Sig P210 target accurate handloads

[Big-bore-bob]

Hi all,
Just acquired an American made sig p210 target pistol. I'm stoked on the new piece and I'm already thinking about handloading match grade ammo for it (haven't even fired it yet lol) Does anyone out there load for this pistol? If so what grain/style of bullet do you have the best results with? Primers? Powder? I have hp38, cfe pistol and Bullseye on hand at the moment. Cci standard small pistol primers and federal gold medal are easy to source for me locally, however gold medal are a bit more expensive. My goal is to shoot the smallest groups possible. Thanks and happy shooting!

 

[PO2Hammer]

HP38 and Bullseye are excellent choices for target 9.
JHPs should be your starting point if you’re serious about target shooting.
XTP, HAP, Win 115, Gold Dot and others.
I’m hoping to try Rocky Mountain Reloading 124 MATCHWINNERs next.
https://www.rmrbullets.com/shop/bul...gr-rmr-truncated-cone-flat-point-matchwinner/

 

[JmacD]

I had a guy with one put the “bug in my ear” to what has become my go to target load for my 320. 115 hap and 5.4-5.5 gr of Autocomp.

 

[Big-bore-bob]

Thanks for the replies. I read auto comp has a pretty heavy recoil impulse as it was designed for compensator use. How is the recoil impulse for you? (Velocity range for 5.4 5.5gr auto comp?) Are hollow points like the hornady HAP more accurate for target style shooting? I mostly shoot 45 acp in uspsa production class and informal bullseye shooting and lower velocity equates to better accuracy in the .45 acp in my limited experience using RMR 230gr fmj's over 5gr bullseye and 5.5gr hp38. What velocity range produces best accuracy for the 9mm cartridge? (Higher or lower velocity?). My sig p226 and p229 prefer 124gr bullets to shoot poa-poi. I'm looking for a good starting point for accuracy loads without working through too many loading manual loads looking for the sweet spot; there are a lot of loads in my manuals, i have hornady, nosler, and lyman. ( I will work up loads safely of course as I can not rely on anyone else's pet loads for my firearms) no offense!

 

[JmacD]

I'm looking for a good starting point for accuracy loads without working through too many loading manual loads looking for the sweet spot; there are a lot of loads in my manuals, i have hornady, nosler, and lyman. ( I will work up loads safely of course as I can not rely on anyone else's pet loads for my firearms) no offense!

ABSOLUTELY!!! The load I mentioned is found in Hornady 10 & 11, and I should have mentioned that. I know one guy that runs a bit warmer than that, but he also gets very little life from his brass! It definitely has some recoil, but I personally don’t find it crazy. It matched the way some defense loads feel, so for my tactical/ security team training it fit my purposes.

 

[Dudedog]

Just acquired an American made sig p210 target pistol. I'm stoked on the new piece and I'm already thinking about handloading match grade ammo for it (haven't even fired it yet lol) Does anyone out there load for this pistol?

Pistols all like what they like, even two of the same model can have different favorites.
Sometime small OAL differences or .1-.2gr of powder can make a difference on paper.
If it was me I would start with the HP38 and do a workup from start to close to MAX and see what shoots best for you.
Then maybe do the same with the other two powders you have on hand.
Hopefully something will stand out as ah my gun likes this one.
In my experience CFE-P is happier on the upper side of it's charge range.

I have 5 different 9mms each has it's own favorite, but any of the favorites seem to work well in the other guns, just not as well as their favorite.

 

[Big-bore-bob]

Thanks for the advice. I got the p210 out to the range today. I broke it in with 400 rounds of some cheap magtech 115. From the bench at 10 yards it was shooting dime sized groups when I was adjusting the sights. Got it sighted in and shot 350 rounds off hand at 10 and 25 yards. Also was ringing the 100 yard gong with at least 5 out of 8 shots per magazine. The accuracy and hand feel of this gun is amazing. I think ill source some various hollow points and start my load workup with the powders I have. Any more info is greatly appreciated! This is a target shot 50 times at 10 yards offhand. Happy shooting!

 

[Dudedog]

I have had real good luck with the RMR Nukes (HP) and matchwinners.
The owner is a member here and lots of people like his bullets.

Bullet Reloading Supplies | Rocky Mountain Reloading

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www.rmrbullets.com

Glad you are liking the Sig.

