Good 9mm bullet?

[jst1tym]

Hello, this is my first post here. I am members of a few pistol forums. I desided to start reloading once again. I used to load for my .44mags and .357's on a green machine progressive loader in the early 80's. I just purchased from Brian a RL 550B with a set of 9mm dies.Can somebody tell me a good 9mm round? I plan on using a 115gr or 125gr fmj rn for all my Sigs and EMP. I pretty much decided on VV Powders or Power Pistol and/or Blue Dot. These days I'm just not sure which bullet is good/best ie Speer, Nosler, Sierra, or Hornady? For my magnums in the past it was mostly Speer/Blue Dot. Which do you suggest?

[GentlemanJim]

Montana gold or Zeros are what you want.

Both are excelent quality!!

Welcome to the forum

Jim

[lugnut]

Depends on what kind of shooting/where you shoot. I use Berry plated in 9mm. Fully encapulated with copper. However you won't get the absolute best accuracy from this type of bullet- but since you are shooting a Sig it shouldn't be an issue (I'm assuming it's not target shooting). PP can get the bullets cranking... plated is good to about 1200 ft/sec.

[Paul Burtchell]

Montana gold or Zeros are what you want.

Both are excelent quality!!

Welcome to the forum

Jim

+1

Montana Gold or Zero's (if you can find them) ..

Welcome .

Also go the the reloading forum and try the search engine for 9mm loads. Lots of good info there.

Edited July 23, 2008 by baerburtchell

[lcs]

Welcome to the BEST forum!

You did not specify your intended purpose for reloading. VV powders are great, but high $$$. There are a lot of powders out there for 9s just as good for a lot less.

To address your question:

Montana Gold - you can't go wrong

Zeros - you can't go wrong. but hard to find.

Precision Mollies - very accurate, less $$$, a little smoke.

JMHO.

[G-ManBart]

Zeros are good bullets, and shoot great out of my guns, but I wouldn't bother with them. The availability is just too unpredictable to bother with. Montana Gold has never been out of stock when I've ordered something....anything. Another option if the Hornady Action Pistol bullet (HAP)....very accurate, but a bit more expensive than the MG's.

MG makes 115gr CMJ and FMJ along with 124gr CMJ and FMJ's....they all shoot really well and would probably be exactly what you're looking for. I'd suggest opting for the CMJ's to save a little lead exposure and easier gun cleaning....and it's only an extra $4 per case (4,000 bullets). R,

[Jman]

Welcome!

125gr black Moly-Kote from http://www.billybullets.com

3.3 gr of Clays makes for a fine minor load in my G17

Jim

Edited so I sound coherent.

Edited July 24, 2008 by JimmyM

[Nik Habicht]

I've used 147s from Star (out of business), Zero and MG interchangeably over the years. They all work --- MG seems to have an edge in availability....

[DougCarden]

I would recommend MG bullets....If you want the most accuracy....115 jhp...if you want 2-3 in groups at 25yds, depending on the pistols...the FMJ....

I would use Winchester 231 or PowerPistol, and load the bullets out as long as the magazine will let you and also feed. You will be surprised how well the 9x19 can shoot.....

Have fun,

DougC

[Ron Ankeny]

I use MG and Zero. I ordered 5,000 of the 125 JHP from Roze Dist. (Zero) last week. They are running a bunch of 9mm bullets now.

[steveknapp]

The availability is just too unpredictable to bother with. Montana Gold has never been out of stock when I've ordered something....anything.

I ordered from another vendor and after waiting almost a week for them to show up called and they said they were not yet manufactured. "In stock"..HA!

Montana Gold has a nice web site. If it says in stock, it's in stock. They ship FAST. They ship USPS Priority Mail. When they sent me the wrong stuff they made it right just as fast.

Now having said all that, if you live near a Cabela's, you can get Winchester 115gn FMJ-RN for ~$10/100 last I was there. Which is close in price.

Here's my 115gn load data:

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...st&id=16592

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...st&id=16591

[Will Abrahams]

+1 for Montana Gold. Excellent quality, extremely accurate and priced well.

[G-ManBart]

The availability is just too unpredictable to bother with. Montana Gold has never been out of stock when I've ordered something....anything.

