First Rounds on My Load Master

[Olympus]

I just got done with my first batch ever of 50 rounds of 9mm on my Load Master. I used 3.2g of HP-38 with a 125 grain Missouri Bullet. Had a few questions.

1. Question about overall length. It seems that my rounds vary from 1.067 to 1.082. I'm trying to get the OAL at 1.07. I'm using the bullet seat die and factory crimp die seperate. Is there a reason for this? Is this something that is going to cause a problem?

2. Every few rounds, a primer will not be sitting flush in the head of round. About 4 out of 5 primers will be sitting flush, but 1 out of 5 will be very slighly raised above the surface. Is there a reason for this? Is this going to cause problems?

 

[rfwobbly]

Mr Pus -
I know you're excited and probably got carried away, but dang! 50 experimental rounds sounds like a few too many. What will you do if they don't fire well? In the future 10 would be more like it, and in "incremental loads". That is 10 at 3.2gr, 10 at 3.4gr, 10 at 3.6gr, etc.

OAL is very important. What OAL did your recipe tell you to use is the first question. OAL and powder load work together. Quoting one without the other is like peanut butter without jelly, cereal without milk, Obama without Pelosi. Oh wait, we fixed that one.

If you were directed at 1.070, then 1.067 is only one human hair diameter away. I think you should be proud to get that close. Worry the most about ones that go shorter. You can re-correct the longer ones by running them through again.

Raised primers lead to slam-fires and failure-to-fires. That, along with the wide OAL range, tell me you are not using consistent and constant speed strokes on every single round. This will come naturally after a while, but for the first several thousand you really need to concentrate on using on long, slow, steady, full-length strokes.

You're doing fine. Normal first-timer issues.

 

[bubbacrabb]

oh boy, i really messed up today then. I just made 180 rounds without making sure they go bang.... maybe this new bullet puller will get some use. Congrats on your new reloads. Today was my first attempt at 9mm reloads also.

 

[LiveLife]

my rounds vary from 1.067 to 1.082. I'm trying to get the OAL at 1.07. ... Is there a reason for this?

Yes, especially if you are using mixed head stamp range brass. Unless you start out with same length sized cases (and most of us don't), you'll see some variation. You really couldn't get your Hi-Power to feed rounds any longer than 1.07" OAL?

Is this something that is going to cause a problem?

No.

Every few rounds, a primer will not be sitting flush in the head of round. About 4 out of 5 primers will be sitting flush, but 1 out of 5 will be very slighly raised above the surface. Is there a reason for this?

Yes, there is a primer seating depth adjustment for your press. You need to adjust it so the primer is seated just slightly below flush. Some cases like Sellier & Bellot (S&B) have very tight primer pockets and make it difficult to seat the primers.

Is this going to cause problems?

Yes. If your primers are not seated properly to set the anvil, then some of your "high primer" rounds won't fire on first primer strike. They may fire on the second hit if the first hit seated the primer cup deeper, setting the anvil.

In the future 10 would be more like it, and in "incremental loads". That is 10 at 3.2gr, 10 at 3.4gr, 10 at 3.6gr, etc.

+1.

125 GR. LCN Hodgdon HP-38 Diameter .356" OAL 1.125" Start 3.9 gr (1009 fps) - Max 4.4 gr (1086 fps)

Even at 1.07" OAL, 3.2 gr seems way low. 3.9 gr is starting load at 1.125" OAL. I would have test loaded 10 each at 3.6 gr, 4.0 gr for 1.07"

 

[Olympus]

My Lyman manual says that for a lead bullet of 120 grains, the OAL should be 1.065". I was using that and the fact that Brad at Missouri Bullets told me to use 1.07" to be a pretty good reason to go that length since Brad and the Lyman manual are pretty much identical. I measured some of my FMJ 9mm and it's significantly longer that 1.07" and my HP feeds them just fine. Should I try to make them a little longer?

Thanks for the info about the varying lengths. I didn't think about the mixed headstamps causing that, but it makes sense.

I will set my primer depth a little deeper on my press tonight.

 

[LiveLife]

I measured some of my FMJ 9mm and it's significantly longer that 1.07" and my HP feeds them just fine. Should I try to make them a little longer?

Most FMJ RN have more pointed nose shape than 125 gr Missouri Bullet (Smallball) which has more rounded nose shape. Earlier 9mm lead bullets copied the pointed nose shape but used a "step" at the base of the nose. Newer shorter rounded nose shape allows for more bearing surface to stablize the bullet and without the "step". Below is a crude not-to-scale pictures to illustrate. When I first got MBC 9mm bullets, I tested them from 1.080" to 1.130"OAL and they fed/chambered fine in my test pistols. You could test them down from longer OAL and see at which OAL they feed/chamber reliably for your HP.

 

[Olympus]

I tried my loads out. Wouldn't cycle the slide on my HP. They fired and brought the case out almost to end of the barrel, but not quite. Wouldn't eject the case enough to stovepipe. They feed without a problem though.

I got a few to cycle the slide of my SR9c, but most did the same thing. Wouldn't eject enough to even stovepipe. They feed without a problem too.

Looks like my fancy new kinetic bullet puller will get a workout!

So you're saying I should try a longer OAL and start out at 3.6g and do 10 test loads and keep stepping up to 4.0g?

 

[LiveLife]

So you're saying I should try a longer OAL and start out at 3.6g and do 10 test loads and keep stepping up to 4.0g?

You should first determine the OAL that will reliably feed and chamber from the magazine when you manually release the slide.

Then work up the powder charge to determine the load that will produce the most accurate shot groups while reliably cycling the slide.

Most do their work up between starting load and max load data (or just below max).

