9mm Reloading Questions!

[Shawn F.]

I have been saving my 9mm brass and will soon have about 5000 rounds saved. Most people I know say it's a waste of time and money to reload 9mm but from what I can tell, it's cheaper and nicer quality doing it myself plus I enjoy reloading. I am pretty new to reloading in general and have only reloaded .223 rounds for my AR15 so other than that I am clueless. A friend came over, set everything up, showed me what to do and off I went.

Now I will be buying a new die set, primers, powder and 115 grain bullets to do it myself. I am using a RCBS single setup with a 505 scale and everything is RCBS (exact model I cannot say but it's not a progressive setup). I do not mind doing every round 1 by 1 for now so that is ok. What I will be using the ammo for is target shooting and then maybe a few hundred for carry use but for now target ammo. I do want pretty accurate stuff though.

Pretty much my questions are:
1.) What bullets would you recommend getting in 115 or 124 grain?
2.) Do I NEED a micrometer to check the length of my final round or is there an easier way? Someone at the gun shop told me today that I need to do this but I never did it with my .223 and they shot fine.
3.) What brand of powder and primers are usually the best? I was looking at Blue Dot powder and CCI primers but not sure.

I highly doubt I will buy local even though I get a Police/Fire discount because local prices here are through the roof. Online might be my best bet but you guys know more on this... I have been reading through a lot of threads and didn't find many threads specific to the 9mm Luger rounds.
Thanks a lot for any info, suggestions or opinions!

[DiscoRacing]

i use 124s..and hodgen titegroup powder...

its a good powder for plinking.... its a low charge powder so it doesnt take much... i think my 9s have like 3.5 grains a powder is all.

[Shawn F.]

How many rounds will 1 pound of powder load? 4,000-5,000?
I am thinking 124, that way I can make some for my carry gun (M&P compact).

[DiscoRacing]

7,000 grains per pound of powder


3.5 would make 2,000 rds.

[Lefty Shotlow]

124gr Zeros over 3.5 Titegroup. Great all around load.

[zxcvbob]

Bullseye is a good powder for 9mm. I use it with 135 grain cast bullets, loaded pretty hot.

A set of digital or dial calipers is not a bad idea when 9mm. It's a small capacity case that runs at high pressure, so seating the bullets too deep can really run the pressure up before you know it. The Harbor Freight digital calipers work surprisingly well and cost less than $20.

[NWPilgrim]

Congratulations on not listening to misinformation. You can save 50% on 9mm the same as most other rounds, it's just that the 50% is of a smaller total price. On the other hand, I suspect 9mm shooters shoot many more rounds than say .45ACP on average so it probably comes out to similar total savings. Within 1,500 rounds you should mostly pay for your set up and initial components.

I highly recommend dial calipers, only cost about $30. You will find a multitude of uses for them: COL, case and bullet diameters, case length (if you get into rifle), primer seating depth, etc. Can you get by without it? I suppose, but one of the benefits of handloading is greater control of the cartridge assembly process. Without measurement there is no control, just guessing or approximation. For some high pressure cartridges COL can be critical with certain max powder loads.

I consider the powder scale and the dial caliper two of the most essential tools for handloading beyond the press and dies.

[LarryFlew]

Partial to Montana gold bullets myself. Go with some type of caliper as OAL can get critical fast with 9 mm.

[Eagle0711]

I've been using Win. 231 with 4.5 gr. with a 124 gr. bullet for years with good success. Barry Plated Bullets.

The COL will vary on the bullet used. because of the ogive. Max. COL is 1.169"
That is with a long pointed bullet.

If using a stubby HP try it in your barrel and make sure that the bullet isn't contacting the riflings, becaust of the shape of the ogive.

As mentioned , don't go any deeper than necessary because pressures will rise. Make sure that they will fit into the mag.

If you are going to use one bullet, you could make a gage from wood or metal until you get a caliper. If the bullet is the same profile compare it to a factory cartrige.

With Berry 125 FP COL is 1.020"

[Shawn F.]

Thanks a lot for the info guys! I am NOT familiar with the measurements I will need for overall length of the bullet so this is where I will need major help when I get there. I will go ahead and purchase a nice set of calipers because I do not have a good set anymore and I do my own engine work on my hot rods and classic cars so I cannot go wrong with them.
This forum has a ton of information and very knowledgeable people, seems I will be able to find most if not all answers here that I may have.

[Shawn F.]

Another question I have been wondering is about loading some lead bullets to keep cost down as well as barrel wear and just for target shooting. The guy at the local gun shop said lead in a 9mm and 380 will be inaccurate and he doesn't recommend it but my friend said that is false information and lead works just fine and can be accurate enough for target shooting.
I am not sure if price difference is much between lead bullets and non lead (Hornady Hollow Points).

[WESHOOT2]

I recommend Power Pistol or Ramshot's Silhouette.
And CCI500 or WSP.
And 124g bullets; lead from Penn, or Winchester/ Remington/ IMI/ Zero/ Montana Gold FMJ-RN.
And an OAL of 1.135--1.150".

But not Blue Dot. No.

[Eagle0711]

Shawn, in 9mm you wany a fast burning powder so that the slide will cycle w/o problems.

I use Win 231 or Bullseye, of course there are others. You also get more rounds out of a pound of powder.

