Handloading 9mm PPQ Newby Questions

[PPQ_Patrolman]

Just finished reading the First Edition of Modern reloading and it should be I would rather ask the questions than not and pay the price which talking firearms can be more than what someone would like to risk. As stated I am very new to reloading and will take a slow careful approach with helpful advise from the wiser.

My questions:

1st: I have collected most of my brass from the my local range after I bought Federal Pre, Winchester, and Agulia boxed. After I clean that brass how many times can it be reused. Ive read 2-3 times and Ive heard others say with pistol they use it till the case splits "Doesnt sound that good but what do I know so far"

2nd: Does anyone have pictures of certain conditions to look for when picking up the brass at the range.

3rd: I will check my handloading guide but does anyone have any great 9mm load data that works well for the PPQ 4in m2

Thank you for all the time spent reading and helping me on this journey

Sincerely A Handloading Newby

 

[jwrowland77]

1: You can use your pistol brass until it splits. Most likely, you'll lose the brass before that happens though.

2: pick everything up and sort it once you get home. If you can't use it, put it in recycle bin.

3: Being a newbie, start with a powder that fills the case like Unique or Universal. There's other powders I like but they are very fast powders that barely fill the case. Best thing to do is get some powders listed in the manual and try them out. Never know what your pistol might like.

 

[Gadawg88]

You can use 9mm and other pistol brass many, many times.

 

[gamestalker]

Each time I resize, I tumble it enough to make seeing micro fractures easier. They usually start up around the mouth, or some where within the bullet seating depth, not always, but it's a place to keep an eye on. But even so, it's not that big of a deal as long as you aren't exposing the breach face and chamber to constant gas leakage.

Loose primer pockets are another indication that your brass is reaching, or has reached it's life span. For me, and since I run full house loads most all the time, I usually discover those micro fractures before primer pockets get loose.

Bulging, or guppy belly brass near the case head is another area of failure. However, this is more common with brass fired from poorly supported chambers, Glocks being one of those.

Also check your brass for indications of gas leakage around the primer. Do this prior to decapping it, look for carbon around both the primer, and a circular pattern where the primer meets the breach face.

GS

 

[PPQ_Patrolman]

Great info

Thank you gents great info

 

[rcmodel]

Pistol brass = Shoot it till you lose it, or it splits.

Clean, inspect, size, inspect again, sort by head stamp, and load it.

Pick a load from any manual for the bullets & powder you have.

Then Start with the start load and work up till you are satisfied with the results.

There are no loads for PPQ's.
Just make them like factory loads and they will work like factory loads.

rc

 

[Matt Dillon]

Do ourself a huge favor and get a Wilson case gauge and use it to check your rounds after you make them.

 

[NineBear]

I have been reloading for my 9mm PPQ M2 w/4" for several months now and I can tell you I've got no other 9mm with such a short "throat". It requires some very short OAL reloads depending on the bullet/projectile shape.
I've found that Nosler JHP's are very troublesome with this barrel/chamber. These bullets have a high shoulder which is a real problem and require extra short OAL. Compare the shape of these to a Hornady XTP/HAP or even your typical round nose projectile and you will see what I mean.

My advise is to spend a lot of time doing the "Plunk" test with handloads and the PPQ barrel. I did this for hundreds of rounds after some of my initial reloads jammed up my gun big time. It would not go into battery nor eject the un-fired cartridge....a rubber mallet was required to force the slide into battery.

Good luck, once you get the OAL figured out it is a dream gun to shoot, my favorite so far.

 

[caz223]

IMHO 9mm cases get better every time you load 'em until they get lost.
Most 9mm factory loads are a bit short, so they work in short chambered guns.
On guns that do better with longer brass, say .750, the brass works better once it gets worked a few times, and stretches a bit.
On the guns I have, IIRC the ammo gets better when the cases are at .744-.748", and is at it's best at .748-.750", YMMV.
These lengths are for brass that has been resized.

 

[Twmaster]

I have been reloading for my 9mm PPQ M2 w/4" for several months now and I can tell you I've got no other 9mm with such a short "throat". It requires some very short OAL reloads depending on the bullet/projectile shape.
I've found that Nosler JHP's are very troublesome with this barrel/chamber. These bullets have a high shoulder which is a real problem and require extra short OAL. Compare the shape of these to a Hornady XTP/HAP or even your typical round nose projectile and you will see what I mean.

My advise is to spend a lot of time doing the "Plunk" test with handloads and the PPQ barrel. I did this for hundreds of rounds after some of my initial reloads jammed up my gun big time. It would not go into battery nor eject the un-fired cartridge....a rubber mallet was required to force the slide into battery.

Good luck, once you get the OAL figured out it is a dream gun to shoot, my favorite so far.

That's odd. My PPQ is happy with all sorts of 9MM ammo. Even ammo my CZ P-07 will not chamber.

So far my PPQ likes 124 grain plated bullets the best.

 

[NineBear]

TwMaster, is any of the ammo you shoot reloads ? or is it all factory ?

 

[Walkalong]

I have been reloading for my 9mm PPQ M2 w/4" for several months now and I can tell you I've got no other 9mm with such a short "throat". It requires some very short OAL reloads depending on the bullet/projectile shape.

Then he may need to do the plunk test.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=506678

Yep, pick a medium speed powder that will fill the case well, and flow over with a double charge. HS-6, True Blue, Unique, Universal, N340, just to name a few.

 

[Rule3]

Just a suggestion buy invest in a few other manuals. The ABC of Reloading and get a manual Like Hornady. Speer or Lyman.

Also go here for free info and some videos click on the top an pull down the different sections. Guide to reloading and resources. A lot is rifle but the basics are the same.

http://www.rcbs.com/guide/

 

[Twmaster]

TwMaster, is any of the ammo you shoot reloads ? or is it all factory ?

I never buy centerfire ammo. All reloads.

 

[BluewaterLa]

Just a heads up that made me double guess myself when I first started loading.
Brand newbie and spent months reading books and manuals I decided to start with 9 mm Luger for my first cartridge. I was baffled about the brass being shorter than the trim length. Sounds weird but pistol brass gets slightly shorter when fired and resizing them stretches them back to length, unlike rifle brass that stretches from firing. I hope this helps solve a future question for you
Good luck and enjoy your new hobby, this site is a great source for info and piece of mind.

 

[BluewaterLa]

Oh and one more tip I picked up from an old friend..
If you suspect a crack in a case, drop a good one on a hard surface like tile then drop the suspect case and most of the time if it has a split the ring sound will be dull or very short.
Can some one explain YMMV ?

 

[hartcreek]

Pick up all the brass that you can. To recycle it what you do not reload because you do not do that caliber yet....Pay it forward here.

What powder and bullets do you have available? And you might check out the guys here that are powercoating and selling cuz their cost sure looks good to me.

 

[NineBear]

I put a lot of my 9mm reloads back thru the the PPQ barrel for the plunk test and I'm finding some are too wide at the base to seat properly. Its not the length of the cartridge but the base width.
So I'm wondering if my Hornady resizing die is not doing its job?
I have it set so the shellplate is a whisker from the base of the die in an effort to size as much of the case as possible.
Shouldn't my resizing die take care of this problem ?

 

[Walkalong]

Since the 9MM is a tapered case, you need to have the sizer down as far as you can with some of them. The press will flex a little when sizing, so adjust the die so it is a hair off the shell plate, if not barely touching, when actually sizing a case.

I have a 9MM that has a SAMMI minimum chamber, so any brass that fails my Wilson case gauge after sizing gets tossed. You may have a tight chamber as well. Some 9MM brass is abused by reloaders.

Measure a sized case at the web.