superdude
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Posts posted by superdude
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Something I noticed while cycling rounds through at home as JimmyZip recommended. It looks like every now and again, the round is "popping" out of the mag before the rim has a chance to feed into the extractor groove. What would be the cause of this? Or, is this something that just happens when you cycle rounds through by hand?
this is likely just a 'hand cycling' thing. and check your numbers, since .475 is the diameter of a .45 cartridge. try subtracting 0.100 from the value given.
i don't think that this is a magazine issue. this is a common feeding malfunction that has multiple causes of which the magazine is not a likely candidate.
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Sorry to keep bringing this up but I am looking to understand what I am doing.
I am using Bullseye powder and the manuals say 1.125" for OAL but all of my commercial ammo is measuring closer to 1.160" I have loaded a bunch at 1.140" and they shot great, though a little dirty. My question is should I go with the manual? if you're using the same brand bullet as in the manual, sure. it's a good place to start. the most critical feature is to make sure it fits in your chamber at that length because some chamber dimensions vary.
Will that longer length affect the amount of residue? not hugely unless the powder charge is on the low side, as some powder burn less efficiently then.
And how critical is OAL within the range lets say 1.125" to 1.160"? with respect to pressure? pretty significant. with respect to reliability? uncertain as it will depend on your pistol. if the bullet fits the chamber and your magazine and runs reliably, that's the criteria. but the pressure is the important thing to consider. rule of thumb is to load on the long side to keep pressure low, as this tends to also enhance reliable feeding - if it fits in the magazine and chamber (though this is more of a guideline and isn't absolute). the pressure issue becomes more important whenever you load near the maximum recommended charge weight. you have less leeway for error then. it also depends on the powder you're using. bullseye is a fast powder and fast powders tends to be more sensitive to pressure concerns than others, but if you keep a close eye on it you'll be fine.
Lastly what is the advantage to longer or shorter OAL. again, the usual issues are pressure and reliability. it's usually a balance between the two. but if your current load runs and shoots fine with no signs of excess pressure (examples of classic pressure signs in primers can be seen at http://www.38super.net/Pages/Factory2.html), that's about as good as it gets. you might not need to worry about changing it - if it's not broken, don't fit it, and all that.
I see that most guys are suggesting trying to get to the longest OAL that a specific pistol will allow. sometimes they're trying to achieve a specific goal - load long for reliability etc. if you're loading for Major Power Factor then loading long is good because it helps to keep pressure down and that's important for 9mm because there is so little case volume in the first place and to make Major in the 9mm the pressures get really wildly high, especially with light bullets (115-125). oh, and for Major you want medium to slow burning powders. Bullseye would likely cause a gun to spontaneously disassemble.
I have been reloading for a while and always went by the book. Thanks.. books are a great reference and it's good that you're paying attention to detail. that's what keeps you safe. there is some leeway when considering overall length, the concerns mentioned are pressure and fit (magazine/chamber). if those are okay, then load-em up and blast away.
p.s. i posted this on the original thread as well.
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Sorry to keep bringing this up but I am looking to understand what I am doing.
I am using Bullseye powder and the manuals say 1.125" for OAL but all of my commercial ammo is measuring closer to 1.160" I have loaded a bunch at 1.140" and they shot great, though a little dirty. My question is should I go with the manual? if you're using the same brand bullet as in the manual, sure. it's a good place to start. the most critical feature is to make sure it fits in your chamber at that length because some chamber dimensions vary.
Will that longer length affect the amount of residue? not hugely unless the powder charge is on the low side, as some powder burn less efficiently then.
