Need OAL for 9mm ZERO 125 FMJ TC

[RJ24]

I've searched the forums but I haven't found an OAL for the truncated cone 125gr zeros.

Thanks,

RJ

[SA Friday]

more info is needed here. Is this load for a production gun at minor pf, or an open gun at major pf? What kind of gun? Have you checked the gun's chamber for a max overall length and compared it to the mag's max overall length with this bullet?

With this info, we can help you out

[RJ24]

more info is needed here. Is this load for a production gun at minor pf, or an open gun at major pf? What kind of gun? Have you checked the gun's chamber for a max overall length and compared it to the mag's max overall length with this bullet?

With this info, we can help you out

Thanks for your reply.

It's a CZ 75 SP-01 I've been working on for production, so minor pf.

I haven't checked the chamber for the max OAL and I really don't know how to check that.

I was hoping someone knew Zero's recommended OAL but I never though about measuring the chamber/mag Max OAL.

I was previously shooting 115 JHP zeros with a 1.090 OAL after reading another forum that said Zero recommended 1.085 to 1.100 for that bullet. But the JHP Zeros have been hard to find so I decided to try out the 125 TC.

I would also like to be able to shoot these in my Rock River 9mm AR.

Thanks,

RJ

[al503]

AD

Edited July 28, 2008 by al503

[al503]

I'd shoot for something around 1.16" You keep the pressure down and you don't have to worry about set back by going too long.

[Harmon]

1.160 is probably too long for the magazines

1.145 is probably more appropriate.

Harmon

[SA Friday]

I agree with Harmon, 1.125 to 1.145 should be in the right area. Your limiting factor will be your mag on the SP-01. make sure to check your oal against the mag. Just load up 4 of 5 after they are loaded and see if there is any binding. If there is, you OAL is too long.

[RJ24]

Thanks for the guidance.

I'll try loading some up this week.

RJ

[RJ24]

I finally got a chance to load some up today.

I decided to start with the zero 125 FMJ Flat nose bullets, 4.1 gr of titegroup, mixed brass, and worked down from 1.125 oal.

I couldn't get the bullets to chamber until an OAL of 1.080 and they are still still snug in the chamber where you have pull the slide pretty hard to remove the round. The was plenty of room in the mags for a longer OAL but the chamber was the controlling factor.

Is this safe? Should I shorten the OAL to make chambering/unloading loaded round easier? My concern is the increase in pressure from shorter OAL, but isn't there also a increase in pressure from the bullet touching the lands?

Also, I'm a newbie to 9mm loading and trying to figure out OALs.

RJ

[NogNog]

I finally got a chance to load some up today.

I decided to start with the zero 125 FMJ Flat nose bullets, 4.1 gr of titegroup, mixed brass, and worked down from 1.125 oal.

I couldn't get the bullets to chamber until an OAL of 1.080 and they are still still snug in the chamber where you have pull the slide pretty hard to remove the round. The was plenty of room in the mags for a longer OAL but the chamber was the controlling factor.

RJ

RJ,

Do you crimp your rounds to get rid of the bell from your powder die station? Also, it will help if you gauge your loaded rounds to ensure they are sized correctly.

Good luck and load safely.

[RJ24]

I finally got a chance to load some up today.

I decided to start with the zero 125 FMJ Flat nose bullets, 4.1 gr of titegroup, mixed brass, and worked down from 1.125 oal.

I couldn't get the bullets to chamber until an OAL of 1.080 and they are still still snug in the chamber where you have pull the slide pretty hard to remove the round. The was plenty of room in the mags for a longer OAL but the chamber was the controlling factor.

RJ

RJ,

Do you crimp your rounds to get rid of the bell from your powder die station? Also, it will help if you gauge your loaded rounds to ensure they are sized correctly.

Good luck and load safely.

Yes,

I use a Lee FCD in my last station to crim and resize. I made sure that I ran it through FCD before trying in the barrel. If first started just dropping the loaded rounds into the barrel after dissasembling my CZ and then when I started getting closer to fitting, I reassembled my CZ and started dropping the slide on the loaded round to check fit, and then checking the OAL again after removing the loaded round from my CZ.

Thanks,

RJ

[Nik Habicht]

RJ,

I don't know where you are ---- but you really need to get together with an experienced reloader in your area.....

Rounds loaded 1.080 should easily chamber and extract --- that they're not indicates some kind of problem, either in the manufacture or the evaluation/description. Since we can't determine which --- you need some hands on help....

[SA Friday]

+1 to what Nik said. You should be able to chamber a 1.125 OAL in in a SP-01 with that bullet profile. There is something not set correct in your resizing and/or Lee FCD. Make sure they are both turned down all the way to the cartridge plate and then backed off about a quarter of a turn. I suspect you are not getting the brass resized as far down as it needs to be and so the back of the cartridge is hanging up.

