Ssanders224 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Hey guys, So, I bought a press, ordered a couple of different bullets, some powders, and primers, now I'm trying to figure out how to put them all together! Ha I ordered/have: 500 Velocity Bullet 125grn. LRN 500 Moly Precision bullet 125grn FP Unique powder Universal powder CCI primers And might order some Solo 1000 SO, Ive read and researched a lot of data on the powders, but I'd like to hear from some of you that have some real life experience with these components. Also, if published data gives me an OAL for LRN or LCN and not FP, or vise versa, how do I know what OAL length to load the different bullets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdm74 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I would just pick one of the powders. find the data from the powders website with one of the bullet weights you have and start working up a load. Start with the low end of suggested grains and work your way up to the mid range area. Then go test those out and go from there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ssanders224 Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 Thanks, I believe I am going to start with the Unique and Velocity 125grn LRN, and see what I get. Anyone have any other suggestions??? OR input on the OALs? That one part that is stumping me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLSlim Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 OAL is bullet and gun dependent. Your best best is to load up some dummy rounds (no primer or powder) and, with the barrel removed, drop one in the chamber. It should go "plunk" and the case should be at or just below the barrel hood. Most everything I load in the 9mm (125 and 147 gr) tends to be between 1.1 and 1.15 but your 125 gr LRN could require a shorter or allow a longer OAL. Hodgden shows their 125 LRN loads at 1.125" FWIW. Unique is a good powder to start with; go with the start load until you are comfortable with your gear and the reloading process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ssanders224 Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 Thanks for the info, My thought right now is to start with the 125 LRN, about 4.5grns of Unique, and start at 1.15 OAL ( if it does not touch the lands ) How do I know what OAL to start the 125 FP at if I want to keep the same powder charge/ velocity? The fact that it is FP changes the OAL measurement a lot does it not? BTW, I'm trying to just make Minor by a comfortable margin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 How do I know what OAL to start the 125 FP at if I want to keep the same powder charge/ velocity? I'm trying to make Minor by a comfortable margin. Ssanders, you really need access to a chronograph to measure the velocity of your loads - it varies from gun to gun. You can get a Chrony for $70. Good luck, Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ssanders224 Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 Getting access to a chrono is not a problem. I'm just trying to get some good loads made up before I actually shoot them. I don't want to load anything unsafe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomicbrh Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 (edited) Guys, Ssanders224 may be a neophyte at reloading but he can definitely run a Single stack. Did you like my 9 mmm load that Joel brought to the back 40 a couple of weeks ago? That was: Montana Gold CMJ 147 grain bullets Titegroup 3.1 grains(Upped that to 3.2 grains this week to make sure I meet PF) OAL 1.120" Winchester primers. Barely above 125 PF in my Shadow. You may want a flatter trajectory since you ordered the 125 grains. Bobby Edited January 5, 2012 by atomicbrh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ssanders224 Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 Thanks for the reply Bobby, Yea, those loads shot really well. They were very soft in my STI, but honestly, they felt a LITTLE sluggish compared to the snappy 115grn factory loads I've been running. I may very well end up liking that feeling, but right now I'm compromising with the 125grn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tac_driver Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 this is just me but if I was just starting out over again I would get 100 of each 9mm 115gr. 124gr. 147gr. lead or jacketed(easier to work with). 1 lb of unique(doesn't meter that great but you can easily spot a double charge). A box of factory rounds of each bullet weight and see how they run. Then take the measurements OAL, crimp chrono readings on the factory rounds and use that as my baseline. Then work up a recipe with the Unique in .2 gr. increments. Whatever felt best and the most accurate at 25 yds. I would persue further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cy Soto Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 And might order some Solo 1000 Save your money... Solo 1000 works well with 135gr & 147gr bullets but it doesn't group worth a darn with 124/125gr bullets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sroe3 Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) I shoot Precision moly, 9/125fp with 4g Universal at 1.105. Cycles the XD and FNP perfectly but I haven't chrono'd it, just shooting steel this winter. Precisions shape can require a shorter OAL than most. Universal burns cleaner with pressure. If it smokes or your brass looks dirty bump it up. MFG web data: 3.8-4.3 at 1.125 Edited January 7, 2012 by sroe3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ssanders224 Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 thanks for the replies, Is Universal an all around good 9mm powder? relatively clean? A fellow shooter is going to give me a good deal on some if I want it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atbarr Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 And might order some Solo 1000 Save your money... Solo 1000 works well with 135gr & 147gr bullets but it doesn't group worth a darn with 124/125gr bullets. 