reload question

[pvthouse]

I'm new to the game here guys. What I'm looking for is two thing: a good target load and a good home defence load with using berry 200-230 rn and hollow point. I'm looking for both powder type and amount. Thanks people!

Kinda forgot to add in that I'm reloading for a glock 21 .45 acp

 

[Steve C]

Berry's HP bullets or any of the cheaper plated bullets are made for target shooting and not as a bullet for reliable expansion or a very good self defense load but are certainly OK to use for practice. The Glock .45 acp has an unsupported chamber and KB (Ka-boom) from a case blow out in the .40 and .45 has been reported many times over the years vrs almost never for a 9mm. I qualify the 9mm comment with "almost" because there may be a case of it happening though I don't remember seeing one in the last 20 years. Pushing the velocity up for a Self defense load only increases the risk.

For a target load 5.0 to 5.5 grs of W231 makes for a good load with 200 to 230gr bullets. Inspect your cases for the "Glock" bulge at the base of the cartridge and discard them as this shows they've been stretched and will weaken when the metal is reworked as its sized.

For self defense loads its best to just "bite the bullet" so to speak and pay for a couple boxes of premium personal defense loads by Winchester, Federal, Speer or Remington. The new Winchester PDX adopted by the FBI is currently readily available from Cabela's and would be a good choice as would any of the Gold Dots, Hydra Shoks, Golden Sabers, HST's.

You don't need to shoot that $1.00 a round stuff other than a few to make sure it feeds reliably in your pistol. Load them in the mag for carry and when things go bump in the night, otherwise shoot reloads for practice.

 

[pvthouse]

Yea I'm aware of the glock brass expansion problem. I'm going to be dropping in a new barrel with tighter tolerance befor I even consider reloading my used brass. Thx for that. Keep 'em comin

 

[Threedog]

All of the Glock Gen 3 and Gen 4 that I have seen have fixed the problem With the unsupported head space. If you have one of these you will not need a new barrel.

 

[pvthouse]

And how can I tell if mine is a gen 3 or 4?

 

[LiveLife]

Short answer as there were some exceptions and more details.

In general, Gen3 Glocks started with finger grooves in the front strap of the grip. Gen4 Glocks have removable grip inserts and dual recoil springs.

 

[ScratchnDent]

I use 6.9 gr of Unique under the 200gr. RN and HP, with an OAL of 1.25-1.26", which gives me right about 900 fps out of my 5" 1911.

The plated HP's that I've shot into water jugs and wet sand have never expanded.

 

[dc.fireman]

Pvthouse -

I just finished reloading 500 Berrys plated 230 rn. If you can't find info for reloading Berry's use the recipe for Speer Gold Dots - the Berry's technical person advised me they are virtually identical. The recipe I used, which was fired in a Rock River 1911, and a Glock 21 without a hitch was:

Berrys 230gr. TMJ-RN

IMR 700X - 10 @ 4.1, 10 @ 4.3 10 @ 4.6. I've ended up keeping the 4.3gr. load as my target load, for no other reason than the group sizes were nice. I hate to say it, but they were even nicer in my brothers Glock.

Case - Remington pre-primed, and then the same 1x fired cases, with a Remington 9.5
primer.

Cartridge overall length I used was 1.260", and 1.263".

Berry's recommends keeping the velocities below 1200 FPS, which should not be a problem. As I don't have a Chronymeter (yet), I can't tell you what the velocities were.

Overall, I liked them. They were easy to reload, shot well, consistently weighed in at 230 gr. and thats about all I cared about. the 4.3 gr. made for a nice easy shooting target load. I use others for stuff I'd like to believe is for my own personal defense.

Good Luck.

-tc

 

[pvthouse]

Hey thanks a lot guys

 

[Presto]

The self defense ammo that I am usining in my .45's right now is the Hornady Critical Defense load. It is the one with the polymer plug in the hollow point. I've had trouble with other, open hollow points being clogged when I test them through a couple of layers of denim. The clog up and won't expand. The new Hornady bullets have no trouble with it, though. Every one looks just alike after impact. I've only had trouble with this in .45. That slow of a bullet just needs a little something to help it expand reliably sometimes.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I'm with Steve. Use the plated stuff for target practice and load up some XTPs or Golden Sabres for HD.
I shoot a lot of plated stuff just plinking. Nothing wrong with it, just not the best choice for defense.