Does anyone have a favorite & accurate 9mm pistol load?

I shoot a Springfield 9mm 1911-A1 model with a 5� barrel.
I am currently using starline brass, Winchester primer, Barry�s round nose bullet (115gr, 124gr & 147gr) and Hodgdons Titegroup powder. I have tried various loads and the best I can obtain is about a 5� grouping at 25 yards. (With my 45 I can get <2�.)

Does anyone have an accurate load and powder?
Thanks.

I have a very picky BHP but it shoots great w/ 124grJFP o/ 5.0gr Unique. It's a bit dirty, but it will break 2" @ 25 from a rest. It odes about the same if I sub. hard cast 124grLFP.

Try AA#5 powder and a good jacketed 115 grain FMJ bullet (no, I don't post loads on the web; check out a reloading manual). Forget about cast bullets in a 9mm Luger pistol, they will only lead to grief.

Shotshell, not piling up on you here... but what Paul B said is absolutely the truth. You can get excellent results in the 9mm with lead bullets. The trick is getting the right bullet.

The semi-wad cutter is the best design for accuracy in the 9mm. The SWCs have a long bearing surface which improves grip on the bullet in the barrel and accuracy.

For accuracy, go with a heavy and relativlely slow bullet. Heavy for 9mm are 135-147gr SWCs. Many of the lead bullets designed for the .38 Super will work well. BUT MAKE SURE THEY SIZED CORRECTLY FOR YOUR 9MM!!!

.356" is the "standard sized" lead bullet for use in the 9mm (.001 over the jacketed .355 bullet). If you go to a larger than .356" in diameter bullet, do so only after determining that your barrel NEEDS a larger bullet.

All of my 9mm pistols feed heavy SWCs without a hitch.
But if your pistol won't feed SWCs, try the heavier round nose designs.

Fast to medium powders are best for lead bullets in the 9mm.

Use a mild taper crimp.

Load them fairly long (OAL). You'll have to determine what your pistol prefers and will reliably feed. The closer you can get the bullet to the rifling "lead", the better the accuracy.

DaMan

I have to agree w/ the other guys shootshell. I can get 2" @ 25yds w/ a hard cast 124grLFP @ 1100fps. Leading is moderate, I think that's acceptable.

Gents: It's Shootshell, not Shotshell. Anyhow, I must disagree with those who tout cast bullets for the 9mm Luger cartridge (unless fired in a revolver). The rifling in most semi-auto pistols is too shallow to engage lead bullets for the best accuracy. And don't forget the cartridge was built upon the 115 gr. FMJ bullet. Keep working on a load for same and it will do you proud.

Shootshell, the same could be said for the 1911/.45acp. The pistol/bbl. was designed around a 230grFMJ. Mine will go one ragged hole w/ 200grLSWC @ 25yds. As others have said, it's about bore size & you must use a very hard cast bullet, swaged lead rarely works @ anything over 700fps in a semiauto w/ shallow rifling. Cast bullets can & do shoot well in just about any caliber semiauto out there, it may just take more tinkering w/ the load. Good shooting guys.

Well, the bullet that works for me is the Lyman # 356402, which just happens to cast to .359" in my alloy. (BHN14)This is a bullet with a truncated point for a nose, designed for the 9MM. Shallow rifling or not, they shoot well sized as cast. I have thought of oven treating them, but all three of my 9MM handguns are defensive type pistols and I doubt they'd shoot much better is the bullets were a bit harder, (30 BHN)
The old story about 9MM's not shooting cast well is like the old story that a 30-06 with a 1 in 12" twist rate to the barrel will not shoot 220 gr. bullets well, or that the .308 Win. will not stabilize 220 gr. bullets. Those that care to lose some money, come see me.
The things I have found out about shooting cast bullets in a 9mm are this; One the bullet must be reasonably hard, (14 BHN or harder) and two, in my guns at least, .001-.002" larger than bore diameter.
Of course, some people just plain don't like cast bullets. Sometimes it takes a great deal of work and experimentation to find a load that a gun likes with cast. I've been shooting cast bullets for 50 years now, and i still have some guns that won't shoot cast worth a damn. They may never shoot them well, but I'm still trying. That's the fun, the challenge of it that keeps me going.
Paul B.

You can brush your teeth with your finger too but that does not mean it is the best way to clean your choppers. I will stick with FMJ bullets with all of my semi-autos and will happily be shooting an accurate load while others fiddle with attempting to find an elusive cast bullet load.

To each his own Shootshell, just don't mislead less exp. shooters into thinking that a more expensive jacketed bullet is the only way to go. I've shot 10's of 1,000s of hard cast lead bullets in just about every caliber & up to 1100-1200fps, they can be every bit as accurate as jacketed if your loads are correct, a bit dirty to shoot but cheaper. When I want speed & accuracy w/o worrying about leading I always reach for the jacketed slugs (.357sig is a good example). Happy shooting!

Fredj338: Don't intend to mislead; just enlighten. Sometimes you get what you pay for, and I believe FMJ bullets trump lead ones every time in semi-auto handloads. And don't forget that in some pistols (HK P7 and P13, Glocks, Steyr GB) lead bullets are expressly forbidden.