where to start with 9mm
- Thread starter nhyrum
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It's been a while since I reloaded 9MM, Unique worked fine for me. I found lead bullets were tricky due to the wide variations in rate of twist and depth of lands and grooves between manufacturers. My Browning HP likes lead bullets, my S&Ws can be finicky, my Star Model B likes them.
Darnit, I'm late to the party again. Lots of good posts already. I'm going to just keep this kind of high-level (as opposed to detailed) about loading for 9mm.
A fairly good combination, but . . . XTP's are rather expensive and made for defense use. So I think a couple adjustments are in order here. First, TiteGroup is a bit fast for 124's. At least, too fast to work them up to defense velocities. For that, you might want to get that Power Pistol you mentioned. You can certainly use TiteGroup for 124's. But the pressure curve is going to be a bit steep; and that is generally discouraged for loaders just starting out. (I know you have rifle loading experience.)
But for range ammo, TiteGroup will suit you well. I would however, recommend getting some 115 grain bullets to go with your TG. Someone mentioned using a slow powder to give you some loading "forgiveness." I agree. But another way to get that forgiveness is to move to a lighter bullet. 115's are a more centered choice for TiteGroup. And you might as well go with plated. There's no reason to go jacketed for the purpose of range ammo. I would start there.
Mmm, yes. Or AA#5, or Unique, or BE-86, or HS-6; or a host of other intermediate burn rate propellants. Among those, I think Power Pistol is the most energetic and has the most velocity potential. But it's also not known for being forgiving. HS-6 would be the most forgiving; and would be my recommendation for loading up those 124's to defense levels.
They are. I carry the 124 +P Gold Dots in my Kahr CW9 (1182 f/s). I have also shot/carried the non+P version too (1048 f/s). Both are good defense loadings. I also load 124 Gold Dots. (But I always carry factory ammo.)
So the short response is: use your TiteGroup with some plated 115's to make good range ammo. Get something a little slower to make full-throttle 124 grain rounds.
A fairly good combination, but . . . XTP's are rather expensive and made for defense use. So I think a couple adjustments are in order here. First, TiteGroup is a bit fast for 124's. At least, too fast to work them up to defense velocities. For that, you might want to get that Power Pistol you mentioned. You can certainly use TiteGroup for 124's. But the pressure curve is going to be a bit steep; and that is generally discouraged for loaders just starting out. (I know you have rifle loading experience.)
But for range ammo, TiteGroup will suit you well. I would however, recommend getting some 115 grain bullets to go with your TG. Someone mentioned using a slow powder to give you some loading "forgiveness." I agree. But another way to get that forgiveness is to move to a lighter bullet. 115's are a more centered choice for TiteGroup. And you might as well go with plated. There's no reason to go jacketed for the purpose of range ammo. I would start there.
Mmm, yes. Or AA#5, or Unique, or BE-86, or HS-6; or a host of other intermediate burn rate propellants. Among those, I think Power Pistol is the most energetic and has the most velocity potential. But it's also not known for being forgiving. HS-6 would be the most forgiving; and would be my recommendation for loading up those 124's to defense levels.
They are. I carry the 124 +P Gold Dots in my Kahr CW9 (1182 f/s). I have also shot/carried the non+P version too (1048 f/s). Both are good defense loadings. I also load 124 Gold Dots. (But I always carry factory ammo.)
So the short response is: use your TiteGroup with some plated 115's to make good range ammo. Get something a little slower to make full-throttle 124 grain rounds.
I load all my practice and competition bullets but for self defense I buy loaded ammo. I like Federal and Hornady the best.
XTPs are one of the best bullets for accuracy. Out of my budget though. I use coated bullets. Not as expensive as jacketed but show now signs of smoke when shooting.
XTPs are one of the best bullets for accuracy. Out of my budget though. I use coated bullets. Not as expensive as jacketed but show now signs of smoke when shooting.
Pretty darn well. It's the correct burn rate range; especially for the 124's.
