Reloading 9mm question

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Merlyn
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Re: Reloading 9mm question

Post by Merlyn » Tue Dec 08, 2015 5:32 pm

Okay. I have been to the range with the latest reloads. Everything worked perfectly. Now I know how to "reverse engineer" this little thing and everything works the way it should.
I will also mention that after doing the reloads, I put everything through the plunk tester as well as the calipers and after that I cycled every round through the handgun. It worked out great.
Thank you all who offered information and advice. I love this place.

Glenn

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ron
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Re: Reloading 9mm question

Post by ron » Tue Dec 08, 2015 10:10 pm

Merlyn wrote:Okay. I have been to the range with the latest reloads. Everything worked perfectly. Now I know how to "reverse engineer" this little thing and everything works the way it should.
I will also mention that after doing the reloads, I put everything through the plunk tester as well as the calipers and after that I cycled every round through the handgun. It worked out great.
Thank you all who offered information and advice. I love this place.

Glenn

So how is your accuracy compared to factory loads? Now that you've figured out how to make the gun go bang every time you pull the trigger you might want to try a different powder to see if it makes for tighter groups, and get a Loadbooks USA manual to compare loads with different powders. The CFE pistol powder seems to be a good burn rate for the 9mm and Unique is what I've always used because I use it in so many other pistol calibers.

Then if you really want to get your feet wet, try some different bullet weights and then try out some Jhp's.
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Merlyn
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Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2012 4:02 pm
City: Spokane Valley
Favorite Firearm: CZ 75B
Next Firearm: AR15
Location: Spokane Valley, WA

Re: Reloading 9mm question

Post by Merlyn » Thu Dec 10, 2015 4:25 pm

So how is your accuracy compared to factory loads? Now that you've figured out how to make the gun go bang every time you pull the trigger you might want to try a different powder to see if it makes for tighter groups, and get a Loadbooks USA manual to compare loads with different powders. The CFE pistol powder seems to be a good burn rate for the 9mm and Unique is what I've always used because I use it in so many other pistol calibers.

Then if you really want to get your feet wet, try some different bullet weights and then try out some Jhp's.
I Primarily use Tight Group as it fits all my handguns but I'm willing to try other things.
My groups were nice and tight. Factory seems a little larger groups but with the powder I use, they seem pretty good. Most of this ammo is used for IDPA and target fun when I have the time. What ever that is. I've put defensive rounds the the 1911 and have had really good results but not yet through the 9mm. Time will tell. I really need to get to the range more often. But then, we all do right?

Merlyn
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Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2012 4:02 pm
City: Spokane Valley
Favorite Firearm: CZ 75B
Next Firearm: AR15
Location: Spokane Valley, WA

Re: Reloading 9mm question

Post by Merlyn » Wed Oct 26, 2016 6:30 pm

I know it has been a while since I have been in here but felt that I should update you guys. First of all I would like to thank all of you who have put forth an effort to help me with this. I have gotten more from your suggestions than you might have guessed.
After a short break (frustration being what it is) I went back to simple basics. I started with factory ammo and came up with "once used brass" and took a new micrometer to the new brass. I used my RCBS de-priming and resizing die and ran all of those rounds through. I might mention here that I completely reset the die before starting as if I had just pulled it out of the box for the first time. I cleaned the primer pockets and re-primed each casing. I measured many of them for diameter and over all length as I went along. I then reset the die that bells the top of the casing. I just barely belled each casing just enough so that the lead would just sit on the bell. I completely reset the seating and crimping die from scratch. Here's where things got dicey. After playing with this for a few rounds, I discovered that I was over crimping the casing. Depth was perfect. Over all length was well within tolerances. But it wouldn't drop in to the plunk testing die or the barrel of the handgun. I looked at this under a really strong magnifying glass also using a pair of "cheater" glasses and compared my round to a factory round. I back the crimp part of the die off just a little bit and hot dang, the two looked the same. I have reloaded 100 rounds of both 9mm and .45 ACP and have gone to the range and fired all of them. (felt pretty good actually) Everything worked like it was suppose too. All is well once again at my loading bench.
Thanks again to all who have taken the time and patience with me. I have learned a lot and will pass what I have learned along to anyone who needs and/or wants help with something I know a little about. (grin) Yes, I'm still learning...

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