My first reloads!

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oerllikon

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hey guys, just did my first batch of 100 9mm luger reloads last night. I had several problems with crimping right away, because I didnt use the flare die (I learned several things about reloading straight walled cases). I used 125 gr hornady TAP bullets, mostly winchester brass, winchester magnum primers (on accident, guy at cabelas gave me the wrong ones and its an hour drive), and 5 gr of PB powder.Also, How do you guys think the rounds turned out? Out of the 50 or so i fired, they all went bang, and they all fed properly. I didnt have much time to test accuracy, but I will. The TAP bullets all measured about .355 on the dot. I think they were around .354 actually. Opinions and recommendations?

DSCN0090.jpg
 
Sounds like you've got a lot of variables going on in your first run.

I'd try and tame that if possible.

They all went bang, thats good. :D
 
The one in the center looks like the mouth is pushed back in one spot? Maybe it's just a reflection I'm seeing. Other than that, I would say good job.
Do be careful loading 9mm regarding your seating depth. You want to seat at or above SAMMI minimum while accomdating magazine fit and feeding, and keeping them off the lands. I was reading in my Speer #10 on page 349, that a test load that produced 28,000 cup went to 62,000 cup when bullets were purposely seated to .030" deeper than SAMMI.
Considering you've already test fired them and haven't had any problems, I would say you have a good handle on things though. Just be careful to use listed data, and do the table test, as I call it. I press the bullet of each finished round against the table, this assures me the bullet is not going to change OAL the result of recoil, because neck tension issues. Also something I learned from my Speer #10. I actually use this method with all auto feeding cartridges, .40 cal, 9mm, .380, and .45s. I actually thought it was extreme but did it any way. But I hadn't been loading 9mm very long when I ran accross a few with extremely light neck tension. I think it is less common with todays brass than as was the case years ago though.
Well, happy loading!
 
hey guys, just did my first batch of 100 9mm luger reloads last night. I had several problems with crimping right away, because I didnt use the flare die (I learned several things about reloading straight walled cases). I used 125 gr hornady TAP bullets, mostly winchester brass, winchester magnum primers (on accident, guy at cabelas gave me the wrong ones and its an hour drive), and 5 gr of PB powder.Also, How do you guys think the rounds turned out? Out of the 50 or so i fired, they all went bang, and they all fed properly. I didnt have much time to test accuracy, but I will. The TAP bullets all measured about .355 on the dot. I think they were around .354 actually. Opinions and recommendations?
Click to expand...
Straight wall rimless cases head space on the case mouth. Don't crimp them.
 
Straight wall rimless cases head space on the case mouth. Don't crimp them.
Click to expand...
WRONGO DONGO dude.
This type of case uses a taper crimp die not a roll crimp. so YES do taper crimp, but only enough to keep the case smooth.
 
No wonder new reloaders get confused! :D

+1 to "Taper Crimp" which is flattening the flaring of the case neck back to flat. For 9mm .355" diameter jacketed bullet, that's usually around .375"-.377" (SAAMI max .380") depending on the thickness variations of the case wall.

Here's the SAAMI 9mm case dimension drawing:

attachment.php
 
Got to agree, They look good. A little flare (ease of seating Bullet) and a little Taper Crimp goes a long way in turning out quality rounds...
 
What a rush, huh? I remember my first reloads.
I prayed a bunch on the way to the range that God would allow me to drive away from the range when I was done - LOL :D

Congrats - although I wouldn't have done 100 in one sitting for my first attempt.
what if something was wrong? then you'd have 99 to take apart.

I would've done a small batch of maybe 10 or so.
then if it works - on your 2nd reloading session you can do a whole box.

Or you might wanna do 10, then increase (or decrease) the powder by .2gr & do 10 more. etc, etc. til you get that recipe that just screams "THIS IS IT!"

I'm not criticizing your technique, just giving helpful hints.
 
Congrats!

Hondo has a point. What if 4.8gr gives the same accuracy with less recoil? What if 5.2gr has twice the accuracy of 5.0gr in your gun? You'll never know unless you load up 8-10 each, loaded with small incremental increases.

Be safe. ;)
 
Thanks for the help guys! Ill probably use these for target practice, and I might even do away with the hydrashoks ive been carrying for these, but Im not 100% sure. I still need to get a nicer scale, and a tumbler too. The brass I used was hand picked..
I still have to fiddle with the loads some, and I pretty much was just itchin' to get some rounds cranked out, so I didnt start worrying about fine accuracy and all that yet. :D
Thanks again for the comments
 
You might want to get a little more stick time on the press before you consider loading your carry ammo.
 
