Major Loads for non-ported non-comped pistol

[scap99]

I'm posting this in the BEginner's circle, as I haven't been able to find a definite answer on this....

I have an STI Tactical 5.0 9mm, I am loading up some rounds for it as I have already ran through the last thousand of my "powder puff" loads that were pretty snappy in my XDM.

I'm set up for a 1.148 OAL using MG 124gr JHP with N350. I've got some test loads built with 5.2gr, 5.4gr, and 5.7gr of the N350 to run through the Chrony this weekend.

From what I have read, they won't make major, but could I safely shoot major loads from this pistol?

[yoshidaex]

If its built correctly and with the proper recoil spring, it would be safe to shoot but i'm not sure the recoil will be pleasant.

[TMC]

I've shot my 9mm major ammo through my 5" SV many times. I have a 10lb recoil spring in it and the gun can take it fine. But like yoshidaex said its not pleasant, it hits harder than major 40.

[CocoBolo]

I didn't find N350 prticularly suited for 9 mm major. A litle faster powder might work better Silhoutte. The barrel in a 9 major gun is just a ramped and supported bushing barrel with a cone comp. If you don't get too wild you should be ok. When I shot a 40 open I use to shoot the 135gr 1300 fps+ rounds in my CZ TS when I was too lazy to load stuff for limited, they were actually pretty good but that was IMR7625, about the same speed as Silhoutte but the IMR7625 does not work well in 9 major. Your jacked up load would certainly make you slow down if you are shooting too fast. If your 10# has a lot of rounds on it you might want to throw an 11# in there and beat it up for a while then it will be a 10 or less.

One more thing, when you shoot major 9 you don't pickup the brass its pretty well spent, about the 3rd time you reload it bad things start to happen.

[scap99]

Thanks for the very informative responses....

I think, for now, I will not try to make major through this one. However, I do want a hotter load to practice with.

I'll see which of my three test runs feel the best and go from there.

[scap99]

Loaded out to 1.148 with the MG 124jhp's I like the 5.7gr of N350 the best. Still seems light, but I couldn't get that POS Shooting Chrony I bought earlier this month to read worth a damn. I did get some to pop up at 1150, which sounds good, but the rest were reading anywhere from 350 to 2000 fps. The readings were so erratic, I'm not trusting any of them.

[mda]

I couldn't get that POS Shooting Chrony I bought earlier this month to read worth a damn.

Chrony's are very picky with light. Need to have sun directly over sky screens. Early or late in the day and you will be eratic readings if any at all.

MDA

[G-ManBart]

I couldn't get that POS Shooting Chrony I bought earlier this month to read worth a damn.

Chrony's are very picky with light. Need to have sun directly over sky screens. Early or late in the day and you will be eratic readings if any at all.

MDA

I've gotten consistent results with them in both of those conditions, but you do have to make sure the light isn't hitting the sensors from an extreme angle. I've even put up a piece of cardboard to prevent that and they worked fine (consistent with results I've had with the same control load many times previously). R,

[scap99]

I couldn't get that POS Shooting Chrony I bought earlier this month to read worth a damn.

Chrony's are very picky with light. Need to have sun directly over sky screens. Early or late in the day and you will be eratic readings if any at all.

MDA

It was really bright both times, the only thing it seemed to read with any sense of consistency was some .45acp ball loads my buddy had...except when I did the math, he was running a 275 power factor....seems highly unlikely to me, but I could be wrong.

Is it possible to push a 230gr ball damn near 1200 fps out of an XD45?

I considered putting a bullet into it, but that box cost me $120.00, so I got a refund instead.

[scap99]

I couldn't get that POS Shooting Chrony I bought earlier this month to read worth a damn.

Chrony's are very picky with light. Need to have sun directly over sky screens. Early or late in the day and you will be eratic readings if any at all.

MDA

I've gotten consistent results with them in both of those conditions, but you do have to make sure the light isn't hitting the sensors from an extreme angle. I've even put up a piece of cardboard to prevent that and they worked fine (consistent with results I've had with the same control load many times previously). R,

First time I used it, I tried it both with and without the sky screens...no dice.

Second time, I was prepared. Put a bonnet on the whole damn device to keep direct light off the sensors. Had it about 15'-20' away. Had my bullets painted black. Everything I could think of to try...still no dice.

I'll just save up a bit and get a real chrony to try out.

[scap99]

Went to the range today. Shot some of my loads to see how they feel/shoot/feed/extract etc etc.

Took with me the loads sitting on 5.7gr of N350. I really like this load. I don't know how fast it is, but it's gnat's a$$ accurate. Feeds every time, extracts every time. No signs of over pressure, cases aren't scalding hot when you pick em up like with the Bullseye loads. Lots of good reasons to keep shooting this load.

The other load I had with me was sitting on 8.4 grains of AA#7. This was an intentional hot load, but holy crap was it brutal. I was getting where I was staring to enjoy the boom and extra recoil, but the gun just didn't want to feed these loads. I had to use the thumb of my support hand to get the slide moved completely into battery about 10-15 out of 100, and about 10 times, I had to actually pull the slide back and let it go to stip the next round because the round was not feeding. Even with the FTF problems, I had very similar accuracy as the N350 loads.

The only change was the powder, I didn't touch anything else on the machine. The N350 loads were flawless and the AA#7 rounds were sh!tty.

[caz41]

What is your reason for wanting to get the 9mm up to major PF with this gun?

[scap99]

No reason, just curious what it feels like.