I ordered from another vendor and after waiting almost a week for them to show up called and they said they were not yet manufactured. "In stock"..HA!

Montana Gold has a nice web site. If it says in stock, it's in stock. They ship FAST. They ship USPS Priority Mail. When they sent me the wrong stuff they made it right just as fast.

Now having said all that, if you live near a Cabela's, you can get Winchester 115gn FMJ-RN for ~$10/100 last I was there. Which is close in price.

Here's my 115gn load data:

That's been my experience with MG too. I sometimes call in my order just to say hi and thank them for being such a great company to deal with. I think the longest it's taken for them to get a shipment to me was 4 days

[jst1tym]

Hey Fellas, And thanks for the welcome...I took the advice of some here and ordered the Montana Golds CMJ's. I ordered a 1,000 to start and some VV320 and Blue Dot powder, CCI smalll pistol primers and Winchester brass. I must have outdated manuals but I have not found any load spec's for the MG 115gr CMJ's using VV 320 or Blue Dot powders. I've found all other bullet loading specs but not Montana Gold using these powders....Can anybody point me to this info. I just plqan on using them as target loads. Thanks Will.

[SLM]

Data for the Montana Gold bullets specifically is going to be darn near impossible to come by. The only company that I know of that has any data for them is Ramshot and they don't list any in 9mm. You can most likely use the data for Winchester 115's as a good starting point. Start low and work up but I'm guessing you know that.

Oh and Welcome!

[steveknapp]

My understanding was that the key part of this was bullet weight and case space, OAL less the bullet length. FWIW, the MG 115gn RN's I've got are the same length as the Winchester 115gn. Which were the same length as the Hornadys I bought earlier.

[jst1tym]

Hey there, and thanks for all the info. Thank you Steve for providing your load data. However, I wished that what I'm looking for specifically existed some place, and I've conducted plenty of searches already. I'm either going to change the bullet or the powders to get something more exact to start. MG loading data is as mentioned, difficult to say the least to find I should have started with a more widely used powder and bullet, of which data exist's in some manuals. I'm going to a gun show today so maybe I'll search for more info, or just buy something different. Thanks agian for the welcome guy's and I'm sure I'll come up with something....

[shred]

I've had MG 115 JHPs go on back order for a few weeks before, but never longer than that. I load them with the same data as the Hornady XTP, since they're virtually identical in shape.

Actually, I rarely care about which bullet is specified in the loading data-- the variances between different guns is far larger than changing bullets one to the other, especially for midrange target loads.

[Shawn Knight]

I love my 9mm bullets that I find in bulk at gunshows and in the sale bin at gunstores.

The cheapest, largest box of 9mm bullets I can get!!!

[boba]

I used 115 gr Billy Bullets with 4.0 grains of TG, 1.110 OAL and crimped to .377. They power factored in the 130 range. They shot just fine and no leading however I did get some smoke with this combo.

I am now using 125 gr of Rogers Better Bullets with 3.8 gr of TG, 1.140 OAL and crimped to .377. These power factored in the range of 131. I am getting smoke and have not shot them long enough to comment on leading. I should also add then when I was first working up the load I loaded to 1.120 OAL. Shot them on my range at home through the crono and at some steel and thought all was well, however after shooting them at a match I discoved the bullets were tumbling. Lesson learned (SHOOT THROUGH PAPER!!! WHEN TESTING) . After a lot of playing around I went to and OAL of 1.140 and all is well. They group real nice at the 15 yards I can shoot here at home and no signs of tumbling.

I should also add that both of these vendors have been great to deal with.

[warpspeed]

Like Shred, I've had good luck with using the Hornady XTP data. I have also used the Sierra data with good results and the Sierra Manual has lots of the VV powders listed.

[jst1tym]

Like Shred, I've had good luck with using the Hornady XTP data. I have also used the Sierra data with good results and the Sierra Manual has lots of the VV powders listed.