Mr Pilot gave you some excellent advice. There are numerous factors that can combine or individually act to keep a round from going off. Best bet by far is to hand load your practice rounds, which accurately mimic what you pack in your gun for SD.

I say "mimic", because modern, factory-made, SD ammo is likely to be built up from bullets and powders you cannot buy over the counter. So if your favorite SD round is (say for instance) 124gr Gold Dots, then loading most any 124gr bullet to that same speed will result in much the same "feel" for inexpensive practice.
 
I still have the very first round of ammunition I reloaded 20+ years ago. It also was a 9mm off a Dillon SDB.

They look fine, went bang and functioned in the gun, Great start!
 
Bush Pilot said:
oerllikon said:
I might even do away with the hydrashoks ive been carrying for these, but Im not 100% sure.
Click to expand...
You might want to get a little more stick time on the press before you consider loading your carry ammo.
Click to expand...
+1 There's plenty of threads discussing the pros/cons of loading your own SD/HD JHP loads, but that's for another discussion.

I use bulk Golden Saber bullets and try to load them as close to factory GS JHP POA/POI for range practice. Even with various FMJ/plated/lead bullets, I load a lot of them to duplicate factory JHP felt recoil/POI for more "realistic" practice.

Another popular SD/HD bullet choice is bulk Speer Gold Dots.
 
When I first started reloading 9mm, I got the warnings the bullet moving in when shooting. I went to the Lee factory crimp tie and adjusted it down a ways and have never had anything close to a problem. Every body says that the FCD is a waste of time and money but the FCD instructions say that it cannot crimp too small and my reloads, several thousands now, work like a charm in my S&W 639. I reload lead, Berries plated and various manufacturers styles of jacketed. On the plus side, I think the lead and plated are safer from sliding in the case necks with the FCD because I've noticed when I pulled a few bullets that the FCD actually crimps the bullets down a slight bit at the case mouth which seems to me would assure that the bullet will not move in. oerllikon, if you are reloading for range use, as long as your result is safe and still goes bang you will shoot more and have more fun. Congratulations!!
 
When I had my 9mm I was using Hornady 147 grain XTP's with CCI primers and Power Pistol powder. Didn't really matter what charge I used they all grouped really well.

And to chime in on remembering first reloads, my pistol reloads I smoked a lot and my heart rate was up. Very nervous.
Rifle reloads took me about 15 minutes and again, lots of smokes. Then my wife asked, "What's the big deal you've made pistol reloads." I replied, "Yeah, but they were not this close to my face."
 
Nice job! I too just reloaded my first pistol rounds (40 cal / 155gr Ranier plated/ 7.0 gr Power Pistol). I can see why this can get obsessive--lots of fun. I liked the tip on the "table tap"--I'll have to check that. Not too sure how to determine if I have the sweet load yet, but I'll try different increments by the specs and see if I can develop that feel. Keep those records!
 
Your ammo looks just fine. It looks like you did a good job... (and they all went bang!)

I remember the range trip with my first reloads, they were .38 Specials. I put them in the revolver, aimed, took in a half breath and pulled the trigger. I could feel the smile on my face from ear to ear when it not only went bang but hit the paper too. :D
 
my first loads were 38 special with some cheap lead.

Only a few weeks ago...

I did a bunch of research/obsessing, took a class before I finally made some.

I shot groups about the size of a half dollar. It was the best shooting I had ever done!

I am so hooked on loading I can hardly stand it. Heck...I am still awake reading forums...should have went to bed a few hours ago. LOL!
 
but the FCD instructions say that it cannot crimp too small
Click to expand...
They can be incorrectly adjusted just like any crimp die.


Congrats on your first reloads. They look fine, and as you said, they all shot well. I would recommend using the expander and adjusting the seater to give them a very light taper crimp. If you are having problems adjusting the seating and crimping in the same step, buy a taper crimp only die and crimp in a second step. Lee makes one ($10), as well as Redding, and RCBS.

As posters have mentioned, crimp enough to remove the bell and just a hair more. .000 works, .001 is plenty, and .002 won't hurt.
 
I still have to fiddle with the loads some, and I pretty much was just itchin' to get some rounds cranked out
Click to expand...

I did the same thing when I first got started. We went and loaded up about 30 rounds of .30-06 right off the bat. Luckily they shot just as accurate as factory ammo through my Vangaurd so it didn't hurt anything. If you're not careful loading will turn out to be just as big a hobby as shooting. It has for me.
 
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