Auto pistol hand loading? Getting a load to "shoot to the sights"

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kawasakifreak77

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Hey guys. Been trying to figure something out here. I'm an avid reloader & for the most part a wheelgun man. Buuuut I've come across an automatic that I really like: a Ruger LC9s pro.

My problem is this little guy shoots great but I have to cover up the target to hit it. I find this very annoying. Most all my rifles are iron sighted & I adjust them for a 6 Oclock hold at whatever range but I can't accomplish that with the little LC.

Is there any proven way to make a handgun load shoot to a higher point of impact?

I think I read once that loading a heavier bullet, therefore increasing the dwell time of the bullet in the bore would raise the point of impact. Basically the barrel is a tiny bit higher due to recoil with a heavier bullet if I understand this correctly.

I tried loading some cast 147 for the LC & well... they shot bad. Really bad. Like all over the place. I have a friend that casts 125 grain 9mm flat points that seemed to shoot far better, but still low. Next time I get to sit down at the bench I want to make a ladder of these with Bullseye to see if I can get some to print higher.

The only other ammo I've shot is all bulk 115 grain stuff like WWB, perfecta & FOG ammo. It all shoots good from the LC but I still have to cover up my target. I'm trying to find a load that prints on top of the front sight around 20 meters.

So yeah I'm trying to figure out how to raise a load's point of impact. I feel I could be more accurate if I could see my target. Hoping to find a cast bullet that shoots but thats another conundrum. Any help here would be greatly appreciated.
 
Is there any proven way to make a handgun load shoot to a higher point of impact?
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Yes, reduce the height of your front sight, or get an adjustable rear sight.


Good luck and stay safe.
Jim
 
Always fun sighting in a fixed sight gun with loads.

Lower velocity shoots higher, whether it be heavier bullet and/or lighter charge. Too light, and it won't cycle the action.

If your gun does't like the 147s, I'd try a different 147. What load are you shooting and what pistol powders do you have available? I had a SW39 that shot 125gr truncated flat nose cast bullets poorly with two of three popular powders tested, and great with the 3rd. Shot any jacketed bullet great, but I wanted to keep plinking costs down.

Is this gun a range toy, or will it have other uses, such as defense?
 
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I know I could take a bit off the front sight, guess I should have mentioned that. I upgraded the sights to the Truglo fiber optic / tritium sights & I would prefer not to mod them. I might be able to take about .010" off since a friend has a mill but that'd be a desperate move.

The gun is my daily carry, currently stoked with Critical Defence 135 grain +P. They don't shoot TOO low & at defence ranges I don't think the POI difference will be a bother. I can still place a magazine in a 6" target very quickly.

I'd like to get some HST 147 +P to see if they shoot higher. I've read several grest reviews of this ammo in short barrels & hopefully the would shoot higher.

But for practice I need something that hits higher. Can't afford to be blasting away with super duper wiz bang ammo.

The 147 cast I loaded were store bought so it didn't surprize me when they patterned like buckshot. I've yet to see store bought cast shoot decent. The only reason I loaded them is they were free & I've got a lot of old powder to burn. They were loaded over 3.5 grains of Reddot.

For powder I've got Bullseye, Greendot, HP38 & Herco. I'm thinking of trying some 124 or 147 reman ammo with Berry's bullets to see if POI raises over the 115s.
 
Get used to the Novak front sight, or get a gun with old school blade sights. I was not happy with them when I got my first gun with them. I thought they shot too low. After adjusting the way I shoot I would not be without them if I did not have to be.


It is like going from years of driving a stick shift then buying a new car that is automatic, and being mad about not having a clutch. It takes getting used to doing things just wee bit differently.
 
Getting a load to "shoot to the sights"
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Sounds like, "Getting a car to drive to the speedometer." You know... the 140 mph speedometer in a base-model Ford Fiesta. ;)

Aside from sight adjustment, there isn't a whole lot that you can do. A lot of defense-oriented handguns shoot low no matter what you do. It's just the way they were designed.

The 147 cast I loaded were store bought so it didn't surprize me when they patterned like buckshot. I've yet to see store bought cast shoot decent. The only reason I loaded them is they were free & I've got a lot of old powder to burn. They were loaded over 3.5 grains of Reddot.

For powder I've got Bullseye, Greendot, HP38 & Herco. I'm thinking of trying some 124 or 147 reman ammo with Berry's bullets to see if POI raises over the 115s.
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Red Dot is less than ideal with heavy bullets (and rarely does well in 9mm, anyway - most of Alliant's shotgun powders were designed to be compressed). Even if the loads hadn't 'grouped' like crap, I doubt performance would have been great.

