I shot my 30-30, 9mm, and .38 special reloads tonight!

[Josh45]

Everything went bang! With no problems. Thankfully!

I would like thank everyone here for their input and patience with me about this. I really do appreciate it everyone.

The 30-30 reloads were

Case - Mixed H.S
Bullet - Sierra 150 GR FP
COAL - 2.540
Primer - WLR
Powder - IMR 3031
Grains - 27.0
Gun - Marlin 3085 S Lever

The recoil was about the same as factory. The accuracy was O.K.
My father shot the 100 yard gong, Out of 16 rounds, He hit it about 10 times. He liked them. No cases split nor any problems were encountered. Extracted fine

Im very happy with these results. Now I will be trying to see what a tad hotter load will do.



Now the 9mm rounds.

Case - M H.S
Bullet - Berrys 124 GR FP
COAL - 1.050
Primer - WSP
Powder - Herco
Grains - 4.0
Gun - CZ SP-01 Phantom

The recoil was softer than factory. Muzzle flash was very low. My brother liked the round. He had only one Failure To Feed with this set up. All the powder was burnt in the case.

The only thing he didn't like was the fact that the spent casing got extracted and fell maybe about a 10 inches to a foot away from where he was standing. We don't know if it's the gun or if the load is to light. Any thoughts? Other than that, they seem to have extracted fine....They did cycle tho, He was shooting two at a time slowly to see how it went.

I loaded up 5 rounds and started to shoot and they cycled just fine.

Oh yeah, Accuracy was pretty good. Especially for night shooting! Ill have pics posted later.


The .38 specials.

Case - S&B ( 6 of them were Sako )
Primer - WSP
COAL 1.445
Bullet - Berrys 158 GR FP
Powder - Bullseye
Grains 3.0
Gun - Ruger GP-100 '3

No problems here. Accuracy could be better. I shot about 24 loads. Most of them were a bit in the higher right of the target. Recoil was manageable. I have never shot a 158 GR before but it seems to be a equaled to a 130 GR factory round from WWB I have shot before.

They chambered in the gun fine, And also was easy to extract after shooting. As for muzzle flash, It was decent. It wasn't the ' Dragon Breath' effect and I like it with low flash.

It wasn't for accuracy, It was to see how I actually did with the reloads. More of a test of function with the reloads.

Im happy to report that all went well.

 

[Fishslayer]

Glad everything went well!

My light target loads in 9mm & .45ACP also don't fly very far. When my wife shoots her SIG nine a certain percentage actually land right in the little brass pocket built into the barrier! The faster the slide is moving, the farther it's gonna throw the brass.

 

[Josh45]

FishSlayer,

Thanks for chiming in and thank you for your past info. It helped me quite a bit.
So, I take it nothing to worry about the extraction. I thought it was because the load was light that the spent case does not get ejected far.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I hate to keep disagreeing with you because I'm not usually that way but I'm a little worried. I truly appreciate how careful you are being but there is a such thing as being too careful as in loading too light. In the other thread you asked about Herco in the 9mm. You were given data from the 2002 Alliant load data book. The Max charge for a 125gr FMJ bullet was 6.5gr and for a 125gr Lead bullet it was 6.2gr. Alliant tells us to reduce the Max charge by 10% for a starting charge. Even if you use the lead data with those plated bullets that would be a starting charge of 5.6gr Herco. Your charge of 4.0gr is a full 35% below the Max charge of 6.2gr listed by Alliant. Sometimes too light a charge is just as dangerous as too much powder. As a new reloader you need to realize you shouldn't go much below the minimum recommended charge either.

Sorry to disagree with you.

 

[Josh45]

ArchAngel,

Don't be sorry. And actually, I know I was given that data. How ever, I just followed the Hornady manual data for jacketed low end data as they are recommended by Berrys web site. The manual was the 8th edition. The newest one if Im not mistaken.

As a new reloader, I understand I need to approach with caution as I have done and should stick with the reduce charge by 10%. Like I said before, People have said to stick with published data as you have provided.

Again, Don't be sorry. Your input and insight is highly welcomed. Maybe in 2002 it was the data to be used, and maybe this is the data for now? I had no real problems with this load and I will work up an extra 10% to the load.

Also, You are one of the other many people I have to thank for a lot of the info that was provided in the other threads.

If you recall, The bullet was a 124 GR FP plated. I know to low a charge can cause a problem as to high can result in a disaster.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I just followed the Hornady manual data for jacketed low end data as they are recommended by Berrys web site. The manual was the 8th edition. The newest one if Im not mistaken.

If that's where you got the data then you did things correctly. I didn't realize the Hornady manual has such a discrepancy with their data and Alliant's data. As long as it's published data from a reputable source you should be fine. (but the brass dropping practically at you feet is telling you something)

 

[Josh45]

ArchAngel,

PHEW! You had me worried I have to admit! Lol.

Yes, the brass falling close by does make me think. It was something we noticed right away. Even it being the starting charge, I think the next load should yield better results!

You would think that Alliants data and Hornadys manual would be almost similar being there powder and all. I guess that is not the case here....Odd isnt it?

 

[Cherokee]

Josh - now you know 4.0/Herco is too light, bump it up and give it a try. Working up the load is the way to do it.

 

[Josh45]

Cherokee,

Your right. I do know now. How ever, I won't get a chance to do so till a week!

 

[Fishslayer]

I thought it was because the load was light that the spent case does not get ejected far.

As long as the weapon cycles... I LIKE not having to chase my brass very far. If you are going to shoot nothing but light loads and want more reliable cycling & greater ejection distance you can put in a lighter recoil spring. I 've kept everything factory standard in my guns & adjust my loads to them. The only time one has failed to cycle was when I went below published minimum charge weight. If your semiauto is brand new you also might want to run a few hundred standard loads through it before noodling around with lighter target loads.

You would think that Alliants data and Hornadys manual would be almost similar being there powder and all. I guess that is not the case here....Odd isnt it?

Alliant is pretty conservative and I have to admit some of their published data makes me scratch my head. But it's not unusual at all for data sheets to differ. Tests might have been done on different days, different test barrels, different everything, really.

 

[Strykervet]

I've accidentally loaded those same 9mm bullets just a little lower than you (a different powder, but the weight seems similar --it's been a while). I got low recoil and the brass didn't go far, and neither did the bullet. In fact, it went about two inches down the barrel and stopped. Be wary of this when using weak loads. If you don't catch it, the next load can blow it up.

Good luck and have fun, just know undercharge is as dangerous as overcharge.

 

[Josh45]

FishSlayer,

I hate having to search and chase brass as well. But this is something I would consider a 'Successful Failure' if that makes sense to you. The gun is about 6 months old. It has about 500-600 rounds thru it already. So it is broken in...The next step is to increase the charge by the next load stated in the manual.

StrykerVet,

That sucks. I understand undercharge and overcharge are a horrible thing and should be avoided as much as possible. This is why I called it a 'Successful Failure'. I won't reload this load again. While it worked, It just doesn't seem right to me. So maybe the next charge will do just fine.