And how critical is OAL within the range lets say 1.125" to 1.160"? with respect to pressure? pretty significant. with respect to reliability? uncertain as it will depend on your pistol. if the bullet fits the chamber and your magazine and runs reliably, that's the criteria. but the pressure is the important thing to consider. rule of thumb is to load on the long side to keep pressure low, as this tends to also enhance reliable feeding - if it fits in the magazine and chamber (though this is more of a guideline and isn't absolute). the pressure issue becomes more important whenever you load near the maximum recommended charge weight. you have less leeway for error then. it also depends on the powder you're using. bullseye is a fast powder and fast powders tends to be more sensitive to pressure concerns than others, but if you keep a close eye on it you'll be fine.
Lastly what is the advantage to longer or shorter OAL. again, the usual issues are pressure and reliability. it's usually a balance between the two. but if your current load runs and shoots fine with no signs of excess pressure (examples of classic pressure signs in primers can be seen at http://www.38super.net/Pages/Factory2.html), that's about as good as it gets. you might not need to worry about changing it - if it's not broken, don't fit it, and all that.
I see that most guys are suggesting trying to get to the longest OAL that a specific pistol will allow. sometimes they're trying to achieve a specific goal - load long for reliability etc. if you're loading for Major Power Factor then loading long is good because it helps to keep pressure down and that's important for 9mm because there is so little case volume in the first place and to make Major in the 9mm the pressures get really wildly high, especially with light bullets (115-125). oh, and for Major you want medium to slow burning powders. Bullseye would likely cause a gun to spontaneously disassemble.
I have been reloading for a while and always went by the book. Thanks.. books are a great reference and it's good that you're paying attention to detail. that's what keeps you safe. there is some leeway when considering overall length, the concerns mentioned are pressure and fit (magazine/chamber). if those are okay, then load-em up and blast away.
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i think that whistlepig's suggestions are excellent for diagnosing your problem. try factory hardball first.
it might be that your gun does not like the Berry's bullets. Berry's bullets are plated, not FMJ (in the traditional sense - http://www.38super.net/Pages/Bullet%20Design%20and%20Feeding%20Reliability.html). plated bullets are not very hard, compared to jacketed or cast, and some guns don't like them (my 45s hate them). they can suffer from significant setback when they hit the feed ramp, effectively shortening the overall length which could change the round's configuration significantly as it enters the chamber. for whatever reason, many 45s don't like plated bullets of round nose or other nose shape. and i've seen lesser calibers choke on plated bullets too. try the factory hardball (select a true FMJ and not plated like some CCI/Federal) and let us know how it goes.
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cartridge overall length varies for many reasons, several of which have been mentioned. in many cases the bullet nose shape and length can be the determining factor. for practical advise on overall length see:
http://www.38super.net/Pages/Bullet%20Design%20and%20Feeding%20Reliability.html
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part of the answer comes down to practical issues. the most import is whether it functions in your gun. the typical IPSC shooter, which probably describes a majority of the folks on this forum, is less concerned about getting the utmost accuracy from their ammo since their targets are large, close and they're shooting fast. tiny differences as you've noted won't make a significant difference in the type of accuracy that is required for that type of shooting.
brass that is too short, and i mean waaay too short, will slip a little farther into the chamber to the point where the extractor grabs it and prevents it from slipping any farther. brass that is too long could prevent the slide from going all the way forward = out of battery. this will depend on the length of the brass, the chamber dimensions, and the fit of the barrel. i can't recall seeing any posts that someone had said that's happened to them because of brass length issues, though it may have happened and either they didn't report it or interpreted as a different kind of failure or whatever. but it's still a legitimate concern. it is probably generally the case that brass fired in semi-automatic pistols does not change length significantly in either direction over it's useful lifetime to present a problem for the majority of users. a few thousandths here and there doesn't matter for most guns (probably 99.99% of them).
that said, if you're trying to squeeze the max of accuracy from your pistol then maybe case length is an issue. but how much of a difference in length is required to make a perceptible change in accuracy is uncertain, though maybe somebody out there has an answer. i would suspect, though can't say definitively, that load selection (powder, primer, bullet) will have a much larger impact on accuracy than brass length. should you decide to test that, let us know how it turns out.
