9MM OAL's?

Look at the bullet. It has a shank and a nose. Seat the bullet to an OAL where 80-90% of the shank is inside the case.

Understand the deeper you seat the bullet, the higher the pressure will be. When looking at data, pay attention to the specific bullet used to develop the data. Use similar profile bullets when working-up your loads.

Better yet, get Quick Load software. It will approximate pressure for any bullet with almost any powder.

I generally try to seat my bullets as long as I can while making sure that the loaded rounds will fit and feed reliably from the magazine AND making sure that the projectile is NOT contacting the rifling when it is chambered. The latter is dependent upon the design of the bullet that you are using and the amount of lead that your barrel has.

I wouldn't worry so much about COL as I would about making rounds that work. Just keep in mind, as has been posted, that the deeper you seat the bullet, the more pressure there will be, so you'll have to work up your loads.

Stodd -
Most RN (including the 115, 124, 130, 135, & 147gr Berry RN) will let you seat all the way out to the SAAMI max cartridge length of 1.169". This even in short freebore guns like the CZ and Springfield XD series. So the choice of OAL then becomes a choice of 1) what feeds best, 2) what holds the bullet correctly, and 3) what develops the "right" chamber pressure for the type shooting you're doing. When NOT using the Berry RN, the gun's chamber plays a big part in OAL selection.

918V is correct, longer OALs lower the pressure. So you are always safe to lengthen a round from (say) 1.100" to 1.160"... if the bullet will allow. If you do this, then you may simply have to increase the powder by 0.1gr to make up for the pressure loss.

In factory loads, mass manufacturers use short OALs to make sure that their ammo fits every gun in the world, and to simply use less powder. That first part is a huge liability to them. That second part is a huge cost savings to them.

It's good that you experiment, but be safe. 1) Always write down your load alterations in a notebook. And, 2) limit your reloads to small increments and small numbers of (say 5 each) "test cartridges" when increasing the pressure.

Hope this helps.

You seem to have two threads running asking basically the same question.

Here is my answer in the other thread.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=6629255&postcount=6

rc

What is S.D. and B.C. in the manuals loading data?

Click to expand...

Stodd -
• Please read the manual. Use the manual. For your own safety, you need to learn your way around the manual.

Hint: It's not South Dakota & British Columbia.


• You may not be able to feel the difference in 3.9gr and 4.0gr. You may see that the slide locks back more reliably on the higher charge, or that the bullets strike slightly higher on the target. Usually with a powder where the range from "starting" to "max" runs 1.0 to 1.5gr of power, a step of 0.2gr is needed.

However, I salute your caution. You always win when you err to the side of safety.

All the best.

One more thing to remember, Berry's plated 9mm bullets are 0.356" in diameter while jacketed bullets are 0.355".

So, use the lower charge lead bullet load data which is also 0.356".

For the smaller diameter Rainier plated bullets at 0.355", I use jacketed load data.

I suggested 4.0 gr of Bullseye because of the larger diameter of the Berry's bullet. For Rainier bullets, I use higher charge of powder.

Regardless, select an OAL that feeds/chambers well in your pistol and test shoot to see if your slide cycles reliably. Once you are past that, work up your loads in small increments while looking for the most accurate/smallest shot groups.

I've noticed some of the store bought ammo for the 9MM OAL's are all different.

Click to expand...

Manufacturers will use the OAL that will provide the best feeding/chambering for their bullet profile/nose shape while giving the best performance/accuracy and OALs will vary brand-to-brand, and also model-to-model.

All the above is good info.

Generally, the longer OALs tend to feed better/more reliably. As said above, your brand/type bullet and gun will limit the max OAL you can use.

So when there is a choice, many will choose more powder at the longer OAL to improve cartridge feed reliablity.

For informational purposes only I ran the numbers through QuickLOAD and although it does not have Berry's it does have the similar Rainier Ballistics plated lead bullets. Hope it helps.

Rainier 124 gr. RN (0.593" Bullet length) w/ 4.0 gr. Bullseye

1.100 - 30,340 PSI
1.110 - 28,864 PSI
1.120 - 27,503 PSI
1.125 - 26,897 PSI

Assuming 0.754" case length


Josh

Josh -
That's really neat to see. Thanks for the contribution.

BDS, received a 1000 147s from Berry's today. The receipt says .3555. 'Course, if you round off, it would be .356. I haven't miked them.

The receipt says .3555

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I just measured the Berry's 124 gr 9mm diameter and it is indeed 0.3555" Out of curiosity, I measured 115 gr 9mm Winchester FMJ and it is also 0.3555"

Just to make sure, I measured 180 gr 40S&W Berry's bullet and it is right on at 0.400"

Well, I guess you can push those bullets using jacketed data.

Maybe Jay from Berry's can verify the measurements.

Just to save your brain from strain, SD is sectional density and BC is ballistic coefficient.
Means approximately doodley squat relative to handgun bullets.

jbovee said:

For informational purposes only I ran the numbers through QuickLOAD and although it does not have Berry's it does have the similar Rainier Ballistics plated lead bullets. Hope it helps.

Rainier 124 gr. RN (0.593" Bullet length) w/ 4.0 gr. Bullseye

1.100 - 30,340 PSI
1.110 - 28,864 PSI
1.120 - 27,503 PSI
1.125 - 26,897 PSI

Assuming 0.754" case length


Josh

Click to expand...

Where does one get quickload, your post made me understand it's potential value.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Mark

Maybe Jay from Berry's can verify the measurements.

Berry's MFG:
Our 9mm bullets are .356 + or - .0005"

We have a plus or minus .0005" to give us a bit of room with the dies. Our die manufacture gives us a plus or minus of the .0005", wear is a factor as well.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the verification. 0.3555" - 0.356" is fine by me.

I purchased my copy of QuickLOAD from the manufacturer @ http://www.neconos.com/.

Thanks jbovee.....

stodd said:

Jbovee,

Does quickload have Berry Plated bullet data?

Click to expand...

It does not contain Berry's data. However, it does contain Rainier data which are of similar construction and allows you to update the measurments of the bullets to match that of Berry's.

QL needs the bullet length. You can take any bullet, measure the length and input it into QL.