 

[Slamfire]

This is from the Bullseye Pistol Forum:


A Load for the 9mm Service Pistol

Encyclopedia of Bullseye Pistol

Here is a 9mm load that David Sams has been usingfor testing Beretta 92 barrels and his completed guns that hasbeen proven sub 1.5" groups at 50 yds is as follows:

• Starline brass
• 115gr Hornady FMJ-RN bullet
• 6.0 - 6.2gr Alliant Power Pistol powder
• Rem #5 1/2 SP primers
• O.A.L. -- 1.120" no-crimp

Out of a barrel test fixture using Bar-Sto barrels groups have consistently run between .975" to 1.5" averagingabout 1". Through David's completed 92F's, he claims thatthey have been running 1.3" - 1.5" as a reminder theseare hand-loaded.

I have one of David Sams match Beretta M92's and wanted an optical sight installed on top. When I talked to Mr Sams, he stated clearly that you had to keep the velocities up in the 9mm for 50 yard accuracy. My memory could be wrong, but I think he said 1150 fps to 1200 fps minimum. My test data is in that region. I included factory ammunition for a reference load. The assumption is, if my velocities are equal to or less than factory, than my reloads are OK.

M92 FS Beretta Bar Sto Barrel

115 Full Metal Case Master Factory Ammo
20-Jun-09 T = 90 °F

Ave Vel =1180
Std Dev =10.19
ES = 33.27
High = 1197
Low = 1167
Number rds =8

115 gr RMR Plated RN 6.0 grs Power Pistol lot 3-16 WSP OAL 1.150" Mag Length
15-Sep-16 T = 94 °F crimp 0.375"

Ave Vel =1175
Std Dev =22
ES = 81
Low = 1130
High = 1211
N = 20
Very accurate

115 gr XTP Hornady HP 0.355" 6.0 grs Power Pistol lot 3-16 WSP OAL 1.10"
15-Sep-16 T = 95 °F crimp 0.375"

Ave Vel =1161
Std Dev =54
ES = 197
Low = 1111
High = 1308
N = 11

Very accurate but rounds would not feed, jammed on barrel ramp.
One jam seated bullet very deep. Round velocity 1247 fps, not included in data

115 gr FMJ Hornady 0.355" 6.0 grs Power Pistol lot 3-16 WSP OAL 1.15"
15-Sep-16 T = 95 °F crimp 0.375"

Ave Vel =1187
Std Dev =16
ES = 58
Low = 1157
High = 1215
N = 9
v accurate.

 

[9mmepiphany]

When Eley was testing 9mm bullets for their line of 9mm CF cartridges, they went with the RMR 124gr FMJ RN. If you talk to Jake, owner of RMR, their Matchwinners (124gr FMJ FN) has proven a bit more accurate in their testing.

I use their (RMR) Matchwinners in my SIG 320 pushed by about 3.6gr of Sport Pistol. My M&P 9 with Apex Grade barrel noticeably prefers their Heavy Matchwinners (147gr) over 4.2grs of N310.

You'll have to see which bullet weight (115, 124, 135, 147,150) your barrel likes best.

 

[blackhawk44]

For my factory 210A, 147gr (Hornady or Zero) have always out grouped other weights. I don't have access to a mechanical rest, but have gotten 2.35" 50yd groups off of bags.

 

[Jim Watson]

I have seen the Zero "conical" 9mm bullets favorably mentioned. Similar to HAP.
Sorry, I am not a good enough shot for details and no longer have access to a Ransom Rest.

 

[lordpaxman]

That P210 may be my next purchase!
I run 147 RMR Matchwinners over 3.6gr of N320 at 1.150” for a USPSA minor load at 130-132PF. I‘ve tried RMR 124, 135, 147 RN, FP, JHP and ended up with the 147 MWs. This is out of a P320 X5 Legion. My son runs them in a P320 MAX. The precision and felt recoil impulse is the best out of all the loads I developed. Sport Pistol is another powder that I use when I have it.
You may need to figure on some virgin brass as well like Starline. While it’s difficult to quantify the effects of the case on the group size, it’ll at least add to the consistency of your match ammo.

I read auto comp has a pretty heavy recoil impulse as it was designed for compensator use.

Most of the open shooters I know run autocomp for their compensators. You can find online calculators for recoil and the mass of the gas does add to the recoil.

When I talked to Mr Sams, he stated clearly that you had to keep the velocities up in the 9mm for 50 yard accuracy.

That’s really interesting - by any chance did he give hints as to why? Is it the weight of the bullet and the spin induced? I’ve chrono‘d several factory target 115s and they do run around 1225 or so. If my gun is zero’d at 20yds with 147’s, the 115’s end up about 6” at 3 o’clock.

