9mm reloading; using what I have.

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pathdoc

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My shotshell reloading hobby means I have red dot, 700X and even a jar of American Select at hand. My immediate availability projectiles (not yet bought) are Hornady 115 gn and Winchester 124gn jacketed (FMJ in both cases IIRC). I do not as yet have brass (can scavenge) or primers.

Does anyone out there know of suitable recipes?
 
I've had good success with 700-X and 124gr copper coated bullets from Extreme Bullets. Makes a nice, reliable, inexpensive plinking/target round.
 
Mark Glazer, I have substantial experience with bottle neck rifle cartridges, but this will be my first straight walled pistol cartridge. I have several loading manuals, and you can be sure I will be reading them carefully before I load the first round.
 
The 700X will do nicely for both cast and jacketed. So with the Select. Oddly, Alliant doesn't give any 9mm data with Red Dot. Might be just the site though.
Only ever use Bullseye for the same reason you're using those powders. S'what I have. My Inglis BHP is not up to great accuracy either.
 
I forgot to mention one thing with the 700-X, it doesn't meter the best so I tap the powder measure with my finger three times on the up stroke and on the down stroke and get good consistent loads. This is with the Lee Pro Auto Disc, the cavity I use is just small enough that occasionally the powder will bridge a bit without tapping it.
 
I have substantial experience with bottle neck rifle cartridges, but this will be my first straight walled pistol cartridge.
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That's me in a nut shell but I have started loading pistol rounds . I only have a few hundred loaded so far not including load development . I've heard it's easier to load pistol but I'm not convinced .

I just had what I consider a big issue trying to stop bullet set back in a 1911 . I could not and when I say I couldn't I mean it . I crimped the hell out of the bullet and still got set back .005 each time tested using a bullet comparator to measure .

I started a few threads on some forums and pretty much what I got was "deal with it " . I'd be freaking out if my 308 , 270 , 223 , 30-30 , 5.56 loads were getting .005 of bullet set back and still am a little about these pistol rounds .

But wait there's more . So I start to load lead bullets and they are a whole different ball game it seems . Need a good charge to not lead barrel , to much crimp /to little crimp , Flare is not enough shaving lead off bullet , oh no now to much flare .

Mix brass it does not matter , no no never mix brass

Calgon take me away :D

Anyways I don't remember so many things to think about when I started loading for my rifles . So yes read up and test some dummy rounds before you start charging the cases .
 
Okay, long time no see, but update: got in touch with Hodgdon after Winchester and Hornady were both less than helpful, and I now have load data they gave me based on "bullets of similar construction". All is good there. I intend to load five at minimum then five each 0.2 and 0.4gn above that, so long as I am still 0.2gn below maximum. That should keep me safe-ish, but any hints on pressure signs in the 9mm would be helpful. Needless to say, I will be firing for function at first, so close I can't miss, to ensure that the bullets have left the barrel. Once that is established, I can start accuracy testing.

The Hornady bullets have a published oAL but the Winchesters don't, so I'll be trying max listed OAL first unless that seats the bullet out too far to hold in the case well or causes feed issues, then I'll seat halfway to putting the parallel part of the projectile all in and adjust from there.
 
What gun will be shooting these?

any hints on pressure signs in the 9mm would be helpful.
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There is no quick n easy way to answer this. From my experience - which isn't as much as some other calibers I shoot a lot more - about all you notice is slightly bulged brass (and it's a very subtle thing, as all brass is going to bulge to some degree), and sharp, snappy recoil - which is dependant on your recoil spring being healthy and of correct poundage. You're not going to see flattened primers like you would with hot 357 Mag loads. So yes, it's a little tough to tell with 9mm. That's the bad news.

The good news is, most modern 9mm's are built with a good deal of "headroom." I have never had a problem by following published data. Now I don't build hotrod ammo. But I have built some 9mm ammo with recipes that slightly exceed max published data, and have never had any problem. As long as you're following published data from a reliable source; and your loading techinque is good, you should be fine.

Doing load workups is always a leap of faith. The best you can do is make that leap distance as short as possible.
 
As far as I am aware, my gun is brand new, so if its recoil spring is not healthy or of correct poundage I should be very displeased. I've been shooting factory loads in it, at least until such time as I was sure I was happy with the accuracy and function, and I shall keep on using it for some time as a reference standard, but I'm never happier than when shooting my own ammo - and eventually I will move on to casting.
 
You sound as if you are not up to speed when it comes to high pressure pistol rounds where a small difference in powder or OAL can mean a bug difference. IF that assumption is correct, read a lot before you proceed.
 
Final update: Lee's Modern Reloading (Second Edition) came to the rescue, with 700X loads for both 115gn and 124gn generic (no specific projectile/manufacturer named) jacketed bullets. For both it recommends just north of 4gn or 0.5cc of 700X, and the 0.5 scoop. These are recommended START loads.

Unless someone can come up with a good reason why I shouldn't, I am going to climb the ladder to this from where I am now and see what happens.
 
I've been shooting 700X in my 9mm for over two years and at least 2000 rounds with no problem. The only problem is that it doesn't meter well through some powder measures, but works fine in my Lee Auto Drum. Before I started using the Loadmaster with the Auto Drum I used to load on a single station and used the Lee Perfect Powder measure but I had to tap it on both the upstroke and downstroke to be consistent.
 
Thanks for that hint - I have the PPM, which I will be using when I'm not weighing each charge for load development. I've been in the habit of giving it a nice sharp tap against the stop at both ends with rifle powders anyway, but thanks for the reminder. :)
 
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