What's your favorite 9mm bullet for accuracy

[gamestalker]

That bulge your referring to, is it where the base of the seated bullet stops in the case? If so that's what I call the coke bottle effect, and what that tells me is that I have really good neck tension, certainly nothing to be concerned about.

Other wise, I really don't know what your referring to?

GS

 

[Potatohead]

Hey Potatohead - I used a small squirt of Ballistol on a Q-tip to lightly swipe inside before belling the new Starline brass. It worked well for me on my Lee.

Thanks AOG. I was totally thinking that I really needed some lube there but didnt know if it was advisable in such a small case. It feels about like when I pull a 223 case out of the expander, but it's 9mm. I was thinking of that powder lube, it's not talc, but some kind of powder, I forget the name.

 

[Potatohead]

That bulge your referring to, is it where the base of the seated bullet stops in the case? If so that's what I call the coke bottle effect, and what that tells me is that I have really good neck tension, certainly nothing to be concerned about.

Other wise, I really don't know what your referring to?

GS

Yes, GS, you are correct. I thought maybe I wasnt getting it because my brass was new, and Ive noticed that it's absent or much less pronounced on some factory offerings, so I thought it might be a new brass thing. But now Im thinking the bullet has a bit to do with it too, because in my second session, with a different bullet, i'm getting the "coke bottle" effect a bit.

 

[CZ9shooter]

I get good results with my various 125gr cast loads. Took some time to dial them in though. But I get excellent results with 124gr XTP's and a heavy dose of PowerPistol.

 

[CZ9shooter]

Yes, GS, you are correct. I thought maybe I wasnt getting it because my brass was new, and Ive noticed that it's absent or much less pronounced on some factory offerings, so I thought it might be a new brass thing. But now Im thinking the bullet has a bit to do with it too, because in my second session, with a different bullet, i'm getting the "coke bottle" effect a bit.

Different headstamps will give you varying amounts of this effect as well. Has to do with brass thickness I believe. I like the tight ones when developing higher end loads. This way I know there is no chance of setback. The looser ones I use for cast bullets because the larger diameter bullet fits in there nicer.

 

[Potatohead]

Different headstamps will give you varying amounts of this effect as well

Me thinks you're right.

 

[Dudedog]

I have had good luck with MBC cones and semi wadcutters in my Taraus PT99 and my Springfield XD sub compact. Both seem to prefer the cones, but it seems really close, and it might be I have not found the best load for the SWCs since I have loaded more of the cones. Both shoot as good as I can.....

 

[RAT807]

Hey rat,
First time Ive used new brass, are your Starlines really stubborn to bell/flare/expand? Mine are. I have to really apply a lot of force to pull them out of the expander. Almost to the point that I feel I'm near overworking my LCT, as it's really pushing the uppermost part hard.

How much do you open up the case mouth? The Redding resizing Die I have sizes the case mouth to .370 and the Hornady resizes to .372. I open the case mouth up to .376 or .377 and chamfer to receive the bullet. The Starline brass is a little harder to resize than some other brands but the chamber in my pistol is on the tight side so it's a lot easier to resize than the brass that comes out of the duty issued M&P, with a larger diameter chamber.

 

[Potatohead]

How much do you open up the case mouth?

Good question. Never actually measured. I know I like to end up after crimping at about .377-.3775 if that tells you anything, which I'm pretty sure it doesn't..

So far in my short loading career, I seem to lean towards the minimalist approach (that's a denomination of handloaders that I just made up). I try to bell and crimp as little as possible, just a touch...though I'm probably not unique in that regard.

What I aim for in belling is that area just before I'm able to push the bullet into the case far enough to confidently lift the case and bullet by holding only the bullet. It bugs me if I'm pretty sure I could lift a powder filled case by the bullet only, with no fear of the bullet slipping out of the case if I were to move it 12" over to a loading block for instance...I like the spot where the case is just starting to grab the bullet by a hair.

Makes sense in my head..