Thanks all for the info, I'll be off to the gun show in a little bit and will look for a Sierra Manual. Additionally, all my pistols are (with the exception of my python, diamondbacks, ruger mk3 and trooper) are 9mm. They consist of the sig p229 elites, sig p250, sig p239, sig p225, sig p228, a hk p30 and a sa emp. So the barrel lengths are going to vary. Most of the sig's withe the exception of the 225's and the 239 and hk p30 are similiar in barrel lengths, and the emp has a 3" barrel. Does this mean ideally I have to work up loads for each or just go with a good generic that I can load? I usually shoot wwb 115gr at the range....and yes, these will be for range use only. I seem to have fairly good luck with all my sig's and the wwb from wally world. I do however have fiocchi and remmington and some hd tactical ammo. I have a ccw but do not carry as of yet, it allows me to cut down the wait time when purchasing a new firearm.

Edited July 26, 2008 by jst1tym

[SA Friday]

Like Shred, I've had good luck with using the Hornady XTP data. I have also used the Sierra data with good results and the Sierra Manual has lots of the VV powders listed.

Thanks all for the info, I'll be off to the gun show in a little bit and will look for a Sierra Manual. Additionally, all my pistols are (with the exception of my python, diamondbacks, ruger mk3 and trooper) are 9mm. They consist of the sig p229 elites, sig p250, sig p239, sig p225, sig p228, a hk p30 and a sa emp. So the barrel lengths are going to vary. Most of the sig's withe the exception of the 225's and the 239 and hk p30 are similiar in barrel lengths, and the emp has a 3" barrel. Does this mean ideally I have to work up loads for each or just go with a good generic that I can load? I usually shoot wwb 115gr at the range....and yes, these will be for range use only. I seem to have fairly good luck with all my sig's and the wwb from wally world. I do however have fiocchi and remmington and some hd tactical ammo. I have a ccw but do not carry as of yet, it allows me to cut down the wait time when purchasing a new firearm.

You don't have to necessarily work up a different load for each gun as long as you find a recipie that they all shoot consistantly, reliabily, and without pressure signs. Your emp will be the determining factor I would think. All the rest are essentially within the same ballpark. If you want to go this way, I would recommend a round that mimmic's the WWB's pf fairly well. You should be looking at about a 126-128pf out of the P228 or P225 to mimmic WWB. If you are in that area or a tad hotter, it should be OK pf for reliable cycling. You will want to check for pressure signs out of every gun with whatever reload you are going to feed them.

Accuracy? Can't help you there. Just too many guns in the mix to guess what you will find there.

[G-ManBart]

Like Shred, I've had good luck with using the Hornady XTP data. I have also used the Sierra data with good results and the Sierra Manual has lots of the VV powders listed.

Thanks all for the info, I'll be off to the gun show in a little bit and will look for a Sierra Manual. Additionally, all my pistols are (with the exception of my python, diamondbacks, ruger mk3 and trooper) are 9mm. They consist of the sig p229 elites, sig p250, sig p239, sig p225, sig p228, a hk p30 and a sa emp. So the barrel lengths are going to vary. Most of the sig's withe the exception of the 225's and the 239 and hk p30 are similiar in barrel lengths, and the emp has a 3" barrel. Does this mean ideally I have to work up loads for each or just go with a good generic that I can load? I usually shoot wwb 115gr at the range....and yes, these will be for range use only. I seem to have fairly good luck with all my sig's and the wwb from wally world. I do however have fiocchi and remmington and some hd tactical ammo. I have a ccw but do not carry as of yet, it allows me to cut down the wait time when purchasing a new firearm.

If you use the XTP data with the MG 115s and develop a load that's close to the WWB in velocity the chances that you have an unsafe load are virtually nil. Yes, it'd be a good idea to take a look at the cases after shooting them in each gun to make sure that there aren't any obvious pressure signs, but that's easy and quick to do the first time you try them in each gun. Unless you're working near max loads switching from one 115gr jacketed bullet to another shouldn't cause any problem at all. They'll all be slightly different, but it would take something drastic to get you into dangerous pressures. R,

[Ron Ankeny]

I have loaded MG and Zeros in 124 and 125 with various powders to the same overall length in 9mm and 38 Super. The difference in velocity is almost nothing in my guns. For data I just use any old jacket bullet data, then chrono and adjust accordingly. I am not very scientific.