Looking for a load for Brazos 9mm 115gr .356"

[ChemistShooter]

I am working up a new bullet after a bad experience with Bayou Bullets. I got a sample pack of 9mm 115gr .356 from Brazos Bullets, both lube groove and non-lube groove. Right at the moment I'm working with the non-lube groove. (Yeah, I've read Brazos uses softer lead, and I should've gotten the .357, and watch out for leading in my barrel.)

 

I am reloading for a Springfield Armory 9mm 3.8 full-size. In doing the initial COAL determination, the bullet is coming in a lot shorter than other bullets I've tried. It's coming in at 1.105 before the lands stop scratching the Sharpie-marked bullet and starts spinning easily and falling out of the barrel.

 

Has anybody gotten similar COALs with Brazos? How much and what kind of powder have you used? I tried searching the forum but couldn't find anything.

 

I have been using 5.5gr Power Pistol and it has worked fine with all my previous bullets, but I'm a bit wary because the COAL is shorter than I'm used to and I don't want a reduced case volume causing an unexpectedly big bang.

[looking4reloadingdeals]

I use the 147 Brazos NLG .357”, and I get a very similar OAL. Seems like the 115 should be able to be loaded longer.

As with powder charge and oal, I dropped my charge a little bit when I shortened OAL. I am using Titegroup with the 147s, and I dropped from 3.0gr to 2.9gr. This already a min load, or very close to it so I wasn’t very worried about it.

On a side note, I had someone work up some quick load data for me for the load, and they came up with the load having a powder factor of ~128, but when I ran them over the chrono I got a PF Of 137. Although, this could have been because they didn’t have 100% of the info needed and made a couple of assumptions when running the load.

Hope at least some of that is helpful to you.


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[anonymouscuban]

I run their 135gr RN. It's actually weighs in 138gr. COL is about the same. Just a tad longer. I've been running it with 4.0gr of Win 231. That yields a PF of 140. I just worked up some loads at 3.6 and 3.8. Gonna chrono them and test for accuracy on Thursday. Want to try to run a softer load. No need to run that high if accuracy is the same.

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[Phlier]

One thing you need to consider is the length of the actual bullet itself. If the new bullet is shorter than the one you're replacing, then having a shorter OAL doesn't necessarily mean that you're reducing the case's internal volume when compared to the old bullet.

 

Measure how far from the case mouth you're seating both the old and new bullets. That'll give you a much better idea of whether or not you're reducing the internal case volume much better than just the OAL.

[ChemistShooter]

Mine averaged 117gr.

 

PF 140 with 4.0gr W231, w-o-o-w. My PF's run around 125. Okay, this is where I get to be veddy, veddy careful, lots of digging around in my loading manuals.

 

Internet searching has revealed my COAL is typical, but there is a distinct lack of load data.

Thanks to all.

[Dwbsig]

I’ve used a lot of the .357 dia 147 gr bullets from Brazos in my cz loaded on the short side 1.11 oal. 3.2 and 3.3 grs of sport pistol have worked great for me .