Good, forgiving recipe for reloading beginner?

[Leozinho]

I'm searching the classifieds here and on other sites for the right reloading press, and given the state of things, it's not too early to start acumulating the rest of the components.

What are the recommended components for a reloading beginner? Ideally, something that is 'forgiveable' (ie not finicky). In terms of performance, I'd like something that mimics the Atlanta Arms competition load.

From perusing the forum, so far I think I've come up with moly 147 gr Black Bullets (or some other moly cast bullets), Solo 1000, and which ever small pistol primers I can find.

I'm planning on using cast bullets because of the cost, but could be persuaded to use JHPs if cast bullets are somehow trickier to reload. I want to buy in bulk, rather than accumulating small amounts of various powders and bullets. So load testing with different powders and bullets wouldn't be an option.

My gun is a Beretta.

Thanks.

[yoshidaex]

welcome to the world of reloading!

judging from how long you've been a member, its about time.

as for your reloading options, lead is good from a cost standpoint. but for me, i found lead to be a bit smoky with any sort/brand/type of powder.

Shooting outdoors is ok but on a day with no air movement, finding targets thru a wall of smoke is a bit hard.

You can get a lead bullet/powder combination to produce the least amount of smoke but you won't be able to beat a plated/jacketed bullet.

The moly bullets will cut down on smoke but again not as much compared to plated/jacketed.

The other small benefit to loading lead/moly is it requires slightly less powder than an equvilant weight/type of plated/jacketed bullet.

Maybe .2-.3 grains less but in the overall scheme of things, the cheaper you can make a loaded round the more shooting you'll do.

[belus]

I think you'll find a slightly lighter bullet a little more forgiving of OAL if you're just starting to reload.

I shoot a CZ 75 which is apparently known for having a short throat. Besides being unable to find an accurate load for Precision 147s (tried 3.0 to 3.6 Solo1000), I had to load them short at about 1.12" to get them to chamber. I ended up going to 3.8gr of Solo behind BBI's 130gr at a target length of 1.15".

I think you've made a good choice of powder, but $50 for a couple bullet sample packs will give you the flexibility to find an accurate load that corresponds well with your current POA. I'd be more concerned about accuracy than feel.

[xcelr8hard]

+1 on the lighter bullets.

I think that solo 1000 may be a little fast to start out with, and doesn't take up much volume in the case. Be careful of double charges.

There is a lot of load info on here related to solo 1000 and moly bullets.

Be safe.

Butch

[Leozinho]

Thanks, guys. The heads up about a lighter bullet was the type of information I was looking for.

Regarding smoke from cast bullets: I had read here that Solo 1000 produced less smoke than Titegroup. That's why I tentatively had that in mind. Smoke isn't a huge concern but I wonder which powder produces the least.

But I at least know where I still have to do research to do.

[CocoBolo]

There is nothing forgiving about a cast or black bullet, these take a greater amount of skill to relaod. If you don't have the skill you will be spending hours scouring out your barrel. Now its hard to mess up a jacketed bullet, yep it is what I call idiot proof. Plated bullets also take more care than jacketed, as a little too much crip and your shooting the no shoot instead of the shoot target they just go all over the place.

Powders there are lots but since you said 9 mm I recommend WST with black or swag lead bullets, if you are doing jacketed bullets then go for titegroup. WST can produce a wide speard and the standard deviation can be huge but its good stuff with lead and black bullets. TiteGroup is like popping smoke with lead bullets, the enemy can see you running thru the smoke.

For Jacketed bullets I recommend Montana Gold for the budget conscious get a case and the price isn't bad. I don't use JHP's even in my open gun I will use round nose they feed the best so what if the group is .0000003 bigger, a jam will cost you a stage. The best bullet I have found is the Zero it costs a little more but takes about .2 gr less than the Montana Gold to push at the same speed.

Since you going to do lead anyway, look at the Lee Cowboy Die for an expander, when loading lead or black bullets you need to flare the case well else you will cut the coating. Also make sure you use a Taper Crimp die, if you use a Lee Factory Crimp Die it will undersize the bullet it will go rattling down the barrel and leave an pound of lead behind it.

Make sure you use a SAMMI gauge, aka Drop Check, aka plunk checker, 9 mm case size is critical and you will have jams from down under if the brass won't drop in the drop check. I start out doing 9 mm by depriming and sizing all the cases then drop checking and trowing out the fat boys before loading. This will save you a bunch of primers and bullets instead of filling up the reject bucket. Check your length, each bullet shape will require a differnt length. First check to see if it fits in the mag, if it does not its too long, next take you barrel out of the gun ease the bullet down into it feeling for resistance etc. IF you have the same shape bullet in a factory round that works in the gun load that length. 9 mm forgives not .001 too long. I have found that the load table lengths are generally usless unless they are for the exact bullet you are loading. Long is better, less pressure, too short and you may get super face.

