The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

yomitche · July 17, 2011, 11:40 AM

Hello all! I'm new here, and to the art and science of reloading. I have done some searches, tried reading, etc. and have come up with a few questions that just don't seem to have "straight forward" answers. I hope you don't mind, but wonder if anyone can answer some of these.

Even though some of this is beyond me, and I haven't really haven't necessarily had problems with it yet, I was wondering:

What happens if you "under load" a charge? For example, if Hodgdon HS-6 powder suggests a 6.8 gr charge for a 9mm 124gr FMJ round, and the reloader uses only 4.8 gr (for example - just to emphasize a completely undercharged situation), what risks or complications could one have, with an autoloader pistol? Would it simply fail to eject or go through a complete autoloading cycle?

What if the charge is 6.0 gr instead of 6.8? Sounds silly, but I am more inclined to be overly cautious with loads rather than overly aggressive. It's clear that an overcharged load could damage the firearm, or hurt the shooter, but what about an undercharged round? Would a slightly undercharged round fail to cycle properly?

Also, just to cut to the chase, because there is SO much information about lead cast bullets, it's hard to know what to understand/believe/do with them. When I first started to reload for 9mm, I bought a box of 500 125 gr lead cast bullets because they were the cheapest thing at the shop. Then the next day a friend tells me leading can be a real problem with autoloaders firing lead cast bullets. Is it possible to use these, or have I wasted my money? Can I use them to reload with? What do I need to do to reload them effectively (if I can)?

Finally, I have not used a caliper to measure Over All Length of reloaded rounds - just compared them to factory rounds. I set the seating die to the height of the factory round (as a template), by placing a factory round in the press and screwing the die down until it made contact. Not very scientific, but with a little adjusting, was able to produce reloaded rounds that are indistinguishable from the factory's. Is this completely stupid? How does OAL affect reloads?

Thanks a lot for any input you can offer and I apologize if these seem like stupid questions... there are just no easy ways to answer them, it seems.

Thanks again!

July 17, 2011, 11:40 AM	#1
yomitche Junior Member Join Date: July 17, 2011 Posts: 3	Reloading questions from a newbie Hello all! I'm new here, and to the art and science of reloading. I have done some searches, tried reading, etc. and have come up with a few questions that just don't seem to have "straight forward" answers. I hope you don't mind, but wonder if anyone can answer some of these. Even though some of this is beyond me, and I haven't really haven't necessarily had problems with it yet, I was wondering: What happens if you "under load" a charge? For example, if Hodgdon HS-6 powder suggests a 6.8 gr charge for a 9mm 124gr FMJ round, and the reloader uses only 4.8 gr (for example - just to emphasize a completely undercharged situation), what risks or complications could one have, with an autoloader pistol? Would it simply fail to eject or go through a complete autoloading cycle? What if the charge is 6.0 gr instead of 6.8? Sounds silly, but I am more inclined to be overly cautious with loads rather than overly aggressive. It's clear that an overcharged load could damage the firearm, or hurt the shooter, but what about an undercharged round? Would a slightly undercharged round fail to cycle properly? Also, just to cut to the chase, because there is SO much information about lead cast bullets, it's hard to know what to understand/believe/do with them. When I first started to reload for 9mm, I bought a box of 500 125 gr lead cast bullets because they were the cheapest thing at the shop. Then the next day a friend tells me leading can be a real problem with autoloaders firing lead cast bullets. Is it possible to use these, or have I wasted my money? Can I use them to reload with? What do I need to do to reload them effectively (if I can)? Finally, I have not used a caliper to measure Over All Length of reloaded rounds - just compared them to factory rounds. I set the seating die to the height of the factory round (as a template), by placing a factory round in the press and screwing the die down until it made contact. Not very scientific, but with a little adjusting, was able to produce reloaded rounds that are indistinguishable from the factory's. Is this completely stupid? How does OAL affect reloads? Thanks a lot for any input you can offer and I apologize if these seem like stupid questions... there are just no easy ways to answer them, it seems. Thanks again!