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anonymouscuban

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Posts posted by anonymouscuban

    Taking the Plunge - Few Questions/Confirmation Needed

    in 9mm/38 Caliber

    Posted

    On the blue bullets make sure you put plenty of bell on the case. I just started loading those myself in 125 grain so far only a few test loads. They seem very accurate still experimenting with powders.

    I'm barely putting any bell in it. Just enough to seat the bullet manually so it doesn't fall out if I shake it. They seem to look OK but I don't have a puller to see what its doing under the case.

     

    Well, I loaded my first 20 live rounds. It only took that many to make me realize I may need a better scale. I got the Hornady G2 1500 scale. Tiny thing. Only measures to a tenth of a grain. Not sure if it the scale or my powder drop but measured about 40 drops and they fluctuated between 3.6 and 3.7 with no adjustments to the powder measure. I figure that's the accuracy tolerance of this scale. It's good enough for these plinking rounds.

     

    Could it be the powder drop? I would think there should not be that much variance in it.

     

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    Taking the Plunge - Few Questions/Confirmation Needed

    in 9mm/38 Caliber

    Posted

    The 3.6 should be pleasant to shoot, If you want to load some up and just plink with them before your chrono gets there. 
     
    My load for the Shadow is 3.5 of VV 320 at 1.150 with a PD 147FMJ. Makes right at 134PF.
    You know, I kind of wanted to do just that so I think I'm gonna load up about 20 rounds at 3.6 and go test them at the range without the chrono on Sunday. I'm gonna hit the range anyway so may as well. 3.6 seems to be the go to load for coated 124/5 gr bullets based on the many posts I've read on the subject.

    3.2 for the 147gr. Which brings up something that seems counter intuitive to me. I would think that the heavier bullet needs a bigger powder load to fire it but all the load data I see has this relationship inverse.

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    Taking the Plunge - Few Questions/Confirmation Needed

    in 9mm/38 Caliber

    Posted

    Also, take a completed round and, bullet towards the bench or other hard surface, push as hard as you can, to see if the bullet will seat deeper by that force. Dillon dies seem to make the brass look somewhat like a coke bottle, being narrower in the middle, which stops bullet setback (bullet setback is a bad thing). Your round above does not appear that way, so, do the push test.
    Yup... looking at the round from the side in directional light, I can see where the case narrows under the bullet. I can see the outline of the bullet in the case so I can now see how the bullet is squeezed into the case.

    I was getting confused earlier because I was expanding cases that I did not run through the resize die. The bullet was just sliding all the way into the case. Now I understand exactly what each die does so everything makes more sense.

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    Taking the Plunge - Few Questions/Confirmation Needed

    in 9mm/38 Caliber

    Posted

    Crimping is a misnomer. We don't really crimp rounds for semi autos, we just remove whatever bell/flare that we put in when we did the powder drop.
     
    Looking at that round, it appears as though it is already "crimped", and ok.
     
    A good rule of thumb for "crimp" is to measure the case wall thickness, multiply that by 2, then add in the diameter of the bullet. So, case wall equals .11 x 2 = .22 + .355 =.377 outside diameter where the bullet meets the case in a completed round.
    Ah. Thanks Grump. That make me feel better. For a second there I thought I completely overlooked a step. It's what happens when you spend too much time watching YouTube videos. LoL

    OK... so I think I'm ready to make my set of sample for the 124g bullet which is pictured.

    I assume I should go through the same process of getting the OAL for the other bullets. The 147g seems to have a slightly different profile so I'm guessing it may seat differently in the barrel.

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    Taking the Plunge - Few Questions/Confirmation Needed

    in 9mm/38 Caliber

    Posted

    Ok. Here is what seems like a dumb question to me...

     

    Do I need a separate crimp die?

     

    I am running the Lee 3 die set. Comes with full length sizing die, powder through expanding die and bullet seating die.

     

    I thought that the seating die also crimps the case. Now I'm not so sure.

     

    But I am also running the powder cop so with the powder measure, I got all 5 of my holes plugged! Where the heck would I put a factory crimp die?

