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First reloading with 9mm, bullet seating drama!
- Thread starter pathdoc
- Start date
Tapered, yes, but compared to .303 British and .223 Remington it's far more in the straight-walled category.
Shall stand sideways when I shoot it and load the first couple singly, just in case a massive bang goes down into the mag well and sends the slide flying. I weighed all the charges individually, so I don't think I'll run into trouble, but man, there's not much room between min and max.
Shall stand sideways when I shoot it and load the first couple singly, just in case a massive bang goes down into the mag well and sends the slide flying. I weighed all the charges individually, so I don't think I'll run into trouble, but man, there's not much room between min and max.
stagpanther
New member
What powder are you using and what min max ranges? even in the small world of 9mm some combos are more problematic than others.Shall stand sideways when I shoot it and load the first couple singly, just in case a massive bang goes down into the mag well and sends the slide flying. I weighed all the charges individually, so I don't think I'll run into trouble, but man, there's not much room between min and max.
700X. I called the powder company and they gave me a load of 3.9 to 4.2 grains behind a 115 Hornady and 3.0 to 3.6 behind a Winchester 124.
I loaded ten rounds of 115gn at 4.0, individually weighed, and am nervous. I intend that for the next ten I will actually drop back to about 3.5, watching carefully to make sure that each shot makes a hole in the paper, and if that cycles the gun I will be happy with whatever MV it gives.
I am aware this is not the ideal propellant, but it was what I had available and I actually bought it primarily for 12G shotshells (over/under, so no feed/cycle or gas port issues to worry about).
I loaded ten rounds of 115gn at 4.0, individually weighed, and am nervous. I intend that for the next ten I will actually drop back to about 3.5, watching carefully to make sure that each shot makes a hole in the paper, and if that cycles the gun I will be happy with whatever MV it gives.
I am aware this is not the ideal propellant, but it was what I had available and I actually bought it primarily for 12G shotshells (over/under, so no feed/cycle or gas port issues to worry about).
stagpanther
New member
I was kinda curious about your worries--so I ran your numbers through my copy of Quickload. Unfortunately, it doesn't list 700x, so I had to approximate by running powder data for Green Dot and Ramshot Zip which bracket 700x on the burn rate chart.700X. I called the powder company and they gave me a load of 3.9 to 4.2 grains behind a 115 Hornady and 3.0 to 3.6 behind a Winchester 124.
I loaded ten rounds of 115gn at 4.0, individually weighed, and am nervous. I intend that for the next ten I will actually drop back to about 3.5, watching carefully to make sure that each shot makes a hole in the paper, and if that cycles the gun I will be happy with whatever MV it gives.
I am aware this is not the ideal propellant, but it was what I had available and I actually bought it primarily for 12G shotshells (over/under, so no feed/cycle or gas port issues to worry about).
The numbers it churned out were just approximations so take this with a healthy dose of salt--but 700x is a relatively fast powder (for a pistol cartridge), for charges around and just under 4 grs it looks like you're OK--but your worries appear justified--at 4.5 or better you can quickly get into pressures which can exceed the max as you get close to 5 grs.
Don't take my word for it--double check before you load.
jetinteriorguy
New member
I shoot a ton of 9mm using 700X and it works great. I load 3.6 gr using both copper plated and HiTec coated 124 gr bullets. Shoots clean, accurate, and very economical. Only issue is at these small amounts you have to check for short throws, it can bridge depending on what measure you use. I tried with the Lee Pro Disc and it didn't work so well, but works good from my Auto Drum.
3.6gn is the upper limit given to me by the factory ballisticians for 124gn jacketed bullets so I don't think I'll ever go that hard (3.0 was the starter), but we shall see. Once my week on call for the hospital ends, I can think about loading some more, and I will probably load a magazine full of 124gn to compare against the 115gn bullets. I mostly only need it to go bang anyway; if it shoots worth a damn I can try it out on plates sometime, and if it doesn't drop them cleanly on impact, THEN I will think about going harder.
Something doesn't add up, the Hodgdon website shows 3.3 to 3.7 grains at 1.100" for a 115 XTP, but then it's only going about 1,100 fps, which is nowhere near what a 115 can get to. It may not even cycle the gun correctly at the low end. The 124 XTP load data is showing 3.7 to 4.2 grains at 1.150", still about 1,100 fps. As bullet weight increases, charge weight goes down. I think there is an error for the 115 data, it is generally .5 to 1 grain over 124 data. The only way to know what's going on is to chrono your loads, keeping in mind most published data is for a 4" barrel. Also as the OAL goes down, the pressure goes up, as does the resultant velocity. I know USPSA shooters running 4.2 grains of 700x on top of a 230 grain .45acp making the major floor of 165, guys running 5.0 grains of 700x with a 115 making the minor floor of 125 ( about 1,100 fps).
As a reference, plates and poppers are calibrated to a 115 floor for USPSA.
As a reference, plates and poppers are calibrated to a 115 floor for USPSA.
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jetinteriorguy
New member
I did work up to the 3.6 gr of 700X, I believe I went all the way up to 4gr but the most accurate load was at 3.6. It's a plenty energetic load but seems ok as far as pressure signs. I think starting at 3 gr and working up if you feel necessary is a good place to start, although I believe I started at 3.2.
Okay, after loading thirty rounds of this stuff, I am now a lot more confident about everything.
The handloads look just like factory, which I like.
I have ten rounds of 115gn Hornady FMJ which... well, with a 0.4gn min to max spread, they could be anything (I weighed them all individually as close as I could to 3.9/4 grains); ten rounds of 124gn Winchester FMJ weighed to minimum (3gn), and ten rounds of 115gn on top of the same charge. With these, I will be watching very carefully for holes appearing in the paper. If they feed, cycle and eject cleanly, this will probably become my plinking and practice load; I won't feel hesitant about dumping them from a powder measure if I'm a whole grain under maximum. The next thing I need to do is dump some 700X into a powder measure and throw a whole bunch of charges to see what sort of consistency I can get with this stuff.
Man, it feels strange to load this cartridge. In everything else I've done, half a grain is an accuracy adjustment or a tidying-up function; in this one, it's more than the difference between min and max!!!
The handloads look just like factory, which I like.
I have ten rounds of 115gn Hornady FMJ which... well, with a 0.4gn min to max spread, they could be anything (I weighed them all individually as close as I could to 3.9/4 grains); ten rounds of 124gn Winchester FMJ weighed to minimum (3gn), and ten rounds of 115gn on top of the same charge. With these, I will be watching very carefully for holes appearing in the paper. If they feed, cycle and eject cleanly, this will probably become my plinking and practice load; I won't feel hesitant about dumping them from a powder measure if I'm a whole grain under maximum. The next thing I need to do is dump some 700X into a powder measure and throw a whole bunch of charges to see what sort of consistency I can get with this stuff.
Man, it feels strange to load this cartridge. In everything else I've done, half a grain is an accuracy adjustment or a tidying-up function; in this one, it's more than the difference between min and max!!!
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