Precision Delta 115grn JHP

[steelringer79]

Hello all, new guy here looking to learn a few things about hand loading. Been lurking awhile now. Its time to start doing some loading now that my new Dillon XL650 is setup. I have the family of Glock 9mm launchers.

 

I have 2k Precision Delta 115grn JHP. I am somewhat new to the 9mm as far as loading goes and have never loaded anything but LRN or plated round nose bullets. I started on revolvers 357 mag and 44 mag then onto the 1911 45acp.

 

Kind of at a loss as where to start with these bullets as far as OAL. I see data out there for XTP and GDHP bullets. OAL and powder charge is all over the place. I have 8lbs of Titegroup I would like to use for these. Nothing special to use them for. Just shooting steel and punching paper.

 

Anybody out there shooting these that could guide me on how to figure them out?

[jcc7x7]

Try 1.135 for your Glock mags

Then

Drop it in the bbl and see if it spins freely.

Usually called the plunk test

[Ssanders224]

PD's factory load with those bullets is 1.100". 

4gr of TG is a good starting point. 

 

(This is only a suggestion and not meant to be taken as published data)

[steelringer79]

I played around with that last night. Don't recall where I was at.

 

Bullet to me looks funky. It has a large bearing surface compared to the FMJ. I did the plunk followed by a magic marker then spun it around. I got a bit of rubbing at the beginning of the bearing surface shoulder.

 

I put the flat seater plug in. Wonder if the bullet is not perfectly aligned. Going to switch to the round one and seat a few more and plunk them.

[steelringer79]

Is there a formula for how much bullet is in the case and how to adjust powder charge? Am I overthinking this?

[Ssanders224]

11 minutes ago, steelringer79 said:

Is there a formula for how much bullet is in the case and how to adjust powder charge? Am I overthinking this?

 

Don't over think it  

 

There is no way to easily figure charge weight based on varying seating depths.  I'd suggest investing in a chronograph. 

A PD 115JHP loaded to 1.100" is a good generic length.  It will work well in almost every pistol.  

3.9 - 4.0gr of TG is a good starting point. 

 

Again, this is only a suggestion, and not to be taken as published loading data. 

[MemphisMechanic]

Okay.

 

First, tell us what powder you’re going to be using. Huge factor.

 

Second, here’s my typical 650 load procedure with a new bullet and/or gun:

 

Run one piece of brass through all the other stations, so it’s sized and belled when it gets to your seating station. 

 

Break seating die loose, back lockring off, and leave it free to spin by hand. Run it in slowly, checking the OAL with calipers, until you hit 1.160” or so. Something very long.

 

Give it a light kiss with the crimp die so it’ll chamber, and drop it into the barrel of every gun you wish to shoot it through. Gen5 glocks tend to have much shorter chambers than 3 & 4s did.

 

If it won’t drop in, spin, and fall out freely, drive it back to 1.150-1.155”ish and try again. Continue to shorten it slowly until it does - this goes much faster with the sizing die easily turned by hand.

 

Keep shortening it up. With JHP you may have to load shorter than you expect, because many of them havea wide square ogive, which is that forward edge of the bearing surface you alluded to. That’s okay. Loading to 1.090” to get a fat nosed bullet into a CZ’s chamber isn’t gonna hurt us - not if you follow proper procedure in choosing the powder charge.

 

Keep shorening until you find your longest possible OAL. Let’s say that’s 1.135” hypothetically. A 650 is always going to have some variation in length - I would often see .010” of difference... so I would set this load up so that when I’m cranking out ammo it’s all in the range of 1.120” to 1.130” This way your longest round will have .005” of room to ensure it chambers flawlessly.

 

Remember that if you lock the die down now, the OAL will shift when the shellplate is full and the sizing and belling dies are pressing down on the opposite side. I find rounds usually end up around .005” longer on my particular press. This means you’ll need to adjust the shellplate again after loading a half dozen rounds on the fly, and adjust til you hit your range.

 

Now load those bad boys up **at the minumum charge** for any FMJ or JHP bullet with the same powder and weight, and go run them over a chronograph. Many of us will load a ladder, so if your minimum charge is 3.6gr in a reloading manual, we’ll load some at 3.6, 3.8, 4.0, and 4.2... and shoot them over the chrono to see what charge weight is going to get us the velocity we desire.

[Hi-Power Jack]

15 minutes ago, MemphisMechanic said:

 

First, tell us what powder you’re going to be using. Huge factor.

 

TG.

[MemphisMechanic]

Ahh. Missed that.

 

Titegroup consistently showed almost no velocity change between 1.100” and 1.150” for me on several occasions. Most fast powders with a low case volume have not.

 

It’s something I  check when switching to a new powder. Work up my 133ish PF load at 1.125-1.155 and then shorten to 1.100” and chrono the same charge. I like knowing how OAL sensitive and temperature sensitive my load is.

 

Solo1000, Clays, WST, and Titegroup? Off the top of my head... all of those have been great at not caring about shorter OALs. At most, any of those picked up 1.5-2.0 power factor.

 

Proceed with caution of course, but I personally am comfortable with shorter loads and standard charge weights.

 

Edited November 5, 2018 by MemphisMechanic

[steelringer79]

Ok back at the bench this morning. Flipped my seater plug back around to the round profile and am much happier with how bullets are seating. Redid plunk test. Started plunking at 1.16something. I shortened up to 1.135 and it seems like money! Cycled a handful of dummies through mag and it cycles real nicely. Going to start at 3.9 and work up to best accuracy while carefully inspecting brass.

[Hi-Power Jack]

4 hours ago, steelringer79 said:

  Going to start at 3.9 and work up to best accuracy while carefully inspecting brass.

 

And checking the chrono  …..     

[ToddKS]

I have a lot of experience with this bullet and I am also shooting Glocks. 4.1gr TG @ 1.100 produces 128-129 power factor from my G17. I have tested up to 4.4gr with no issues in my pistol.

PD bullets are great. Very accurate out of my pistols. The load above used to be my match load before I switched to N320. I still shoot the 4.1gr TG load as my go to practice load for 9mm.