USPSA Production GLOCK 34's (9mm)

[IanL]

Hello all. Excited newbie having just ordered our first press, need some help and advice on what to buy and where to buy it.

Unfortunately don't want lead bullets (stock barrel, and don't clean so often), so need some kind of jacketed bullet, with a soft shooting powder/primer combo. Min. power factor 125. I am thinking that a middle weight 124, 125 grain would be best, as we do have a lot of steel. Am I correct that a heavier (124-147) would knock down steel easier?

Many thanks.

Ian

[kevin c]

Hello all. Excited newbie having just ordered our first press, need some help and advice on what to buy and where to buy it.

Unfortunately don't want lead bullets (stock barrel, and don't clean so often), so need some kind of jacketed bullet, with a soft shooting powder/primer combo. Min. power factor 125. I am thinking that a middle weight 124, 125 grain would be best, as we do have a lot of steel. Am I correct that a heavier (124-147) would knock down steel easier?

Many thanks.

Ian

My impression is that the consensus is that the heavier bullet seems to take down the steel better, but there are trade offs.

The heavier bullet recoils differently. Some compare it to shooting a heavy 230 gr .45 compared to a 40 or 9mm loaded with factory loads - the heavier bullet has a "slower" push, with the FS generally going through a bigger movement than the "snappy" kick of the lighter bullets/calibers.

The heavier bullet, given the rising cost of metals, is going to cost you more.

All that being said, 147's are what I shoot in 9mm Production. Tightgroup and VihtaVouri N320 powders are popular (I use the latter, though it's fairly pricey and isn't quite as easy to get as TG.

A search will get you lots of loads here, both for 147 loads as well as for the 124/125 grain bullets that I don't use.

Welcom to the Benosverse.

Kevin C

[needknees]

Hello all. Excited newbie having just ordered our first press, need some help and advice on what to buy and where to buy it.

Unfortunately don't want lead bullets (stock barrel, and don't clean so often), so need some kind of jacketed bullet, with a soft shooting powder/primer combo. Min. power factor 125. I am thinking that a middle weight 124, 125 grain would be best, as we do have a lot of steel. Am I correct that a heavier (124-147) would knock down steel easier?

Many thanks.

Ian

I run a G34 and have found Frontier plated bullets to be pretty accurate, reasonably priced, and have great performance in a stock Glock barrel. I personally shoot 115gr bullets for cost reasons and have not noticed a problem knocking steel over. ...Just don't try to push that power floor too much .

Titegroup shoots well under a 115gr bullet. As a bonus, its charge weights are fairly low and it meters great in most powder measures. And best of all, it's cheap. I ran 4.3gr of titegroup at 1.122" COL for quite awhile. One thing you need to remember about plated bullets is you can't use the same data as jacketed - it's going to fall between charge weights of jacketed and lead. Titegroup is pretty clean but the best thing about it to me was how economical it is.

Recently I've switched to Longshot. The charge weights are higher and the powder is a bit more expensive but I think the difference in feel is worth it. It seems much softer shooting than Titegroup, it's a slightly slower burning powder. I'm running the same bullet with 5.4gr of longshot at 1.122" COL and have been quite impressed.

That's the fun with reloading, you never know what's going to feel the best for you - playing with loads can be fun!

[glock34shtr]

kevinc, I am also a newbie here. Shooting a G34 stock barrel. I have a bunch of PD 147TC bullets and I am interested in what you think about bullseye vs N320. Been using Bullseye, but I am about out and thinking of trying something else. I shoot USPSA in production. Any info would be appreciated.

[lugnut]

I'm no balistics expert but any 9mm bullet that makes power factor should knock down steel. If a good hit doesn't- the equipment needs to be calibrated.

[BayouSlide]

I use 3.3 gr of Titegroup and a 147 gr Zero JHP with Federal SP primers. Checking my last batch at the range Saturday, I was getting five shots freehand groups inside an inch at 15 yards. This load chronos around 136+ PF. Soft shooting and quick sight recovery. Some free advice: don't chase minimum PF. It's risky (ain't nothing below minor except no score) and the Glock handles faster and functions better with additional slide energy, IMO.