     

    Here is a dummy round I made. It's at an OAL of 1.164. Chambers nicely from my mag and also ejects well. But I don't really notice a crimp. [emoji848]

    faa34917aa607a34effb3900cef80375.jpg

    Taking the Plunge - Few Questions/Confirmation Needed

    in 9mm/38 Caliber

    Posted

    That is just one measurement. You also need to see what will fit in your magazines. Your resizing die (you are mistakenly calling your powder die a resizing die) should touch the shell plate with the handle of the press all the way down. And yes, with the powder die, adjust to have just enough flare to have the bullet not fall over.  

    As for your measurements, whatever you come up with from dropping the bullet and case in the barrel, you need to subtract at least .005 from that (I would do a bit more). With your measurement, the bullet is actually resting on the lands of the barrel...if you load to that OAL, you risk having one too long and the gun not going into battery or locking up with a bullet stuck in the lands.

     

    While I don't use the blue bullets, with a MG 124 grain JHP, I had to load at 1.085 with my Shadow (bullet hit the lands at 1.095), when I switched to PD 147 FMJ's, I can load out to 1.150. I was using some home cast 147 TC coated, and could also load those to 1.150.

     

     

    Thanks Grumpy. So it sounds like I have to create a couple of dummy rounds in order to test the fit in my magazines.  

     

    When testing, am I making sure the round chambers from the mag or is it just that it fits in the magazine? Assume it's the former but want to make sure.

     

    And should I test with each magazine or is this one size fits all?

     

    Oh... and you're right. I guess it's the powder die that I am talking about.

     

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    Taking the Plunge - Few Questions/Confirmation Needed

    in 9mm/38 Caliber

    Posted

    Moar questions!

     

    Got my boolits yesterday. I took a spent casing and one of the truncated cone 147g Blue Bullets. Slipped the bullet into the casing so it was rather long. I then dropped into the barrel (removed from slide). I then slightly pushed it in until it bottomed out. I carefully pulled it out and measured the OAL. I did this several times and I'm ending up with 1.1170 to 1.1175.

     

    1. Is my procedure correct?

    2. Does this OAL pass the smell test for a CZ 75 SP-01 OEM barrel?

    3. Since I came out with a range of measures, do I go with min, max, median or mean?

     

    As far as adjusting my resizing die, do I adjust it so the flare is just enough to set the bullet inside so it doesn't fall out if I turn the case over?

     

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    Taking the Plunge - Few Questions/Confirmation Needed

    in 9mm/38 Caliber

    Posted

    Cool. Was thinking of measuring my pitching arm with the chrono to see if I can still throw some heat but that may not be a good idea. [emoji12] I don't have a rest but I have used sandbags as a brace in the past to sight new sights on my pistols. Will do the same.

    I may try the second batch of brass with some Nufinish or Brasso. I've read that both are used. I think I may have both in the garage. Will use what I have. Will also try the cut up dryer sheet idea.

    One other question. Probably wise that I wear gloves during this whole process, right? Even while pressing?

    Oh... just got notification from UPS that my powder and primers arrived. Can't wait to get home, unpack it all and read all the package labels. I don't have bullets yet so I have to do something with the stuff! Hahaha. My wife says I'm like a giant kid.



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    Taking the Plunge - Few Questions/Confirmation Needed

    in 9mm/38 Caliber

    Posted

    More great advice on here. Thank you guys. Have a few questions. 

     

    So I have never used a chrono so I did some browsing on the interwebz. Looks pretty straight forward. One question though... at what distance should I set the chrono from my shooting position? I've gathered that for pistol, about 10 feet should be good. I would assume that keeping this distance consistent when testing is important. By the way, already stressing over NOT shooting the damn chrono. LOL

     

    As far as case cleaning... I just got my tumbler yesterday. It's a dry tumbler. Ran my first batch of cases through it yesterday for 2 hours. Using crushed walnut shells. Didn't add anything else like polish. Want to keep things as simple as possible. The cases look pretty clean on the outside. Still a little dirty on the inside. Gonna run them some more, at an hour increment to see at what point they are acceptably clean. How anal do I need to be about this? Is this more personal preference? I've read that some people don't clean their brass at all. 

