boo radley Posted June 5, 2005 Share Posted June 5, 2005 Today I loaded up a bunch of Ranier plated 115gr RN bullets over 4.2gr of VV 320, and benched it at 25yards. The results were pretty rotten -- I'm all over a paper-plate I use as a target -- maybe 6-7" group? For a sanity check, I next tried some Winchester "Value-Pak" 115gr bullets, and they were *better* but not much so: maybe 5" group, with 2 or 3 clustered. Are 115gr bullets especially finicky in the G34? What kind of accuracy, in general are y'all seeing out of a factory barrel? Maybe I'm getting spoiled with 200gr SWC's out of a 1911, but I'm starting to get a bit concerned, since in the few weeks I've had this pistol, I've never felt it shot accurately. Thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessej Posted June 5, 2005 Share Posted June 5, 2005 Not all Glocks are created equal. The barrel and slide to frame fit can vary. I have a G23 with trijicon sights that will shoot a one inch 5 shot group at 25yrds. 3.6 titegroup zero 180 gr jacketed at 1.135 oal. My factory barrel fit and slide/frame is extremely tight and i use a steel guide rod with wolff 15 lbs spring. Try shooting a jacketed bullet instead of plated to see if there are any improvements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herky Posted June 5, 2005 Share Posted June 5, 2005 I have a Glock 17 with a stock barrel that does not like 115 gr at all, but shoots all 124 grs POA out to 25yds. As stated, not all are created equal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRT Driver Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 My G34 likes Zero 125 jhp. Does about 1.5" - 2" @ 25 yrds from a rest. FP and JHPs shoot well out of it. It does not like RN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bberkley Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 My G34 likes Zero 125 jhp. Does about 1.5" - 2" @ 25 yrds from a rest.FP and JHPs shoot well out of it. It does not like RN. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Pull some bullets from your loaded ammo and check to see that you aren't overcrimping, which could cause the plating to come off, making the bullets tumble or otherwise unstable during flight. I made the mistake of overcrimping some 147gr Westcoast plated and got horrible results. My G34 eats my 145gr Lasercast loads and is pretty accurate. At the Roseburg GSSF Match this weekend, I put all 6 shots in the 8" circle at 25 yards on the 5 to Glock stage. My Glock 21, on the other hand seemed to be all over the place past 15 yards with factory ammo, even bench-firing it wasn't anywhere near as consistent as my STI or G34, so it got DX'ed on the way back for an HK USP Compact in .40. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo radley Posted June 6, 2005 Author Share Posted June 6, 2005 I would be delighted with 1.5" -> 2", from a bag @25yards, but I'm not even slightly close to this. I think I'm going to try to find a couple different brands/weights of ammo; if I can assure myself that at least some load shoots accurately I'll feel a lot better. My concern is, if I try a new barrel to solve the problem, I'll be closing in on $1000 for this pistol, considering I've added $90 of sights....If it's not the barrel, but the frame/slide fit.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRT Driver Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Pull some bullets from your loaded ammo and check to see that you aren't overcrimping, which could cause the plating to come off, making the bullets tumble or otherwise unstable during flight. No mark on the bullets. It's my experience that Glock seem to like a little heavier bullet going a little faster. Keep in mind that Glocks were designed around NATO spec ammo and the twist rate is 9.8 to 1 which favors a heavier bullet. Most 9's are 16 to 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Hey Boo! Why not try some of the Zero brand JHPs? They cost more $$$ than your plated bullets, but the 147s work very very well in the 34. As for Plated, the Blazer brand 9mm uses Plated (Speer refuses to use the "P" word & calls them "TMJ"). Speer also sells plated reloading bullets, but again, they cost more $$$ than your current brand. Regards, D.C. Johnson www.shootersparadise.com Team Shooters Paradise GSSF I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay1 Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Buy a box of Blazers and try them. I am amazed how well they shoot out of my G34. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robomanusa Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 My G34 likes 147gr the best, next in line are 124gr......I would spend the time finding a load/bullet combo your gun likes...I have a KKM barrel for my G34 and have ransom rested the gun using both barrels and found the stock barrel to be slightly more accurate than the KKM barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo radley Posted June 10, 2005 Author Share Posted June 10, 2005 Eh...Went out tonight, with 4 different 9mm loads: CCI Blazer 115's, WWB 115's, Ranier 115's loaded myself, and 124gr Winchester FMJ's loaded myself. 25 yards, holding off a simple block rest. The best, by far, was the CCI Blazer with all three groups well under 3" -- 2.2", 2.3", 2.8", for around a 2.5" average group. Everything else pretty much sucked - WWB averaged in the high 4", and my Ranier 115gr plated bullets averaged close to 4" in group size. The 124gr. Winchester FMJ's were all over the place, but I blame this on the loading -- way too soft. In fact, I think I'm being way too conservative loading the Ranier's, too, with VV320 at 4.2gr. The Glock barely moves off the rest. Maybe the pistol needs bullets going faster to shoot well? Although, that wouldn't explain the WWB grouping so poorly. But I feel better seeing the CCI's shoot reasonably well. I wanted to try some 147's but couldn't find 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 I bought 2K of 115 gr. JHP Zeros from Angus Duhh, and those sumbitches rock the house. Just shot them today. Effortless 1" offhand groups from about 15 yards. Guess whose bullets are getting bought for the 40 next? www.ghostholster.