I've never actually used 330; but I do use VV 310 (not for 9mm - 310 is super duper fast) and it's great stuff. And you're right: at one to two cents per pistol round, the propellant is the least expensive component of ammo loading.
Bullets and powder in the 9 mm ...." I just want the best "
Oh if it were only that simple...it's not. There are many bullets and powders that will work. I have been reloading for 40+ years but just recently started with the 9mm Luger. Have discovered that many powders do great.
Here are the ones I've worked with: 700X , Bullseye, Red Dot , HP-38 , Titegroup, A-No.5, and Unique . I have used 4 different bullets from 105 grains to 125 grains. There is no one singular best powder that stands out above the others. I do prefer a truncated cone bullet , but that's just because I like the way it looks and it cuts clean holes in targets.
In this day of limited powder supply , my question is what powder(s) can you get ? Not all powders are available at all times. Unique was all I used for years, it disappeared and I had to start buying other powders to try.
Having several loads with different powders sure eases your life when you can't get the powder you want.
Gary
Oh if it were only that simple...it's not. There are many bullets and powders that will work. I have been reloading for 40+ years but just recently started with the 9mm Luger. Have discovered that many powders do great.
Here are the ones I've worked with: 700X , Bullseye, Red Dot , HP-38 , Titegroup, A-No.5, and Unique . I have used 4 different bullets from 105 grains to 125 grains. There is no one singular best powder that stands out above the others. I do prefer a truncated cone bullet , but that's just because I like the way it looks and it cuts clean holes in targets.
In this day of limited powder supply , my question is what powder(s) can you get ? Not all powders are available at all times. Unique was all I used for years, it disappeared and I had to start buying other powders to try.
Having several loads with different powders sure eases your life when you can't get the powder you want.
Gary
I can get all those you listed. The only thing I haven't seen local is power pistol. My local guys stock a lot. Even 50 BMG stuff. Out here in Wyoming we take shooting seriously I guess! I'd say between the two stores, that aren't chains, I have access to 100+different powders easy, and if I want, they'd other anything
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I saw 8# jugs of Power Pistol and Varget at a LGS 40 miles north of Atlanta this past Tuesday - payday is Friday. The 1 pound jugs are in fairly good supply - a little pricey in some areas but they are there. The 4 and 8 pound jugs are still rare in these parts but starting to show up.
8 pounds!!??!?!!??? Of a pistol powder??!?!! That will last like... Forever!!! But, in my hornady manual it's listed under 9,40,45, and some 10! So I guess it's a pretty universal powder
Now. Vv n330 seems to have disappeared off the face of the planet! Either that or my google-foo is weak. Searching through pages and pages, clicking every hit. Only 1 place, other than the vv website knew of its existence, and it was out of stock, but listed at 98 bucks/lb... YIKES! I'll go to my local guys and see in they can keep their eyes peeled, I REALLY want to try vv powder
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Heh. Forever is a long time
Last year, I bought a 4 pounder of Power Pistol. I have yet to open it because I already had a couple pounds - and I'm using other powders in the same burn rate range to phase them out (trying to simplify my inventory). But yeah, even 4 pounds is a commitment. It's gotta be a propellant you're not only confident that you like now; but will continue to like over time. Loading styles and purposes change, believe me.
Starting point. I load and shoot a fair amount at least I have this year. I have found 4.0 TG under 124 plated from Everglades ammo. I have loaded 3.5,3.8 and found 4.0 to be a sweet spot. The 3.5 and 3.8 were soft shooting but would not cycle 100%. I have shot several thousand at 4.0 without issue.
mr.snakeman
Inactive
One powder we here in Sweden use for 9mm with good results is the Vit 3N37 for target loads. For defence I would suggest using only commercially available ammo. If you ever need to use your pistol in such a situation the possible litigation hassles when using a "home cooking" load are just not worth the hassle-from the horror stories that I´ve read about that is a road you really do not want to go down.