     

    By the way, I won't get my chrono till next week so won't be able to test fire my loads till then. Do plan on loading them up this weekend. Can't wait. So far, I'm totally geeking out over all this stuff!!! 

    Taking the Plunge - Few Questions/Confirmation Needed

    in 9mm/38 Caliber

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

    Yes.  You absolutely NEED a chrono.  I've been using a $79 Chrony for decades    :)

     

    10 rounds of each makes a lot of sense.   Run them thru the chrono onto a target

    at 25 yards, and you'll measure speed, PF and accuracy all at the same time.   :) 

     

    Have you seen Darrell's info on 9mm loads ?

     

    Thanks Jack. Just order the Caldwell Chrono. Looks to be a great value and will do what I need based on the reviews and YouTubes I watched. Always nice to be "forced" to buy more toys. Gonna tell my wife you insisted I buy if she asks what the heck it is. LOL

     

    I did see Darrell's load file. Downloaded it but on my work laptop and I haven't gotten around to install the app needed to unzip it. Won't unzip with the out of the box windows extract. 

    Taking the Plunge - Few Questions/Confirmation Needed

    in 9mm/38 Caliber

    Posted

    Hey fellas. So I should be loading my first set of test rounds at the end of the week. As mentioned, I bought a few sample packs of different bullets. How should I go about making the test rounds?

     

    Should I make about 10 of each bullet weight?

     

    How about powder charge... maybe make 10 round samples of each weight and powder charge combo, increasing the powder charge by 0.2 grains within the min and max for the load recipe?

     

    Also, as far as load data, should I use load data for lead bullets? I can't seem to find anything specific to coated lead bullets.

     

    As far as testing, I don't have a chronometer. I assume I will just be testing for best grouping and how each load shoots and see what I prefer.

     

    Should I get a chronometer? Is it essential at this stage for me?

     

    Thanks again for all the help.

     

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    Need Coated 124’s recommendation

    in 9mm/38 Caliber

    Posted

     
    While some may argue that it's less than ideal, they'll function fine. I promise many hundreds of thousands of .355 blue bullets have been shot from lots of CZ pistols. 
    The .355's are fine.
    I run the Blue 147's FN and they are great in my SPO1.
    I also tried Gallant and SNS all .356 and for the games we shoot I did not notice and real difference in accuracy and went back to Blue.

    Thanks fellas. I will certainly run some test loads but you've put my mind at ease. Would hate to find out I threw money away.

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    Taking the Plunge - Few Questions/Confirmation Needed

    in 9mm/38 Caliber

    Posted

    3 hours ago, 124gr9mm said:

    Sounds like you've set yourself up pretty well.


    What ammo do you shoot now?

     

    Maybe just make your own version of the factory load you've been successful with?

     

    I like the suggestion of trying different weights, but you can quickly go down a rabbit hole where you spend a LOT of time mixing and matching recipes/combinations that in the end turn out to be not too different from a felt recoil perspective.


    Good luck.

    Honestly, I've been shooting whatever I could get the cheapest. Didn't really care for brand or bullet weight. Blazer Brass, S&B, Fiochi, etc. All factory new, brass cased ammo. I didn't really pay much attention to the ammo I was shooting until recently. I am now shooting a lot more, competing and with all the stupid ammo restrictions here in California, I'm paying more attention to ammo and want to reload. Just makes sense. Last match I shot some Syntech 150g and liked it. I also noticed a lot of the guys at the matches that are reloading are shooting coated bullets. They're a bit more economical so figured it's good for the gander and all that. 

     

    4 hours ago, phoenixsomd said:

    I would consider buying 100 or so bullets in several weights and work up a 9MM minor load for each. Everyone has preferences and you may find you like 124gr loads that are snappier but let you get your sights back on target quicker. Give the 135gr bullets a look as well: a compromise between the 147 and 124gr offerings. You should consider varying recoil spring weight as a final turning action.

    Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
     

    Not a bad idea to try a few different grain weights and seeing what I like and what shoots well out my gun. 

     

    3 hours ago, muncie21 said:

    147s are going to be a bit more difficult to load for the new reloader as they are seated deeper, plus you're shooting a CZ, which typically like shorter OAL. I'd start with 115, 124 or 135 gr.  BBI is great place to get coated bullets, lots of others out there also.

