I’m not familiar with power factors or even those powders. I’ve not had flattened primers even when running up to the top of the +P range with Silhouette though. Are they maybe just softer than normal primers. Do have more than one type to compare. Wishful thinking, I know.
Perhaps you could tell us what primers and post a picture of before and after? I use CCI 500 and don’t see that. Also, have you check for setback in your reloads? That could lead to a higher pressure spike.
N320 is a well behaved single base powder. It’s widely used by the competition crowd for a lot of reasons. N330 supposedly was developed specifically for 9mm. WSF works well in 9mm too.
VV lists a lot of bullets but I found it difficult to choose a similar one and at the COL I needed. I use their free app. The closest workup I have compared to your DG 124 is a Rainier RN 124 at 1.142” , 4.0gr N320 had a 128PF out of a P226.
I do shoot the RMR 147g FP MW and settled on 3.6gr N320 at 1.120” which produces a comfortable 130PF.
Please forgive my tardiness, it's been a crazy two months with no time to play. I do appreciate your guidance.
Turns out that I was either blind or stupid (or both) when I first examined the primers. I'm using Federals. At the range, in full sunlight, I was convinced that they were flattened, but when I looked at them in soft diffused light using a loupe it turned out that they were fine. When will I start remembering I'm not in my 20's any more?
At your suggestion I checked setback, on a 20-round sample I saw a consistent 0.001" which to me doesn't seem like much.
So here's what I have so far (sorry for the poor formatting):
Powder, Bullet, COL, Charge, Avg.Velocity, PF
N320, DG 124 Coated Lead, 1.06, 3.6, 1053, 131
N320, RMR 147 FMJ, 1.108, 3.1, 865, 127
N330, DG 124 Coated Lead, 1.06, 4.0, 1040, 129
N330, RMR 147 FMJ, 1.108, Work In Progress
And since I've been weighing out individual charges with a scale, after this I get to figure out which hole to use on my Lee Autodisk.
2.8 grains of N320 with the coated lead gives about 850 fps (PF 105), nice and soft but failed to eject with the stock spring. I tested a few with a 14# spring and they cycled fine, I'll roll a bunch more and make sure before introducing the combo to my wife.
Thanks again!