Rookie Reloading Avice Needed

[LESSOR2]

Been shooting USPSA since Sept and loving it. I shoot a box stock Glock 17. Bought a D550 and been reloading about 3 month now. I first started with Tight Group 3.9 and Berry's 115 TMJs. Seemed to shoot fine. I the went through 4000 Speer TMJ 115s and switched to 4.3g HP-38. Seemed fine. I now have 3000 Precision Delta 115 FMJs and am loading HP-38 @ 4.3 and seems OK except I get a stove pipe once in a while and wonder if the gun is cycling fully. I have never cronoed my rounds. I use Federal or CCI Small Pistol Primers depending on what Cabelas has on sale. My main question is about 115 vs 124 vs 147 vs FMJ vs JHP etc... Seems to be a lot of various opinion when I ask guys at the shooting club. Some swear by 124s and others by 147 and FMJ vs JHP seems like a big argument ensues. In short, I am at the point where my skills have developed to the point that I want to maximize my ammo and reloading but I really don't know which grain and type of bullet is the best for me. I still have 5lbs of HP-38 so I would like to stay with that and use it up unless it is totally a bad thing for this application. Any help and guidance is greatly appreciated. I hope I have provided enough info here, if not let me know what else I need to fill in the blanks (no pun intended)

Merry Christmas

Brent

[acekc]

Some people find that JHP are noticeably more accurate than FMJ; additionally JHP does not have exposed lead at the bottom of the bullet while FMJ does. Of course, Montana Gold makes CMJ which is a FMJ with the bottom lead covered. If you're not talking about an Open gun, the bullet weight issue seems to be a matter of personal preference. Some people prefer the "push" of a heavier bullet at lower velocity to the "snap" of a lighter bullet at higher velocity. Others are annoyed by the heavier bullets because they feel like they're waiting for the slide to cycle. I would suggest purchasing a small quantity of 115, 124 and 147 and see what you prefer in your gun.

According to Hodgdon's web site the minimum for a 115 jacketed bullet is 4.7 grains of HP-38, which may explain your stovepipes. You might try kicking the charge up by a tenth or two to see if the problem goes away. I'm not familiar with H-38 but it appears that it's better for lighter weight bullets, so if you do decide to experiment with 147gr you may have to use a different powder to do so.

Incidentally it appears that H-38 is the same as Win 231, so you should be able to interchange load data between the two. I'm extremely cautious or even skeptical when told that two powders are "the same" but if you pull up load data on Hodgdon's web site for H-38 and Win 231, the min and max charge values and even the velocities are exactly the same. If the manufacturer of both powders presents identical load data for each it's a good indication that it's the same stuff. You can always call Hodgdon if you're not sure.

I would encourage you to purchase a chrono. I can't describe how much more informed you'll be in what your rounds are doing when you can see the velocities they produce, and it makes loading to a particular power factor in a particular gun a matter of simple experimentation instead of a guess.

[jar]

I'd suggest borrowing a chrono to see where your velocity is relative to the min power factor and tweaking from there. If you have a bunch of local shooters shooting different things, maybe ask to buy 50 or 100 bullets from each of them to play with. Or you could ask to shoot a few rounds of their load to see what they feel like.

I tried some different loads and found that i liked the feel of 147s.

Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk

[FLSlim]

Sounds like you are having fun, keep at it. I agree that your load could be just a bit on the light side, causing the occasional stovepipe. Even though it sounds like the Speer ran okay with the same powder charge, if the density, bearing surface, and other factors differ with the PD, that could impact function. Nothing wrong with HP38/231 IMO, if you are happy with it, keep using it. I've moved from 124 gr bullets to 147. I like the way the 147s feel (BB lead and JHP) and in my gun they are more accurate than the 124 loads I was using.

[mlmiller1]

The Precision Delta is a FMJ bullet which is much harder than the plated bullets you have been using(Berry's & Speer are plated) so it takes more powder to get the same velocity for the same weight bullet with the same powder. When the round fires, the blast forces the bullet into the riflings but it also makes it "swell" or "seal" or technical term-- obturate -- to the barrel, sealing off the gases so they push the bullet instead of blowing past it. The plated bullets being softer(much like a lead bullet), obturate with less pressure than the much harder FMJ bullets.

Recoil is VERY subjective so like the other guys said, beg, borrow or steal a chrono plus try some other guys rounds. Also, as your skill level changes, you may find what works for you changes somewhat.

One more thing, if you borrow a chrono, pay very close attention. The first chrono I borrowed I wound up buying from my friend because I shot it. I was able to tape, glue, rig it back together where it worked, then I loaned it to a friend & he wound up buying me a new chrono. He was able to put it back together with lots more tape, etc to where it worked until he shot it again!!!!! hahaha.

MLM

[Lee G]

I've shot a few thousand with HP38 and PD 115gr. At 4.3gr of HP38 you are well below the suggested starting load. According to Hodgon's website 4.7 is the starting load. I ran them over 4.9gr at 1.150 OAL

I never chrono'd the load, but if I had to guess I don't think it made PF at that OAL.

[burket]

I am not much help with 115 gr bullets.

I use MG 124 JHP (9MM) using HP38 (Win 231) 4.4gr with an OAL between 1.125 and 1.135. I have Chrono'd these during the summer, and hit 130PF with NO problems. Like I said, though, I am using 124 JHP. I've had good enough results (also shooting USPSA) that I have not tried anything else. The weapon(s) (Glock 17 and Glock 34) shoots better than I do, so far!

These were suggested (for my G17 and G34) by my Brother-In-Law (Tony Hawkins) who is an armorer, and has been shooting USPSA for more than 15 years. He is a Master in several classes.

Wish you the best.

Tim

[DavidG34]

I use tight group but when i was having trouble getting it i tried HP-38 with MG 124grn cmj's. I don't remember the exact velocities but i was making power factor with 4.4 grns @ 1.140 oal in a G34. It worked fine but will stick with Tight Group.

[Hi-Power Jack]

Some people find that JHP are noticeably more accurate than FMJ;

the bullet weight issue seems to be a matter of personal preference. Some prefer the "push" of a heavier bullet at lower velocity to the "snap" of a lighter bullet at higher velocity. Others are annoyed by the heavier bullets because they feel like they're waiting for the slide to cycle. I would suggest purchasing a small quantity of 115, 124 and 147 and see what you prefer in your gun.

According to Hodgdon's web site the minimum for a 115 jacketed bullet is 4.7 grains of HP-38, which may explain your stovepipes. You might try kicking the charge up by a tenth or two to see if the problem goes away.

I would encourage you to purchase a chrono.

+1. Except, the HP-38 (WW231) is fine for the 147 gr bullets - very nice as a matter of fact:)

Jack

[LESSOR2]

Thanks everyone. I learned a lot from the replies. I am a new member of a local USPSA oriented pistol club (just got my USPSA membership card in the mail)and I know there is a club crono available. I will definitely experiment with different weights and charges and use the crono to shorten the learning curve as suggested. The club runs a 3 stage practice/fun shoot every Thursday night so I will have ample opportunity to work the bugs out of myself and my reloads. Thanks again all!

Brent

[LESSOR2]

WOW!!! I went from 4.3 HP-38 to 4.7 and all my Glocks performed flawlessly. I shot a USPSA Fun Match Thursday and had no malfunctions. My G19 Performed perfectly in PPC. Thanks Again.