Howland937
Member
(Insert long thread disclaimer here)
Decided to load some 147gr 9mm stuff to mess around with. Bullets are XTP's and since it was an all new venture, thought I'd try to use up some of the CFE Pistol thats been basically relegated to .380 loads. Didn't bother to chrono since I'm not chasing velocity, but I loaded them all at 1.10 OAL and started with 10 rounds slightly above Hornady recommended minimum (3.3) at 3.5gr.
Shot them out of a stock DW Guardian 4.25".
Gun wouldn't fully clear and eject empty, dirty cases. Felt pretty anemic.
Tried the 10 I loaded with 3.8gr---cases clean, gun cycles and feeds...slide doesn't lock open on empty. Shot some 147gr factory loads for comparison. Function was perfect, slide locked open on empty and recoil was noticeably sharper.
Went in and loaded 10 more at 1.10" with 4.1gr, which is only .2gr under max and the gun ran perfectly..but the slide still isn't locking open and it still felt kinda weak. It locks open on empty with absolutely every other ammo I've ever tried that would feed, fire and eject. Even crap white box and whatever $11.99 fmj stuff I bought a while back. Also locks open when manually cycling with these reloads after last round.
Whatever. Maybe it's the gun. Grabbed the Sig Match Elite full size 9mm. I have a 12lb recoil spring and load pretty light for it usually for the wife and kid. It worked flawlessly including locking the slide open...and I used the same mags I used in the Dan Wesson.
Got out the check weights, verified calibration on the 5-0-5 scale. Threw 4 or 5 charges and weighed each one. No problems there.
Checked data again and cross referenced. 4.1gr of CFE Pistol with 147's is near max in Hornady manual, at max in Nosler data. Checked neck tension and got zero setback after chambering 3 or 4 times and pushing them down on the table. I remember not being a fan of CFE in 38 Super, but that was more about not getting near advertised velocities.
What am I missing? Would have thought this powder would be acceptable for heavier bullets. At least I don't have a bunch loaded and I'll probably stick with WSF and AA7 for 9mm regardless of bullet weight.
Decided to load some 147gr 9mm stuff to mess around with. Bullets are XTP's and since it was an all new venture, thought I'd try to use up some of the CFE Pistol thats been basically relegated to .380 loads. Didn't bother to chrono since I'm not chasing velocity, but I loaded them all at 1.10 OAL and started with 10 rounds slightly above Hornady recommended minimum (3.3) at 3.5gr.
Shot them out of a stock DW Guardian 4.25".
Gun wouldn't fully clear and eject empty, dirty cases. Felt pretty anemic.
Tried the 10 I loaded with 3.8gr---cases clean, gun cycles and feeds...slide doesn't lock open on empty. Shot some 147gr factory loads for comparison. Function was perfect, slide locked open on empty and recoil was noticeably sharper.
Went in and loaded 10 more at 1.10" with 4.1gr, which is only .2gr under max and the gun ran perfectly..but the slide still isn't locking open and it still felt kinda weak. It locks open on empty with absolutely every other ammo I've ever tried that would feed, fire and eject. Even crap white box and whatever $11.99 fmj stuff I bought a while back. Also locks open when manually cycling with these reloads after last round.
Whatever. Maybe it's the gun. Grabbed the Sig Match Elite full size 9mm. I have a 12lb recoil spring and load pretty light for it usually for the wife and kid. It worked flawlessly including locking the slide open...and I used the same mags I used in the Dan Wesson.
Got out the check weights, verified calibration on the 5-0-5 scale. Threw 4 or 5 charges and weighed each one. No problems there.
Checked data again and cross referenced. 4.1gr of CFE Pistol with 147's is near max in Hornady manual, at max in Nosler data. Checked neck tension and got zero setback after chambering 3 or 4 times and pushing them down on the table. I remember not being a fan of CFE in 38 Super, but that was more about not getting near advertised velocities.
What am I missing? Would have thought this powder would be acceptable for heavier bullets. At least I don't have a bunch loaded and I'll probably stick with WSF and AA7 for 9mm regardless of bullet weight.