Up to now, I've only loaded rifle: 8mm Mauser, .303 British, 6.5 Swede and 30-40 Krag. I've been loading for paper, just above starting loads, and accuracy has been satisfactory. I shoot off the bench so I'm fairly confident of my marksmanship.

Now, however, I've begun to load .38 special and 9mm for range plinking and practice.

Did my first run of .38 using Missouri Bullet 158 LSWC over 3.1 gr Bullseye. Shot it in two revolvers, both S&W, one a .38/44 HD and the other a 15-3, both in 4" barrels. Results were okay, not anything special, but everything in the black at 7 and 10 yards (I only shot 50 rounds as I didn't want to make too many up and find I had to take 'em apart).

The 9mm was Hodgdon 115 gr. FMJ's over 3.9 gr. of 700x at 1.125 COL from an FEG Hi Power clone. Accuracy was not as good as my usual with no discernible pattern.

My question: How can I tell if the load is wrong, or at least not optimal, for one gun or for any gun. I shoot a variety of pistols -- BHP's, Smith 39 and 59 series and a PT 99 Taurus (Beretta clone) and 1951 Beretta.

Should I be shooting the pistols off a rest? What's the optimal distance? How can I hone the load so I've got the right powder under the right bullet.

Right now, all I've got are the 115 gr. FMJ's, but I'll be getting some Berry's 115 gr. and 124 gr. plated.

The only two pistol powders I now have are Bullseye and the Hodgdon 700x.

thanks in advance.

Same way you would for rifle IMO . . . make up a few (eg) 9mm loads (eg 5 each) at (eg) 3.3gr, 3.5gr, 3.7gr and shoot from a rest at 10 to 25 yards. Compare accuracy. Then compare to Bullseye at (eg) 4.3gr, 4.5gr, 4.7gr. When you get the Berry's, rinse and repeat.

I also like to fire some factory rounds during these sessions. It helps me compare recoil, ejection, and accuracy. If having the POI at (eg) 10 or 25 yds match your fixed sights POA is important to you, evaluate the loads accordingly. If you have a chrono and velocity is important to you, work those measurements into the routine.

Pretty soon you'll know whether you're happy with one or more of those combos, or not.

For plinking loads if accuracy matches or is better than factory ammo then I'm happy. If accuracy is less than factory I have to do more load testing.

The majority of your accuracy comes from your bullet. A good quality bullet that your firearm "likes" will produce good accuracy regardless of load and potentially superb accuracy with the right load. A poor quality or less than optimal fitting bullet will never give you superb accuracy regardless of load used.

Theoretically, the best way to tell is with a chronograph through the velocity and average figures. I tried that a few times and found that it was a hell of lot more trouble to do anything with a chronograph. I eventually got rid of it. Accuracy check seems the best to me and is the quickest.

I load for accuracy, so for my a load is right when the accuracy is at it's best for that particular powder/bullet. So, I shoot from a rest and in the case of 38 special or 357 Magnum use a model 620 equipped with a reflex sight. For my semi's I cheat with some 1 diopter readers so I can see the sights clearly.

It isn't the ammo -- it's you .

My group sizes are equally poor with reloads, any powder, any bullet, any caliber compared to any equally poor factory ammo group sizes. Must be this age thing, failing muscles, and poor weather causing infrequent range sessions. Group size is independent of revolver / semi-auto also. EDIT: Chronograph didn't make smaller group sizes either. Scoped rifle with a Harris bipod shot the smallest groups. END

I'm not going to stop shooting .

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S&WHF 366

I've found good accuracy with 700x and Bullseye, but with the small handgun charges I like the better metering of Bullseye.

With a 9mm Rainier 124 RN, at 1.125 COL, I loaded 5 cartridges with Bullseye from 3.9 to 4.4... for me, the 4.1 gave the smallest velocity variance and best accuracy. This was at 10 yards.

It's a slow process, and I need to work on some other combinations this summer. But for me, the Bullseye load was more accurate and softer shooting than "store bought" practice ammo.

Will

I never could get 700x to work for me in 9mm. I played around with it in the depths of the powder shortage and no matter what the load, it wasn't acceptable for USPSA competition. I ended up selling it to a guy who liked it (45ACP shooter) when I got some Autocomp. I've never been desperate enough to resort to 700x again. (actually I think I'd buy a BB Gun before I'd get any more 700x).

I don't think that I, or anyone else, can tell you what will be optimal for your equipment. As others wrote, you have to do a lot of trial and error to figure out, for yourself, what is optimal. The only piece that I can add, is change one thing at a time. Bullet, powder, charge weight, OAL. Just takes time. Enjoy all of the shooting.

You can talk books on the 38 special, I will just touch on the 9mm....

Some 9mm pistols like the smaller 115gr bullet at target speeds, maybe medium speeds around 1150 or even maximum fps if safe in the weapon.

Then again, a certain pistol can hate the 115gr and do very well with the heavier 124gr FMJ or plated bullets.

When the 124gr arrive, I would test it against the 115gr in a light target loading and a medium loading to see if your weapon likes one better than the other with a certain powder.

I have used both weight bullets with NINE different powders.......... You can do just as well with one or two powders to develop a load that shots well. It just takes a few trips out to see what the targets say.

Good shooting.

Second the notion that you go by what "group" you can get with your favorite factory ammo, so you won't get unrealistic expectations about what you can achieve with reloads in a handgun at "normal pistol distances."

In most cases, the ammo is not the limiting factor, although I have loaded some horrible mismatches that would only shoot patterns, not groups. If a shooter is capable of 5" at 25yds, changing from 3" capable ammo to 1" capable ammo will still give 5" groups. If the ammo is only capable of 12" groups, then THAT will show.

As Nevada Ed said, 9mm is not a good candidate for very light target loading and playing with every available powder. Get the right bullet (I shoot 124gr Precision Delta for competition) load it up to moderate or better loads with one of the popular medium powders and shoot for effect. Titegroup and HP38 are 2 of the most popular with competitors, with VV powders favored except for cost.

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Science plus Art

If the bullet doesn't leave the barrel ...it's wrong.
If the gun explodes...........................it's wrong.
Any thing in between , that shoots to POA .....is right.

Don't overthink this, just pick a safe and sane load from a published source and try it out.....you will know when it's right!

Kind of like picking your wife, date a few girls, when the right one comes along....you just know she's right!

Thanks to all. Looks like I'll be spending a lot more time at the bench and at the range. Such a terrible fate!!

Not to worry though, I'll blame it all on TwoBoxer. (You may, as a consequence though, have a few pins stuck in your voodoo doll by my wife.)

As for testing with all my guns...I think I'll use an FEG Browning Hi Power and S&W 39-2 as my two test beds. The Berettas will just have to like what they're fed.

Wouldn't be the first woman to do that lol . . . and it would be worth it. Have fun

How capable are you as a Shooter? Can you shoot say 2" groups off hand at 50ft? That is the closest distance I will shoot any handgun to determine acceptable accuracy. Your ability will dictate distance.
Your best accuracy will come off a supported bench, you remove the humane element a bit. The load that functions the gun & gives bet accuracy is the load you want to shoot. For many, accuracy just doesn't matter as much with handguns, they are happy with pie plate accuracy at 21ft.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

ANY combination of gun and ammo shoots better than I do so I don't worry about it. I do wonder about the accuracy of my old bolt 30-06, though. Seems like I should do better.

I do a lot better with really mild loads because I can recover better between shots. Soft lead wadcutters around 800 fps.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"