The most dangerous thing is a Squib, because they don't come in pairs, the next live round will split the barrel and probably ruin the slide if not the frame. Make sure its got powder, in 9 mm a double charge is almost impossible it will run over the case first so if you got powder all over the shell plate maybe you missed someithing?

Recipe ok 125 gr Jacketed 9 mm 4.7gr of WST will produce 130 PF, decrease to 4.3 gr for a Black bullet same weitht.

125gr Jacketed 9 mm 4.3gr of TiteGroup will produce 130 pf, I don't recommend TiteGroup for lead or black bullets.

You can start with WST at 3.8 gr and it will run the gun and you can chrono to see where you need to go.

Good Luck.

If your loading for an OPen gun make another post, Yes, I have seen a guy running a 9 mm open gun with Lead Bullets, in fact they had Red Wax on them, when he did unload a shot clear the gun looked like someone puked in it, on the 9 th stage of the day it did upchuck and die.

[1SOW]

I'm a relatively new reloader, only load pistol and mostly 124gr 9mm. Precision Delta is the cheapest 124FMJ I've found, but they became hard to get. Montana Gold has stayed available with the CMJ 124. A lot of shooters like the Zeros and and they are available.

I shoot USPSA and recently started AASA steel.

With a 132 power factor my MG 124 gr FMJ/CMJRN hasn't had any problems with a wide variety of steel targets. (I have, but the round hasn't.)

I use Vit n320 under MG 124 CMJRN bullets. It shoots amazingly clean. I initially loaded too light (bad chrono) and it wasn't very accurate, but that wasn't a big concern in USPSA. With steel, I loaded 4.2 grs (I got that load here) and accuracy improved a lot. I'm not near as experienced as many on this forum, but this is a good load for my CZ 75 and what I normally shoot.

A lot of shooters prefer hollow points with steel because they are accurate, frag and don't ricochet as bad.

Unless you've decided what you want/need for reloading gear, a 'Kit', like the Lee Classic (Cast Iron) Turret Press Kit is relatively inexpensive and easy to learn (mostly) . It comes with all you need to start loading with 4 carbide dies (includes the factory crimp die) in your caliber. If you later decide to upgrade, this set-up can still serve you well.

Get a 'good' reloading manual and read it....all.

I've found, I really enjoy reloading. You built it, you shot it, and you hit it. A good feeling.

Enjoy yourself, and like said above--stay safe.

Edited July 8, 2009 by 1SOW

[1bigshooter]

Titegroup has served me well in 9mm with 124 gr FMJ's from Montana Gold. I have used Montana Gold in .40 for years, recently in .38 SC and in 9mm, and have NEVER had a problem, they are good people, and support our sport.

For the reloading press - I would recommend that you consider a Dillon. I started with a Square Deal B, then a 550, and now a 650, never started with a single stage press. It's money well spent, and you'll never look back. Now that they have a case-feeder for the 550, that would be my recommendation.

I also concur with getting a good manual (or two) - reading all you can is good!

Good luck!

[twodownzero]

I wouldn't worry about lead bullets requiring more skill to load. I've loaded them almost exclusively since i started loading and no issues.

The reality is that you simply must watch what you're doing and load within published loads until you learn how to break the rules ever so slightly. Just get the 147s and a powder that will drive them and go to town.

[jkrispies]

All the advice so far is spot on. I'm not sure that you've said exactly what you're loading for? I'm assuming it's production since I haven't seen too many Beretta's in Limited or Open.

9mm is a good load to learn on. The best recipe I've found (not that I've experimented too much) is a 125gr Zero JHP over 4.0ish grains of Titegroup and a Federal primer. This will serve you well in Production. As has been mentioned before, Zero bullets are the best I've found, and surprisingly not too bad in price. They're a little expensive compared to plated (and a lot expensive compared to lead) but to balance it out, Titegroup is cheap and an 8lb cannister will seem to keep going and going like the Energizer bunny.

