Reloading 9x25 Dillon, CFE Pistol, Longshot, 147 gr. XTP

[cstarr3]

Hi all;

I have spent the last few weeks tinkering around with some 9x25 loads in CFE Pistol and Longshot with 147 gr. XTPs. I used DoubleTap's 147 gr. Controlled Expansion as a guideline for judging velocities and pressure signs. I shot the factory stuff from both a 4.6" standard length Lon Wolf barrel and a 6" Lone Wolf barrel.

I originally loaded with 6.5, 6.7, 6.9, 7.1, and 7.3 grains of CFE Pistol. Unimpressed with those loads, and noticing weaker pressure signs than the factory loads, I extrapolated from the data I had and decided 7.6 grains would give me factory velocities. I also loaded 7.8 and 8.0 grains. These two hot rounds gave me serious pressure signs, including a pierced primer in the 8.0 grain loading.

I additionally used some Longshot in 7.7, 7.9, 8.1, 8.3, and 8.5 grain charges.

Except for the two groups of DoubleTap factory ammo, all data used a 4.6" standard length Lone Wolf Barrel. My data is summarized here. If you use this data to work up a load, you assume responsibility for anything bad that happens as a result.

DoubleTap 147 gr. Controlled Expansion, 4.6" barrel:
Low: 1229
High: 1269
Avg: 1250
E.S.: 39.58
Std. Dev.: 13.15
Shot Velocities: 1229 1264 1243 1251 1242 1269 1265 1250 1250 1235

DoubleTap 147 gr. Controlled Expansion, 6" barrel (first group):
Low: 1318
High: 1363
Avg: 1337
E.S.: 44.11
Std. Dev.: 12.72
Shot Velocities: 1335 1318 1337 1335 1349 1340 1337 1331 1322 1363

DoubleTap 147 gr. Controlled Expansion, 6" barrel (second group):
Low: 1312
High: 1353
Avg: 1338
E.S.: 40.35
Std. Dev.: 16.12
Shot Velocities: 1312 1323 1337 1314 1340 1352 1353 1349 1352 1349

6.5 gr. CFE Pistol
Low: 1006
High: 1132
Avg: 1100
E.S.: 126.10
Std. Dev.: 35.79
Shot Velocities: 1006 1094 1101 1132 1110 1105 1124 1091 1115 1125

6.7 gr. CFE Pistol
Low: 1126
High: 1148
Avg: 1134
E.S.: 22.35
Std. Dev.: 7.41
Shot Velocities: 1133 1126 1133 1148 1126 1135 1145 1129 1129 1135

6.9 gr. CFE Pistol
Low: 1136
High: 1175
Avg: 1151
E.S.: 39.63
Std. Dev.: 11.26
Shot Velocities: 1137 1152 1175 1149 1160 1136 1145 1148 1150 1155

7.1 gr. CFE Pistol
Low: 1166
High: 1207
Avg: 1182
E.S.: 41.78
Std. Dev.: 13.6
Shot Velocities 1188 1166 1167 1170 1168 1182 1207 1186 1187 1194

7.3 gr. CFE Pistol
Low: 1198
High: 1224
Avg: 1210
E.S.: 25.97
S.D.: 9.11
Shot Velocities: 1207 1219 1199 1220 1206 1202 1214 1198 1211 1224

7.6 gr. CFE Pistol
Low: 1239
High: 1266
Avg: 1253
E.S.: 2659
S.D.: 7.61
Shot Velocities: 1251 1256 1250 1252 1239 1252 1266 1247 1261 1259

7.8 gr. CFE Pistol
Low: 1267
High: 1291
Avg: 1278
E.S.: 23.94
S.D.: 7.14
Shot Velocities: 1275 1280 1286 1276 1271 1291 1273 1281 1267 1275

8.0 gr. CFE Pistol
Low: 1277
High: 1311
Avg: 1290
E.S.: 34.31
S.D.: 11.87
Shot Velocities: 1277 1286 1281 1295 1297 1280 1277 1305 1289 1311

