Hey guys new to the forum and reloading. I'm 21 and in Tampa FL. I have done a lot of reading on here and there seems to be a plethora of information here.

I purchased a lee loadmaster two weeks ago finally made my table and got all my supplies.

Only powder I could get locally was Alliant Powder Unique. (it has a weird gold and black script writing but I think it is the same as the other unique bottle which has like an orange circle in the middle that says unique in the middle. If I m wrong on this please correct me)

And I got the load master running smoothly so I think im off to a good start lol

So my main question is, my Lyman manual says that for a 122grain Lead round nose (I'm assuming this still works for 124grain) I should use 4.0 grains of unique and seat bullet down to 1.065". So I did and obviously they work but from what im reading this seems to be a very light load???? I loaded up 100rds roughly and they seem light on recoil to me. It may just be me but not sure.

Anybody have any input or other loads that you use for 124grain lead round nose 9mm??

Thanks for any input!

O.K. Danny, you are in a straddle.

There is tons of factory data online, mainly thru Hodgdon who seems to be the powder distributor today. Do some searching.

The straddle comes from a number of sources. Most 9P/9 Luger cartridges have jacketed bullets for military use and Geneva rules...

You said "round nose lead..." Nothing wrong with that but... greased (lubricated) lead goes down the barrel with a LOT less friction.

The big action of powder is on "mass"/ i.e. the weight of the bullet but the friction does enter in. If you sub lead bullets for jacketed then you will get "lighter" load reaction.

You don't mention the gun, you should, some soak up recoil better than others. 1911 is notorious for "spreading it out" with the slide travel...

Yes, data for a 122 grain should be o.k with a 124 but be extremely careful. Top, [HOT, HOT HOT} loads can be sensitive. And switching a hot lead load to a jacketed bullet without working up again is begging for trouble.

If you are thinking about "dangeer" then you should be looking at soft point/hollow point ammo. .45 ACP knocks things down... 9 fmj not so much.

Best of luck, happy trails.

quote:

Originally posted by iiranger:
O.K. Danny, you are in a straddle.

There is tons of factory data online, mainly thru Hodgdon who seems to be the powder distributor today. Do some searching.

The straddle comes from a number of sources. Most 9P/9 Luger cartridges have jacketed bullets for military use and Geneva rules...

You said "round nose lead..." Nothing wrong with that but... greased (lubricated) lead goes down the barrel with a LOT less friction.

The big action of powder is on "mass"/ i.e. the weight of the bullet but the friction does enter in. If you sub lead bullets for jacketed then you will get "lighter" load reaction.

You don't mention the gun, you should, some soak up recoil better than others. 1911 is notorious for "spreading it out" with the slide travel...

Yes, data for a 122 grain should be o.k with a 124 but be extremely careful. Top, [HOT, HOT HOT} loads can be sensitive. And switching a hot lead load to a jacketed bullet without working up again is begging for trouble.

If you are thinking about "dangeer" then you should be looking at soft point/hollow point ammo. .45 ACP knocks things down... 9 fmj not so much.

Best of luck, happy trails.

Hey thank you for the quick response.

The bullets I am using are "laser cut" lubricated lead round nose

And the gun I used is a sig 938 but will mostly be shot out of a Beretta Nano.

Also how will I know if I have gone to hot on a load? Before the gun blows up obviously lol

Also I know I should always start low on powder and work my way up. But when will I know if I'm using to much powder? Before the gun blows up lol

First of all, as a civilian you don't need to worry about the Hague convention (not Geneva) rules regarding projectiles in international warfare. Secondly, fuggitabout lead bullets when reloading for the 9mm Luger cartridge; they usually lead the barrel like crazy and give poor accuracy. Jacketed bullets are the way to go. Try www.tjconevera.com for good prices on jacketed pistol bullets with free shipping. Buy a good reloading manual (such as Hornady or Speer) and follow the data.

I shot tens of thousands of lead/cast bullets in my 9mms. My go to powder has been Red dot.

Pick a load following good loading techniques and shoot them up.

Watch for leading and clean the barrel one should have no trouble.

Thanks guys. Yes I did just order 2000 plated 124gn from RMR. But lead is all I could find locally and it was expensive.

But if I wanted to do my own testing on developing a load specific to my gun is there any way to tell when I have used to much powder?

quote:

Originally posted by dannyp2991:
Thanks guys. Yes I did just order 2000 plated 124gn from RMR. But lead is all I could find locally and it was expensive.

But if I wanted to do my own testing on developing a load specific to my gun is there any way to tell when I have used to much powder?