For the new reloader (any of us, really) I recommend safety over anything else, and that's going to come down to powder choice. Basically, you want a powder choice that will half fill or nearly half fill the brass with a standard drop; this way if you double charge it, it will obviously show and vice-versa for a too-light powder drop. VISUALLY CHECK EVERY BRASS BEFORE PUTTING A BULLET IN IT! As I recall, Titegroup in a 9mm case isn't too bad in this regard because the 9mm case is so small. However, despite the fact that Titegroup has given me the best performance over any other .45acp load I've tested, I stopped using Titegroup in my .45acp loads because the small volume of the powder disappeared too easily into the large volume of that sized brass: everybody I've spoken with who has double charged a .45acp had done it with Titegroup. I point this out in case you're planning to load for more than one round and expect to use the same powder for everything.

Edited July 9, 2009 by jkrispies

[Estimator]

Leozinho,

Have been reading the replies to your post. Great response and good to know there are many out there with similar interest willing to share there experience.

I especially like the response from “CocoBolo”. He is right on the money with suggestions, especially the case gauge advice.

An example from my own experience:

A few months ago I was trying a new cast bullet from a bullet caster here locally. The bullets were 125 grain RN with sort of a “stubby” shape compared to the various bullets I had been using. Plus, they were .256+ in diameter. I seated the bullets OAL 1.12 which was about as far forward as I could go and not have the lube grove exposed.

After crimping the first bullet or two I placed them in a Wilson case gauge and they “clinked” freely right down to the headspace grove in the gauge. Next, I did the same thing with the barrel of a KAHR PM9. Once again, dropped right down to proper headspace on the front edge of the shell. For some reason I did not do the same with the barrel from a S&W 39-2, which I also shoot.

Next day at the range I started off with the KAHR and all went well. Then the S&W 39. The slide on the 39 stopped between 1/16 and 1/8 inch from going all the way forward. I reached up and pushed with my thumb but it would not go forward.

Later, I blackened the bullet in the cartridge and pressed it into the barrel. The bullet was hitting the rifling before the case could headspace.

Whenever I use a new bullet type or for some reason change OAL on bullets I normally shoot, I check the first few with the barrel of every pistol I plan to shoot them in. If they ”clink” right down to the headspace grove then I at least know the pistol will cycle.

Ps-Many companies produce quality cast bullets. Of late, I have been getting all my cast bullets from “Missouri Bullet Company”. I like the bullets, the price is really great and they ship immediately. I order “on line” and receive the package in three or four days.(To Alaska, which is rarely the case).

Good luck and have many years of enjoyable reloading and shooting.

[SA Friday]

As Cocobolo said, lead and moly rounds are harder to reload than jacketed bullets. Plated bullets can be just as frustrating as moly bullets, and in some guns will tumble. I would recommend starting out with jacketed bullets. As long as you are working your loads up in powder charge and staying within safe chamber pressure areas with tried and proven powders, I don't think it matters if you try 124/125's, 135's or 147's to start out. Just keep in mind the longer the bullet the more case you use and the less forgiving for bullet set-back the reload will be. I've gone to Lee undersized resizing dies for all my reloads and set-back is no longer an issue for me.

Titegroup and N320 are very forgiving for 9mm rounds at minor pf, and both work well with jacketed bullets. Solo 1000 is more difficult to work with than both of the above IMO, and I'm a huge fan of Solo 1000. Solo 1000 can be really tough to get to meter consistantly for a beginner, and can be difficult to gauge for pressures especially with the lighter bullets.

My first USPSA load was a 147gr Zero JHP bullet and 3.1gr of TG in 9mm. If I could consistantly get the components to load this round, I would have never changed. It's that good. But, with things being the way they are, I would recommend Montana Gold or Precision Delta bullets over Titegroup or N320 to start out with. I haven't been able to get Zero 9mm bullets for some time now.

[jkrispies]

I've gone to Lee undersized resizing dies for all my reloads and set-back is no longer an issue for me.

+1. I buy mine through EGW.

[Baer45]

If you go with the Dillon 550 make sure you get the video. It is excellent and will take you through reloading your first case step by step. Lot's of great advice on forum. For what it is worth I started with Laser Cast Lead Round Nose and had no problem loading or shooting them..they are a hard lead and do not foul as easily as some others..pricing is very reasonable especially if ordered in quanity,,,

[MemphisMechanic]

I think that solo 1000 may be a little fast to start out with, and doesn't take up much volume in the case. Be careful of double charges.

3.2-3.3gr of Solo1000 is a lot more than it sounds like. It's a much lower-density powder than something like Titegroup.

A doublecharged 3.3gr Solo load with overflow the case with powder to spare.

If you're looking to duplicate the 147 AA load, try a nice safe 147gr Precision Delta with 3.2-3.4gr of Titegroup under it. With regards to OAL, all of my 147s are loaded at either 1.125 or 1.130. I have never found a pistol that wouldn't eat them.

Edited July 16, 2009 by MemphisMechanic