7.7 gr. Longshot
Low: 1219
High: 1272
Avg: 1244
E.S.: 53.71
S.D.: 13.74
Shot Velocities: 1272 1230 1246 1241 1246 1251 1219 1242 1243 1249

7.9 gr. Longshot
Low: 1250
High: 1280
Avg: 1267
E.S.: 29.23
S.D.: 11.00
Shot Velocities: 1257 1267 1279 1274 1277 1252 1280 1263 1266 1250

8.1 gr. Longshot
Low: 1263
High: 1310
Avg: 1283
E.S.: 46.77
S.D.: 16.40
Shot Velocities: 1290 1310 1284 1306 1273 1283 1289 1263 1267 1265

8.3 gr. Longshot
Low: 1293
High: 1308
Avg: 1301
E.S.: 14.40
S.D.: 4.69
Shot Velocities: 1293 1308 1307 1307 1299 1299 1299 1300 1299 1302

8.5 gr. Longshot
Low: 1300
High: 1334
Avg: 1317
E.S.: 33.98
S.D.: 13.37
Shot Velocities: 1300 1333 1301 1303 1334 1329 1312 1324 1309 1324

For those who are curious, I used 0.2 grains of powder over the published maximum 147 gr. .357 SIG loads as my starting point. Then I worked my way up.

Hope you find this data useful.
Cheers;
-cstarr3

 

[OilyPablo]

Good stuff. Not knowledgeable on CFE but the Longshot loads are a bit on the light side so should be safe as recorded .

 

[OilyPablo]

Forgot to ask what written materials do you have?

 

[Patocazador]

I use Longshot in my .357 SIG and & .40 S&W loads and like it a lot.

It looks like 8.3 gr. of Longshot did very well for you. That's a winner.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I'm curious why you chose the 147 gr. bullets for your tests? The 9x25 Dillon was developed around the use of the 115 gr. bullet, and that's where I think it shines. At least it shines in my two 9x25 Dillon pistols, a Witness and a 1911, with that bullet weight.

With the bullet leaving the muzzle at approximately 1,600 fps, the long range trajectory is very flat for a handgun. At 100 yards off the bench, I'm only holding about 3" high from my 25 yard sight setting and getting consistent center hits on the target.

I'd really like to see some development with BE-86, CFE-Pistol and LongShot, since those powders didn't exist when the 9x25 loads were being worked up by Jay Phillips and the Dillon crew when they came up with the idea for it.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[herkyguy]

And now my curiosity with the 9X25 has peaked........ Thanks for sharing.

 

[cstarr3]

As far as "written material," I assume you mean commercially available load data. I generally use Hodgdon's online reloading data. I also occasionally use the Lyman 49th and the Hornady 9th where Hodgdon is lacking. Because Sierra, Nosler, and Speer bullets are much more scarce locally, I didn't bother getting those manuals. I also have an 3rd Edition of McPherson's "Metallic Cartridge Reloading," which has H110 loads for 115 grain bullet in 9x25. I will also peruse the forums to find some data on combinations of caliber, bullet, and powder that are not published.

There are three reasons I chose the 147 grain. (1) Because I shoot several different 9mm calibers. I like them to all have similar velocities. This way, at pistol distances (<25 yards), the drop is very similar. As far as long range goes, I don't really have much use for a long range handgun at this time (I would rather have something like a .30 Carbine, or just use my PS-90). (2) I also don't seem to have very good luck reproducing the high velocities in the lightweight bullets in other small calibers I've loaded. (3) I noticed there was no data for 147 grain. If I was going for working up a load, I might as well work up something new. I will probably eventually come up with a pet load for some 115 and 124 grain XTPs, and maybe some 90 grain XTP and a lead free bullet. However, that is probably the distant future. I may also work up a load in 147 grain with 800-X at some point. I haven't really had access to any BE-86 in the past.

Also, the 8.3 grains looked like a very consistent load. The pressure signs looked like I could go up a little higher. So that is a distinct possibility in the near future. I still have yet to really test the accuracy of the loads.

Thanks for your guys' feedback!