My first reload - 9mm won't fully eject

If your at a minimum load work up for good functioning. Sounds like a sharp new extractor with a new spring.

Not unusual for a starting load in some pistols. Up your load a 1/10 of a grain or 2/10 and try again. If it still fails to eject, rinse and repeat. Just don't go over max load. You're doing fine. Stay safe.

I had that problem with a new Taurus 9mm I purchased. Had to up the charge a couple of tenths for it to cycle reliably. Was still in the safe charge range according to the manual, but at the high end.

KentM said:

Hmmm. I just pulled the bullet on one of my factory rounds, WIN 115gr FMJ and it has 5.6gr of (some unknown) powder. Definitely on the high end of anything in my manuals.

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If it was power pistol it would be medium low.

KentM said:

Hmmm. I just pulled the bullet on one of my factory rounds, WIN 115gr FMJ and it has 5.6gr of (some unknown) powder. Definitely on the high end of anything in my manuals.

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The key word there is “unknown”. Don’t even try to compare that load with your own. Ammo manufacturers use their own proprietary mix of powders, not what you can buy off the shelf. You have no idea what that powder is. Don’t even go there for your own safety and that of those around you.

Agree with the underpowered round. I’d load up a 1/10 at a time. My usual practice is to load 5 of several grain weights for try loads.

Compact 9mm's very often have very stout recoil springs, for a number of reasons. You will have to come up off the bottom of your data to get it to cycle reliably.

One of my 9's did the same. Stove piped and wouldn't lock the slide back on the last round. The loads I was testing were on the long side and at starting load levels. Bumped the load up .1gr and shortened the OAL up.010" and everything worked very well after that. Eventually upped the load again and increased the OAL and again was fine.

KentM said:

Hmmm. I just pulled the bullet on one of my factory rounds, WIN 115gr FMJ and it has 5.6gr of (some unknown) powder. Definitely on the high end of anything in my manuals.

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This is useless information, FYI. It tells you absolutely nothing of value. You can't compare factory powder blends with any commercially available powder. Sounds to me like you need to put some more powder in your cases and/or hold your pistol more firmly.

Welcome to THR lots of great people here


Hogdons data
125 GR. SIE FMJ Winchester AutoComp .355" 1.090" 4.7 1055 28,900 PSI 5.2 1120 33,300 PSI
Start 4.7 MAX 5.2
You have a different bullet and you didn't mention your OAL but 4.4gr of Autocomp might be a bit light.
Some guns will function fine with start charges and below some won't.
Assuming your OAL is not real short I would bump it up 1/10 or 2/10s of a gr and try again.

I would not take Autocomp for this bullet.
If Winchester I'd look at WSF for a 124gn FMJ RN.
Data from Winchester/Hodgdon:
BULLET WEIGHT 124 GR. FMJ
Manufacturer Winchester
Powder WSF
Bullet Diameter 0.355"
C.O.L. 1.169"
Starting Load
Grains 4.7
Velocity (ft/s) 1,015
Pressure 27,700 PSI
Maximum Load
Grains 5.3
Velocity (ft/s) 1,115

My personal favourites are Vihtavuori N340, N330 or N320 in this order (depending on gun or purpose) for this caliber / bullet.

WELCOME ABOARD! GLAD YOU FOUND US!

KentM said:

124gr FMJ-RN Everglades bullets with 4.4gr of Win Autocomp. S&B small pistol primers.

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Quick glance at Winchester load data
Looks like this data is similar as it's berry's bullets hollow base, round noise, thick plate. These are rated for a higher fps than needed for 9mm per their spec. Please review this and confirm it with your own research but if the screenshot proves out, then you are indeed low on the powder charge.