     

    If you are able to pop factory primers, no need to go with the softer Federal.  Use what's available and cheap.

     

    Spend some time checking your first reloads to ensure they plunk/spin in your barrel and document the dimensions.  If you don't do this, make sure you have a kinetic puller to fix your mistakes.

     

    One final note, quite a few new reloaders spend too much time chasing the holy grail of soft, flat shooting reloads.  Trust me, on the clock you won't be able to notice the difference between 125 and 130 PF.  So don't get too hung up on creating the ultimate bunny fart load.

    Thanks for the input. As I stated above, I think I'm going to order 124, 135 and 147 to see which I like. Good to know on the primers. Will stick with the Winchester then. I will definitely be plunking!! I read all the stickies on determining the OAL of your specific barrel and such. Want to take my time up front to avoid as many mistakes as possible. 

     

    Good advice of not going down a rabbit hole chasing the bunny fart load. Honestly, right now my only goal is to produce rounds that consistently go boom and successfully exit the barrel and hit the target with some reasonable accuracy. Part of the reason I am reloading is out of necessity. They've made it really hard to buy ammo online here in California and come July, they will start doing background checks with every purchase of ammo and tracking how much you bought. Just want to avoid all that mess. 

     

    2 hours ago, HesedTech said:

    I load for my son's CZ (S2 and SP01) and my TF Stock 2. Because of the short rifling bullet profiles are important if you are going to load 147s .356 bullets. I have found in 147s Precision Delta FMJ RN load really well and an OAL of 1.14 works perfectly. But because they are FMJ the require a tad more powder and aren't as "soft" as the coated bullets. Out of the CZ 3.5 gr was 135 PF and the Stock 2 130 PF.

     

    In coated the Acme 147 FP, .356, also work perfect and are softer than the PD 147 at an OAL of 1.14. Using TG 3.2 gives us just over 130 PF, but I found bumping the PF up to 135 (3.3) was more accurate at 25 yds.

     

    Other coated bullets worked, but typically required a shorter OAL (about 1.08) which made loading more difficult.

     

    WSPs work fine.

    If you can find it, try Sport Pistol powder over TG. I'm switching to it because it is actually slightly cleaner than TG; accuracy and recoil no noticeable difference.

    If you have the time order a variety of different sample packs of bullets and find the one which works best for you. 

    Thanks for the info. I will check out the Sport Pistol powder availability. 

     

    1 hour ago, zzt said:

    I would not use Titegroup with lead or coated bullets.  In fact, I wouldn't use Titegroup at all.  It burns way too hot.

     

    Lighter bullets cycle the slide faster and the sights return more quickly, at the cost of a harder hit to the hand.  147s knock down steel better.  One of my buddies shoots 135s and loves them.  It's a good compromise.

    What would you recommend instead of TG for coated lead bullets? Maybe WST or WSF? Sport Pistol like HesedTech suggested? I have read that N320 runs well. Maybe that?

    Taking the Plunge - Few Questions/Confirmation Needed

    in 9mm/38 Caliber

    Posted · Edited by anonymouscuban

    I've spent the last few months reading on the web and a couple of reloading books, lurking in this forum and talking to a couple of guys that reload to learn as much as I can about reloading. My press and other equipment arrive today. YAY!!! I've been collecting my brass for several months in prep. I am about to place an order for powder, primer and bullets and I just want to make sure I order the right stuff.

     

    I'm looking to make a 9mm Minor PF load that's on the softer side for USPSA. I will be shooting it out of my SP-01 Manual Safety model. I think I've settled on a coated lead bullet.

     

    So here's my plan. Would like some confirmation that I'm headed down the righ path here...

     

    1. Based on what I've read, I am leaning towards 147g projectile. My understanding is that the heavier bullet will produce a softer perceived recoil. Does this make sense or should I go 124g? 
    2. I have a coupon for $25 off BBI so thinking of going with their 147g to take advantage of the savings. I've read that this bullet tends to need a shorter OAL in CZs. Should this be a concern or am I good to go?  
    3. I plan on using Tightgroup for my load. Both for the cost but also there seems to be lots of folks using this successfully with coated lead bullets. 
    4. Primers I'm going with Winchester simply because the 3 guys I know all use them. I have the Pro Package installed on my CZ and have shot at least 6000 factory rounds through it of all the common manufacturers. Should I stick to Federal primers or are Winchester Small Pistol Primers OK?

