hAkron
Member
I'm pretty new to reloading, and I've just stared reloading 9mm for my Glock 17. I picked up a box of 100 124 grn Rainier Round Nose bullets (they are plated lead) I have the RCBS Carbide 3 Die set and while I was working out crimp and seating plug adjustment I noticed that the rounded seating plug seems to deform the nose of the bullet smashing it slightly down and to the side just a bit. If I use the flatter seater plug there is still some slight flattening of the tip of the nose of the bullet, but it seems much more uniform than what I'm getting with the rounded seater plug. I know I can send 5 bullets and $20 to RCBS and they will make me a custom seater plug, but is that my next step? Do I already have what I need but I'm doing something wrong? Is the slight flattening of the tip of the bullet no cause for alarm? I would appreciate any advice.
My next question is on Load Data. The Rainer website says to use the load data for lead bullets. My Speer manual has no load data for LRN 9mm bullets. I have Winchster 231 powder. If I go to the Hodgon website it says to use WSF. I can get whatever powder I need, but I already have 231, so if anybody has used the Rainier 9mm 124 RN with 231 and have had good results, I would love to know the powder range to work in, and what sort of over all length you are using. The data I've found seems to suggest 1.169" which after doing a drop in test with a factory load VS an empty cartridge (no powder or primer) that I seated a bullet to give me ~1.169" dropped about the same place in the barrel (no measurements taken, just going by eye).
My next question is on Load Data. The Rainer website says to use the load data for lead bullets. My Speer manual has no load data for LRN 9mm bullets. I have Winchster 231 powder. If I go to the Hodgon website it says to use WSF. I can get whatever powder I need, but I already have 231, so if anybody has used the Rainier 9mm 124 RN with 231 and have had good results, I would love to know the powder range to work in, and what sort of over all length you are using. The data I've found seems to suggest 1.169" which after doing a drop in test with a factory load VS an empty cartridge (no powder or primer) that I seated a bullet to give me ~1.169" dropped about the same place in the barrel (no measurements taken, just going by eye).