Load for each powder
Great post, I've been back to it a number of times rereading it.
How did you come up with the load you used for each powder? I am guessing it isn't either a starting load or a max load. Same with COL? I see you start at 1.145" and work down to 1.080". What made you pick those particular lengths?
I have some X-Treme plated 147 gr round nose and what you did looks like a good way to see what they do.
AnselHazen,
To recap:
9mm 147gr plated bullet data
CAUTION USE AT YOUR OWN RISK: The following posts of loading data were tested in my gun chambered for this cartridge.
I used a COL of 1.145" for the 147gr RMR HMP-RN, a COL of 1.115" for the 147gr RMR HMP-HP, and a COL of 1.080" for the 147gr BERRYS P-FP.
These different COL's for each bullet allow all three (3) bullets to be seated 0.264" deep with all bullet/powder combinations used.
I also measured case fill for each powder weight/bullet using each COA to ensure there were no compressed charges.
.
EACH of the bullets have different COA's that work and pass the plunk test in my gun.
RMR HMP-RN COL is 1.145" in all powder tests,
RMR HMP-HP COL is 1.115" in all powder tests,
and BERRYS RN COL is 1.080" in all powder tests.
These are the MAX WORKING COL's for these bullets in MY gun.
I could go shorter, but I wanted to compare each bullet at the same seating depth and powder charge.
I started by finding the WORKING COL for the RMR 147gr HMP-RN, then measured the seating depth of that bullet.
Next, I measured the LENGTH of each bullet.
The 147gr RMR HMP-HP averaged 0.030" shorter than the 147gr RN, so I set the HP to 1.115" COL.
The 147gr BERRYS RN averaged 0.065" less than the RMR 147gr HMP-RN, so I set the BERRYS to 1.080" COA.
Lucky for me, all these bullets at their above COL's passed the plunk test and fit in my mags!
This results in a seating depth of 0.264" for all the bullets in all the tests.
Next, I consulted Lyman's #49 Reload Guide:
"Lyman #49: data for W231 (HP-38) and a 147gr Sierra TMJ bullet. They list a OAL of 1.115"
Starting charge is 3.5gr Max charge is 4.1gr"
So, starting with the bullet that was seated to 1.115" COL I measured max case fill with HP-38 @ 0.264" seating depth.
This was 3.9gr HP-38, so I backed it off to 3.8gr HP-39 to make sure I didn't produce a compressed load.
As all three (3) bullets will be seated 0.264" into case, I loaded all the HP-38 string to 3.8gr HP-38.
I have several reload manuals and use online powder manufacturers powder data, so I looked for PUBLISHED DATA for each powder for a 147gr plated bullet.
I then determined the MAX CASE FILL without compressed powder loads from PUBLISHED DATA and used a powder weight half way (1/2 way) between START AND MAX load.
Some are less than 1/2 way, but none are more than 1/2 way between START AND MAX load values.
I hope this answers your questions
JD