edited to add that many folks new to the reloading game pour over the manuals and make note of case overall length dimensions and some other details as well, that turn out to be non-issues. (don't get me wrong, it's good that you're paying attention to detail because that matters in handloading.) case length for semi-automatic pistols tends to be a non-issue. only anomalies matter, and they are extremely, extremely rare. many of us experienced folks (geezers) have loaded and shot well in excess of 100K rounds and never come across one. i can only think of 2 that i've run into, both were 38 Super. both were new cases, one Winchester and one Starline. both were anonymously short by about 2 millimeters. but the other 100k+ of semi-auto brass (of most calibers) has been fine, in that i've not experienced anything too long or short that has caused a malfunction. and i'm one of those types who loads whatever i pick up off the ground. case length is not something to worry about - of course now i've said that i'll regret it.
one detail that is very important in handloading is cartridge overall length. pay close attention to that as it will influence feeding reliability and PRESSURE. http://www.38super.net/Pages/Overall%20Length.html
many 45 bullseye shooters have noted that using mixed brass has not significantly eroded accuracy. years ago i used mixed brass with handloads when testing some 45s that i built and they produced 10 shot 1 inch groups at 25 yards (from a Ransom Rest). maybe they would have shot better with matching brass etc, but clearly mixed brass did not cause the shots to scatter.
now, brass length for a rifle is a totally different issue, and yes, case length can matter!
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http://www.38super.net/Pages/Brass.html
http://www.38super.net/Pages/Technical%20Specs.html
some of the rimless variants might not fit too well in your moonclips. try them to see.
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I'm changing my rear sights on a Glock 17. This is my first set I've changed but I spring for a MGW sight tool. Is there any trick to lining up the rear sight on the slide? I've been trying to eye ball it, use my micrometer and everything to get it in the middle but there's really no good point of reference that you can place your micrometer jaw against. It looked close but I shot it today and it was 1" left at 15 yards. Trial and error or is there a trick to it? Also, is it possible that even if I have them lined up on the slide that they could still be off bore? How do the pros do this?
this is the exact thing that your high school math teacher was talking about when (s)he said that you would need math skills for in the future.
measure your sight radius (front sight to back sight). how many sight radii in 15 yards? you know you're 1 inch off at 15 yards. do a little math to figure out how far to move the rear sight. (then be sure to thank your math teacher)
(no, i'm not going to do the math for you! feel free to do the calcs in Excel if you're a math hater like me)
i solved a similar problem with math when trying to determine what the height of the front sight should be if the impact was xxx inches high/low (with a fixed rear sight). math actually works! (don't tell anybody i said that)
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WOW! hope you weren't hurt!! was this a 45?
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midway has some heavier bullets; http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/BrowseProducts.aspx?pageNum=1&tabId=1&categoryId=17802&categoryString=9315***652***19785***9015***7564***
Lyman's loading book has data for up to 170 grain bullets, and i suspect that if you search a bit on the web you might find data for 200 grain bullets as they used to be offered in 38 special factory loads.
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it might work with just changing the barrel. i've put a 10mm barrel in my 38 Super Witness. the 38 Super breech face accommodates the 10mm/40 okay. it's a bit tighter than my 10mm witness breech face, but it works. the extractor was a bit tight at first but it seems to run fine now. i switch back and forth at the range by changing the barrel and magazine.
your extractor might need to be changed or tuned. grab a 9mm round and see how it fits your breech face, and look to see how the extractor might have to be modified to grab the 9mm case.
the ejector might work as is. i have a swap-top 9mm/40 Para; just change top ends and mags and it runs fine.
good luck, and let us know how it works out.
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see this thread:
http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=85054&st=0
especially posts 44, 51 and 58 (pictures)
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and to add to what GrumpyOne said:
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it's the cast bullets, thought to be due to the lube. while some powders might smoke more than others, their effect on smoke is negligible compared to the lube of the cast bullets.