If you give the 147s another shot, I'd try to stick with a powder that's just a bit slower. Something like Unique, Herco, HS-6, Power Pistol, or maybe True Blue. Green Dot might work, but you'll be at the mercy of the ever-fickle and never-verifiable parts of internet for load data. (And, usually, when no one publishes data for a cartridge/powder combination, there's a good reason for it.)
 
I started with Reddot to burn it up. Its pushing 30 years old but I've about burned it all up. 3 or 4 grains at a time & its like it never runs out! My next oldest powder is Herco & I've heard some people praise it in 9mm. I'm trying to burn all this old powder up. I have an old Alliant manual thats about as old as all this powder & its got green dot data also. I wish I could find someone to trade off all this powder to.
 
Addressing the lack of accuracy with the 147 cast bullets, check the bullet diameters.
Quite often cast bullets need to be slightly larger.
.357 diameter seem to work very well in 9mm.
 
At SD ranges (from arm's length to 10 yards or so) under stress, is it going to make a difference?

You're not shooting competition with it, and I can attest that under stress, during a fight for your life, the one thought that won't go through your mind is "jeez, I really need that 6 o'clock hold"..............
 
Ranch Dog 100gr shoot good out of all the Rugers, Tauruses and all others that we've shot them out of.
That is with 3gr of Bullseye and factory sights.

They shoot higher than the 130gr we use.
 
No mill needed to take a bit of the front sight, that's what hand files are for. I've done it many times.
Most carry guns sights are sighted to hit at point of impact as they are not target guns.
They are old but there are no better pistol powders than Red Dot and Green Dot.
 
Bluetopper he has Novak sights on the gun. The only thing he can do is to get a shorter sight. Though from the way he described the problem, it is not a gun problem, nor a load problem. He is trying to shoot using the iron sight method, using Novak sights. The result of that is you will shoot low every single time. If you want spend the money to have a smith change the sights, be aware it will not be cheap to do so.
 
849asco, at Sd distances no it probably won't matter. But when I practice I want to be able to see my target, I know I'll be able to shoot better & I'm not going to settle for 'good enough'.

Now if you have something relevant or posittive to add to the conversation, please do.

Reloader28, thanks for the info. I have several pounds of bullseye.
 
I've had this problem on 4 pistols recently, I don't know why. Take a file to the range with you and file the front sight. The other options are to get adjustable rear sights or have shorter front sights installed. The file is the cheapest. My LC9 shoots to the front sight but I had others that shot as much as 6" low at 25 yards. How you gonna hit a target you can't see?
 
Now if you have something relevant or posittive to add to the conversation, please do.
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Really??

Here's relevant - It's a SD gun. Being able to hit a man sized target consistently at 10 yards is damned relevant. Being able to hit a bullseye at 50 yards is not.

Here's relevant - If the front sight is too high, buy/borrow/find a milling machine or take a file to it. That's the easiest fix.

Also relevant - you can custom build a load that will shoot where you want, but once you load up your SD rounds, you're right back to where you started.

Those are all relevant to your post/question, are they not?

Never ceases to amaze me how much people are offended by a common sense answer to a question they already know the answer to.
 
From all I've read in the posts, you have received a LOT of valuable & common sense solutions to your perceived problem! Take your pick and stop grumbling about there being no magic solution to make your pistol shoot to a desired impact point while you are using a target (6:00 o'clock hold)!

I might as well add my bit in..."If you're that unhappy with the impact point, either change front height or get an adjustable rear sight!" Be advised that once the pistol is sighted in to a certain point, at a your preferred range with your load of choice, most likely that is the ONLY load that will impact where you wish it to strike!

Clothing on moving targets do not give a clear point of impact! Also, why are you using handloads for self defense ammo? If you ever have to defend yourself w/these handloads, you will be adding another problem which your attorney will need to try to defend at trial, whether, criminal, civil or both!

Tuxedo007 (This signature does NOT self destruct!)
 
I'm not using reloads for SD. Where did I say that?

As far as SD pourposes I am totally happy with the gun. The question posed here is only for plinking.
 
I may be missing something here; if so, forgive me...but:

If your practice ammo groups tightly but is an inch or so low compared to your SD load, so what?
Continue to practice and shoot tight groups an inch low (knowing that your SD ammo will group similarly, an inch higher).
Or else practice with SD ammo at a buck a round.
 
If your practice ammo groups tightly but is an inch or so low compared to your SD load, so what?
Continue to practice and shoot tight groups an inch low (knowing that your SD ammo will group similarly, an inch higher).
Or else practice with SD ammo at a buck a round.
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^^^^^^^^^^^^Bingo!^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
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