SWprotected

I used to use it in my 9mm with 122gr. LTC bullets, it was smokey, smelly, but absolutely the softest loads I have ever shot. I did not have a chrono at the time and I doubt they made PF but those loads were almost as soft as my airsoft gun.

Can't say anything about the 320 but I know several guys that use it an love it. I started loading TG to conserve another powder that I use in my .40 and found TG to be the most accurate powder I have loaded with for 9mm. It does burn hot but its clean and efficient so I am very happy that I picked it up when I did.

Seems my results were very close to this as well 4.7 was getting me 168PF with coated bullets and 5.1 was 174pf @ 1.180" oal. The 4.7 load is fun to shoot an very accurate.

I really like it using coated bullets @ 1.180" and 4.4gr. I am making 170PF in my gun. I find the feel is pretty soft and it leaves my gun very clean.You will have to work up a load for your gun using the OAL that works best for you.

Okay I have gone through a few thousand coated bullets and have had issues with rounds not chambering. I am convinced it is the bullets so I ordered a box of plated bullets from extreme. I loaded 20 rounds to test all of them fit my EGW gauge and all cycle smoothy through the gun. The one thing I am seeing is the bullets will setback 0.001"-0.003" after cycling though the gun from the magazine the first time and even more the second time. I have used plated bullets exclusivly in my 9mm for the past year and don't seem to notice this issue with them. I do not want to overcrimp the rounds so I am wondering if I should try a U die to add more neck tension or if this amount of setback is normal?

I use the Redding GRX on 100% of my brass, I still chamber check my rounds. What I have found is with .401" bullets I have 5 or 6 per hundred that do not fit and it is not the brass its the bullets, what I am seeing with coated bullets is if they are sized .401 some will be .402 or slightly over. I took a round that failed to chamber and scraped of the coating and it went right in. I am going to order some .400" bullets to try.

That's pretty common, it seems like around here most clubs that have IDPA are only doing classifiers once a year. I shot my first match last June and was unclassified until October last year, missed Expert by 0.8 seconds, and at the first major match I shot I ended up getting bumped. I think looking at your results now making EX by the end of the year is possible. You ar fortunate to have weekly matches I think that getting used to shooting on the clock and in front of others is one of the biggest hurdles for some people. Good luck and have fun.

I have not tried BBI but the prices look very good and everything I hear about them sounds good. I have used xtreme in 9mm for the last year and have been very happy with them, the price has been reduced and the are actually the same or lower than the coated bullets I use. The only problem is xtreme is slow to ship, the last order I placed took 3 weeks to receive, not a huge issue I just try to order before I get to low.

Thanks for the replies, I have shot a few matches with no issues. What I have found is that the not going into battery is bullet related not brass, or a more of a combo of the 2. The few that I find that don't chamber check also will not fit the chamber of my M&P 40 which will chamber long loaded 40 they just don't fit in the mags, bummer or I could use one load for both. When I take the rounds that do not chamber freely and feed them from the magazine the will chamber but when I pull the slide back to eject them it is really tight, and the coating has come off places on the bullet. I think this is due to me using mixed brass and some of the cases are more heavily constructed than others so when crimping it may be causing a slight bulge ahead of the case. If I back off on the crimp any more I run into rounds that will set back when chambered. I do not sort my brass by head stamp which would be the only solution I see so the crimp could be set properly for each kind of brass. In the end It is easier for me to just chamber check the rounds and put the tight ones in the practice ammo bin and not fiddle with the dies for each kind of brass.

4 lbers are gone still have 1lb cans.

I have used both Bayou and Blue Bullets and both shoot great, and the difference in velocity between the two only amounted to about 1pf and that could have been the difference in weather conditions on the days I shot them. I have Been buying Blue recently because they support a lot of matches in this area and they do have a good product.

I pretty much figure I will just take the time to chamber check my ammo before matches. I shot a match on Saturday went through about 200 rounds without any issue so I guess I will just keep checking, nothing worse than having a gun choke.

I usually see similar fluctuations and found it to be due to mixed brass. If I only use one headstamp it stays pretty Much the same.

I have used both Bayou and Blue bullets, both are very accurate out of my Edge, I have tested loads with both bullets and there is very little difference in velocity.

The bullets are Blue bullets .401" 180gr., The cases have been different head stamps oal 1.185". I did not measure the crimp but when I pulled these bullets to check I had just a slight ring in the coating from the case mouth. I have also used Bayou bullets and had the same issue. I thought maybe I was over crimping and causing a bulge in the bullet just ahead of the case mouth but when I measured there I still measure .401"

Okay I loaded another couple of hundred yesterday and still had 3 that will fit case gauge but dot not drop freely into barrel. If I reverse them and insert them rim first they fall in and out, so to me this means the brass is not the issue.

Thanks for the information. I started using the GRX die because about 10% of my ammo would not chamber that is down to about 1% now. The one that don't still fit the EGW gauge. I am just now starting to shoot limited so I am just looking to make my setup as reliable as possible.

I have a question for you guys running STI guns. What steps do you take to ensure reliable feeding? My process is tumble brass, run all cases through G-RX die and then load as usual. I have about 1k loaded and almost all of it will pass the plunk test. The few that do not will still fit in my EGW gauge but will not chamber freely. Is this common or is my chamber just a little tight? I would like to find a way to be sure it will fit without having to use the barrel to check it.

I was in the same boat as you, I wanted to load for my 40 because my Edge runs better on ammo loaded longer than factory specs. I use LEE reloading dies including the factory crimp die. I use range pickup brass some of which is glock fired so I also have a press setup for the Redding GRX that I run all of my brass through to remove any bulges. As far as bullets I have used Blue Bulltes 180gr. TC and Bayou 180s and both perform very well. I like the coated bullets I am making 172 PF and doing it with less powder than would be required to get the same PF with a jacketed bullet, I also have not had any issues with leading or poor accuracy from either brand of coated bullets.

I am blessed to live in an area with an abundance of shooting opportunities, I shoot IDPA weekly, we have a steel match monthly, and USPSA monthly and I try to shoot all of them. They are all different but they are all fun. Shoot and enjoy!

I have been trying these as well and they seem to be pretty clean shooting. There was a little residue in the barrel after a couple of hundred rounds but not to bad. These bullets are very accurate out of my pistol.

deerassasin, message sent.

Okay, After searching and reading many posts on this topic I still have not found exactly what I am looking for. I want to work up a load for 40 Major with Ramshot competition. I will be loading for an STI EDGE 5" and am loading to 1.180" OAL. I will be using range brass but have sorted it by brand and am using federal for testing. I will be using Winchester small pistol primers. I am going to try a couple of different bullets Bayou 180gr and Blue Bullets 180gr. I have some test rounds made up with 4.1gr. and 4.4gr. charge weight to test I plan to chrono these loads this weekend but wanted to know if anyone has any data they would share for comparison purposes.

Thanks for the photos.

Okay the tubes are stock front to rear measurement is 1.370" , side to side measurement was okay as well from what I read on other threads here. The rear of the feed lips were 0.380" to 0.382" depending on the way I moved the caliper. When insert the mag into the pistol there is a lot of resistance. The other 2 mags seem to work fine and the followers are slightly lower. I have read most of the mag tuning threads on here and it seems these are in spec. but it looks like the followers could easily pop out of the top.