrel is actually not that much shorter. People think that they are a shooting a shorty, but really it is a 5" barrel, which is the same as many 2011s out there. A "full size" 2011 open gun has a 5.4" barrel, most middy guns are in the 5" range, and shortys are between true commander 4.25 and 4.75. Also, barrel length doesn't make nearly as big of a difference in velocity as people think in my experience.

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I have never heard of WAC blowing up guns. I know way too many people who use it, including myself, to blacklist it.

[Gooldylocks]

HS6 and WAC/CFE are quite different in burn rate (more than a grain of additional powder for HS6 generally). I would recommend HS6 above most anything else. Lots of people like sil, power pistol, AA7, 3n37 3n38... There are lots of choices. I would not recommend the VV powders for the short OALs you require though, as those loads are extremely compressed and can actually grow just sitting on the shelf.

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[Gooldylocks]

I have never heard of WAC blowing up guns. I know way too many people who use it, including myself, to blacklist it.

Disagree. Go search through some threads of people with case head separations, and what are those people all shooting? WAC/CFE.

 

Edit: I shouldn't have said "blowing up" guns. You probably aren't going to actually blow up a gun with any of the powders mentioned. However, blowing out a case in the middle of a stage run might as well be, because your match is over.

[jtrump]

Appreciate the info, keep it rolling.    I believe I am able to load out to what my glock mags will limit me to.  Right now I'm running 1.155 not sure how much longer I could go.

 

[Gooldylocks]

Appreciate the info, keep it rolling.    I believe I am able to load out to what my glock mags will limit me to.  Right now I'm running 1.155 not sure how much longer I could go.
 

That is what I loaded to in my glock open gun. I tried loading at 1.165 for a little while, but the bullets started dragging on the inside of the mags. So I went back down to 1.155.

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[mscott]

I was loading 124s with WAC for a G17 Open gun when I had it. HS6 worked fine as well, but remember more consistent results with WAC. Really don't remember my data or I'd post it.

[jtrump]

4 hours ago, mscott said:

I was loading 124s with WAC for a G17 Open gun when I had it. HS6 worked fine as well, but remember more consistent results with WAC. Really don't remember my data or I'd post it.

 

You don't have a black book with cooked up recipes!?     

[TeedOff]

Disagree. Go search through some threads of people with case head separations, and what are those people all shooting? WAC/CFE.  

Edit: I shouldn't have said "blowing up" guns. You probably aren't going to actually blow up a gun with any of the powders mentioned. However, blowing out a case in the middle of a stage run might as well be, because your match is over.

 

Yep, I've "blown up" several guns loading WAC. Once I realised the crappy stepped brass was the actual root cause, I've haven't "blown up" anything since. Knock on wood...

 

Edit: Only once was the "blowup" in a match. The other several were during a practice session.

 

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[jtrump]

3 hours ago, TeedOff said:

 

Yep, I've "blown up" several guns loading WAC. Once I realised the crappy stepped brass was the actual root cause, I've haven't "blown up" anything since. Knock on wood...

 

Edit: Only once was the "blowup" in a match. The other several were during a practice session.

 

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Going into this, would it be a wise investment to purchase some 9mm brass?    I just watched a video of a case separation,  I mean I've had that happen to me shooting major .40, and the only thing that happened was I got super faced with some hot powder.   Running a plastic gun in major I'm not sure I want that.   This brass issue makes me nervous

[TeedOff]

I'm loading once fired brass now instead of random range pick ups. Whatever you do, don't load the stepped brass crap to major power factor levels. I had several of these Head stamps: IMT, Ammoload, FM blow apart leaving the mouth end of the case in the chamber. It's a bit of a pain it get out the first time. This is a different failure mode than what I've seen with blowback PCCs, which is more violent and scary than what I saw with my failures. In my case it was more puzzling than anything because when I checked the barrel for a squib it was clear, but I couldn't chamber a round.


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[Gooldylocks]

At this point I only use domestic brass for major ammo. Anything that is not a 100% trusted headstamp gets culled and either used for minor ammo or recycled. But other than that, I think you're okay. I have Reloaded some pieces of brass several times with no ill effects. Make sure the case mouth has no cracks, the extractor groove and rim looks okay, and it has a tight primer pocket. Other than that, load em up

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[mscott]

1 hour ago, jtrump said:

 

You don't have a black book with cooked up recipes!?     

I do, but not home right now. 

[jtrump]

I've got to look into this "stepped brass"  not exactly sure the difference but I have ran across a few pieces of that ammoland brand you named.    Man, I just had a nightmare I was looking at head stamps for hours upon hours upon hours

 

[jtrump]

3 hours ago, Gooldylocks said:

At this point I only use domestic brass for major ammo. Anything that is not a 100% trusted headstamp gets culled and either used for minor ammo or recycled. But other than that, I think you're okay. I have Reloaded some pieces of brass several times with no ill effects. Make sure the case mouth has no cracks, the extractor groove and rim looks okay, and it has a tight primer pocket. Other than that, load em up

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So win/pmc/gfl/starline/speer/RP?

Edited September 13, 2017 by jtrump

[TeedOff]

So win/pmc/gfl/starline/speer/RP?

I've found RP and FC are fine too. Also, the few Hornady and Sig that I run across are also good.

What I do is just watch for the stepped brass as it comes out of the case feeder. If I see a stepped brass a pick it out and throw it in a bucket for minor reloads. Then I case gage every round in a Hundo and look for the offensive headstamps. I'll also cull out Maxxtech, Perfecta and anything else I don't recognise as "name brand" brass. I'll run those non-stepped but "crap-ish" brass for practice without issue, but I don't really trust it for a match.


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[jtrump]

I'm reloading on a 550 without a case feeder,  I enjoy the simple things in life ,   figured back when I started it was the safest way for me to learn how to reload without screwing up.

 

I may just have to sort the head stamps  after I wet tumble them while there drying before they go into the fine walnut media to polish.    Good info guys, I appreciate it.