I used to shoo the lee tumble lube 125 gr. Using 231. Good accuracy in Glock with lone wolf barrel and Walther ppq. Then the accuracy went to hell. Keyholing etc. I must have charged something in my lead mix. I was going to remelt them then decided to try them in light 38special loads. Very accurate and very low recoil. That's the fun part of reloading.
I see several people mentioning the W231 powder for loading 9mm. correct me if you have better information but I think 231 and Hp-38 are the same powder.
The data on the hogdon web site shows powder charges are identical and HP-38 might provide a useful option if 231 is not available.
question for those loading 231… why did you pick this powder? Was it performance, price or availability?
The data on the hogdon web site shows powder charges are identical and HP-38 might provide a useful option if 231 is not available.
question for those loading 231… why did you pick this powder? Was it performance, price or availability?
So far I’ve loaded up around 300 rounds of 9mm. Decided to use Bullseye after I found an open bottle in my powder stash. Results have been pretty good using the Missouri Bullet Co. 115 gr Coated RN over 4.2 grain of powder. I’ll give the 125gr coated bullets a shot when I order up some more projectiles.
By the book, all the cases should be trimmed to the same length, but from what I’ve read almost nobody does this. It took a bit of work to find the right amount of case mouth bell and taper crimp to get consistent results with my mixed range brass. I found it’s easier to bell several cases at a time, measure the bell (eyeball), find the average and then adjust the die. I used the same process for dialing in the taper crimp, I did measure the finished crimp diameter with digital calipers.
My Hornady powered die worked like a champ. I have the precision pistol powder metering kit in it. Once it’s dialed in the charges were so consistent that I detected no variation using my little MTM digital scale.
By the book, all the cases should be trimmed to the same length, but from what I’ve read almost nobody does this. It took a bit of work to find the right amount of case mouth bell and taper crimp to get consistent results with my mixed range brass. I found it’s easier to bell several cases at a time, measure the bell (eyeball), find the average and then adjust the die. I used the same process for dialing in the taper crimp, I did measure the finished crimp diameter with digital calipers.
My Hornady powered die worked like a champ. I have the precision pistol powder metering kit in it. Once it’s dialed in the charges were so consistent that I detected no variation using my little MTM digital scale.
Sounds like you are right on target (pun intended). I guess I never put that much thought into the belling of 9mm. I adjust dies so the cases just barely allow a bullet to start into the case. If the bullets try to tip over when I set them on the case I will add a little more bell.
as far as for the crimp… it is more like removing the bell than it is crimping the bullet into the case. Just enough so it fits in the case gauge and if I push the bullet against the work bench with my thumb just short of painful, the bullet does not move.
as far as for the crimp… it is more like removing the bell than it is crimping the bullet into the case. Just enough so it fits in the case gauge and if I push the bullet against the work bench with my thumb just short of painful, the bullet does not move.
With the coated lead projectiles I’m trying to make sure the coating isn’t being scraped off during the seating process. If I chose to seat and taper crimp in two separate steps, I might not have to worry as much about damage to the coating.
Agreed I crimp separately also with a Lee factory crimp die. Works excellently.. I have pulled a few of the coated Bullets after crimping just to check if my crimp is damaging the coating and so far I have seen zero problems. i think as long as a moderate taper crimp is used coated Bullets are happy.
Actually, sorting by headstamp makes a huge difference. Most of the cases are very close to the same.
Mixed headstamp loading is where most problems start.
This was range pickup and I saw FC, IMI, Win, Aguila, and a couple others. It wouldn’t have been worth it sort by headstamp. I could tell a difference when priming, sizing and belling the cases between the manufactures. It was less work to ballpark the die adjustments and make functional ammunition, than process cases by manufacturer and adjust dies for each on.
The first 50 rounds I made had a significant number of rounds that failed the plunk test. I had to adjust the crimp die and and run them through a second time to get them to successfully drop in and out of the test barrel. Didn’t take much, but all the rounds passed after that.
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