An often overlooked powder that does really well in 9mm is CFE-Pistol. So yes, there is a wide range of powders that play nice in 9mm. I've tried quite a few of them (which is what most guys do, I think) and settled on CFE-Pistol as my favorite (which is, again, what most guys do... try a few, then settle on a favorite). There are a lot of powders that meter well, but IMO, CFE-Pistol is one of the best-to-meter powders out there. It's extremely consistent throw-to-throw.
I used Berry's plated bullets for years, but recently have switched to Rocky Mountain Reloading's offerings. They offer a variety of plated and FMJ 9mm ammo, at some of the best prices around. A couple of their bullets have garnered a large following. In particular, their in-house 115gr fmj, and their 115gr plated hard core. They offer two different 115gr fmj's. One is made in-house on their own machines, the other they ship in from the manufacturer. Their house made FMJ is my favorite. For my particular gun, it's the most accurate bullet I've ever fed it.
I'm one of those guys that only uses factory ammo in semi-auto pistols for self defense loads, so I can't help at all in that regard.
I used Berry's plated bullets for years, but recently have switched to Rocky Mountain Reloading's offerings. They offer a variety of plated and FMJ 9mm ammo, at some of the best prices around. A couple of their bullets have garnered a large following. In particular, their in-house 115gr fmj, and their 115gr plated hard core. They offer two different 115gr fmj's. One is made in-house on their own machines, the other they ship in from the manufacturer. Their house made FMJ is my favorite. For my particular gun, it's the most accurate bullet I've ever fed it.
I'm one of those guys that only uses factory ammo in semi-auto pistols for self defense loads, so I can't help at all in that regard.
I finally understand why people so often say they use Factory ammo for defense.
I'll try that vv 3n37 as well. Just had the local guy order n320, another place has 350, and I just got power pistol. Forgot to check on the cfe pistol. Maybe I'll get that when the 320 comes in.
Honestly, I'm not concerned about metering. I throw all my charges a few tenths short and trickle the rest.
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I started out doing the same thing.
But when my son and I both got our 9mm's, it became apparent that we needed to be able to load them in quantity, and quickly.
The 9mm is just so fun to shoot! You can go through 9mm ammo like it's .22LR... in Huge quantities, in a short period of time. Not to mention that it's so cost effective to load 9mm, I can hand load 9mm for less than the cost of a single round of .22LR (where I live, .22LR is still in short supply and really expensive). I can load 9mm for 11 cents per round. The cheapest I can get .22LR is 12. But I digress...
You may find that 9mm is so fun to shoot that you'll need quantities of it far greater than you've needed in other calibers.
My son and I go through 2k rounds per week of 9mm. Try hand trickling *that*!
I went from hand trickling and a rock chucker single stage press to a Dillon 1050 in order to feed the need for 9mm (and .223, actually).
If (when
) you get to that point, a powder that meters consistently will become more important. Even now while you're hand trickling charges, with CFE-Pistol (or other very consistent powders) you can set your measure to throw one-tenth under, then only have to trickle one-tenth. But honestly, CFE-Pistol measures so well, that you can set your measure to throw exactly the charge you want, and never have to hand trickle at all. I have three different powder measures, and CFE-Pistol throws to plus or minus one tenth of a grain of the target weight through each of them. Every. Single. Time. And most 9mm loads that you'll find with CFE-Pistol have much more slop available than one tenth of a grain (unless of course you're loading to max loads).Edit: Wow, i'm starting to sound like a CFE shill. Not my intention. There are many powders out there that measure extremely well. If you find yourself going through more rounds than you can comfortably trickle, find yourself one of them. Just because I sprinkle CFE on my Corn Flakes doesn't mean that everyone does... find yourself a powder that *you* like and run with it.
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One day I'll convince the wife I need a Dillon... Almost got her sold on a 650xl... But right now I still have her convinced I'm doing it for the economical purpose, but really it's two fold, get great ammo, at cheaper than what Factory ammo costs. I load for my rifle, no expenses barred, at half the cost of factory. But I totally hear you. Pretty soon, I won't be able to keep up with the appetite of the pistolI started out doing the same thing.