     

    Again, would appreciate some feedback on the above to make sure I don't buy a bunch of the wrong stuff. Also would be great if you can pass along any golden nuggets of information that you feel would help. 

     

    As always, tons of appreciation for your help. 

    My 2nd Match

    in Video Training Tips

    Posted

     

    Just an A-Class production shooter, but here are some thoughts:

     

    Misses - 99.999999999999999999999999% of the time you should take the makeup*

    Deltas - Rarely (I suppose if your first shot is a Delta and you're dragging your gun into the A-Zone, you might be okay with taking that makeup shot since it's probably only costing you your split time). It's best to just avoid Deltas as much as possible.

    Charlies - Pretty much never

     

    Some competitors can break a stage down and determine the stage hit factor. When you determine that, you consider the amount of time it would take to take a make-up on that Delta and how the points would affect the hit factor. It's kind of tough to do during a stage. 

     

    Here's a vid from some shooters who break it down a bit and give some insight on how the Stage Hit Factor can affect your plan

    [/url]  

     

     

    *There are edge cases where a make-up shot on a miss might be the wrong decision. It's usually at the very end of a stage and involves a standing reload. For example:

    Final array had some hardcover. I buried the very last shot into the black. My slide didn't lock back due to my weak hand resting on on the slide release/lock. Making up that miss (even if it were an alpha) would be detrimental to my HF. Here's why:

     

    Here's the stage as it played out (including a miss)

    Screenshot_20190224-200207.thumb.png.8161801bc92bc0e9b93b1d4e8081ca11.png

     

    Here's what would have happened if I took a makeup on that very last target that I engaged (and re-engaged with no ammo).

    Screenshot_20190224-200213.thumb.png.e3f639ce0f3bceefcf98386282518fda.png

     

    I put a "counter" on that video and estimated that my final time would have been around 25.80 to 26.00 (remember, the last shot I took was buried into the black, I did a weird boogie to the left because I though I missed a shot on paper in the previous array but when I got there it was fine. Finally, I went back to the final array and determined that I would have needed to do a standing reload. I estimate that it would take around 1.25 seconds. The combined time penalty is ~3.65 seconds to replace the miss/penalty with an Alpha.

     

    No Make-up shot on the Miss: 5.9142 HF

    With Make-up shot on the Miss: 5.6589 HF

    [/url]

     

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    Makes sense but I think at this stage in my match shooting, it's a little too abstract for me to consider while I'm running a stage. Who knows, maybe not but I'm still pretty tense when I'm shooting. Have a lot going on in the melon so adding one more factor think about may be too much.

     

    I will try to consider this concept when I'm doing my stage planning. It makes sense that on certain stages, time matters more than points and vice versa. Those longer stages that involve lots of movement, I will have to remind myself that get through it faster with a few more Charlie's will rank better than slowing down to assure alphas.

     

    The part where Stoeger talks about choosing where and how to engage a target depending on the hit factor is something I haven't thought of. It makes sense now. There were a couple of stages where I could have engaged a target from the starting position but this meant a longer shot. I chose to engage later to assure better hits. Once I get my scoring I will do some calcs to see if it would have worked out better if I did shoot them earlier but got charlies.

     

    My 2nd Match

    in Video Training Tips

    Posted

    Curious about the makeup shots. Were they helpful (read: absolutely necessary because you called a miss)?
     
    Much of USPSA is cutting out excess (everything: shots, reloads, movement).
    I had no hits on the make up shots I did on the tuxedo targets. There was one open target where I did a makeup that wasn't necessary in hindsight. I thought I threw a delta but it was a Charlie. Ended up with 2 alphas but not sure it was worth the time I spent.

    This is the kind of stuff I still don't understand. When to spend the extra time to make up a shot I think I threw. I'm guessing if it's a no hit or a mike it's worth it but not to make up a charlie. But what about a delta?

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