Newbie in Louisiana

[ChemistShooter]

I bought a 550B from Mr. Enos after sorta-halfway-accidentally stumbling into shooting and discovering I liked it. I bought most of his the-way-it-oughta-be recommendations and can endorse doing it his way, although I have not yet reloaded the first round.

I am a chemist and have a very, very healthy respect for chemicals that can suddenly go BANG! So I am gently, gently working my way up to reloadng. I have three reloading manuals---Hornady, Speer, and Lyman--and reading all three. I really like the Speer for its detail, particularly the chapter on safety.

I own a 9-mm XDM 3.8 full-size. I am reloading to save money, although I read I may be able to achieve better accuracy with a custom reload. This seems a little doubtful with a handgun but we'll see. I may dabble a little in IDPA when I feel proficient enough. I shoot a hundred rounds a week plus I do dry-fire practice at home. (Handguns are dangerous. You can't just own one. You must practice constantly.)

I am trolling the forums to pick up what information I can. Which is considerable, it would appear, I have wound up with 8 pounds of Hodgdon TiteGroup and 3,000 Hornady 115 gr FMJ RN bullets and need to work up a load. The Hornady manual doesn't mention TiteGroup, alas, but I have found some reference to it here. It would appear 4.0 grains would be a good starting load. Weird how Hornady doesn't mention it.

I may post the very odd question from time to time. Please put up with the newbie.

Y'all have a good one.

[Hi-Power Jack]

Welcome aboard.

Always nice to have a chemist on-board.

Sounds like you've got a Great Start on your shooting/reloading career, and YES,

reading the old postings can give you a real great head start (kudos for actually

reading some of the past posts).

After you've fired off most of your 3,000 115 gr bullets, you might want to experiment

with 124's or even 147's - lot of people prefer the softer push of the heavier bullets.

And, a chrono (for $70) isn't a real bad thing to have - tells you how fast the bullets

are going, which is GREAT info for someone with a scientific background.

You might check out www.uspsa.org - see what's shooting around your neighborhood.

And, a tip - USPSA is a LOT MORE FUN than IDPA.

[Sarge]

Along with heavier bullets you can certainly get much cheaper bullets than Hornady. Get some 124/125 BBI's or XTREMES.

[ChemistShooter]

I am flexible and will certainly check it out. It'll be a while before I'm comfortable enough, though.

I had the same thought. 115gr is what I know, but after I get comfortable, I'll try some heavier bullets.

I'm rapidly learning the slang but still don't quite have it all down, I'm afraid. 124/125 refers to weight in grains but the BBI and XTREMES have lost me. I'm certainly interested in cheaper bullets.

Thanks for the recommendations.

[Hi-Power Jack]

Yes, 115, 124 and 147 refers to the weight of the bullet, in grains. Most shooters start out using 115's since an awful lot of

inexpensive ammo is 115 grain bullets.

Most shooters find out that the feel of the recoil with a heavier bullet is actually personally preferred over the 115 bullets -

i.e. most people prefer to shoot a 124 or 147 gr bullet - it just feels better, and lighter.

BBI and XTREMES are two of the many companies that manufacture bullets that are MUCH cheaper than Hornady.

You might get a kick out of searching the archives here at BE = click on Forums (top left of your screen), and scroll

down to "Reloading", and then to "9mm". You can spend a half hour reading up on all aspects of reloading for the

9mm.

You will want to read about 9mm MINOR as opposed to 9mm MAJOR - your gun shoots 9mm MINOR - that is

loads that are near factory rounds (about PF 125 - 140). 9mm MAJOR is for OPEN guns that shoot about a

PF of 165+ - not recommended for your XdM.

Good luck with it - and have fun.

[ChemistShooter]

Got it, thanks.

[BARRYJ]

What part of Louisiana?

Edited December 20, 2015 by BARRYJ

[K31Scout]

Welcome! I'm new here too. Along with your load manuals you can check out Hodgdon's data online and or bullet manufacturers data. Sometimes the data conflicts source to source.