But when my son and I both got our 9mm's, it became apparent that we needed to be able to load them in quantity, and quickly.
The 9mm is just so fun to shoot! You can go through 9mm ammo like it's .22LR... in Huge quantities, in a short period of time. Not to mention that it's so cost effective to load 9mm, I can hand load 9mm for less than the cost of a single round of .22LR (where I live, .22LR is still in short supply and really expensive). I can load 9mm for 11 cents per round. The cheapest I can get .22LR is 12. But I digress...
You may find that 9mm is so fun to shoot that you'll need quantities of it far greater than you've needed in other calibers.
My son and I go through 2k rounds per week of 9mm. Try hand trickling *that*!
I went from hand trickling and a rock chucker single stage press to a Dillon 1050 in order to feed the need for 9mm (and .223, actually).
If (when
Edit: Wow, i'm starting to sound like a CFE shill. Not my intention. There are many powders out there that measure extremely well. If you find yourself going through more rounds than you can comfortably trickle, find yourself one of them. Just because I sprinkle CFE on my Corn Flakes doesn't mean that everyone does... find yourself a powder that *you* like and run with it.
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Like most have mentioned, tons of favorite load combinations.
For my target loads I mostly run either Berry's 115 or 124gr heavy plated hollow base, or my own cast Lee or MP lead.
I load the 124gr Gold Dot for any serious social event.
Powders are plentiful that will work for them, some use a little some use a touch more. Just depends on how tight you want to be, but most all take less than a dimes worth. I personally like Bullseye, BE-86, AA-5 & 7, for 99% of my shooting. I sort of stumbled on the #7 load just trying to use up the last bit of a pound. Turned out to be one of the smoothest and most accurate loads I have shot out of my SIG's.
Since Sept of last year I have burned through 6k worth of CCI-500's loading and shooting both my and friends 9mm's. I would say that a load of 4gr of Bullseye under the above mentioned Berry's or cast represented 95 percent of those.
As for the serious social stuff, I like the AA-7 load hands down.
For my target loads I mostly run either Berry's 115 or 124gr heavy plated hollow base, or my own cast Lee or MP lead.
I load the 124gr Gold Dot for any serious social event.
Powders are plentiful that will work for them, some use a little some use a touch more. Just depends on how tight you want to be, but most all take less than a dimes worth. I personally like Bullseye, BE-86, AA-5 & 7, for 99% of my shooting. I sort of stumbled on the #7 load just trying to use up the last bit of a pound. Turned out to be one of the smoothest and most accurate loads I have shot out of my SIG's.
Since Sept of last year I have burned through 6k worth of CCI-500's loading and shooting both my and friends 9mm's. I would say that a load of 4gr of Bullseye under the above mentioned Berry's or cast represented 95 percent of those.
As for the serious social stuff, I like the AA-7 load hands down.
.I carry boxed self defense loads, usually Hornady
For plinking and practicing I use Missouri Bullet Co coated 124g ball with HS-6. I get my load data from the Lyman Cast Bullet manual.
HS-6 cycles both of my 9mm's without a hiccup, I have a Sig P-250 and a LC9.
I load 1,000 rounds in a sitting on a rainy afternoon etc., and that will last me for a month or so.
A pound of HS-6 will load about 1200 9mm rounds, the MBC 124g coated bullets are $30 +/- per 500 so for $90 in projectiles, $35 in powder and $30 in primer, you can fill up a ammo can.
For plinking and practicing I use Missouri Bullet Co coated 124g ball with HS-6. I get my load data from the Lyman Cast Bullet manual.
HS-6 cycles both of my 9mm's without a hiccup, I have a Sig P-250 and a LC9.
I load 1,000 rounds in a sitting on a rainy afternoon etc., and that will last me for a month or so.
A pound of HS-6 will load about 1200 9mm rounds, the MBC 124g coated bullets are $30 +/- per 500 so for $90 in projectiles, $35 in powder and $30 in primer, you can fill up a ammo can.