Gold Dots

[nettlle]

My order of 9mm 124 gr Gold Dots came in Wednesday and am going to load up a few to try in my CZ PCR. Wondering if anyone here would have a good recommendation for a starting point for the COAL.

 

[falmike]

Here is what Alliant says:

http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/recipedetail.aspx?gtypeid=1&weight=124&shellid=23&bulletid=26

Happy Shooting

 

[LiveLife]

9mm 124 gr Gold Dots ... CZ PCR ... recommendation for a starting point for the COAL

Often, published OAL/COL are based on universal barrel fixtures that are single shot (and not actual pistols that must cycle the slide to feed and chamber the rounds from the magazine) and we must determine the maximum and working OAL that will reliably feed from the magazine and work with our barrels (with differing leade lengths and start angle of rifling) for bullets we reload with.

To determine the max OAL, start with SAAMI max OAL of 1.169" and incrementally decrease the length of dummy round (no powder, no primer) until the dummy round fall in the chamber freely (with a "plonk") and spin without hitting the rifling.

Next, to determine the working OAL, load the max OAL dummy round in the magazine and pull back the slide and release without riding the slide. If the dummy round won't reliably feed and chamber, incrementally decrease the OAL until it does.

 

[cfullgraf]

bds' method for determining OAL is a more organized approach. It is probably a good place to start.

Generally, when I am using a new bullet with a different profile than the other bullets that I have used, I make sure they fit in the magazine and then check that they will feed. A dummy round or two is the safest way to try this out. You can always pull the bullet to be be used in a properly loaded round at a later time.

Sometimes, I'll compare the seated bullets to cartridges that I know work and "eye ball" the OAL of the new bullet to match the profile of the known, functioning cartridges. Usually, some tweaking is in order. The actual OAL between the two cartridges will be different, but parts of similar shape between the two bullets will match up.

Hope this makes sense.

 

[nettlle]

After a little research I have found that the COAL for factory Speer Gold Dot 9mm 124 gr is 1.125". Maybe give that a go. I do know about plunking.

 

[cfullgraf]

After a little research I have found that the COAL for factory Speer Gold Dot 9mm 124 gr is 1.125". Maybe give that a go. I do know about plunking.

The barrel of your gun is a great gauge for determining if your rounds will chamber. Pull the barrel from the gun and drop the rounds into the barrel. If they drop all the way in, it will be with a "plunk" and you will be good to go on that count.

 

[nettlle]

The plunking part isn't a concern. The feeding part is what I am trying to get a head start on.

 

[ray15]

There's no shortage of Gold Dot load data. Most powder manufacturers have data for it. Follow what they used, and their charge and pressure data is directly applicable. You are fortunate in this case to be using a bullet well-supported enough to have explicit load data.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I load mine to 1.125" and my ammo is 100% reliable and feeds fine.

Of course your gun may disagree.

 

[Walkalong]

After a little research I have found that the COAL for factory Speer Gold Dot 9mm 124 gr is 1.125". Maybe give that a go. I do know about plunking.

That is what I went with when I tried them (Loads #84 through #88). I set up my seater so they all fell between 1.120 to 1.125 OAL.

5.5 Grs of Silhouette and a WSP primer. (I did go a little higher) 102 Degrees 24% RH

3" EMP 5" S&W Pro 16" RRA AR
HI 1019 HI 1152 HI 1231
LO 969 LO 1103 LO 1195
AVG 996 AVG 1130 AVG 1210
ES 50 ES 49 ES 36
SD 18 SD 19 SD 15

Start low, work up, be careful. Check Western Powders 6.0 PDF available on their website.

WP 6.0 PDF shows: "124 SPEER GDHP 5.0 1,002 5.6 1,090 34,969 1.105" (4" barrel)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.7 Grs of N340 and a WSP primer. 66 Degrees 35% RH (Tried 5.8 as well, don't)

3" EMP 5" S&W Pro 16" RRA AR
HI 1120 HI 1262 HI 1337
LO 1076 LO 1200 LO 1305
AVG 1099 AVG 1232 AVG 1319
ES 44 ES 62 ES 32
SD 15 SD 19 SD 11

Full power, probably into +P territory. Start low, work up, be careful. 5.7 is definitely too much with some bullets and or some seating depths. Check Vihtavuori's latest PDF and be careful.

There's no shortage of Gold Dot load data. Most powder manufacturers have data for it. Follow what they used, and their charge and pressure data is directly applicable. You are fortunate in this case to be using a bullet well-supported enough to have explicit load data.

Yep, check the various PDFs and load data on the powder makers websites.