KASarich
Member
For those that don't know, Rocky Mountain Reloading has released new in-house 115 and 124 grain JHP 9mm bullets. The price is very attractive, and since I have always been happy with everything else I've gotten from RMR, I decided to try out these new bullets. I went with the 115 for 9mm Luger. With this being a new bullet, there is not much information out there for loading it, so I thought I would post load development and results here for anyone interested in trying these out.
So far, the only powder I have tried out with them is CFE Pistol, but I will update this as I play around with more powders if anyone is interested.
These loads were all developed in CBC (Magtech) once-fired brass, with Hodgdon CFE Pistol and CCI 500 Primers.
The first thing that I learned about these bullets is that the need to be loaded somewhat short. My first rounds were loaded at 1.125'' with 5.3, 5.5 and 5.7 grains of CFE Pistol. I test fired them through my Glock 17, G4. I had one round where the slide didn't go into battery, but with a light touch on the back of the slide, it did...no other problems with the Glock and these rounds.
Chrono Data:
5.3 CFE Pistol 1.125''
1.) 1096
2.) 1089
3.) 1095
4.) 1091
5.) 1090
5.5 CFE Pistol 1.125''
1.) 1079
2.) 1139
3.) 1124
4.) 1128
5.) 1160
5.7 CFE Pistol 1.125''
1.) 1167
2.) 1170
3.) 1150
4.) 1161
5.) 1186
Since I had the slight hiccup with the Glock 17, I decided I should try some of these in the CZ 75B....yes, I should have used this gun's barrel for a plunk test, since these are know for there short leads but I was feeling lazy....and that's is where the saying 'why is there never time to do it right, but always time to do it twice' comes from.
The first round chambered and fired....the second round required a lot of pulling on the slide to get the cartridge that would not fit into the chamber back out...back to the bench.
This time, I used the CZs barrel as a cartridge gauge and ended up with a COAL of 1.065''. A big difference, but they chambered perfectly in the CZ. Because of the large reduction in OAL, I backed way off on the powder and started over. Seated to this depth, there is .210'' of bullet seated into the case, which is perfectly fine for a 9mm Luger. I consider anything up to .300'' of bearing surface in the case safe for 9mm, but I work up accordingly, just as I did here.
Hodgdon lists a starting charge of 5.3 grains of CFE Pistol for a 115JHP, but this is seated much longer, and since I did not have the same bullet for comparison, backed off .5 grs. and started at 4.8 grains for the new shorter rounds, and also loaded a few 5.0 grains. These were fired from the CZ 75B.
Chrono Data:
4.8 CFE Pistol 1.065''
1.) 1086
2.) 1062
3.) 1073
4.) 1049
5.) 1070
5.0 CFE Pistol 1.065''
1.) 1093
2.) 1128
3.) 1144
4.) 1137
5.) 1138
Both of these loads cycled the CZ just fine, and made a nice pile of brass close to where I was. The 5.0 grain load was my favorite, and the most accurate of the bunch. Jake at RMR says these need to be loaded to 1100 fps of faster for reliable expansion, and I would say the 5.0 load accomplishes this with good accuracy as far as I'm concerned, so I don't really see the need to try for more velocity, although I may mess with some different powders. I'll add more info as I get more time to mess with this bullet.
All in all, this is a great bullet, and I hope this gives some people enough info to give it a try...Maybe I'll pick up some of the 124s for 9mm and .357 Sig
Also posed on thefiringline
So far, the only powder I have tried out with them is CFE Pistol, but I will update this as I play around with more powders if anyone is interested.
These loads were all developed in CBC (Magtech) once-fired brass, with Hodgdon CFE Pistol and CCI 500 Primers.
The first thing that I learned about these bullets is that the need to be loaded somewhat short. My first rounds were loaded at 1.125'' with 5.3, 5.5 and 5.7 grains of CFE Pistol. I test fired them through my Glock 17, G4. I had one round where the slide didn't go into battery, but with a light touch on the back of the slide, it did...no other problems with the Glock and these rounds.
Chrono Data:
5.3 CFE Pistol 1.125''
1.) 1096
2.) 1089
3.) 1095
4.) 1091
5.) 1090
5.5 CFE Pistol 1.125''
1.) 1079
2.) 1139
3.) 1124
4.) 1128
5.) 1160
5.7 CFE Pistol 1.125''
1.) 1167
2.) 1170
3.) 1150
4.) 1161
5.) 1186
Since I had the slight hiccup with the Glock 17, I decided I should try some of these in the CZ 75B....yes, I should have used this gun's barrel for a plunk test, since these are know for there short leads but I was feeling lazy....and that's is where the saying 'why is there never time to do it right, but always time to do it twice' comes from.
The first round chambered and fired....the second round required a lot of pulling on the slide to get the cartridge that would not fit into the chamber back out...back to the bench.
This time, I used the CZs barrel as a cartridge gauge and ended up with a COAL of 1.065''. A big difference, but they chambered perfectly in the CZ. Because of the large reduction in OAL, I backed way off on the powder and started over. Seated to this depth, there is .210'' of bullet seated into the case, which is perfectly fine for a 9mm Luger. I consider anything up to .300'' of bearing surface in the case safe for 9mm, but I work up accordingly, just as I did here.
Hodgdon lists a starting charge of 5.3 grains of CFE Pistol for a 115JHP, but this is seated much longer, and since I did not have the same bullet for comparison, backed off .5 grs. and started at 4.8 grains for the new shorter rounds, and also loaded a few 5.0 grains. These were fired from the CZ 75B.
Chrono Data:
4.8 CFE Pistol 1.065''
1.) 1086
2.) 1062
3.) 1073
4.) 1049
5.) 1070
5.0 CFE Pistol 1.065''
1.) 1093
2.) 1128
3.) 1144
4.) 1137
5.) 1138
Both of these loads cycled the CZ just fine, and made a nice pile of brass close to where I was. The 5.0 grain load was my favorite, and the most accurate of the bunch. Jake at RMR says these need to be loaded to 1100 fps of faster for reliable expansion, and I would say the 5.0 load accomplishes this with good accuracy as far as I'm concerned, so I don't really see the need to try for more velocity, although I may mess with some different powders. I'll add more info as I get more time to mess with this bullet.
All in all, this is a great bullet, and I hope this gives some people enough info to give it a try...Maybe I'll pick up some of the 124s for 9mm and .357 Sig
Also posed on thefiringline
Thanks very much!
