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What should be the FPS goal in reloading USPSA/IDPA


awayne

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So I am reading for 9mm I plan on shooting 147gr FMJ in competition

 

Currently my loads are coming in at 950 FPS average.  Should my goal be to get as close to the minimum feet per second of 851 so I have less recoil?

 

Wondering if 851 FPS keyholes and is enough to knock down steel poppers

 

I have about 1000 147gr hand loads at 950 FPS that I will shoot through prior to loading down closer to 851 FPS

 

Thanks to all who reply and have more experience on this than I.  Still relatively new to reloading

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Would not try to get as close to 850 or minimum 125pf. You want a little cushion for variations in chronographs. That’s the cool thing about  reloading you can tune your load to gun, powder, bullet for feel and accuracy. I try to have about 5% cushion over in that 131-134pf range. I have some 135gr rnl loads that perform better around 138pf, so give it a try. 

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Most everyone I know loads minor between 128-135 power factor, gives a little buffer for chrono and usually somewhere in there is a load they prefer for whatever reason real or imagined.

 

The only way to know if your bullets will tumble and keyhole around 850fps is to shoot them at that speed, I doubt they will. They should still be reliable at knocking down properly set poppers, the only loads I have seen struggle with that are 115s scraping the PF floor or possibly sub minor. Poorly set poppers can challenge even major PF.

 

FWIW I liked to run coated 147s around 900fps, gave good accuracy across a few brands and guns.

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Start with a load you are comfortable with.  The questions you need to answer instead of looking for a number need to be:

Does the load make Power factor?

Does the load group well/how accurate is the load?

What is the recoil like/ how does the load feel?

What tweaks can i make to cater them to my gun?

Don't worry about a number or FPS.  find the load that works for you and your gun.

 

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All thanks for the input I guess there is no defacto standard I am guessing that pros would say as far as FPS my logic is the closer to 851 that I think I could get without failing the test at a major would be best to control recoil.

 

I may stick with my logic and just load down to as close to 851 as possible and as long as I am still hitting good then I will stick with that.

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147 X 950 = 139,650

 

So right now you’re at 139.7 power factor. That’s a bit excessive, yes.

 

However, take accuracy into account as you comtinue to develop loads. Many guns will prefer a certain overall length and a certain velocity; it’s common for many guns to shoot tighter groups at 135 PF than they do at 125 PF. But that isn’t always true.

 

Many of my guns have shot their best groups at 1.120-1.125” OAL. But that’s not always true. Either.

 

(Some guns won’t even let you load coated bullet ammo that long because their chambers are so short.)

 

I generally try to hit around 133-135 power factor and then I’ll play with OAL to find the most accurate length for that specific bullet and gun combination. Then I’ll tweak powder charge to finalize the load for accuracy and recoil.

 

Edited by MemphisMechanic
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I know you're going for a soft recoil impulse, but there are no points awarded for soft, just for speed and accuracy, you might find a load which feels uncomfortably snappy when standing and shooting at the range, but improves your times in a match.
Basically he's saying "man up bro" [emoji23]

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The answer is two fold.

 

1. Meet minimum PF at Match. 

2. Accurate load that works in your gun. 

 

Comments:

I load for 130 PF in my Tanfoglio S2 and PD FMJ RN work perfect with small groups at 25 yards. 

The same load shoots 135 PF in my son’s CZ Shadow 2. So, out of the goodness of my heart, we’re working up a different load for his gun. 

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A consistent trend I see is people making 9mm ammo super soft shooting but put very little priority on Accuracy. I have seen plenty of competition shooters create "Mouse Fart" lite 9mm loads that couldn't hit a mini popper at 25 yards because the accuracy is so crappy. In a shooting game the top priority for ammo should be having the ability to hit the stuff we are shooting at. A soft felt recoil should be lower on the priority list verses Accuracy. Develop a load that is first and foremost Accurate. Then you can try reducing the felt recoil with different powders or powder drop sizes to minimize the felt recoil. All the while continually verifying that your load tuning hasn't circumvented the accuracy.

 

I am yet to see major matches in Minor Power Factor divisions being won primarily because the ammo was softer shooting than the other top shooters. I have seen plenty of matches lost because people are using "Soft Shooting" ammo that couldn't hit a broad side of a barn.  

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5 minutes ago, CHA-LEE said:

A consistent trend I see is people making 9mm ammo super soft shooting but put very little priority on Accuracy. I have seen plenty of competition shooters create "Mouse Fart" lite 9mm loads that couldn't hit a mini popper at 25 yards because the accuracy is so crappy. In a shooting game the top priority for ammo should be having the ability to hit the stuff we are shooting at. A soft felt recoil should be lower on the priority list verses Accuracy. Develop a load that is first and foremost Accurate. Then you can try reducing the felt recoil with different powders or powder drop sizes to minimize the felt recoil. All the while continually verifying that your load tuning hasn't circumvented the accuracy.

 

I am yet to see major matches in Minor Power Factor divisions being won primarily because the ammo was softer shooting than the other top shooters. I have seen plenty of matches lost because people are using "Soft Shooting" ammo that couldn't hit a broad side of a barn.  

^^^ spot on! Very good info!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Bare minimum should be min velocity to make PF plus 2 times your measured standard deviation for the load.  Then adjust upward for accuracy.   

 

So if your standard deviation is say 10 fps, absolute minimum average velocity should be 851+20 fps  = 871 fps.  This will give you a high confidence in passing the chrono check.  Just reaffirm your STD occasionally or if you change anything.  

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As a chronographer for major matches I recommend being between 132-137 PF for minor and 172 -177 for major.

 

At these PF's there is no chance of failure.

 

I run 137 for minor and 177 - 180 for major.

Edited by RePete
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If you shoot minor you will get screwed on steel poppers occasionally. The wind will hold them up, they will be crazy slow to fall inconsistently, the angles will vary as they move on a muddy surface, some of them will vary shooter to shooter as they have play and twist between the stand & the shaft at their base & the rod connecting the two. 

 

I do not want to be the guy at the match with the 126 pf gun who has to worry so much about such things. 

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50 minutes ago, IHAVEGAS said:

If you shoot minor you will get screwed on steel poppers occasionally. The wind will hold them up, they will be crazy slow to fall inconsistently, the angles will vary as they move on a muddy surface, some of them will vary shooter to shooter as they have play and twist between the stand & the shaft at their base & the rod connecting the two. 

 

I do not want to be the guy at the match with the 126 pf gun who has to worry so much about such things. 

 

This too.

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On 9/18/2018 at 1:02 PM, CHA-LEE said:

..."A soft felt recoil should be lower on the priority list verses Accuracy. Develop a load that is first and foremost Accurate. Then you can try reducing the felt recoil with different powders or powder drop sizes to minimize the felt recoil. All the while continually verifying that your load tuning hasn't circumvented the accuracy."

Agreed.

Accuracy is critical: who cares how soft something feels if you can't hit what you're aiming at?
If you're comfortable with that load, keep running it. If not, it shouldn't hurt to drop it to 900fps or so, assuming you retain accuracy there.

Personally, I'm currently leaning towards a 915-940fps load for 147gr coated(just haven't completely decided which powder charge to use), simply because I like the accuracy and feel of it.

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