9mm Hornady 115 XTP over TiteGroup, Glock 19

[NorthernBlue]

Just posting this up to share my results from a workup this morning.

All loadings cycled the Glock 19 a few loads were shot from our M&P9c as well. I have started to use magnum primers to ensure the rounds are send downrange reliably when it gets cold.

It was 65 degrees out today here in AK. I didn't fire the 4.7gn loadings as the 4.5gn loadings were already exceeding the velocity of the Factory Hornady 115gn Critical Defense load and I was getting nervous....thoughts on this? I have a hard time looking for over-pressure signs on 9mm, I have yet to see any honestly, so I stopped fearing I might be missing the signs.

Hornady 115gn Critical Defense shot from my G19 is around 1105 fps.

 

[Nick_C_S]

I'll start by saying that TiteGroup is an excellent choice for 115's. Most loaders see it as a "fast" powder - and it is - but it has quite a bit of "slowness" to it, compared to many of its fast burn rate contemporaries. So I think you did well with propellant selection. I also think you did well going with magnum primers, under your unique circumstance (AK).

I didn't fire the 4.7gn loadings as the 4.5gn loadings were already exceeding the velocity of the Factory Hornady 115gn Critical Defense load and I was getting nervous....thoughts on this?

Safety first. But keep in mind that most modern 9mm's have a good deal of "headroom" built into them. I think it's safe to say that a Glock 19 is among those. They're sturdy guns. I would see it more as an accelerated gun wear thing, than a safety thing.

I'm not telling you to shoot the 4.7's. But your data suggests nothing abnormal going on, and the 4.7's most likely would have just followed the velocity curve. That said, your 1175 f/s is moving a 115 right along for TiteGroup, so it may be just as well that you didn't test the 4.7's.

I have a hard time looking for over-pressure signs on 9mm, I have yet to see any honestly, so I stopped, fearing I might be missing the signs.

Everyone does. 9mm is tough because the case is so small and max pressure spec is below "magnum" levels - where you can see primers flattening and case extraction (in revolvers) can get sticky, etc.

Aside from looking for case bulge and flattening primers, I go by feel and experience, mostly. I can tell when the recoil starts getting jarring and "just doesn't feel right." That said, I have also done load workups with 9mm when primers were starting to flatten. Like I said, most modern 9mm guns are built pretty tough. But your point remains: There is no hard and fast rule to tell when you're exceeding pressure.

To sum it all up: 1175 f/s is a good velocity for a 115 XTP and getting there with TiteGroup means that you most likely have an excellent clean running round (i.e. no shortage of pressure). I think you've got a winner.

 

[NorthernBlue]

Thanks for the reply. I got a button load of these XTPs for cheap. I plan on loading them up and stashing them away as my back up Supply. I have been slowly collecting nickel plated casings to use with then as well.

I have found I really like Berrys 115 RN for range use....cheap, easy to get and accuracy is there....for me. I am no target marksman.

 

[bandw1dth]

I finally got my 700 free 115gr XTP bullets in from Hornady and worked up a load using TiteGroup and WSP primers. OAL is 1.10XX". Shooting rested at 10 yards 4.3grains of TG yielded the best group out of both my Sig P320F as well as my P320C with an average FPS of 1135 and power factor of 130 for the compact and average of 1165fps with a pf of 133 for the full size.

4.3gr P320F

4.3gr P320C

This load workup had a starting weight of 4.0gr and a max of 4.5gr. Loads were done in .1 in increments, I.E. 4.0, 4.1, 4.2. 4.0 through 4.5 showed zero signs of over pressure when examining the WSP primer. Which leads me to believe that I could have taken the charge weight up further if I wanted to.

For the OP; here is a 9mm range pick up case with obvious signs of over pressure. It's unknown if this was factory or was loaded for a major pf.

I've got a few cases with flattened primers around here somewhere. I'll see if I can't photograph them so you know what to look for, for your own future reference. As safety comes before all else in this endeavor I always try to help out whenever I possibly can.

I seem to get a lot more flattened primers using CCI small pistol primers vs WSP primers using the exact same load. CCI has softer cup? Someone with more experience than I, feel free to chime in.


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