Reloading advice needed

[Guest Boomhower]

I've been reloading 9mm for all of 100 rds. now , and I know it's a trial and error thing, but I don't want to endanger myself from my own ignorance, so I thought I would start by asking here.

I've loaded 2 50 rd. batches now, and so far I've had 2 problems.

1st 50 rds :

1. All of my reloads when compared to WWB were a little short on the OAL. This caused feeding issues and the round being chambered would turn upward in turn forceing the next round in the magazine to turn nose down. So after about 15 times of this, as you can imigine, I was pretty frustated since I now had to clear 2 malfunctions.
   
2. The powder I am using is Hodgdon tite group, and the recommanded gr. for this powder in the manual I have is 3.9 gr., so I've just been loading 4 gr. to round it off. The problem is that each time I fire off a round, I have a FTE and the round stove pipes before it can eject fully.
   

2nd 50 rds :

1. Reworked the seating depth of the bullets and eliminated the feeding issue.
   
2. Still the same FTE problem. This really sucks when you are trying to shoot 50 rds. and after each rd. you have to pull the slide back and empty the cartrige manually.
   

Now my main question to you guys is, does it sound to you like that I need to make a hotter load, in order to action the slide properly? This is all I can think of, when trying to figure out a reason why, but then again I'm new to this and don't know what all to expect. On the bottle of Hodgdon powder, it says to not exceed 4.8 gr. per load for 115 gr. bullets. Will .8 gr. really make that big of a difference?

[Rightwinger]

Boom

Yes, .8 grains can make that big a difference, especially if you compress the charge and have other things going on.

First, cut back to loading only 10 or so rounds at a time so you don't make a batch of bad ones.

Without being there to see the whole process I would say the first thing I would check is all your dimensions. Overall length and circumference at the mouth the big ones. Compare to your factory and your manuals specs and see if all is in the green.

If all your dimensions are good then its time to look at powder levels. If your already loading above minimum and close to hot it should work.

Are you belling your cases? I would look at the mouth width and make sure if you are belling your bringing it in tight enough seating.

Are you crimping at all? If so then you might be bulging the case mouth area.

Hard to tell from a laptop 180 miles away guy but we will all jump in to help.

[Guest Boomhower]

First, cut back to loading only 10 or so rounds at a time so you don't make a batch of bad ones.

Your right, I just hate to make a trip to the range with only 10 rds., but it is my money that I'm wasting.

Without being there to see the whole process I would say the first thing I would check is all your dimensions. Overall length and circumference at the mouth the big ones. Compare to your factory and your manuals specs and see if all is in the green.

I've not checked the mouth dim.

If all your dimensions are good then its time to look at powder levels. If your already loading above minimum and close to hot it should work.

Minimum is 3.9 and max is 4.8. I'm loading 4 gr.

Are you belling your cases? I would look at the mouth width and make sure if you are belling your bringing it in tight enough seating.

Yes I'm belling. That's the only way I can get a bullet seated without the bullet crinkling up at the case lip.

Are you crimping at all? If so then you might be bulging the case mouth area.

No. I only bought a 3 die set, so no crimper.

[nb forrest]

It sounds like thats a light load and not fully cycling the slide.

I beleive I load 4.0 gr. with a 147 gr. bullet, I'm not sure though because I've not loaded 9 mm. in a while, SO DO NOT REPEAT THIS LOAD without checking your book.

Get a go no go gauge. You just drop the cartridge in and it checks several dimensions at once.

Edited April 30, 2008 by nb forrest
spelling

[Schadenfreude]

Does your reloading manual give examples of what to look for in an over pressured round? Looking at the primers will tell if you are too hot. Speer makes a good loading manual, lee's isn't bad either, also run a few rounds of fact. Ammo, is the gun still functioning ok? - If you have too much pressure providing that you don't have way too much the primers will be forced against the breech face deforming the primer around the edges.

Looking in my lee manual it says to start with 4.5 grains of titegroup not to exceed 4.8. In the past I have worked up a load for a Luger a friend of mine had we loaded 5 rounds starting at the min then 5 more with a little more & repeat until a 50 round box was loaded with 10 different loads - carefully document this - keep firing progressively hotter loads - not exceeding max - until the gun functions reliably - then you know the cheapest load that will function because it has just enough powder. It may not be the most accurate & you need access to a chrony to really know what is going on but as long as you don’t exceed the max you should be ok.

[John Wall]

What type of firearm do you have? Some require heavy loads to work. Take five rounds of each batch, loaded to proper length, and use the barrel as your chamber gauge to make sure they chamber BEFORE you go to the range. Put each batch in a sandwich bag.

Go up .2gr for each batch and test your ammo until until your firearm ejects the empty hull several feet, locks open with authority, and has recoil comparable to factory ammo. Put two rounds in the gun for each test. One in the mag, one in the pipe.

You are going to need to load near max if you have a Glock or Sig.

Titegroup is a very dense powder, and is all too easy to double charge.

Use EXTREME caution until you get your loading procedure down pat, or switch to a bulkier powder, such as Unique.

Last but not least, it is always better to alter the ammo for the firearm, NOT THE FIREARM FOR THE AMMO. Especially if you have a Glock, do not use a reduced power recoil spring!

[Guest Boomhower]

Thanks for the advice guys. Hopefully I'll get a chance tonight to sit down and turn out some more. I will continue to check dimensions and will probably load a few different charges as mentioned by a few of you. We'll see where that gets me.

What type of firearm do you have?

S&W Sigma is the one I am using for my tests.

[rstandley]

I have loaded 10,000 9mm to date. I use 4.6 of titegroup with a 115 gr. bullet loaded out to a length of 1.120 for FMJ. I also use a Lee final sizing die that gives it a taper crimp. Also if you go to a JHP their OAL is around 1.100 because it has no point. My perfered load is a 124gr JHP, WSP, 4.2grs of HP-38, oal at 1.100. I get a 128 power factor or 1047fps out of a Glock 34.

[DWARREN123]

Go to

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

Hodgdon site

Load 10 rounds at min and go up .2 grains for 10 rounds until .4 grains or so less than max. Then do your range time and see how they do, make sure to mark which rounds are which. When you get near max loadings be very careful and watch for over pressure signs!

I do not load for max and I watch my charge weight very carefully when near max.

Longshot may be a better powder than others in the Hodgdon line for 9mm and 40 S&W. I use Longshot for 40 S&W and have had good results for accuracy, cleanliness and function. I have also used in for 9mm in the past.

Just my experience!

[I_Like_Pie]

1st...there is not enough power to cycle the action. Either get a reduced power spring or find a different combination. And yes...0.8 grains of powder is big considering you will be working with under 4 grains to begin with...enough to cause problems if you have the wrong powder and you are working near max loads.

2nd...case capacity of the 9mm is very small so it is quite sensitive to overcharging and OAL. With this is mind I find it always wise to use a powder that is not "peaky" with respect to pressure, and one that will not allow you to accidentally double charge. Example...Use Unique rather than Titewad, Bullseye, or any number of extremely fast powders.

3rd...Lee sells a 4th "Factory" crimp die. This is a GREAT product as it will prevent buckling/bell when crimping and it applies a very, very nice taper crimp. About $8 at midwayusa.com

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You are on the right track...the most important thing is that you are asking questions! Keep em coming.