Looking for a bit of advise on a 9mm load thats giving me issues.

[leewongfei]

I have not been reloading as long as other folks on this forum, but I ran into an interesting issue i am looking to get resolved.

I have been loading 4.5gr of w231/HP38 with a 124gr plated 9mm projectile and an OAL of 1.125. At 25 feet, its pretty damn accurate. Anything outside of that it opens right up. I load 4.7gr of Unique with the exact projectile and AOL and its a solid load well beyond 50ft.I shoot them out of a CZ SP01.

My question is, is W231/HP38 accurate for longer distance shooting? Could the charge be a bit much? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-Lee

[Dr. Phil]

You will probably find a load that the gun likes in particular. A little experimentation... I shoot 135gr plated at 3.7gr Win 231 out of a 6" gun. They run 930fps - 950ish. OAL is 1.100 - 1.125. I have shot tons of 125gr plated and lead at 4.0gr 231. Nice load. All are accurate at Steel Challenge ranges. Good luck.

[GOF]

231/HP38 is an accurate powder. The powder itself should not open groups. Check your crimp, check your OAL. check your bench rest technique. I can't imagine the powder being an issue here. The is something else going on.

[noylj]

Have you worked up the load and this is the most accurate 231/HP38 load you found?

For whatever reason, I find that in terms of accuracy, 9x19 needs a slower powder than 231/HP38 for accuracy. Best I have found is Power Pistol, followed by Silhouette.

Shooting up close hides many problems. I shoot pistols at 25 to 50 yards for accuracy.

Next, I have NOT found a single plated bullet that meets my accuracy goals (<2" at 25 yards). Buy some Zero or Precision Delta jacketed bullets and find out how accurate your gun can be. If that is too much money, I find that most cast lead bullets are more accurate than plated and you could look at Penn's 115gn L-SWC. In between in cost would be the coated bullets from Precision Bullets--swaged for consistent weight and dimensions and very accurate

[himurax13]

With the exception of Berry's plated bullets, I don't like them at all. I generally stick to pure lead alloy, Bear Creek Moly, and FMJ, especially in 9mm.

With a 124g bullet, you should be roughly in the 3.8g to 4.1g area win Win 231/Hp38 to make a PF of 130 which should work really well. Like GOF stated, your issue is probably too much crimp or your OAL. What profile is the bullet in question?

[leewongfei]

With the exception of Berry's plated bullets, I don't like them at all. I generally stick to pure lead alloy, Bear Creek Moly, and FMJ, especially in 9mm.

With a 124g bullet, you should be roughly in the 3.8g to 4.1g area win Win 231/Hp38 to make a PF of 130 which should work really well. Like GOF stated, your issue is probably too much crimp or your OAL. What profile is the bullet in question?

Its an Xtreme 124gr rn. The crimp is perfect. I may be over charging the using 4.5gr on powder.

I just ordered a case of bayou bullets 9mm 124 gr RN, i hope to have better luck with those.

[rdinga]

Thinking you will have great results with the bayou bullets. You might want to some Zero 124 FMJ bullets too.

[himurax13]

With the exception of Berry's plated bullets, I don't like them at all. I generally stick to pure lead alloy, Bear Creek Moly, and FMJ, especially in 9mm.

With a 124g bullet, you should be roughly in the 3.8g to 4.1g area win Win 231/Hp38 to make a PF of 130 which should work really well. Like GOF stated, your issue is probably too much crimp or your OAL. What profile is the bullet in question?

Its an Xtreme 124gr rn. The crimp is perfect. I may be over charging the using 4.5gr on powder.

I just ordered a case of bayou bullets 9mm 124 gr RN, i hope to have better luck with those.

How are you verifying that your crimp is perfect?

4.5g is probably exceeding the book pressures for that load.

What OAL are you using?

Are you chronographing these loads and looking at the primers afterwards?

