My First 9mm Reloads

One thing to take into account when dealing with starting loads
is the burn rate and energy of the powders being used.

Here is what I use in a 3" Kahr due to the length of burn while
in the case while pushing a 115gr plated bullet set at 1.12" OAL.

Red Dot will get around 926fps for a clean minimum accuracy load.
W231 is clean and at POA with a speed of 913fps.
Green Dot which takes more powder and burns the longest can
get away with just 890fps for a clean burn and work the action.

Lots of things go into starting loads.........
as I have mentioned before, it is just putting the muzzle together with the different size parts.
Safe loading.
 
Mike0251 my response was not meant to be defensive or rude, I apologize if it came off that way. I appreciate your responses and candor. I will work up the ladder to find the load my pistol likes. Thanks to all for sharing your knowledge.

Mals
 
This is one of the reasons I don't care for the Lyman manual. I have the 49th edition, it has 9 different bullets listed for 9mm, which I'm pretty sure is the most reloaded round in the world. The Lee manual has around 30. For a lot of rounds, and the 9mm in particular, too light of a load can be more dangerous than too strong.
 
Used to have a splendid model 39;sold it.Dumb move.The thing was perking along with 4.0 gr HP 38/W231 but under a 125gr bullet.
I guess you already know that your problems were caused by too light a load.I think that you are on the right path when you mentionned that you'd bump your loads up to 4.0gr and from there,since you are using a lighter bullet,I'd say that you'll still need to fine tune your load,possibly inching up a few /10 of a grain at a time.
Like somebody mentionned,you don't have to get the velocity all the way up there.Usually,accuracy is way below max load.Have fun and play it safe.
Qc
 
I think there has been a lot written and talked about of the overall length when building a load. OAL is easy to measure and specific to one bullet and one powder (burn rate) when talking load data - the combination of powder charge and OAL.

What is really of importance is not so much where the nose of the bullet is but where the base of the bullet is within the case ("pressure chamber"). Hence, the large amount of data on OAL being specific to a particular bullet/powder combination. Now toss in the surface coating of the bullet whether it be lead, plated copper, copper jacket, HiTek, powder coat - - - and we start dealing with barrel friction effects on pressure .
 
9 mm is very sensitive to the bullet weight i.e. 147 max for 231 is 3.5, while 124 is 4.1.
Like several people said, a good manual is a must! And make sure it's current. 9 is a high pressure cartridge, so it is more sensitive to OAL than say a 38 that has less pressure and less bearing surface of the bullet intruding into the available space in the case.
 
Just a note;

Lyman had a starting load of 3.5grs of w231 at a OAL of 1.090" at 971 fps with a "Universal" 4 inch barrel....... c/o a JHP bullet.

Hornady; S&W M39 with a 4" barrel with a 115gr FMJ
OAL 1.100" with w231 starting at 4.1grs gave around 1,000 fps.

If you used a OAL of 1.14" or a 3" barrel, you might get failures
with feeding and ejecting with the 3.5gr loadings.
One reason it is nice to have two or more manuals to see their
data and to select a load to use.

Have fun.
 
Mike0251 I have loaded 20 rounds each at 4.3 and 4.4gr but was not able to make the range this week. I know this still seems low but I am working up the ladder until I find my guns sweet spot. I make sure I see a hole before the next shot so I am not worried about a squib.
Thanks for checking on me.

Mals
 
Mike0251 - I shot my reloads today and the 4.3 gr caused the "holy **** I loaded those" moment you mentioned. I nice tight group with soft recoil. Not sure I even want to try another recipe.
Thank you very much.

Mals
 
Mals9 said:
Mike0251 - I shot my reloads today and the 4.3 gr caused the "holy **** I loaded those" moment you mentioned. I nice tight group with soft recoil. Not sure I even want to try another recipe.
Thank you very much.

Mals
Click to expand...

4.3 at what OAL?

Starting to reload 9mm this weekend for first time reloading. Will be using 231 and barry 115 RN 115gn rounds.
 
Select the OAL to match your gun. I usually load all roundnoses 115-124 grains to 1.160", and hollowpoints marginally shorter to match the ogive.
 
Racefan I don't have the load info in front of me but I believe it was 1.130"

Mals
 
RCBS Cast Bullet Manual , 115 grain cast lead RN , with 231 powder shows a starting load of 4.5 grs. @ 1042 fps.
and a maximum load 0f 5.0 grs. @ 1138 fps.

The soot and stove pipes are classic signs of not enough pressure, bump the charge up at least to 4.5 and try that..

Gary
 
Mals9 said:
I shot my first reloads today. I loaded Berry's plated 115 gr so I started low at 3.5gr of W231. About 80 % stove piped and the accuracy was poor. I stepped up to 3.7 gr and most all ejected but I had a lot of short stroking, not loading the next round. The cases came out with heavy soot on one side. This did not happen with the Winchester white box that shot very accurately. What is the cause of the large amount of soot? I am new to pistol reloading so I am here to be schooled.

Mals
Click to expand...

I am using the same bullet and powder. But I am loading 4.1 gr. of the w-231. That load works in all my 9 MM. hand guns without any type of problems.

Take care, R.J.
 
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