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9X23 gets its advantage over the 9mm by using a higher volume of slower powder in a 5" barrel, load it in a 3.5 ish barrel and you'll have a 9mm thats really loud and kicks more.
SO to answer your question, I wouldn't expect anyone with an understanding of internal and external ballistics to make the conversion.
i would bet good money that it well exceeds a 9mm from the same barrel length. here a parallel example. i use a two-inch 357 magnum as a carry gun. the ammo i use is the Remington 125 grain SJHP. it is loaded with 19 grains of powder in the ones i've pulled and weighed. from my 4 inch 686 it clocks 1465 fps (as advertised), which equals 596 ft lb ME. from my 2 inch Colt Magnum Carry it runs 1255 fps, which equals 437 ft lb ME. that's about where the Winchester Ranger 127 +P+ is advertised to run from a 4 inch barrel. in fact i only get 1205 fps from the 127 +P+ in my CZ 4.5 inch barrel. but the point being that the Remington load well exceeds the typical 9mm round even even from my 2 inch gun.
A Winchester 9X23 soft point that clocks at 1498 fps from my 5 inch Nowlin barrel (exceeding published velocity of 1450 fps) and produces 618 ft lb ME. that load uses 10 grains of powder from the ones i've pulled and weighed.
my understanding of internal and external ballistics leads me to believe that the 9X23 (faster gunpowder, smaller case volume, loaded to higher pressure than the 357 magnum) from a 3.5 inch barrel will lose considerably less velocity than a 357 magnum (slower gunpowder, huge case volume) from a 2 inch barrel, based on first hand data that i have collected.
so the conversion sounds like a worthy idea to me.
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you likely will have to ream the chamber for the 9X23 tapered case. I've run 9X23 through several 38 Super barrels, some seem to work ok (for the few rounds i've tried), but others are tight, and the 9X23 case can expand just enough in a Super chamber to make it STICK! and i mean bring a squib rod and a big-ass hammer because it can require some serious pounding to get it out. been there.
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This maybe a dumb question, but, why the hollow base? So the oal of the
bullet is more stable?
yes. i think that a 185 grain RN bullet with the typical RN profile of 45 ball would have a really short bearing surface. it does not need to act as a gas check, or all bullets would be designed like that.
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yes, 9X23 can be run through a gun with an unsupported chamber, at least the Winchester brass can - it was designed to do just that, and i have done so with hot factory Winchester ammo in a very UNsupported Nowlin 9X23 barrel. don't know if the Starline Brass version of 9X23 will. you could ask them.
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on the issue of linearity: probably. take a look at a Hornady or Sierra reloading manual where they show charge weights and incremental changes in velocity - i have the 7th edition Hornady in front of me. The Hornady manual lists for the 45 ACP 230 grain bullets and titegroup; charge weights of 4.3, 4.6, 4.9, 5.2, produce velocities of 700, 750, 800, 850, respectively. so, a change of 0.3 grains produces a change in 50 fps. the linearity thing appears to hold true for the other powders listed also. in fact, everywhere i look in the Hornady and Sierra books linearity seems to be common. there might be limits on conditions when a powder behaves linear, such as when compressed or really light loads or whatever, but that remains to be illustrated.
as others noted, whether a light load will cycle the gun or not is a consideration, but changing springs can help you there.
there is also the often referred to "too light a charge will dramatically increase pressure" warning. i don't know how valid that is, and would always suggest to people that they error on the side of caution, but would welcome someone to direct me to controlled studies with data.
How do I tell if primer is crimped?
in Miscellaneous BEginners
Posted
correct. see the links below for examples. and remember, the google search function is your friend.
http://www.xdtalk.com/forums/ammo-can/128083-9mm-crimped-primers.html
http://squibloads.wordpress.com/reloading/get-the-crimp-out/
http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=3&f=16&t=448194