First one! (updated with range results!)

[NcongruNt]

Hey everyone! So I'm working on my first ever batch of reloads, so I thought I'd take a photo of my first reloaded round.

It's 9mm, Winchester brass, Federal No. 100 primer, 7.5 grains of Blue Dot, topped off with a 124 grain XTP bullet. OAL is 1.125".



This reloading stuff is turning out to be very enjoyable.

[longtooth]

God lookin bullet.
Congrats.

[O6nop]

What was your source for this load? I'm trying to find out more about the intricacies of reloading. For example it seems a little long for an XTP and a little heavy on the powder according to my Hornady manual. Those two things may cancel each other out, however. So, just interested in where you got the load data.

[Beiruty]

Normal load for 9mm is 5 gr of gun powder. 7.5gr is bit too much, no?

[NcongruNt]

I got the recipe from ghostrider from loads he's worked up. The length came from another XTP load I found online, as I didn't have an OAL from the info ghostrider gave me. His recipe was for 7.8 grains, and I started at 7.5.

I sorta wish i had chosen another powder at this point, as for some reason data for 124 grain bullets is nearly non-existent with Blue Dot. None of my manuals mention Blue Dot at at 124 grains. There's lots of data for 115 and 147 grain bullets all day long.

I did find that Alliant has a 124 grain Speer Gold Dot recipe that put OAL at 1.12", with 7.9 grains of powder. Because the XTP is a truncated cone and not an ellipse like the Gold Dots, I used the slightly more conservative OAL length on the link above, as it seems the XTP would be a little longer per weight because of its shape.

So, I went from the recipe I got and used a conservative length from what I was able to find online.

Does this sound reasonable?

[O6nop]

Actually, the rule of thumb for beginners (like me) is to stick to an established recipe (like in load books) and build up slowly. My Hornady has a starting load of 4.8gr Blue Dot and a COL of 1.06" for the HP-XTP. Max load is 6.6gr. As far as I know, COL and OAL is the same thing.

[NcongruNt]

06nop:

Concerning the Hornady manual, I've found several folks online who say their data for 124 grain XTP OAL is bunk, especially considering the 115 grain OAL is longer than that. I don't have a Hornady manual, so I can't know what it says for sure. The people whose posts I read ended up completely adjusting their OAL and found that their loads worked best somewhere around 1.11".

I don't have all of the links to the posts I read, but here's one of them from over on THR :

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=294368

[ghostrider]

This is the data I have:

Hornady v7: 4.8-6.6gr
Speer v11: 7.5-8.3gr
Speer v12: 7.1-7.9gr
Midway loadbook: 6.3-8.0gr

Alliant's web site: 7.9gr
http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/ ... ulletid=26" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I currently use this load:
124gr over 7.8gr blue dot

and have this chrono data out of a G17:
1187, 1162, 1225, 1139, 1116, 1161fps

This load also works fine out of a hipower with an 18.5lb spring and no obvious signs of pressure.

YMMV; use data at your own risk, etc...

[NcongruNt]

Err shoot. This was ghostrider's load, not AustinRealtor. Oops. I'll correct it above.

[O6nop]

I don't load 9mm, so I'm not all that familiar with the loads.
I also have a Lee data book and I check various online sites with data. Thhe Hornady is the only book I have that even mentions Blue Dot. It's obvious there are other resources to back up this recipe. Didn't want to put a scare in there, just making an observation.

Enjoy your new hobby!

[ghostrider]

>This was ghostrider's load, not AustinRealtor

another oops. had to edit my post now:

:-) I don't *think* AustinRealtor is a reloader.

[NcongruNt]

He isn't. I bought some brass from him not long before we met up, so i mixed up the names.

[ghostrider]

Have you fired the reloads yet?