9mm Reloading Help Please

Everglades 124 JHP's

I'm a little late here an don't have any direct answers. But do have a couple things to add . . .

I load the Everglades 124 JHP. I've loaded and shot (and chronographed) a few hundred; and am sitting on about 2000 more of them - so that says something about how confident I am with their function in my guns. I have measured their diameter at .355" consistently (although, I'm using .001 calipers; and actually need a .0001 V-anvil micrometer to truly get a good measurement).

I set their OAL to 1.120" per plunk test with my Beretta 92fs and Kahr CW9.

I seat and crimp in separate steps. I seat with an RCBS die; and crimp with a Lee FCD. Is your Lee crimp die a FCD?

I don't use a chamber checker as I am a firm believer that the best chamber to use as a checker is the gun(s) barrel(s) that will be shooting them. I haven't drop checked every round that I load - just a few - but ran into no issues. At the range, the ammo functions flawlessly.

Your OAL sounds a little long to me; but that doesn't mean it is. Wouldn't hurt to shorten them up 20/1000ths and try it.

Hope that helps at least a little. The main thrust of this post is that I highly doubt that the problem is with the Everglades bullet. Not only do I use them; but I also have a friend who uses them more than me, without issue.
 
Yeah I never thought it was a fault of theirs. I've shot about 4000 rounds of all my calibers and I haven't had a problem. But then one day it just started for reasons unknown. I would suggest them to pretty much anyone
 
"The bullet ogive is defined as the “curve of a bullet’s forward section” and can be expressed as a tangent ogive or secant ogive." - I stole that from some google search...

This determines COAL for a specific profile of bullet. The curvature of a round nose will be different form various manufacturers. On extreme magnification would you seat at flat point the same as a round nose? It may take some experimentation with a chamber or a case gauge.
 
I went through this same thing and eventually discovered that the ogive on the bullets I use was more blunt and had to be seated substantially deeper to function properly. So what I did was to first seat a bullet long in a sized, unprimed, empty case. Then I plunk it and keep seating deeper until it plunks reliably in my chambers of all my 9mm's. Then I seat slightly deeper to allow for bullet variations. From here is where I start my load work up watching powder depth closely to avoid compression due to seating the bullet deeper. Once I find the best load, I then load up 100 rounds and check for function in all my guns. Once I confirm reliability, I go ahead and load and shoot another 500 or so to get a more positive proof of reliability. If all is well at this point it becomes one of my standard loads and I'll load up a couple thousand for stock.
 
Brick,

You may want to contact the bullet manufacturer, and ask if they have a recommended coal.
I had gotten a box of Sierra 115gr. HP for the 9mm. Load data shows generally for the Hornady XTP, or just generic HP. Western's data showed a COAL of 1.070" for the XTP. Bullet would get stuck in the lands of my pistol. Couldn't get the cartridge out of the chamber.
Sierra lists 1.050"COAL for their 115gr. HP.

Never hurts to ask.
 
The EGW chamber checker has very tight tolerances, and herein probably lies much (or all) of your problem.

After acquiring an EGW chamber checker, I began having the same problem that you are experiencing about cartridges not "passing" the gauge. After searching for information, I discovered that there are multiple reports of the same issue with this gauge.

I am not disparaging the EGW product; it is well made. But the tolerances are for match ammo and not the ammunition we shoot for pleasure.

The cartridges that did not pass my EGW gauge easily passed my Dillon and L E Wilson cases gauges. They also passed the "plunk and spin" test in my barrels. That's when I ceased using the EGW gauge, and all the worries disappeared.

Suggestion: Get an L E Wilson or a Dillon case gauge and use it. Alternatively, just use the chamber in your barrel as a "plunk and spin" case gauge (when all is said and done, it's whether the cartridge fits your chamber that really matters).

If you use a case gauge, keep it clean inside and out. A flake of powder or residue from case lube, etc., can prevent a perfectly good cartridge from passing the gauge. Alcohol on a cleaning patch works well.

Are you aware that problems with the cartridge extractor rim can cause failure to pass the case gauge? If not, just say so and an explanation will be forthcoming.

You have done the right thing by asking questions. Hope this helps. All the best.
 
Okay guys we struck some gold. First thing i did was seat the bullet deeper to about 1.190" and it worked great. Cycled some dummy rounds through a few of my 9mms and they all went. I'm gonna make some and head to the range tomorrow to see how they do.

Once again I'd like to thank everyone for their help and responses. I learned a whole lot from you guys and it made me realize that even though I may be doing okay in my reloading, there is so much more to know and understand. Thank you all, I'll report back after the range tomorrow.
 
I ran into a similar problem when I first started loading for my CZ75B. I used the OAL listed in the manual and didn't give it a second thought until I tried to fire them. The CZ has a very short leade and the bullet was hitting the rifling enough to lodge the bullet in the bore.
I had to go home, check the lengths and specs and then disassemble and load all 200 cases to fit my chamber.
Lesson learned: The chamber of your gun will determine the overall length.
 
Have question about reloading using Alliant Powder

Has anyone used Alliant Powder (Power Pistol) for reloading 9mm? I went to the Hornady Handbook 10th Edition Page #867, found the Power Pistol listed and used an average starting load of 5.5gr - 5.6gr. What a surprise using my Taurus PT111 the rounds went well all except the fire ball out the end of the barrel. is that expected with Alliant Powder?
 
Power Pistol is well known for its flash.

It's also one of the most accurate powders in use in the 9mm Luger.
 
Did you measure the diameter of the projectiles? Yes, the curve of the projectiles may also be responsible and typically seating them lower helps if that's an option. I'll continue to watch what comes of this and contribute if I notice anything.
 
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