Use your load manuals and slowly work up. DON'T go by loads somebody on the internet gives you.
Use that info ONLY as a guide in conjunction with what the books tell you. I'd recommend several manuals.
Bear in Fairbanks

Ok thanks for the info.

I have a Lyman and hornady manual. I re-read them and I have a much better grasp on the concept.

And correct me if I'm wrong but the best way to spot over pressure or pressure spikes would be if primers have come out a tad??

Is this correct and are there any other tell tale way to tell if over pressure is occurring??

quote:

Originally posted by dannyp2991:
Ok thanks for the info.

I have a Lyman and hornady manual. I re-read them and I have a much better grasp on the concept.

And correct me if I'm wrong but the best way to spot over pressure or pressure spikes would be if primers have come out a tad??

Is this correct and are there any other tell tale way to tell if over pressure is occurring??

Primers are not a good sign of pressures in a pistol. Very lite loads or primer only loads can back a primer out. Violent ejection sticky cases are more signs of over pressure.

Once you get to the point of primers showing over pressure signs in a pistol your way over pressure.

quote:

Secondly, fuggitabout lead bullets when reloading for the 9mm Luger cartridge; they usually lead the barrel like crazy and give poor accuracy. Jacketed bullets are the way to go.

Hogwash! Any decent bullet manufacturer should make a lead bullet that is sized to fit, and should shoot well without excessive leading. If they do lead, chances are the lube is too hard.

Other than that, a lot of good info in this thread. Personally, I shoot six grains of AA #5 behind a 125-grain hard cast lead truncated cone that I cast myself. That SHOULD translate to about five grains of Unique, but if and when you decide to go up in powder charge, do so slowly.

And in my experience, flattened primers do occur in handguns just like they do in rifles. Admittedly not as much of a "hard and fast" high pressure indicator, but check the primers. As long as you have radius around them (the primer doesn't looked bradded in or the case head looks like it has been hit with a grinder) you are probably okay. To me, once you get to excessively violent recoil and sticky cases, you have gone way too far...

Awesome thanks guys.

So today I made 4 different batches of 20.

Went to the range, grabbed a chair, and tried to make the most consistent shots possible.

I'm shooting a Beretta Nano so the trigger is very a long and hard pull yet crisp break so it is kind of hard to get accurate results but I did my best. I messed with some COAL's staying within the minimum of the manual and the max COAL my barrel/chamber would accept and stayed within min and max of recommended powder per Lyman manual.

My best groups came from 4.8-4.9 gn of unique with a 124gn LRN with a COAL of 1.075" (don't try this at home) lol

I honestly don't think in gonna shoot lead anymore. At least the ones I had made a lot of smoke and my gun got really dirty. Especially when I can get plated bullets at a decent price.

I stand by my post. IMHO lead bullets for semi-automatic pistols are the wrong choice for reloaders. They generally foul the bore severely and are inaccurate (often keyholing in the target). The shallow lands and grooves of pistol barrels are not suitable for lead, no matter what the bullet hardness. No hogwash here; just the facts....

I just got back into reloading. For my 9mms (Hi power & Ruger LC9) I am using 124 gr tumble lube bullets & 3.8 gr of bullseye. My lead is ww + enough bar solder to get 2% tin. I cast, water quench, tumble lube, don't size and load. I use lee dies with the factory crimp die. 930fps in the ruger & 1000fps in the HP. The amount of leading I get is almost unnoticeable. I have to look very cardfully with glasses and good light to notice even a tiny streak.

quote:

Originally posted by Shootshellz:
I stand by my post. IMHO lead bullets for semi-automatic pistols are the wrong choice for reloaders. They generally foul the bore severely and are inaccurate (often keyholing in the target). The shallow lands and grooves of pistol barrels are not suitable for lead, no matter what the bullet hardness. No hogwash here; just the facts....

Utter BS I shot tens and tens of thousands of cast bullets in 9mmL 380acp 45acp 9mm largo 40S@W and have had just fine results with them

Won matches with them and saved a lot of money.

Have you ever loaded for a semi auto and lead bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by Shootshellz:
I stand by my post. IMHO lead bullets for semi-automatic pistols are the wrong choice for reloaders. They generally foul the bore severely and are inaccurate (often keyholing in the target). The shallow lands and grooves of pistol barrels are not suitable for lead, no matter what the bullet hardness. No hogwash here; just the facts....

No hogwash? How 'bout ?

Yup, have loaded lead bullets in many semi-auto pistols. To paraphrase Tony the Tiger: 'They're craaaaaaappppppppp! The truth hurts....

quote:

Originally posted by Shootshellz:
Yup, have loaded lead bullets in many semi-auto pistols. To paraphrase Tony the Tiger: 'They're craaaaaaappppppppp! The truth hurts....