[leewongfei]

With the exception of Berry's plated bullets, I don't like them at all. I generally stick to pure lead alloy, Bear Creek Moly, and FMJ, especially in 9mm.

With a 124g bullet, you should be roughly in the 3.8g to 4.1g area win Win 231/Hp38 to make a PF of 130 which should work really well. Like GOF stated, your issue is probably too much crimp or your OAL. What profile is the bullet in question?

Its an Xtreme 124gr rn. The crimp is perfect. I may be over charging the using 4.5gr on powder.

I just ordered a case of bayou bullets 9mm 124 gr RN, i hope to have better luck with those.

How are you verifying that your crimp is perfect?

4.5g is probably exceeding the book pressures for that load.

What OAL are you using?

Are you chronographing these loads and looking at the primers afterwards?

Sorry for the late response, we had a pretty nasty storm here in the north east.

To verify my crimp, i pulled at least 20 rounds to check the bullet for any visible signs on a heavy crimp. I have a very, and i mean extremely faint line going around the bullet. To see it, i have to shine a light on it. Honestly, the line is more faint than the factory machining marks left on the plating.

I load all my 9mm to 1.125-1.129 OAL for all my 9mm.

I ran a chrono when setting up the load. Initially i used Montana gold projectiles at the time, so i am pretty sure the grouping issue is due to the amount of powder. My chrono has since been destroyed. Ill probably pick up another at the next gun show in my area. I hate buying online and getting over charged for a chrono.

[DougCarden]

4.0 231 with a 115 jhp at 1.120 oal is a 115 pf load that will go through the same hole at 35yds with a good 1911 barrel. It is the bullet you are using...

DougC

[theslasher]

Hp38/231 never was that great for me in 9mm. Tried 4.4 of titegroup behind an xtreme 115 and havent changed my load in years

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gregshin]

My load for 124 gr plated with hp38 and win 232 was 4.2 gr at 1.130oal

[himurax13]

With the exception of Berry's plated bullets, I don't like them at all. I generally stick to pure lead alloy, Bear Creek Moly, and FMJ, especially in 9mm.

With a 124g bullet, you should be roughly in the 3.8g to 4.1g area win Win 231/Hp38 to make a PF of 130 which should work really well. Like GOF stated, your issue is probably too much crimp or your OAL. What profile is the bullet in question?

Its an Xtreme 124gr rn. The crimp is perfect. I may be over charging the using 4.5gr on powder.

I just ordered a case of bayou bullets 9mm 124 gr RN, i hope to have better luck with those.

How are you verifying that your crimp is perfect?

4.5g is probably exceeding the book pressures for that load.

What OAL are you using?

Are you chronographing these loads and looking at the primers afterwards?

Sorry for the late response, we had a pretty nasty storm here in the north east.

To verify my crimp, i pulled at least 20 rounds to check the bullet for any visible signs on a heavy crimp. I have a very, and i mean extremely faint line going around the bullet. To see it, i have to shine a light on it. Honestly, the line is more faint than the factory machining marks left on the plating.

I load all my 9mm to 1.125-1.129 OAL for all my 9mm.

I ran a chrono when setting up the load. Initially i used Montana gold projectiles at the time, so i am pretty sure the grouping issue is due to the amount of powder. My chrono has since been destroyed. Ill probably pick up another at the next gun show in my area. I hate buying online and getting over charged for a chrono.

Well you can buy a ProChrono on Amazon prime for under $100.

Are you weighing how much powder you are throwing? I usually prime the powder thrower a few times before I weigh 6 charges or so to see if I have a variation of .2g or less. If that checks out, then I go ahead and make a few hundred rounds. I had the little plastic square piece that moves the powder bar back and forth fall off once and it was making my powder throws inconsistent. The only thing you can do is to eliminate every variable.

Another thing you can do is to simply change out the bullets you are using. With the exception of Berry's bullets, I typically don't care for the plated stuff.

Edited January 28, 2015 by himurax13