Ed Jaws
Member
Back again with a 9mm Luger ammo range report, this time from two of my Ruger hand guns.
The specifics:
Ruger 9e barrel length 4.14“
Ruger Blackhawk Flattop convertible 357/9mm barrel length 4.625“
9mm 147 Gr. RMR Hardcore Match Round Nose Plated
Accurate AA#7 powder
CCI 500 primers
Speer and Blazer once fired brass
OAL 1.153
Distance to target 10 yards
I was eager to try these RMR bullets because of the larger diameter than the normal 9mm diameter bullets especially in the 357 revolver, of which I got decent, but far from great accuracy with .355 bullets. It's claimed that these RMR 147gr are .357 in diameter but a random 10 bullet sampling, two different times came in, on average, .3565. Using my vernier calipers and a couple pair of reading glasses, 66 year old eyes ain't what they used to be, they did read .357. Using a micrometer that reads to .0001 the reading on the same samples averaged .35654. I was more than happy with that diameter because trying to keep case flare to a minimum and lining up these bullets to seat them proved hard at times. I was almost tempted to pull the Lyman M expander out of my 357mag die set.
The cheap Frankford Arsenal scale I use to weight pistol powder charges is extremely accurate and match my Lyman beam scale but I notice the FA scale does far worse with heavier weights so take this with a grain of salt. The RMR's averaged to a little more than 147gr, from 146.7 to 147.7.
Nothing in the last paragraph makes a lick of difference as you'll see in the pics below.
Powder charges of AA #7:
6.0gr.
6.3
6.6
6.8
7.0
Which were thrown charges from a Lyman #55. I loaded up 10 rounds of each charge, six to be fired out of the revolver, four from the pistol. My forearms were resting on the edge of my gun case, standing.
The Western 2016 load guide lists AA#7 with 147gr. Rain(Plated) at 5.6gr to 6.6gr. The +P loads for #7 is 6.6 to 7.0gr. Both load ranges are at 1.160 OAL with the +P 7.0gr at 38,337 Max pressure.
IMO, these powder charges are crippled for safety sake. Every one felt like a powder puff out of the revolver. Out of the lighter 9E they felt a little more heavy but even still, factory stuff has more snap to it. These were very clean loads with no pressure signs.
The 7.0gr charges were not compressed loads but they were getting close. I'm tempted to drop the OAL down to 1.145 and retest. I only wish I had chono results to give you. If I had a place to shoot I'd buy a chronograph in a heartbeat.
In NO way should anyone else use max loads in their weapon right out of the gate. Work up each load when any component is changed and STOP if pressure signs develop. Please use reasonable precautions and work up loads for your weapon of choice.
I feel 9mm Luger, AA#7, and RMR 147 HCM RN are an excellent marriage of components as you'll see in the results, at least in the revolver. Something went side-ways with the pistol results; best group with 7.0gr at just under 3". I will be retesting the pistol loads and update when I have made some progress.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uevhisz2nqjiy2s/AABBo0wOXJKiJyafBX4mzSlsa?dl=0
The specifics:
Ruger 9e barrel length 4.14“
Ruger Blackhawk Flattop convertible 357/9mm barrel length 4.625“
9mm 147 Gr. RMR Hardcore Match Round Nose Plated
Accurate AA#7 powder
CCI 500 primers
Speer and Blazer once fired brass
OAL 1.153
Distance to target 10 yards
I was eager to try these RMR bullets because of the larger diameter than the normal 9mm diameter bullets especially in the 357 revolver, of which I got decent, but far from great accuracy with .355 bullets. It's claimed that these RMR 147gr are .357 in diameter but a random 10 bullet sampling, two different times came in, on average, .3565. Using my vernier calipers and a couple pair of reading glasses, 66 year old eyes ain't what they used to be, they did read .357. Using a micrometer that reads to .0001 the reading on the same samples averaged .35654. I was more than happy with that diameter because trying to keep case flare to a minimum and lining up these bullets to seat them proved hard at times. I was almost tempted to pull the Lyman M expander out of my 357mag die set.
The cheap Frankford Arsenal scale I use to weight pistol powder charges is extremely accurate and match my Lyman beam scale but I notice the FA scale does far worse with heavier weights so take this with a grain of salt. The RMR's averaged to a little more than 147gr, from 146.7 to 147.7.
Nothing in the last paragraph makes a lick of difference as you'll see in the pics below.
Powder charges of AA #7:
6.0gr.
6.3
6.6
6.8
7.0
Which were thrown charges from a Lyman #55. I loaded up 10 rounds of each charge, six to be fired out of the revolver, four from the pistol. My forearms were resting on the edge of my gun case, standing.
The Western 2016 load guide lists AA#7 with 147gr. Rain(Plated) at 5.6gr to 6.6gr. The +P loads for #7 is 6.6 to 7.0gr. Both load ranges are at 1.160 OAL with the +P 7.0gr at 38,337 Max pressure.
IMO, these powder charges are crippled for safety sake. Every one felt like a powder puff out of the revolver. Out of the lighter 9E they felt a little more heavy but even still, factory stuff has more snap to it. These were very clean loads with no pressure signs.
The 7.0gr charges were not compressed loads but they were getting close. I'm tempted to drop the OAL down to 1.145 and retest. I only wish I had chono results to give you. If I had a place to shoot I'd buy a chronograph in a heartbeat.
In NO way should anyone else use max loads in their weapon right out of the gate. Work up each load when any component is changed and STOP if pressure signs develop. Please use reasonable precautions and work up loads for your weapon of choice.
I feel 9mm Luger, AA#7, and RMR 147 HCM RN are an excellent marriage of components as you'll see in the results, at least in the revolver. Something went side-ways with the pistol results; best group with 7.0gr at just under 3". I will be retesting the pistol loads and update when I have made some progress.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uevhisz2nqjiy2s/AABBo0wOXJKiJyafBX4mzSlsa?dl=0
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