practice 9mm loads

[Samari Jack]

Been loading some light loads for my 9mm pistols. I want something that reliably cycles but don't really care about blowing stuff to kingdom come. I've been using 4.0 gr HP 38 & 124 gr Berry plated bullets. My cheapy chrono spits out 960 fps average and my Kahr 30 give or take fps slower.

Low recoil is the goal.

I have some 100 gr .and have loading data for 380 rounds (same diameter as 9mm) and for 9mm but haven't actually shot any in a 9 mm.

What' s about the lowest powder/bullet combo that would reliable cycling, be accurate, and leave my hand without that run over by a '57 Chevy feeling after a few hundred rounds.

 

[beatledog7]

For what are you practicing?

Be careful to get sufficient practice with rounds that shoot the way your for-real rounds shoot. For example, if you compete and there is power factor requirement, make sure your practice rounds meet it.

Plinking rounds are fun, but they can also rob a shooter of his edge.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Jack,
In the 9mm I load 4.0gr W231/HP-38 with a 124gr lead bullet and 4.4gr W231/HP-38 with a 124gr jacketed bullet. Both cycle every pistol I tried them in including the heavy slide of a Betetta 92. Both feel like light plinking loads and are accurate for me.

You can shoot lighter bullets in the 9mm but I've found accuracy isn't very good when you go much lighter than 115gr and I like 124/125gr bullets best in the 9mm.

 

[Blue68f100]

I've been shooting Berry's for years. My pet load is 4.7-4.8gr of WSF behind the Berry's 124gr RN, WSF is not snappy like 231 is. It produces a nice soft recoil.

 

[Samari Jack]

So far, I well satisfied with the way they perform. Now if I could get my trigger finger to respond when and how I tell it to, I'd be a fair marksman. The are like my rebelious son and do not always comply.

 

[wally]

I like about 3.7gr Unique and a 147 gr hardcast (Missouri Bullet Company's have met my needs the past few years).

The low flash and blast reduces perceived recoil, Unique is quite clean in this load.

 

[PO2Hammer]

115 is as low as I go in 9mm. A light charge of 7625 gives me low recoil and excellent acc'y at about 900 fps.

 

[BBDartCA]

Although I agree its best to practice with a load that's close to what you may defend your life with, if you are just looking for a light plinking round, try 115g jacketed bullets with 8.0g of IMR4227. 820fps and pressure about half of of a normal 9mm load. That's out of the latest Lee book. I found these to cycle most of the time and accuracy was great. Even in a tiny Ruger LC9, recoil was very light.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Although I agree its best to practice with a load that's close to what you may defend your life with, if you are just looking for a light plinking round, try 115g jacketed bullets with 8.0g of IMR4227. 820fps and pressure about half of of a normal 9mm load. That's out of the latest Lee book. I found these to cycle most of the time and accuracy was great. Even in a tiny Ruger LC9, recoil was very light.

I feel IMR-4227 is too slow a powder for light 9mm loads. That powder is going to be dirty at such low pressures and possible foul the pistol. IMO faster powders make much better plinking ammo than slower powders do. BUT, since I have not tried it I'm speculating and you make that powder sound good in the 9mm. (I would not have thought it would work well)

 

[BBDartCA]

I find the 4227 needs a mag primer to run clean in 9mm. Its a load thats not worth investing in a can of powder for. But if you have 4227 laying around, worth trying. Exception is if you have a heavy slide or heavy recoil springs - may have trouble ejecting brass.

 

[Samari Jack]

follow on to my earlier lost

I've been doing a bit of experimenting with loads since I got my chronograph set up.

There is loading data for 100gr bullets in 9mm and the bullet diameter is the same for .380 as 9mm. I loaded a box (50) as a trial.

Results:
9mm, 100 GR Berry RN plated. 4.9grs HP-38/W231 powder. The Hodgdon loading data for jacketed bullets gave a range of 5.1 to 5.5 grs powder. Winchester primer. OAL 1.050. I was told by Hodgdon to use powder loads for lead bullets for Berry bullets. It is kind of hard to find lead data for all bullet weights and powders so I've tried to start a bit lower than the lowest powder load indicated for a specific jacketed bullet weight and work up for Berry bullets.