Hodgdon suggests starting at 4.5grs of Titegroup with a Speer Gold Dot hollow point with a max load of 4,8grs. That's the only bullet they list for the 9mm with Titegroup and a different bullet might have different data. So the difference between min and max is 3/10ths of 1 grain. There is danger of loading below minimum as well as above.

The point is to compile data for the bullet as well as the powder. With you're background I'm sure you'll do fine.

[ChemistShooter]

What part of Louisiana?

Baton Rouge

[BARRYJ]

There is a USPSA match every month in Gonzales. USPSA, steel and IDPA every month in Thibodaux, and a bunch of different matches in Amite. http://www.lagator.org/CASClubpage.html

[ChemistShooter]

Welcome! I'm new here too. Along with your load manuals you can check out Hodgdon's data online and or bullet manufacturers data. Sometimes the data conflicts source to source.

Hodgdon suggests starting at 4.5grs of Titegroup with a Speer Gold Dot hollow point with a max load of 4,8grs. That's the only bullet they list for the 9mm with Titegroup and a different bullet might have different data. So the difference between min and max is 3/10ths of 1 grain. There is danger of loading below minimum as well as above.

The point is to compile data for the bullet as well as the powder. With you're background I'm sure you'll do fine.

Done that, can't find too much.

Yeah, my manuals inform me too little can be as dangerous as too much. Not pushing the bullet out of the barrel, for example, and the next bullet smacks into it, creating very high pressure behind it.

Note to self: First round at low end: Load only ONE round at a time and check down the barrel after shooting each round to make sure the bullet's out.

[Hi-Power Jack]

start at 4.5grs of Titegroup with a max load of 4,8grs.

check down the barrel after shooting each round to make sure the bullet's out.

Best way to check down the barrel is to drop a pencil into the bore - make sure

it's long enough to hit the breech face.

[ChemistShooter]

There is a USPSA match every month in Gonzales. USPSA, steel and IDPA every month in Thibodaux, and a bunch of different matches in Amite. http://www.lagator.org/CASClubpage.html

And I went looking for local matches and couldn't find anything anywhere.

Link saved. Maybe in March or April when I've got the re-loading thing down . . .

[ChemistShooter]

start at 4.5grs of Titegroup with a max load of 4,8grs.

check down the barrel after shooting each round to make sure the bullet's out.

Best way to check down the barrel is to drop a pencil into the bore - make sure

it's long enough to hit the breech face.

Filed away for future use.

Edited December 21, 2015 by ChemistShooter

[pbairborne]

I saw your screen name and had to reply. I'm a chemist, too. Retired, but still consulting. Anyway, if you like experimental work, you're going to love reloading. As one of the posters suggested, a chrono is a great investment. Without one all you'll know is if the bullet left the barrel or not. I hope that you are able to try out a match or two. There are great people out there shooting and they are more than willing to share experience and expertise with you.

Bill

[ChemistShooter]

I am an analytical environmental chemist. I have been cleaning my brass at work with the ultrasonic cleaner. (I might be able to make a contribution or two here when it comes to sonicating brass or using balances.) I have two four-place analytical balances I can use if I need, too. Not gonna have a problem weighing small amounts of chemicals or working with a balance.

Worked in a machine shop, too, and actually have access to micrometer, a lathe, a drill press, and a milling machines if necessary.

The COL thing I'm working on. Can't even find the dimensions of my barrel to get throat length but have discovered I can make a Cerrosafe casting and just measure it, which is probably best for the long run.

[K31Scout]

Now don't you two mad scientists try combining powders; resist the urge!

Edited December 21, 2015 by K31Scout

[ChemistShooter]

Don't worry about it. Not gonna happen.

[RippinSVT]

Also a chemist and shooter here. I've got a lot of experience in handloading very accurate 9mm. Given you can get it to cycle reliably, which usually isn't a problem, 3.5-3.7gr of Titegroup works well with 115's and shoots very soft. I shoot 3.7gr with a Hornady XTP or HAP, loaded as long as possible, usually 1.13" or so OAL. This load will print 3" at 50 yards for 6 shots from my Glock 34, and 1.5" from my STI Targetmaster 1911. Don't underestimate the importance of OAL in a pistol, you can see huge accuracy differences. Good luck!