A possible secondary cause is your crimp is not taking all of the belling out. With a FMJ, you and go a little tight with the crimp and still be OK, but a nice smooth consistant wall around the bullet is what you should be shooting for.

[RJ24]

OK. Finally got to try some more stuff out.

1st, I doublechecked all my dies and they are all set, which where set correctly. I've never had problems loading Zero 115JHP's.

2nd. I called ZERO and the recommended 1.25-1.14 for the 125 gr zeros, but customer service rep admitted she was new to ammunition in general. BTW, excellent customer service, answered on first ring and called me back within ten minutes.

3rd, I called Ghost Holster (where i purchased the bullets) to what they've been using for their 125 flat points and they said they hadn't had them in a while but they recommend 1.11. Excellent customer service as well, they offered to swap the bullets for another style.

4th, I got with a seasoned reloader and gave my handloads loaded at 1.25, 1.14, and 1.08 oal. He measured them in all aspects and found no flaws in my loading, then he tried loading them in his HiPower, Kahr, STI, and a couple other guns and none of the length fit in any of his guns, he mentioned the 1.08's barely fit but we're hard to extract.

5th, I did try them in my Rock River AR and all lenghts seemed to chamber and extract fine.

6th, I took the following pictures for comparison:

The first shows four loaded cartridges from left to right, 115gr Zero JHP loaded to 1.09, 2-125gr zero FMJ TC loaded to 1.08 (note the one on right has marks at approximately the white card level indicating where the bullet contacted while attempting to chamber not allowing it to fully chamber), and the fourth is a Magtech factory 147gr FMJ round. You can easily see how the 125gr zero bullet profile starts to taper much later than the other bullets.

The second photo shows the 125 gr zero compared to the factory magtech 147gr to see the profile difference.

The third photo shows a red line indicating where the bullets starts tapering from the base width of .355". The 125gr zero on the left starts tapering at approx. .276" from the base while the 115 JHP starts tapering down at .223" from the base.

The top of my safe is not flat so some of cartidges/bullets appear tilted vertically.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b169/rj24/DSC_0389.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b169/rj24/DSC_0395.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b169/rj24/DSC_0403.jpg

So, I am pretty sure if I want to use these bullets I need to reduce the OAL even further to maybe 1.07". I was using a starting titegroup load of 4.1gr but should I reduce that to 4.0gr or lighter? If anything, if they shoot well in my AR I could just dedicate them to my carbine.

Thanks,

RJ

[SA Friday]

OK. Finally got to try some more stuff out.

1st, I doublechecked all my dies and they are all set, which where set correctly. I've never had problems loading Zero 115JHP's.

2nd. I called ZERO and the recommended 1.25-1.14 for the 125 gr zeros, but customer service rep admitted she was new to ammunition in general. BTW, excellent customer service, answered on first ring and called me back within ten minutes.

3rd, I called Ghost Holster (where i purchased the bullets) to what they've been using for their 125 flat points and they said they hadn't had them in a while but they recommend 1.11. Excellent customer service as well, they offered to swap the bullets for another style.

4th, I got with a seasoned reloader and gave my handloads loaded at 1.25, 1.14, and 1.08 oal. He measured them in all aspects and found no flaws in my loading, then he tried loading them in his HiPower, Kahr, STI, and a couple other guns and none of the length fit in any of his guns, he mentioned the 1.08's barely fit but we're hard to extract.

5th, I did try them in my Rock River AR and all lenghts seemed to chamber and extract fine.

6th, I took the following pictures for comparison:

The first shows four loaded cartridges from left to right, 115gr Zero JHP loaded to 1.09, 2-125gr zero FMJ TC loaded to 1.08 (note the one on right has marks at approximately the white card level indicating where the bullet contacted while attempting to chamber not allowing it to fully chamber), and the fourth is a Magtech factory 147gr FMJ round. You can easily see how the 125gr zero bullet profile starts to taper much later than the other bullets.

The second photo shows the 125 gr zero compared to the factory magtech 147gr to see the profile difference.

The third photo shows a red line indicating where the bullets starts tapering from the base width of .355". The 125gr zero on the left starts tapering at approx. .276" from the base while the 115 JHP starts tapering down at .223" from the base.

The top of my safe is not flat so some of cartidges/bullets appear tilted vertically.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b169/rj24/DSC_0389.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b169/rj24/DSC_0395.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b169/rj24/DSC_0403.jpg

So, I am pretty sure if I want to use these bullets I need to reduce the OAL even further to maybe 1.07". I was using a starting titegroup load of 4.1gr but should I reduce that to 4.0gr or lighter? If anything, if they shoot well in my AR I could just dedicate them to my carbine.

Thanks,

RJ

Not 1.25. It should be 1.125. Sorry I wish I could see the photo's, but the Govt won't let me get to that site.