You didn’t give your oal. But I agree with others, starting load is on light side.
My reloads that functioned perfectly in my Ruger LC9, would not in mySW SD9VE.
Jmtcw

Welcome to THR and your new addiction!
Lots of good advice on this forum, stay tuned.
The M&P compacts run pretty well, whenever diagnosing reload issues like this you should also if you can include how the gun runs with factory ammo. If factory works ok, then it’s a bit easier to point to your reloads rather than a gun malfunction. You also have to get a good grip on the compacts and can’t limp wrist them.

KentM said:

Should I just up the powder load?

Start low and work up, if there are no obvious pressure issues, sometimes low just doesn’t work in a particular gun.
Maybe I should try a few of the remaining rounds in a friend's gun?

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How good of a friend? Remember, you need to consider COL of a reload in any firearm it’s going in. You need to determine what max COL would be if you were reloading for your friend’s gun.
Do you have any other powders available for 9mm? Win Comp can be loaded but a faster powder would probably serve you better. Good luck.

Often times when I work up a load, the low end in the manual is not 100% functional. I'll shoot them and they won't always cycle the slide fully, stovepipe, barely eject, etc. I'll work up until I get 100% function with a good positive eject of the case and clean burn of the powder.
Funny thing is that different guns function differently. (who would have thought?) The minimum charge to cycle my 9mm Walther PPQ is often too weak to 100% cycle my friends Ruger SR9. So, I test a few more steps up through his gun for 100% before I call it good.

As is often the case, different sources show different highs and lows. Autocomp is one of my favorite powders for 9mm. Your load seems way way low, I use 5.6 with a 115 bullet and as I remember it wasn't a high end load. Certainly doesn't feel like it.

Most times a starting load will not cycle my autoloaders. Working up always produces good reliable ammo. It is different with a bolt action rifle or a revolver. They will operate on far less powder charge. However they may not be accurate there either.

Are you really loading them to an AOL of 1.169?

I would check that.

Hornady's 9x19mm load data is extremely wimpy compared to a lot of other manuals.

I don't even consider it relevant info anymore.

According to my current Speer #15 manual is starting load for a 124 gr jacket bullet is 5.1 gr.of Winchester AutoComp. I think your starting load is too light to completely cycle your pistol's action. You may want to up your starting load to see if that corrects your problems.

I recently load 100 rounds of 9mm with my minimum load of titegroup and when I was shooting I would get nice shots and the slide would cycle, but then I'd have a dead trigger. When I racked the slide of my glock the spent brass went flying.

Apparently in the cold weather I lose just enough juice from the powder that it won't cycle the slide all the way, only part of the way, enough to make it look like it worked but not enough to reset a glock trigger or extract.

I'm updating my notes that I need another .1gn here to ensure cold weather function. Real soft shooting 124gn as you can imagine so I'll just shoot these particular ones in the summer time.

sequins said:

I recently load 100 rounds of 9mm with my minimum load of titegroup and when I was shooting I would get nice shots and the slide would cycle, but then I'd have a dead trigger. When I racked the slide of my glock the spent brass went flying.

Apparently in the cold weather I lose just enough juice from the powder that it won't cycle the slide all the way, only part of the way, enough to make it look like it worked but not enough to reset a glock trigger or extract.

I'm updating my notes that I need another .1gn here to ensure cold weather function. Real soft shooting 124gn as you can imagine so I'll just shoot these particular ones in the summer time.

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Very similar with the load i worked up as our target ammo. .2gr over occasional poor cycling on wife's vp9. Apparently the hardest to cycle that we own. Our plinker load with fire great up to about 200 rounds. By 250 I better oil the rails some or the carbon/ soot can be enough to slow it down for a failure. It's rather perfect as my wife rarely puts 250 downrange in one session anyway.

Hornady seems to have low starting loads. I think they partly do it to make the tables in the manual look pretty. It’s not like a light load that clears the barrel but doesn’t cycle is dangerous, just annoying. I typically start a little higher up their chart by taking their max and reducing by 10%. Or comparing with the Speer manual for their starting load since they tend to be on the hotter side.