9mm MINOR MB 147gr loads

[SA Friday]

I too am interested in the Solo 1000 after hearing these reviews. However, I prefer to stay in closer to 135 PF. For those of you

using Solo 1000 already with 147s, is that possible? I realize it will not be as soft shooting but I am trying

to get the softest/cleanest load at that PF.

Craig

Everything is gun and load dependent, but I believe so with a 5" gun. I was running about 131pf and zero signs of overpressure. Another .1 or .2 gr of powder to put me at 135pf was very doable for me out of my G17.

[spd522]

I too am interested in the Solo 1000 after hearing these reviews. However, I prefer to stay in closer to 135 PF. For those of you

using Solo 1000 already with 147s, is that possible? I realize it will not be as soft shooting but I am trying

to get the softest/cleanest load at that PF.

Craig

Everything is gun and load dependent, but I believe so with a 5" gun. I was running about 131pf and zero signs of overpressure. Another .1 or .2 gr of powder to put me at 135pf was very doable for me out of my G17.

I like the 135 PF for my SIG All Around. Being such a heavy gun, I just like the faster slide speed at 135 PF. On my other guns, 130-ish is fine.

My SIG (5" bbl) chronos close to my G17 so Solo may work. I will pick some up to try. Thanks.

Craig

[Fidel]

147 Berry's RN on 3.4gn. Good SD and about 139pf out of my Glock 17.

[rtg]

OK, Zeros 9mm bullets are virtually nonexistant, and it looks like I will have to change bullets. If that's the case, I might as well go to Masterblasters and save some $. I will probably change out my barrels and go with Lone Wolf barrels in my G34 and G17. I've been using titegroup for the zeros, and this probably will not go very well with the moly coating on the MB's. Is anyone shooting MB 147's in 9mm Minor? What loads are out there and more importantly, what powder is everyone using? I would like to stay away from the VV powders, just too much money for them when there are other choices. Thanks.

147 Berrys rn plated over 3.3 TG out of my 34 is great.

[MemphisMechanic]

I would like to thank SA Friday for his research and time spent playing with Solo 1000. My results mirror his quite closely, and I really like this load. Although I might dork with the OAL if this ammo doesn't group well from a rest, his data allowed me to nail my power-factor goal on the first batch.

I Chrono'd the below loads today using a ProChrono, shooting them through a stock Glock 34. It was 60ish degrees, probably 20ish% humidity.

LOAD 1:

147gr Black Bullets International Moly-coated

3.2gr Solo 1000

1.125-1.130" OAL

Wolf SP Primer

868

876

865

877

872

876

Avg = 872.33333

PF = 128

Note: BB Moly's run heavy. 148.5 would be a good estimate of the average. Every one I've weighed has been over 148. So that actually would be 129ish. Just something I noticed.

SA was right about these. Very clean for a non-FMJ load. I'd say they smoke about like my titegroup/FMJ load that I've been using before this. Very clean. They have a weird smell, though, which must be from the Moly burning. A buddy described it as a "nasty cigar" odor. I plan to use them this Tuesday at an indoor match, where the guys with dirty loads are instantly obvious.

LOAD 2:

My previous do-all load.

147 Precision Delta FMJ

3.2 titegroup

1.130 - 1.135" OAL

Wolf SP Primer

877

865

874

880

Avg = 874

PF =128

LOAD 3:

Ordered some Clays (just one pound) while I was paying to ship/hazmat a keg of Solo, and 40K of wolf primers. Figured I'd try it, as I keep hearing people post here on BE about how incredibly soft it is. Unfortunately, my load is higher-PF than either of the others, so I need to dial it back a hair until I can make a direct comparison.

147 Precision Delta FMJ

1.150 - 1.155" OAL

3.2gr Hogdon Clays (not int'l clays or clays universal. Just plain Clays)

Wolf SP Primers

907

905

832 (!!!)

927

919

Avg: 914.5 fps (didn't include the weirdo 832. Wish I had chrono'd a bigger batch of all 3 loads, but there were a group of shooters waiting to use the bay)

PF = 134.4

Need to dial back the charge a little. 128-130 is where I like my ammo to live, and it's a bit too hot to make a direct comparison to a 128PF Titegroup load. However, I'll probably stick with Titegroup for my FMJ (match ammo) load, since it meters so well, and shoot great. It's also available locally in overpriced 1lb. jugs in a pinch.

However, for local matches, indoor IDPA (should it prove clean enough), and practice, I'm really liking the Black Bullets and Solo1000. It's a *hair* snappier on the recoil than a titegroup load. Maybe. Even filling the mag with 12, and doing successive bill drills on 2 targets without a reload, it's difficult to call. Switching between the two definitely isn't an issue for me.

I only wish that Solo metered like Titegroup does. Most of you probably know, Titegroup looks like a can full of black glitter. It meters beautifully in a Dillon measure. Clays and Solo are very similar flake powders. It looks like thousands of tiny black doughnuts which are about 4 times the size of a granule of Titegroup. Other than that, Solo is working pretty well on it's first outing over here. I may even wind up switching from Titegroup to Solo under my FMJs, just so I don't have to stay stocked with two different powders.

Edited February 14, 2009 by MemphisMechanic

[JServais]

Here is my experience with poly coated bullets so far. The first try was Precision 9mm 125gr over 3.9gr of 231. This made 129 PF out of a 5” XD. I had to load them with an OAL of 1.080 to keep them out of the rifling on this gun. The problem with this combination was a nasty plastic like fouling in the barrel. I used up 1000 and then switched to CMJ’s.

The price has lured me back. This time I tried Black Bullets Int. 130gr over Solo 1000. Here are the chrono results.

Gun - 5”XD

OAL - 1.125 This bullet profile gets along with the XD barrel much better.

Primer - WSP

Brass - WIN

Temp - 25F

Distance from chrono - 6ft

5 shot average

3.0 - 858fps 111PF

3.3 - 925fps 120PF

3.5 - 956fps 124PF

3.6 - 970fps 126PF

There were no pressure signs at 3.6 so I stepped up to 3.7 and then 3.8 to get some PF margin. At 3.8 I still don’t see much difference in the appearance of the primer. I did not have a chance to chrono this yet. I loaded up a batch and used about 250 at the 09 WIIT. This is an indoor match and I had no problems with smoke. The barrel fouling is greatly reduced; I think this has more to do with the powder than the bullet. I need to spend some more time with the chrono and figuring out POA POI, but with the fouling problem solved these might become my primary bullet. I will probably try the 147’s when I have a chance.

Thanks for all the info here; it got me going in the right direction.

[ihatepickles]

So, I'm reviving this excellent thread now that I finally got my garage in order and the XL650 is running again...

For those that liked the Solo 1000 and Precision 147 combo, how do you feel about the load today? (After 3 years, the data must be complete)

I generally see good things about this load but I often see anecdotal evidence of this instead of numbers. Since this thread had hard numbers, I'm curious how this powder and bullet combo has played out through several powder lots and season changes.