5.1 gr at 1.40 with 124 g MG Bullets are a sweet low recoil load, with a 130 PF out of my 5" pro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cy Soto Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 5.1 gr at 1.40 with 124 g MG Bullets are a sweet low recoil load, with a 130 PF out of my 5" pro. To make Minor with Solo 1000 and 124gr bullets you need to load above Accurate's recommended load. Your load is almost one whole grain above what Accurate recommends for 124gr bullets!! I reloaded up to 4.4gr (two decimals above data) of S1000 with Zero 124's and, even though the recoil impulse felt OK, the 25yd groups were not all that great so I didn't even bother to chronograph it. My best groups were about 4" which is really marginal. 3.6gr of Solo with 147gr grouped much better and was still within Accurate's recommended load. Said load easily made Minor out of a G34. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sroe3 Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Shooting lead and moly you'll always get smoke. Universal is a slower powder recommended by Precision for moly. It was more smokey at lower pressure and cleaned up as I increased pressure. Recoil is mild compared to factory. Again, I haven't chrono'd yet. MFG data suggests my load is 130 PF but I'm loading shorter than spec due to bullet shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atbarr Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) 5.1 gr at 1.40 with 124 g MG Bullets are a sweet low recoil load, with a 130 PF out of my 5" pro. To make Minor with Solo 1000 and 124gr bullets you need to load above Accurate's recommended load. Your load is almost one whole grain above what Accurate recommends for 124gr bullets!! I reloaded up to 4.4gr (two decimals above data) of S1000 with Zero 124's and, even though the recoil impulse felt OK, the 25yd groups were not all that great so I didn't even bother to chronograph it. My best groups were about 4" which is really marginal. 3.6gr of Solo with 147gr grouped much better and was still within Accurate's recommended load. Said load easily made Minor out of a G34. I've shot this load (5.1 gr at 1.40 with 124 g MG Bullets) for over three years, with a safe PF of 130. When you used 4.4 gr, what was your PF? Also, does any of Accurate's recommended loads make PF? Too many attorneys! Edited January 7, 2012 by atbarr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cy Soto Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 I've shot this load (5.1 gr at 1.40 with 124 g MG Bullets) for over three years, with a safe PF of 130. When you used 4.4 gr, what was your PF? Also, does any of Accurate's recommended loads make PF? Too many attorneys! Don't confuse PF with CUP's. Even if the speed of your loaded rounds is only enough to make 130PF, your ammo may be above what is considered 'safe max' for 9mm which is a little bit over 34,000 psi. Also remember that chamber pressures does not increase linearly with the addition of powder. At one point, you will not gain any more velocity but your pressure continues increase. It's an exponential relationship. I don't contest the fact that a legal team may have had some input on the numbers that Accurate publishes. Like I said, I went two tenth's over their published data but I would have never considered increasing the load by a whole grain. There are many powders available that will produce the results you are looking to achieve and do so safely. I see no good reason to tempt faith to prove that Accurate's lawyers are wrong. Like I said, in my original reply, since I couldn't achieve a group better than 4" at 25 yards, I saw no good reason to chrono this load. I did run some tests with bare lead bullets and with those, I needed 4.2gr of Solo 1000 to get PF of 125. So to answer your question, "Yes" you can make PF with Accurate's published data as long as you use 147gr bullets. Like I mentioned before, 3.6gr of S1000 behind a 147gr bullet is a great Minor load. For those who want to shoot 124gr bullets (and do so safely) there are many other powder choices available that are both accurate and within safe pressure margins. Solo 100 is not one of those powders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) And might order some Solo 1000 Save your money... Solo 1000 works well with 135gr & 147gr bullets but it doesn't group worth a darn with 124/125gr bullets. 5.1 gr at 1.40 with 124 g MG Bullets are a sweet low recoil load, with a 130 PF out of my 5" pro. A.T. I only loaded with S1k for a few months but I don't remember it being that high to make PF. I think I was running 147 moly's out of my Pro and was getting 130+PF with 3.6-3.8. I would think 4.2-4.4 range would be more like it. 5.1? wow! Did you try anything less before you jumped that high. You may have reached the max potential with the powder bullet combo as far as velocity way before 5.1 and now all that is increasing is pressure? Edited January 7, 2012 by Sarge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atbarr Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 A.T. I only loaded with S1k for a few months but I don't remember it being that high to make PF. I think I was running 147 moly's out of my Pro and was getting 130+PF with 3.6-3.8. I would think 4.2-4.4 range would be more like it. 5.1? wow! Did you try anything less before you jumped that high. You may have reached the max potential with the powder bullet combo as far as velocity way before 5.1 and now all that is increasing is pressure? Yes, I started around 4.3 gr. With 5.1 gr, there is absolutely no flattening of the primers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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