Bullet and Charge Question??

bch044 · February 15, 2013, 11:34 AM

Hello all again,

I am new to reloading and trying to get my ducks in a row before I start and really screw something up.

I went to a gun show and talked to a guy selling reloading stuff and what he sold me was a Lee Turrett, 9mm Brass, 115gr fmj bullets, CCI primers and Hodgdon HP-38 powder.

When I go to Hodgdon's website these are the 2 that I find for what I have.(Shown Below) I don't know what the difference between the LRN and the SPR GDHP is so I don't know which one to go by for my FMJ's??

The bottle of the HP-38 states maximum is 5.1 so I am leaning towards the SPR GDHP am I right??

Is this a good powder or should I go a different powder route on my next powder purchase?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

These below are the 2 they have listed for the powder and bullet size I have..

115 GR. LRN Hodgdon HP-38 .356" 1.100" 4.3 1079 28,400 CUP 4.8 1135 32,000 CUP

115 GR. SPR GDHP Hodgdon HP-38 .355" 1.125" 4.7 1075 25,300 CUP 5.1 1167 28,100 CUP

Thanks in advance!!!
Steve

mikld · February 15, 2013, 12:17 PM

It sounds like a bit of reading/study is necessary. Read The ABCs of Reloading, and Lyman's 49th Edition Reloading Handbook. In these texts you will get not only the "how to reload" stuff, but bullet abbreviations (RN, RNFP, GD, etc.) and other nominclature. Different bullets will need different powder charges due to different shape, bore contact, and alloy of jacket (or lead bullet). The two bullets you list, 115 LRN (115 geain Lead Round Nose, by Hodgdon), and 115 SPR GDHP (115 grain Speer's Gold Dot Hollow Point) have very different charistics when shot and require different loads...

Get a couple reloading manuals too. Safe effecient reloading is pretty difficult without them...

rlc323 · February 15, 2013, 01:00 PM

The gun show guy did not exactly steer you wrong. HP-38 is a good choice for 9mm. SPR GDHP is a abbreviation for Speer Gold Dot Hollow Point bullets and while they are fine, they are expensive (about 20 cents ea.) to target shoot when compared to regular FMJ or less expensive lead.

Like mikld suggests The ABC's is a very good starting point. Amazon has it for Kindle $12.99, and you can borrow it free for Kindle if you are an Amazon Prime member. My wife was certainly surprised when that showed up on her Kindle home page.

I would also get the Speer 14th edition, it has lots of good info on 9mm and loading for automatic pistol. You need to learn about cartridge overall length, case length, de-priming, priming, and crimping. Plus you will need a decent set of calipers and of course a scale.

Take advantage of the wealth of knowledge here in the forum as well by searching. As you go along you will soon see who has the experience and can be trusted for good advice.

Misssissippi Dave · February 15, 2013, 07:36 PM

Exactly which bullet did you get? The load data is different for lead, plated and Jacketed bullets. It is also different depending on the profile of the bullet. W231 or HP38 powder works well for several pistol calibers.

Reading a manual can answer a lot of questions you might have. It can also make you want to ask some additional questions you never even thought to ask. It is hard to have too much information when you are doing something that can be dangerous.

Reloading is enjoyable for me. It isn't extremely difficult to do. You do need to have an understanding of what you are doing to stay safe and a bit more knowledge to be able to load good ammo.

Speer lists an OAL of 1.135" for 115 grain FMJ bullets and powder min 4.4 and max 4.9. I used 4.7 grains of powder with an OAL of 1.130" and it worked well. You really should work up the load for your pistol to get a good load.

I have one pistol that needs to have shorter OAL then the others do. You can make a dummy load (no primer and no powder) to check the OAL in your pistol. Also place the dummy load in the magazine and load the rest with factory ammo to see if the lenght is too long in your magazine. Drop the bullet into the barrel when it is removed from the pistol to see if it chambers properly. Last with just the dummy load in the magazine see if it feeds properly into the chamber. This should give you an idea if the OAL is correct or not.

I have move on to other powders since the time I used W231.

