9mm 124 LRN - Bullseye powder - load check

[Shrinkmd]

My 124 LRN looks a bit different than the 120 gr LRN in the Lyman manual. They list a minimum OAL of 1.065 for that bullet.

Anyway, I loaded them to OAL 1.097 (so they will chamber in my M&P9c, it is shorter than another 9mm I have. That one accepted 1.125 with the same case/bullet combination) CBC brass, CCI 500 primer.

And 3.4 gr and 3.5 gr of Bullseye.

Does anyone see a problem with these? I wanted to be cautious since I was loading below 1.100" and the data seems a little inconsistent. How fast should I expect these to go out of a 4" barrel?

 

[rcmodel]

No, they list a "suggested OAL" starting point for that bullet, not a minimum one.
Your loads are a suggested starting load and 0.1 grain over starting.

If you skip on down to the longer & heavier 147 grain LRN-FP data:
3.5 Bullseye seated 1.058" is a max load!

So, your lighter bullet, with the same or less powder, seated longer, with less bullet inside the case, is perfectly safe.

If they will cycle the action, you are good.

rc

 

[Shrinkmd]

So, your lighter bullet, with the same or less powder, seated longer, with less bullet inside the case, is perfectly safe.

Thanks for the info. I was wondering about that (the concept that the heaviest bullet listed is going to be the largest, and therefore that minimum OAL will be the shortest, look at the powder for that much "space" inside the case for the powder to ignite in.

It is common sense.

But, I have also heard that you're not supposed to go below listed starting charges because sometimes there can be an explosion or high pressure condition. It sounds counter-intuitive, but I remember hearing or reading that somewhere. But I know at the range someone said he was loading 38 special 148 wadcutters with 2.2 or 2.3 of Bullseye for his kids, made a loud pop went they went off.

So by the same idea, if I was pulling down some surplus ammunition (some Yugo 50's for example) and I wanted to reseat the bullets so they are optimum distance from the rifling, how much should I reduce the charge by to start? I think on Surplusrifle forums they said there is about 40 or 44 gr of Hotchkiss glass flake powder sitting inside.

Thanks for the info Rcmodel. I'd pm you more, but I figure there are other newcomers who might find the thread useful.

 

[henry-ctc]

AFAIK issues like explosions or high pressure with low charges only happen with rifle ammo. Am I wrong?

 

[rcmodel]

Yes. Ah, No you are not wrong.

The Secondary Explosion Effect is confined to over-bore capacity bottleneck rifle cartridges with reduced loads.
My personal feeling is it relates more to a bore obstruction then a powder detonation.
IE: Primer pops, flashes over the light charge of slow burning powder and pushes the bullet into the rifling far enough to stick it tightly.
Then the rest of the powder lights off and finds there is no place for it to go.

There is not enough energy in a starting load of pistol powder to do anything bad, even with the bullet pushed into the case all the way..
And pistol powder lights easily and all burns up instantly, so the SEE is not an issue.

rc