Range Report AA#7, N320, 38, 357, 9mm

[gonoles_1980]

I up'd the AA#7 to 6.8gr with a 1.14 COL for my wife's 9mm (124g xtreme CPRN). No forehead shots, all ejections were good.

Up'd the xtreme CPFP in my 357 with N320 to 6.5gr, very happy with the results.

Loaded up the 38spl with 3.5gr N320 using xtreme LSWC, nice plinking round, probably could add a grain or two.

Did the ladder load with the Speer LSWCHP (4.6-5.0, 1gr at a time). The 4.6 fired easily, no worries on it being too light. I like the 5.0, so that's going to be my load for this combination.

So now I have my loads for all rounds with the AA#7 and N320.

 

[vaalpens]

I am new to reloading and is in the process of reading and taking in as much as I can before loading my first round. So please excuse my ignorance if this is a stupid question, but you indicate that you are loading 6.8gr for a 9mm 124g xtreme CPRN. The Accurate #7 load data shows starting load for 124 (P) RAIN RN at 7.7gr and max load at 8.0gr. Is the Rainier plated round nose bullet that much different from the Xtreme plated round nose that you have to start at 6.8gr vs starting at 7.7gr?

 

[gonoles_1980]

It can get confusing. I struggled to come up with a load because of the differences even on the Western Powders website. I used the Berry data, I had a flat point. Just from the extract below there is a wide range of values. That's whey when I started I used a ladder load. Also, I would never start at the high end of a load. I took a middle of the road approach, when I did my ladder I did 6.5-6.8gr, which was at the high end of the HBFP, but low end of the HBFP. Also note the difference in COL, 1.16 vs 1.06. 1.06 is going to give you more pressure. So you need to consider both load and COL. I was using a 1.16 COL, which is why I went to the lighter side.

Here's what I downloaded from their site. Note the higher COL's have a higher load.

124 WIN FMJ 6.4 975 7.5 1,139 34,925 1.100
124 REM GS 6.9 1,013 7.9 1,140 34,678 1.145
124 SPEER GDHP 6.4 963 7.4 1,090 34,724 1.105
124 (P) BERRY RN 6.7 997 7.6 1,120 34,312 1.160
124 (P) BERRY HBFP 6.0 948 6.9 1,072 34,627 1.060
124 (P) RAIN HP 6.3 954 7.2 1,080 34,204 1.110
124 (P) RAIN RN 6.7 993 7.7 1,124 34,634 1.160
124 (L) LC RN 5.7 963 6.5 1,086 34,546 1.050

 

[vaalpens]

Thanks for the explanation. It can be very confusing, especially for a new re-loader like myself. This is a step by step process for me to get to the actual loading part. Luckily I am not in a hurry since it is very difficult to get powder locally, so I am still trying to decide on my first powder purchase, but for now I am leaning towards AA#7.

I think I now understand why I had different numbers. I was looking at the AA#7 9mm +P load data. This is where the starting load data for the Rainier 124gr plated RN starts at 7.7. This just shows me that I need to make sure I verify everything before I start with my first load.