I use their (RMR) Matchwinners in my SIG 320 pushed by about 3.6gr of Sport Pistol. My M&P 9 with Apex Grade barrel noticeably prefers their Heavy Matchwinners (147gr) over 4.2grs of N310.

If you don’t mind sharing, what COL do you use and what Vs are you getting?

 

[GooseGestapo]

The reason for David S. recommending 1,150-1,200fps minimum is that this is the necessary velocity to keep the bullets supersonic past the 50yd line. When bullets go transonic, they encounter buffeting turbulence which can unbalance or destabilize a bullet causing erratic accuracy (actually precision).

If your Sig has a 1/10” twist barrel, I’d focus on 147gr bullets.
My late 1990’s vintage S&W Performance Center PPC 9’s have 1 to 18-3/8” twist barrels common to S&W’s of that era. They perform best with a 115gr bullet spanked pretty hard.

My list of bullets to recommend are: RMR, Precision Delta, Zero, Speer GoldDot, and Hornady.

 

[Austin Albright]

In my Sig 210 best I have used so far is RMR 115 fmj rn and Old WW 452aa. Very nice recoil impulse spanked by 5.0 grains.
I have also tried BE-86, Silhouette and Wsf. Noticeably snapper recoil with the first two. I have tried 5.0 grains of Wsf and want to play around with it more.
I think the closest you could come to the old ww 542aa would be WW WST. If I didn't have so much 452aa I would try wst but still have about 14 lbs of 452aa.
You might even try Longshot. Have had success with it also. 231 is kind of a standby but I had much better results with it in the 45 ACP.

Somewhere on this forum I read that a commercial reloader (Atlanta "something") was doing the 9mm reloading for the Army Marksmanship Team.
Their load was 115 gr fmj bullet with Winchester WSF 5.2 grains with OAL lingth of 1.100. I am definitely going to try this combination.

 

[9mmepiphany]

If you don’t mind sharing, what COL do you use and what Vs are you getting?

I'm seating the 124gr MW at 1.114" and the 147gr HMW at 1.08" (to plunk). When I was chrono'd at matches this year, I was getting just under 1050fps with the MW and about 870fps with the HMW...both ignited by Ginex SPP

 

[Slamfire]

That’s really interesting - by any chance did he give hints as to why? Is it the weight of the bullet and the spin induced? I’ve chrono‘d several factory target 115s and they do run around 1225 or so. If my gun is zero’d at 20yds with 147’s, the 115’s end up about 6” at 3 o’clock.

David Sams had tested these loads, and that was I all needed to know.

 

[Big-bore-bob]

Thanks for all the great info everyone! Many good data points here to begin my work. Does anyone know if match primers like federal gold medal are worth the extra money?

 

[Jim Watson]

When I talked to Mr Sams, he stated clearly that you had to keep the velocities up in the 9mm for 50 yard accuracy.

I don’t know why but I heard it was an unpleasant surprise to shooters when the Beretta was OKed for Service Pistol.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Does anyone know if match primers like federal gold medal are worth the extra money?

They "can be" more consistent...but I wouldn't pay more for them over other Federal primers. The first 10k Gold Medal SPP I got was because they were less expensive than regular Federal SPP...likely supply/demand quirk

I will pay more for Federal SPP than I will more Winchester or Remington SPP...because they are easier to set off

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I'm just going to.add my "voice" to using RMR 9mm bullets for your target ammo. If the RMR 124gr Matchwinner bullets are good enough for Eley, they are good enough for me. (I have bought 2k already)

 

[lordpaxman]

RMR has great offerings, but I’ve only seen Eley use their RN bullets, not their matchwinners. Eley (with RMR bullets) is on the USPSA certified ammo list.

https://uspsa.org/ammunition

 

[9mmepiphany]

RMR has great offerings, but I’ve only seen Eley use their RN bullets, not their matchwinners.

I'm pretty sure that's a nod at convention...folks are just used to seeing a RN bullet.

The RN profile seems to accommodate barrels with shorter leade also

 

[Big-bore-bob]

I'm glad RMR has such a good reputation in the reloading community, seeing as there 5 hours from where i live it makes shipping to my door super fast. I've loaded 4500 45 acp to date with the rmr 230gr fmj with excellent results. I think ill stick with them for 9mm also. I prefer to buy from small businesses anyway (although I love me some XTP's).