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 Hey boo, It's not the bullet weight that's the problem, it's the construction. Plated bullets are notorious for poor accuracy. But I guess you figured that out when the factory jacketed 115s shot well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay1 Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 Eric, the Blazer's are plated bullets if I'm not mistaken and those are the ones that shot well for Boo. Even though he did not mention specific loads, he did mention that the reloaded rounds where mild. One comment on reloading and an encouragment, when trying a new bullet or powder try different loads as you work your way up or down the PF scale and see what shoots the best. Yes, we strive for mouse fart loads sometimes, but those might not be in your best interest. One more comment is that if X combination of components rocks the house for competitor A, it might not shoot the same in your gun. The recomended load from a friend might be a good reference point but working up your own load development for your gun is the best way to go. Boo, by the way, I love the Blazers too and they shoot so well for me and are so damn cheap that I can't bring myself to reload for 9mm. Ordered 2000 more yesterday and it came to $210. delivered to my door and that was even with my few pennies added for the NRA roundup. This makes 8000 rounds I bought of this stuff this year. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glock17w Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 where do you order the 9mm blazer from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay1 Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 Natchez case price is 4.59/box when you buy 20 boxes at a time. The $210/2000 included the shipping costs. No afiliation with them except I like inexpensive ammo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo radley Posted June 10, 2005 Author Share Posted June 10, 2005 Eric, the Blazer's are plated bullets if I'm not mistaken and those are the ones that shot well for Boo.Even though he did not mention specific loads, he did mention that the reloaded rounds where mild. One comment on reloading and an encouragment, when trying a new bullet or powder try different loads as you work your way up or down the PF scale and see what shoots the best. Yes, we strive for mouse fart loads sometimes, but those might not be in your best interest. One more comment is that if X combination of components rocks the house for competitor A, it might not shoot the same in your gun. The recomended load from a friend might be a good reference point but working up your own load development for your gun is the best way to go. Boo, by the way, I love the Blazers too and they shoot so well for me and are so damn cheap that I can't bring myself to reload for 9mm. Ordered 2000 more yesterday and it came to $210. delivered to my door and that was even with my few pennies added for the NRA roundup. This makes 8000 rounds I bought of this stuff this year. Rick <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Rick - the load I was using (for the 115gr Ranier plated RN's, anyway) was 4.1 or 4.2gr of V V n320, with a COL of 1.142, from memory. Felt very soft. I really wasn't trying to get mouse farts -- I just picked a load in the middle of VV's chart, and they list this exact bullet. I should work up some loads with different powder levels, no doubt, but another problem is one of time and concentration. 2 different bullets x 3 different powder loads x 3 5-shot groups each, starts getting up there, before the focus level wanders, IMO. Anyway. Clearly, there is some ju-ju with Blazers and the G34. For one thing, that was the only loading that really *grouped*, and if I threw out the flyer, the remaining 4 were close to an inch in size. The other loads were scattered -- looked like the "5" side on a die. I'm really on the fence with this pistol. At some level, it makes sense to just order a couple thousand rounds of CCI Blazer, and shoot Production. I only have two (terrible) qualifiers in, for L-10, so I'm not married to a particular division. Or, keep going, and order different bullet types, (zero, MG, etc.), and weights, and find something I can load that will shoot tight groups -- I'm sure I can, now that the Blazer's proved *some* load will group. Or, say the hell with it, sell it for a 2nd .45, and go back to concentrating on shooting my Kimber, which *does* group amazingly, with both 200 LSWC's and 230 LRN's. I have a hard-enough time getting my A's, and the penalty of shooting minor...<shudder> I like shooting them both, but at some point I'm going to start thrashing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric nielsen Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 Some Glocks will string out shots vertically or on a diagonal. Seen it happen with loads that just barely cycled the slide. Whether those loads would group better with a lighter recoil spring, I don't know. A lot of 9mm guns prefer a longer bearing surface on the bullets - like a 124 or a 115 hollow-base FMJ. My G17 with KKM barrel will throw a flyer as the first shot. It gets better if I lock the slide back, insert a mag, then hit the slide release to chamber a round. A 1.25" group hand-cycled [25 yards] might shrink to .75" hitting the slide release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay1 Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 Boo, what is neat in this business is that you get to make decisions and changes anytime you want. Couple of thoughts though for your consideration. Before you start ordering more bullets and different powders, pick ONE powder and ONE bullet and work with it for a range session off of the bench with sand bags. Keep a loading log so that you don't duplicate this stuff again in a month. If you find something acceptable - great, if not move to another powder and bullet combo. On shooting the G34 in Limited. You are banging your head against the wall there my friend. Yes, some boys do a great job at it but you are handicapping yourself big time. To me that gun (I have two of them) is destined for production. Like I said before the cheap Blazers shoot well for me. The snappy 140 power factor out of my G34 makes the timing with a 13 pound ISMI recoil spring nice. I just choose not to reload at this point. This way I also focus just on the shooting. Again, this is the path that I have chosen for me. Many people reload. If I were shooting a 40 instead of the 9 I would be using the Dillion like everyone else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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