And we really believe you.

quote:

Originally posted by Shootshellz:
Yup, have loaded lead bullets in many semi-auto pistols. To paraphrase Tony the Tiger: 'They're craaaaaaappppppppp! The truth hurts....

The truth is, you don't know your ass from a hot rock. Thanks for the clarification.

I too have shot tens of thousands of rounds of lead through all of my semi-autos with no problems at all, including my Glocks. No issues at all unless the lube was wrong, or the bullets really soft.

I would suspect the powder you are using would be more a cause of the smoke than the bullet. Unique does the same thing for me. I just call it, Old Smoke and Smell. I switched to TiteGroup and never looked back.

I will admit that I have shot some lead gunshow reloads that leaded my barrels. If you take the time to get the alloy, lube and loading procedures right they work just fine.

The truth is, the name callers are the ones who have an anal issue. By the way, I have been reloading over 30 years and have used many powders, bullets (including swaged and hard cast) and bullet lubes. Reloading lead in a Glock is a definite 'no-no'. Once again, the truth hurts.......

First, I'd like to remain that most auto's are destined for jacketed bullets and hence, their barrel rifling has shallow grooves. This means that, in the case of lead bullets, only hard ones have a chance to attain accuracy. This being said and handloading technique supposedly being ok, a pistol badmouthing lead bullets should ring a bell : bore diameter ! I happen to own a HP 35 which, while being quite accurate with hardball, spewed cast .355 bullets all over the place. Being a active bullet caster, I had developed particular reflexes and immediately miked the barrel. I was (moderately) surprised to read it was .357 !! I sized my next batch of cast bullets accordingly and... bingo, the Browning started to group very nicely indeed.
This is quite a common occurrence, BTW.

quote:

Ok thanks for the info.

I have a Lyman and hornady manual. I re-read them and I have a much better grasp on the concept.

And correct me if I'm wrong but the best way to spot over pressure or pressure spikes would be if primers have come out a tad??

Is this correct and are there any other tell tale way to tell if over pressure is occurring

I see no one really tried to answered your question about what to look for when you approach hot loads. I have a chronograph and I will typically shoot factory ammunition under the assumption that velocity is equivalent to pressure. Of course this is not true, but over the years I have been reloading, if my reloads are under factory velocities with the same bullet, then I never had pressure issues. On older calibers, like my 32 S&W Long, factory ammunition was severely under loaded, probably due to the number of weak antiques out there, but with a round like the 9mm, good factory ammunition provides a good benchmark.

With my pistols I want excellent accuracy and 100% function. When you start low you will sometimes experience failures to feed with autopistols. The slide was not pushed back enough for it to reliably strip a round from the magazine.

So this is how I came up with a load in my Beretta:

M92 FS Beretta Bar Sto Barrel


125 LRN .356" 3.5 grs Bullseye S&W cases WSP OAL 1.110"
27-Mar-06 T = 58 °F
accurate, high percentage failure to feed

Ave Vel = 986.5
Std Dev = 9.21
ES 25.78
High 992.9
Low 972.9
N = 14


125 LRN .356" 4.0 grs Bullseye S&W cases WSP OAL 1.110"

27-Mar-06 T = 58 °F
Accurate, reliable function

Ave Vel = 1114
Std Dev = 20.63
ES 79.03
High 1167
Low 1088
N = 32



125 gr FMJ Olympic Factory

27-Mar-06 T = 61 °F

Ave Vel = 1261
Std Dev = 20?
ES 63.11
High 1288
Low 1225
N = 10


If you ever blow or have leaking primers you have exceeded a maximum load a grain or two ago. You are firing a semi auto pistol and if you ever experience sidewall expansion such as you see in these pictures, the load is dangerous.


You can google Glock 40 cal blowups and find threads like this one: http://thefiringline.com/forum...wthread.php?t=462036 There are good pictures showing how insufficient case head support will result in sidewall blowouts. For autopistols with that much sidewall hanging in the air, you have to keep the pressures down.

After shooting many pistol rounds, I have an expectation on just how hard and violent ejection should be. When my 45ACP cases go 20 feet or more, I am of the opinion the load is too hot. Violent ejection in autopistols is hard on the pistol, certain powder combinations will give hard ejection even though the maximum pressures are OK. It all has to do with pressure at unlock. For autopistols I prefer the faster burning powders, a sharp, short kick to the mechanism, all within max pressures of course, is easier than a slow burning powder that keeps accelerating the mechanism after unlock.

I shoot lots of cast lead bullets, don’t have a Glock though, the bullets are very accurate, the lube causes more smoke in the air and gunk in the gun compared to jacketed. This does not bother me as I always clean the gun up after shooting.