Glock 19-average of 7 rounds fired, throwing out highest and lowest average 1180 fps
Kahr P9-average of 6 rounds, throwing out highest and lowest average 1130 fps
Browning High Power-Same loads as the rest. Browning. average with same bullets1230 fps

I had two failure to load out of 14 rounds in the Browning.
I had two failure to load out of 6 rounds in the Kahr
All 16 rounds in the Glock, no problems.

In both the Browning & the Kahr the slide didn't appear to cycle back far enough to pick up the round.

The fps spread was a bit of a surprised, especially between the Kahr and the Glock since the Kahr was only about 3/8 difference in barrel length.

My conclusion is the 100 GR just doesn't have enough butt, i.e. it is to light a bullet, especially taking into account the bullet speed of the Berry, plated bullets.

Probably not enough rounds fired to make to much out of this and I only loaded a box to try out but will not do anymore 100gr 9mm loads. I found out all I need to know.

I have a few rounds left over from that batch to put more ventilitation in my burn barrell.

 

[docsleepy]

In the past I've simply made up different groups of five rounds, each group with a diffferent amount of powder, ranging from very low to somewhee on the chart, and then kept track of the minimum amount of powder to get all a complete group to cycle. Steps of maybe 0.5 grains for 9 mm.

then I use the next higher charge as my practice charge, since its very likely they will always work.

 

[robctwo]

I've been using 4.1 Universal for very mild and 4.5 Universal for a little more zip with 125 gr lrn. Very nice.

 

[Samari Jack]

In the past I've simply made up different groups of five rounds, each group with a diffferent amount of powder, ranging from very low to somewhee on the chart, and then kept track of the minimum amount of powder to get all a complete group to cycle. Steps of maybe 0.5 grains for 9 mm.

then I use the next higher charge as my practice charge, since its very likely they will always work.

Yes, me too. Problem is that at 1200+ fps, I'm already at the upper limit for plated lead bullets. I suppose I could "make" them work by getting a weaker slide spring or use jacketed or some composite 100 Gr bullet but I'd just as soon use heavier bullets that the 9mm Luger pistols were designed for.

The whole bullet weight, powder load, powder burn rate, pressure thing is kind of fascinating. You would think lighter bullet-less powder but not the case. Heavier bullets create more pressure I suppose from the physics of getting the heavier mass moving necessitating less powder to keep pressures under control.

 

[bluetopper]

"I agree its best to practice with a load that's close to what you may defend your life with, if you are just looking for a light plinking round, try 115g jacketed bullets with 8.0g of IMR4227. 820fps and pressure about half of of a normal 9mm load. That's out of the latest Lee book. I found these to cycle most of the time and accuracy was great. Even in a tiny Ruger LC9, recoil was very light."


But who wants to load ammo that will just cycle just "most of the time"?

IMR4227 is for large magnum caliber handguns and light loads in rifles and that's about it.

 

[LiveLife]

Problem is that at 1200+ fps, I'm already at the upper limit for plated lead bullets.

Berry's HB-TP (thick plated) bullets are rated for 1450 fps.

Speer Gold Dot and TMJ bullets are also plated and can be driven to full jacketed bullet velocities.

Like Gold Dot, Berry's new Hollow Point bullets (due out summer of 2012) with thick plating should be also driven to full jacketed bullet velocities.

 

[rfwobbly]

My cheapy chrono spits out 960 fps average and my Kahr 30 give or take fps slower. Low recoil is the goal.

Force (or felt recoil) is defined as Pressure divided by Area. One problem is that the Kahr gives the hand such a small contact area, that felt recoil is always going to be higher than a 3/4 or full-size gun. While I agree it's important to shoot 10 rounds of your SD ammo each month in the Kahr, you might consider a second, larger-gripped pistol for general target practice volumes.

Otherwise, at 960 fps, I'd have to say you were already there.

 

[greyling22]

I use 4 grns of v 3n37 with a 124grn lead bullet. 3.7 doesn't cycle reliably. my 4grn loads won't cycle in my buddy's hk. every gun is different. you'll just have to start low and work down. it also helps to have a heavy gun. I'm rocking a witness elite, weighs a ton, but soaks up recoil like a sponge. You can also change to a lighter recoil spring and go even lower.