Edited December 23, 2015 by RippinSVT

[ChemistShooter]

Also a chemist and shooter here. I've got a lot of experience in handloading very accurate 9mm. Given you can get it to cycle reliably, which usually isn't a problem, 3.5-3.7gr of Titegroup works well with 115's and shoots very soft. I shoot 3.7gr with a Hornady XTP or HAP, loaded as long as possible, usually 1.13" or so OAL. This load will print 3" at 50 yards for 6 shots from my Glock 34, and 1.5" from my STI Targetmaster 1911. Don't underestimate the importance of OAL in a pistol, you can see huge accuracy differences. Good luck!

This is good stuff. Thanks.

I measured 50 rounds of the the factory Blazer 9mm I"m shooting at the moment. Averaged out 1.146", SD .002".

[johnsons1480]

Also a chemist and shooter here. I've got a lot of experience in handloading very accurate 9mm. Given you can get it to cycle reliably, which usually isn't a problem, 3.5-3.7gr of Titegroup works well with 115's and shoots very soft. I shoot 3.7gr with a Hornady XTP or HAP, loaded as long as possible, usually 1.13" or so OAL. This load will print 3" at 50 yards for 6 shots from my Glock 34, and 1.5" from my STI Targetmaster 1911. Don't underestimate the importance of OAL in a pistol, you can see huge accuracy differences. Good luck!

This is good stuff. Thanks.

I measured 50 rounds of the the factory Blazer 9mm I"m shooting at the moment. Averaged out 1.146", SD .002".

Welcome to the forum! I'm originally from Eunice, LA, so not too far down the road from you.

The needed OAL of the cartridge will depend on your barrel, bullet profile, and magazines. I've never owned an XDM, but I haven't seen any complaints about short chambers like I see with CZs. You're going to want to make some dummy rounds (no powder or primer) to figure out your max OAL. SAMMI spec 9mm is 1.169" max, which probably won't be achievable with your gun because of either magazine or barrel limitations. The minimum is 1.000", but I personally wouldn't load that short unless I had to. I try to stick to the ranges of 1.100" to 1.145" in my Glock (which has a long throat). The limit on bullet length with Glocks is generally the magazine, and I think that will be the case with the XDM as well. Make 5 or so dummy rounds at max length, and then stuff those in a mag, and load other rounds on top. If it hangs up, then try again at 0.01" shorter. Then do a plunk test in your barrel and verify that they work in your barrel working backwards as well. That should give you a good range to work with for load testing.

Side note: I'm no chemist, but I can be extremely anal and (overly) analytical. I started out loading for rifle and got very into the case prep and making sure everything was made to my standards and within my tolerances. Word of advice, you're going to have to let that go when you start loading pistol on a progressive. Your OAL may vary more than you like, your powder throws might not be perfect, and you darn sure aren't going to take the time to uniform primer pockets. Long story short, it just doesn't matter as much with pistol. Be safe, but don't drive yourself crazy.

http://www.saami.org/pubresources/cc_drawings/Pistol/9mm%20Luger%20-%209mm%20Luger%20+P.pdf

[BlueSpaderInfantryman]

Welcome to the Forums.

[ChemistShooter]

More really, really good stuff. This really is working out well.

I'm already making dummy rounds. The forums inform me Eastern European guns (XDM are made in Croatia) have a tendency to have short throats.

I've got that magazine procedure recorded in my reloading SOP (Standard Operating Procedure.) How to work out a COL is currently one of my big questions.

What kind of quality control I should shoot for is one of the questions I have. We'll see how the press performs.

Thanks to all.

[Dirtchevy841]

Hey from Folsom Louisiana. There's uspsa match every 4th Sunday of the month a idpa match every 1st sat of the month and a steel match 2nd Sunday of the month in amite. Check out tangi practical shooters.

[ChemistShooter]

Hey from Folsom Louisiana. There's uspsa match every 4th Sunday of the month a idpa match every 1st sat of the month and a steel match 2nd Sunday of the month in amite. Check out tangi practical shooters.

Got it, thanks.