I use Pro Auto Disk and it will drop 3.6, 4.0 and 4.3 gr. If I used the shorter 1.07" OAL, I would start my test loads at 3.6 gr and 4.0 gr (two incremental Auto Disk drops). If I used the longer 1.125" OAL, I would test load at 4.0 gr and 4.3 gr (next two incremental Auto Disk drops). These will get me in the ballpark. If I need in-between charges, I have extra disks I drilled out that I can use.

 

[Olympus]

I guess I will give it a try tonight.

 

[Olympus]

I just worked up three different loads and took them to the range.

I used 3.7, 4.0, and 4.3 which are the three increments that my Load Master powder measurer will throw.

In the HP, the 3.7 wasn't 100% reliable. It would stovepipe about every 3rd or 4th round. They all fed just fine. So I moved up to the 4.0 and they all feed and cycled perfectly. They also also fed and cycled fine in my SR9c as well. So did the 4.3 rounds. I figure that since I just recently replaced the recoil spring on the HP that it might still be a little stiff.

My Lyman book says the max load for a 120grain lead bullet with 231 powder is 4.1. Is my 4.0 load too close to the max?

 

[rfwobbly]

I used 3.7, 4.0, and 4.3 which are the three increments that my Load Master powder measure will throw.

That's not really the way you want to do it. The whole object is (or should be) to find the load that BEST suits your gun. Typically for pistol we would move up in 0.2gr increments. The finer the increment the closer you're likely to land right on the "lucky number". To get the best accuracy on measurement possible, you might have to weigh each of your test loads.

If your "lucky load" turns out to be 3.9gr, then your object should be to tune your machine to drop as close to 3.9gr as possible. There are a number of ways to achieve this, even with simple equipment.

Just saying.

 

[Olympus]

I was just following the advice from bds:

I use Pro Auto Disk and it will drop 3.6, 4.0 and 4.3 gr. If I used the shorter 1.07" OAL, I would start my test loads at 3.6 gr and 4.0 gr (two incremental Auto Disk drops). If I used the longer 1.125" OAL, I would test load at 4.0 gr and 4.3 gr (next two incremental Auto Disk drops). These will get me in the ballpark. If I need in-between charges, I have extra disks I drilled out that I can use.

 

[LiveLife]

So I moved up to the 4.0 and they all feed and cycled perfectly. They also also fed and cycled fine in my SR9c as well. So did the 4.3 rounds.

I love happy endings.

My Lyman book says the max load for a 120grain lead bullet with 231 powder is 4.1. Is my 4.0 load too close to the max?

It will depend on the OAL the published load data used. Shorter OAL will show lower powder charge than longer OAL. Which OAL did you end up going with?

This is the published load data on Hodgdon''s website. The 4.4 gr max is for 1.125" OAL.

125 GR. LCN Hodgdon HP-38 Diameter .356" OAL 1.125" Start 3.9 gr (1009 fps) - Max 4.4 gr (1086 fps)

 

[Olympus]

I stayed in the 1.075 to 1.08 range. I appreciate all the help. I just turned out about 200 rounds a little bit ago.

 

[AZ_Ron]

Olympus, if you haven't been there already, check out www.loadmastervideos.com
LOTS of excellent advice there from guys that have really taken the time to figure out the intricacies of the LoadMaster.
One thing I caught in your original post about the primers being seated to different depths... 1st, make sure you're pumping the arm fully each time you cycle the press, and 2nd, pull the bolt out from the press frame that depresses the primer lever and grind/sand off any marks that are on the bolt head. Those little marks on the bolt head can account for erratic primer depths.

R

 

[k4swb]

I moved up to the 4.0 and they all feed and cycled perfectly. They also also fed and cycled fine in my SR9c as well. So did the 4.3 rounds.

Now that you have two loads that work, relax, load some ammo and shoot your guns, ALOT.
Plenty of time to fiddle with stuff after you get confident with loading. When you do decide to play with different loads swap only one thing at a time. Maybe next time try a different powder. Same bullet and seating depth. Don't get too hung up on seating depth. A few thousands either way isn't likely going to matter. Just make sure it will function through the magazine, not get the bullet shoved into the barrel and not fall out of the case getting to the mag.
Once you get used to the gun going bang every time with your reloads the confidence to experiment will follow. Most of my loads are "pet" loads. I seldom load exactly to printed specs.
Maybe I should write a book!

 

[Olympus]

Thanks for tips. I've got my primer depth problem fixed. I had to lower my primer depth bolt a couple more bolt faces, but now they're sitting flush to slightly below flush. I don't think I'll have any more problems with that part.

 

[Olympus]

Ran into my first snag last night. I'll try to set the stage. I've probably loaded 250 to 300 rounds so far and other than some minor things, everything has ran smoothly.

I sat down last night to run a few more loads and my press wouldn't index. I took it apart and found that a primer was hung in the priming system. It had bound up the primer slider inside the assembly. I took the assembly out and apart and found that the primer binding had chewed up the little curled hook that pushes the primer. Luckily, the press came with an extra so I replaced it and everything was good to go......for about 3 more rounds. Then it did it again! It bound up and chewed the curled hook on the primer slider again. Now I'm completely out of sliders. My paperwork says I can send them back and get replacements for no charge, but I can't figure out why this just started happening all of the sudden. I haven't changed anything about what I was doing. When I pull the handle, I make a conscious effort to use a steady, sorta-slow speed. I try to make the pull continuous all the way to the stop point. I can't think that this problem was caused by anything I was doing on my strokes. But since I've already done probably 300 rounds without this problem and have made no adjustments to anything, I can't help but wonder. Any ideas?