How do my 9mm cartridges look ?

[tercel89]

This is my first attempt at 9mm 115 grain FMJ . These dont have powder nor primers. The COL is good and measured fine. How does my crimp look ? I loaded them in my M&P and hand-cycled them and they chambered and ejected fine. Any information is helpfull and appreciated .

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Edited February 17, 2015 by tercel89

[Dolomite_supafly]

Look fine.

[Raoul]

They look good, but if you have any loading issues I;d remove a little bit more of the mouth belling.

[tercel89]

I'm gonna load the powder and primers tomarrow in some brass and do some test firing :ugh: . Mainly hoping for good functioning/cycling right now. I'll worry about accuracy later on. I think I'm gonna test them in my Ruger P94 since it's built like a tank. I'll load them lightly and at the minumum load as I can . Like I mentioned , I'm all new to this so I'm taking baby steps.

Edited February 17, 2015 by tercel89

[Raoul]

That's a good plan. Looks like you're on the right track.

Enjoy!

[musicman]

I would suggest loading up a few different power levels. Many starting 9mm loads won't have enough oomph to cycle stiffly sprung guns. When starting new bullet/powder combo I usually do 10-15 each of about 3 or 4 loads, depending on how wide the charge weight range is. I usually space them about .2 or .3 gr apart, as most 9mm loads are roughly .8-1.4gr min to max spread.

It's a big deal for me to try a bunch at a time, because I don't get to the range often and I can't shoot at home. I need to make sure I have enough loads worked up to find a good one on my first time out so I can pick one and then get to cranking them out.

Also, I've decided to stick to 124gr bullets for plinking as I feel they allow me a little more wiggle room with cycling. Caveat: I'm not a professional, and have not tried a whole ton of powder/bullet combos as 9 is a new caliber to me. I just felt like the starting and even medium loads for many powders with 115gr bullets would not cycle properly in 3 of my guns. I had to get much closer to max than I like for plinking loads. When I moved up to 124gr I still experienced the same with starting loads, but once I bumped up to the middle of the range the function with most powders became 100%. The only powder I've not been satisfied with in 9mm is Zip. I've fallen in love with the Accurate Arms powders, especially 2 and 5.

Let us know what you find out!

[DWARREN123]

Yes do load a few different levels since the min might not cycle the pistol.

I like to start mid level and work from there.

The cartridges look fine and as long as they chamber you should have no problem.

[tercel89]

Here's a question I just thought of guys : My Hornady book shows that the Maximum Case Overall Length for 9mm is 1.169"  It shows that they used 115 gr FMJ like I am using and they used a Case Overall length of 1.100" and started with 4.8gr of Power Pistol powder   . My question is should I make my cartirdges the same length as them or can I leave mine a little longer but just dont go over the Max COL ?

 

 I am using Power Pistol powder and 115 FMJ bullets.

Any help is appreciated

Edited February 18, 2015 by tercel89

[gun sane]

My question is should I make my cartirdges the same length as them or can I leave mine a little longer but just dont go over the Max COL ?

 

You don't have to maintain 1.1" for an OAL, but keep in mind that your pressures will increase if you go shorter and decrease if you go longer.  I usually leave myself some wiggle room with a longer OAL in case a miss-crimped bullet gets pushed in during the cycling process. 

Edited February 18, 2015 by gun sane

[tercel89]

Hey guys I just loaded them up and they cycled and worked great ! WOW this stuff is really neat and I feel like a kid that just learned to ride a bike . I used 4.9 gr of Power Pistol and used an overall length of 1.115  . I shot them in my Ruger P94. This gun usually makes any 9mm recoil seem light but these cartridges really seemed light in recoil but they did just fine.

  Thanks to all you guys for the help :up:

Edited February 19, 2015 by tercel89

[musicman]

Great to hear! Very likely that the load you are shooting is below normal factory velocity/pressure. Of course, paper and pop cans can't tell the difference, so rock on! :-)

[tercel89]

I just shot these 5 rds  into the ground behind my shed (we live in the country)  just to check to see of they would fiunction and cycle the slide properly. I'll make a few more then decide on exactly what I want ,  then make a bunch to take to the range to check for accuracy.

I will try these through some different pistols tomarrow. I just thought I'd use the TANK (P94) on my first ones in case , Lord forbid, something bad happened .

[musicman]

Haha! Makes sense. Yea, it's a good idea to try it in a few guns before committing to making a bunch of any round. For instance, my first M&P which is a full size, ran fine with a particular load. I went home and made 150 more. Tried them in a new M&P compact... no go. I imagine the shorter spring in the compact, as well as it having probably 3-4k fewer rounds through it conspired to cease cycling. Enjoy the new hobby... you're hooked!

[AECS]

I load then the max length that the magazine will allow, they headspace on the case mouth, so you can go longer.  The closer the bullet is to engaging the riffling when chambered, the better your accuracy SHOULD be.  That is the theory, and it has proven true for me in 9 and in 45 in my experience.

[DWARREN123]

I usually load mine as long as possible. As long as they fit the magazine and load in the chamber they should be good to go.

I would not go below minimum length for any cartridge.

[tercel89]

I just shot 10 through my S&W Shield 9mm. They worked great in it. I was kinda worried since the Shield has a strong/tight recoil spring. Worked great :woohoo:

 When I am seating and crimping these I am seeing a little brass or copper shavings coming off every now and then . Should I ease back a little on the crimp ?