124 gr SNS cast bullet help

[Straightshooter65]

Hi all

I am new here and new to USPSA.I just want to say this is an incredible site!!

OK my problem. I am not new to reloading. I have been doing it for several years. I have run into a problem with COAL.

I have loaded Berry's Plated bullets to an OAL of approx. 1.135 in my Springfield XD Tactical 9MM. They shot great. I chamber check every round in the barrel to make sure it fits.

I ordered 2000 SNS Casting 124 gr RN Bullets. This particular bullet seems to carry the. 356 diameter all the way up until the Ogive/where the bullet tapers down. There is no step down on the bearing surface like on some bullets. I have to make the cartridge OAL 1.045 or less to get them to seat properly in the barrel. This seems extremely short to me. I have another XD and checked it as well and it is pretty close to the same.

Does that OAL seem short to you guys? Has anybody else had this problem? I am definitely going to back off my powder charge significantly before I even attempt to fire one of these. I am using 3.8 grns of Titegroup.

Thanks in advance.

Bill Martin

Wisconsin

[ProGunGuy]

I looked up the bullet you are using and its the roundness that is the problem. the shape of the bullets make it so you have to load them deeper. they make a 125gr one that looks better.

i have loaded flat points that short before

i would back off the charge and start from the beginning with the shorter OAL. After you burn them up, go for the more pointy ones

[LikesToShoot]

Bill, Good job catching that important detail.

Here's a current thread related to what you've discovered. Message #5 has come really helpful info.

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=169582

[Justsomeguy]

I think you will find you need to start about .3grn lighter in the powder for that OAL to produce about the same pressure as the previous bullet/OAL combination. Bullet shape, as you have found, is always a factor in determining OAL. Like ProGunGuy said, they have another "pointier" bullet which you may find more suitable if these prove to be inacurate or too short for feeding purposes, though they are used quite a bit with success by other shooters. Try them and see after you reduced your loads accordingly.

[kellymc]

Thanks for this post. Now I know why my SNS bullets quit working at 1.100 in my CZ. I didn't realize I had bought 124gr. The 125 gr were what I meant to buy. Defferenly will make a big difference in some guns.

[Straightshooter65]

Thanks for all the replies. I did look at the SNS website and realized I bought the wrong bullets. The 125s are definitely very similar to what I normally load I will work with these and shoot them up.

I was going to drop down to about 3.3 and see what happens and work from there. I will take the chronograph along and see what I am getting for velocity.

I appreciate the help and if anyone else has any ideas I would have like to hear them.

Bill

[jayhkr]

Hey guys, just ran across this post. What were the results of everything. This is my first time reloading and I'm having a heck of a time with these bullets, but I'm pretty sure the ARE the 125gr. They seat ok at 1.125 in my glock 9mm, but don't twist nor just fall out on their own. I won't lie, I'm getting frustrated as I've been at this for 2 full days getting the SDB setup and bullets to spec.

[LikesToShoot]

What I've done to determine COL for my guns and barrels is to make a COL test case.

I seated a bullet in a resized case then used a dremmel to cut slits in opposite side to allow easy movement of the bullet. Then I used an impact bullet puller to knock out and discard the bullet used for making this test case.

Whenever I try a new bullet in whatever barrel I plan to use it in I place the new bullet in this case. I then installed this into my chamber until it's flush with the hood of my barrel. Next I pry this out and measure COL. Once I have this I drop another .005" off that reading and load one round with a fresh resized case. NO PRIMER, NO POWDER, then SEAT BULLET, and finish with a Lee Factory Crimp Die (adjusted ONLY to remove the bell from the powder funnel). I then drop this into the chamber to see if it fits correctly.

If OK, I make sure it fits my mag. If it's shorter than the load book spec due to it's profile I drop my starting load down and work my way up.

(I once bought a bunch of bullets at a bargain price only to find out that the profile was such that I needed to load them at 1.085" or re-cut the chamber, I loaded them short and safe at 130PF).

Your mileage may very.