9mm 147gr HST O.A.L.?

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Spare Parts

Spare Parts

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New poster to THR. Been reading for awhile.

Reloading 9mm 147gr HST. If you have any commercial samples, could you measure 5 rounds for me? What is the average O.A.L.? With the current Covid-19 panic, commercial samples are unobtainium.

I found one reference for 1.125", but it doesn't quite fit into the gauge. 1.115" seems to work. Federal's scuff-marks on some bullets also indicate OAL closer to 1.115".

FYI, 9mm 147gr HST pulls occasionally appear at American Reloading. The pulls are in reasonably good shape, although the pull burrs can interfere in the gauge. I cleaned them with a 10-minute wet tumble in mineral spirits, followed by an acetone soak to remove the not-asphalt sealant.
 
Welcome Aboard !

147gr Speer Gold Dots load at 1.130" which is all the stats I can help you with. Not quite certain what 'gauge' you're referring to. Some 147's can be problematic in some 9mm barrels. Therefore I'd want to conform to the chamber requirements, not a gauge.

All the best.
 
rfwobbly said:
Welcome Aboard !
Not quite certain what 'gauge' you're referring to.
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7-hole EGW chamber gauge. At 1.125" OAL, the HST 147s are .010 to .015 too long.

These 147s are like putting 10 pounds of potatoes in a 5 pound sack.
 
Spare Parts said:
These 147s are like putting 10 pounds of potatoes in a 5 pound sack.
Click to expand...

I feel ya!

For a long time I was in love with 147grn 9mm, but I have since shifted my emphasis to the 124grn. In fact, I still have a box of 500 upstairs that I'm fixing to load for... but it sure won't be with TiteGroup. I found the 147grn 9mm loads to be too touchy with regards to OAL, barrel leade, and pressure, even using something benign like Unique.

Good luck.
 
I'm not sure of your experience level, so I don't want to over-step here....
But allow me to point out that any gauge is merely a close approximation for the barrel. The gauge is the sister who understands things quite well, but not everything. If the barrel and the cartridge are married, then the barrel is the wife ! The barrel is the queen; who must be obeyed.

This is important because every bullet shape is individual, and every maker's barrel is discrete. And so the interface between the 2 makes for a one-of-a-kind union that define a unique Max OAL dimension. I've simply never seen a gauge completely replicate that interface.
 
Hornady Tenth addition lists the 147 gr XTP OAL at 1.10. Max overall length for the 9 mm is 1.169. Not sure if this helps. Sorry I don't have any factory 147 gr HTP on hand to measure.
 
Plunk them in your barrel. It's the best gauge you have.

I do have a EGW gauge. But I know how the rounds can sit in the gauge and still function in EVERY ONE of my barrels.

Not a single one of the multiple 9mm barrels I have are identical.
 
I measured two boxes of 50 and got min-1.125, max-1.127. These were from what I assume was two different lots as one box has reddish primer sealant and the other blue.
 
Professor Gascan said:
I measured two boxes of 50 and got min-1.125, max-1.127. These were from what I assume was two different lots as one box has reddish primer sealant and the other blue.
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THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Props for the error bands on your measurement. (used to be a computer systems design engineer, did some manufacturing process work. OCD is a way of life. Comes in handy when reloading.)
 
rfwobbly said:
I'm not sure of your experience level, so I don't want to over-step here....
...
This is important because every bullet shape is individual, and every maker's barrel is discrete.
Click to expand...

It's all good, sir. Appreciate your sensitivity to newbies. Been reloading for three years - 5.56, .308, .40SW, and now 9mm. 9mm seems twitchy, probably due to the smaller case volume.

These bullets are range fodder, meant to closely simulate my personal defense rounds. (Pulled projectiles cost about 9 cents each. Their commercial brethren currently cost 80 cents if you can find them. When cloning a commercial round, I'll buy a box of the Real Stuff(tm), do some measurements, guesstimate the powder burn rate, and send a ladder of reloads over the chronograph. Works great if your supply chain is secure. (As a reloader, I detest buying commercial ammo, cloning is the only time I buy the stuff.)

The manufacturer's claimed speed is ~1000fps. My process is producing standard deviations lower (better) than commercial Speer Gold Dot, so it's under control. I did a similar process for .40S&W 180gr HST - and my fastidiously-loaded standard deviations are better than Federal Premium.


... and I hear ya about the projectile shapes! I happen to currently have 147gr samples of HST, Gold Dot, and a generic JHP. They're all different! ... and different ogive geometry means different OALs.
 
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