Lead works fine for bullets as long as it's not a Glock or other poly. rifled barrel.
The 124 grain is ideal, just don't load to hot. Stay with the lower to med. loads that you Manual lists.

I wouldn't seat them any deeper than necessary. The longer will feed better. Just be sure that they will fit in you mag. and not hit the rifilings. Good Shooting.

[BigJimP]

The easiest way to check your reloads for length, proper sizing, etc - is to use a "case gague" ....the Dillon catalog has them for every gague. Its not that you won't need a good caliper as well ....but a case gague will pickup a small burr on a case, or even a small crack that might have opened up as you seat a bullet - will cause the finished round to stick going in or out of the case gague - and you'll be able to reject it. Using a case gague ensures 100% feed reliability on your finished rounds.

Personally for 9mm - I use 124 gr FMJ bullets from Montana Gold, Hodgdon TiteGroup powder and CCI primers. My costs are around $ 4 for a box of 50 so easily less than half of what it would cost to buy ammo retail.

I don't mess with lead bullets - jacketed bullets don't cause excessive wear on a gun / the barrels are much harder than a copper or brass jacket on a bullet.

[slugcatcher]

I don't have any problems with Blue Dot but then I use a digital powder dispenser. I've never had luck getting consistency with flake or extruded powders with a mechanical powder dispenser. Ball powders are best with those imo. If you're just loading plinking rounds any small pistol primer will be fine. I get whatever is the least expensive. Keep in mind if you order powder and primers that have to be shipped you have to pay a hazmat fee in addition to shipping charges.

[SauerGrapes]

I have easy access to lead round nose bullets and find them to be perfectly fine for target shooting. In fact I find them to be quite accurate.
If your M&P is like mine, you won't need to seat the bullet anywhere near the minimum for OAL.
My S&W 5906 on the other hand.......

[LarryFlew]

Don't buy large quantities of bullets until your SURE they will be what you want. Don't ask how I know that aaannnndddd anyone need some MG 124 JHP's

[CherokeeT]

I have had good results with Power Pistol, 231, WST using jacketed and cast bullets. I have used Bluedot, but its more suited for top end loads, you want target loads. I mostly shoot my own cast bullets in 9mm but jacketed works, just cost more for me so I don't use many. Hornady will be a great bullet for you but its a premium bullet, less costly jacketed bullets are available and work fine. Do get the measuring stick.

[Fox1]

I've been loading Rainier Ballistics plated bullets in 115 gr. round nose, at $45 per 500, and I just picked up a box of 124 gr. HP from them for $48 per 500.

Haven't loaded the 124 gr. ones yet.

I've been loading Bullseye but don't know the amount off the top of my head.


I recommend getting a dial caliper just because they are good to have for measurements of all kinds but for finished loads, I check my cartridges with a L.E. Wilson Case Length Gage 9mm Luger that I picked up at Midway USA.
I like these things so much I got one for .45 ACP and .380 ACP as well.

[700cdl]

I'm with NWPilgrim. It is definitely necessay to have a dial caliper and scale. A decent stainless caliper can be found for about $10. I honestly don't know about scales, I bought mine many years ago used for like $5 RCBS 505. But even if you get a low cost version it is better than guessing or scooping without a way check the charge your throwing. I even check my charges with my MEC 600 Jr. and have found that the bushing don't often come close enough to charges listed on the charts to be good. I don't know about everyone else, but I hand load to produce ammo that is above the factory standard, economics is the icing on the cake.

[Wag]

9mm is what I loaded first. You'll reduce your costs but I bet that if you shoot a lot, you'll want to get a progressive, eventually. Still, I've loaded thousands of 9mm with a single stage press and no regrets here.

CCI primers are good but whatever your press will seat for you is fine.

124 gr round nose lead bullets will be very inexpensive. Go for it. I never have any real accuracy issues. Play with the powder charges 10% either way until you dial in a load that works for you. If you don't load too hot (unlikely) it shouldn't lead foul your barrel, either.

Have fun! Keep asking questions!

--Wag--

[Ozzieman]

I load 5000 of Penn’s 125 every year and they work very well in the two handguns and two 9mm carbines that I own and at 65$ per 1000 you can’t beat it.
http://www.pennbullets.com/9mm/9mm-caliber.html

Titegroup, I found it to be VERY accurate but the minimum to max loads can be very close. You do need a good power measure to throw consistent loads with it. I prefer Winchester 231 only because it’s a little cleaner and I have fewer problems with a measure.
One other thing, get yourself a taper crimp die. Makes loading 9mm much easier that the normal crimp that comes with a standard did.
Micrometer: Yes, a good loading bench has to have one. You can buy cheap ones that work well for 30$. Get one.

http://www.midwayusa.com/Search/#Dia..._1-2-4_8-16-32

[chris in va]

I cast my own lead bullets for my CZ. Thing to remember about shooting lead, FIT IS KING.

It was hell with my 9mm. Tried several cast designs, none worked and most went in sideways. A sage person said I needed to 'slug' my barrel, and once I found out it's true diameter I went with a 38 Special bullet mold, sized to .358, which is .002 over diameter. Most 9mm specific bullets are .355-.356.

Now I can punch paper with these lead bullets as if they were FMJ.

BTW I tried Bullseye and W231, but for some reason Universal just works better for me as it has more of a sand consistency, which doesn't go everywhere like the other powders do.