February 15, 2013, 11:34 AM	#1
bch044 Member Join Date: August 23, 2012 Posts: 15	Bullet and Charge Question?? Hello all again, I am new to reloading and trying to get my ducks in a row before I start and really screw something up. I went to a gun show and talked to a guy selling reloading stuff and what he sold me was a Lee Turrett, 9mm Brass, 115gr fmj bullets, CCI primers and Hodgdon HP-38 powder. When I go to Hodgdon's website these are the 2 that I find for what I have.(Shown Below) I don't know what the difference between the LRN and the SPR GDHP is so I don't know which one to go by for my FMJ's?? The bottle of the HP-38 states maximum is 5.1 so I am leaning towards the SPR GDHP am I right?? Is this a good powder or should I go a different powder route on my next powder purchase? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!! These below are the 2 they have listed for the powder and bullet size I have.. 115 GR. LRN Hodgdon HP-38 .356" 1.100" 4.3 1079 28,400 CUP 4.8 1135 32,000 CUP 115 GR. SPR GDHP Hodgdon HP-38 .355" 1.125" 4.7 1075 25,300 CUP 5.1 1167 28,100 CUP Thanks in advance!!! Steve

February 15, 2013, 12:17 PM	#2
mikld Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2009 Location: Southern Oregon! Posts: 2,891	It sounds like a bit of reading/study is necessary. Read The ABCs of Reloading, and Lyman's 49th Edition Reloading Handbook. In these texts you will get not only the "how to reload" stuff, but bullet abbreviations (RN, RNFP, GD, etc.) and other nominclature. Different bullets will need different powder charges due to different shape, bore contact, and alloy of jacket (or lead bullet). The two bullets you list, 115 LRN (115 geain Lead Round Nose, by Hodgdon), and 115 SPR GDHP (115 grain Speer's Gold Dot Hollow Point) have very different charistics when shot and require different loads... Get a couple reloading manuals too. Safe effecient reloading is pretty difficult without them... __________________ My Anchor is holding fast! I've learned how to stand on my own two knees...

February 15, 2013, 07:36 PM	#4
Misssissippi Dave Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2009 Posts: 1,411	Exactly which bullet did you get? The load data is different for lead, plated and Jacketed bullets. It is also different depending on the profile of the bullet. W231 or HP38 powder works well for several pistol calibers. Reading a manual can answer a lot of questions you might have. It can also make you want to ask some additional questions you never even thought to ask. It is hard to have too much information when you are doing something that can be dangerous. Reloading is enjoyable for me. It isn't extremely difficult to do. You do need to have an understanding of what you are doing to stay safe and a bit more knowledge to be able to load good ammo. Speer lists an OAL of 1.135" for 115 grain FMJ bullets and powder min 4.4 and max 4.9. I used 4.7 grains of powder with an OAL of 1.130" and it worked well. You really should work up the load for your pistol to get a good load. I have one pistol that needs to have shorter OAL then the others do. You can make a dummy load (no primer and no powder) to check the OAL in your pistol. Also place the dummy load in the magazine and load the rest with factory ammo to see if the lenght is too long in your magazine. Drop the bullet into the barrel when it is removed from the pistol to see if it chambers properly. Last with just the dummy load in the magazine see if it feeds properly into the chamber. This should give you an idea if the OAL is correct or not. I have move on to other powders since the time I used W231. Last edited by Misssissippi Dave; February 15, 2013 at 07:54 PM.

February 15, 2013, 01:00 PM	#3
rlc323 Senior Member Join Date: January 23, 2013 Location: Forgottonia, Il Posts: 217	The gun show guy did not exactly steer you wrong. HP-38 is a good choice for 9mm. SPR GDHP is a abbreviation for Speer Gold Dot Hollow Point bullets and while they are fine, they are expensive (about 20 cents ea.) to target shoot when compared to regular FMJ or less expensive lead. Like mikld suggests The ABC's is a very good starting point. Amazon has it for Kindle $12.99, and you can borrow it free for Kindle if you are an Amazon Prime member. My wife was certainly surprised when that showed up on her Kindle home page. I would also get the Speer 14th edition, it has lots of good info on 9mm and loading for automatic pistol. You need to learn about cartridge overall length, case length, de-priming, priming, and crimping. Plus you will need a decent set of calipers and of course a scale. Take advantage of the wealth of knowledge here in the forum as well by searching. As you go along you will soon see who has the experience and can be trusted for good advice.