A newbie's train of thought. can someone set me straight....

Khaot1c · November 5, 2008, 09:53 AM

I just got back into handgun shooting and decided to takeup reloading for all the "benifits" there-of. I've only been reloading a few short months and am still doing most of my reloading with maximum budget in mind. For that reason I bought a bulk of Rainier 180gr RN/FP .40 and 115gr RN 9mm. I understand they shoot pretty well (as well as I'm going to shoot them at this point anyway) but now I'm finding "offical" load data to be a little scarce. At this point I'm only recreational target/plinking.

Most of the books/printed media I have found shows AA#7/#5 or Viv. N340/N320 to be the powders of choice for those bullets. Of those only the AA #5/#7 is readily available where I live.

For some other FMJ bullets I've shot (Hornadays and Remmington) , I bought some Titegroup, Clays, and Power Pistol. (maybe i'm a little to eager to try new things) I've been hesitant to try those powders with the Rainier because i'm far too new at this to 'guess' on how much to lighten the load for the Rainier bullets. From what i've seen, Rainier says to "use cast lead reload data" for their bullets. So what im' thinking is to use the charge data for a similar weight cast-lead bullet but use the C.O.A.L. from a similar FMJ to figure the best start load for Rainier.
Starting no more than .2 grains over lowsest charge (to make sure cycle operation) is this line of thinking bad?
Along those lines, if I buy an FMJ bullet from remmington or some other Generic company, is it safe to use load data from a similar bullet type (say: Sierra's FMJ bullets) Sierra and Lyman manuals do list a lot of powder types for a decent spread of bullets.....

**Mal H** · November 5, 2008, 10:43 AM

Looks to me like you've pretty much figured it all out correctly.

Quote:

Rainier says to "use cast lead reload data" for their bullets. So what im' thinking is to use the charge data for a similar weight cast-lead bullet but use the C.O.A.L. from a similar FMJ to figure the best start load for Rainier.

That is the advice to go with when using plated bullets such as Rainiers.

Quote:

Along those lines, if I buy an FMJ bullet from Remington or some other generic company, is it safe to use load data from a similar bullet type (say: Sierra's FMJ bullets) Sierra and Lyman manuals do list a lot of powder types for a decent spread of bullets...

Yes, that's generally a safe practice as long as you start at or near the min load and work up.

One think I would caution you on is the use of Clays (assuming "Clays" Clays and not Universal Clays) in a high pressure round such as the 9mm or .40 S&W. Clays is a fast burner and it can get you into trouble fast if you're not careful with your loads. No big reason not to use it, just measure carefully and guard against a double charge, i.e., eyeball each loaded case.

Loader9 · November 5, 2008, 11:03 AM

From the Rainier loading manual (yes, there really was one):
9mm with 115 bullets, OAL 1.169:
Bullseye- 3.5 grs min- 4.5 grs max- 1143'ps
Unique- 4.3 grs min- 5.3 grs max- 1092'ps
HS-6- 5.9 grs min- 6.8 grs max- 1159'ps
231- 3.3 grs min- 4.5 grs max- 1089'ps

No data given for the 40 SW. I assume the manual was written before it became popular. But if you reduce jacketed loads about 10% you should be fine or you can use lead bullet data as suggested by Rainier. I've pushed Rainier bullets into max jacketed bullet territory and have had no problems in pistol cases. Rifle cases are another issue. Experience says as long as you keep the speed down using Rainiers to around 1500'ps or less, you'll be just fine. Neither of the cartridges you have will get near that. As always, start low and work up.

WESHOOT2 · November 5, 2008, 12:08 PM

180g Rainier TCJ-FP
CCI500 / WSP
sized case (new or used)
5.4--6.0g Alliant Power Pistol (start at 5.4g)
OAL 1.130"+/-.005"

115g Rainier TCJ-RN
CCI500 / WSP
sized case (new or used)
6.0--6.7g Alliant Power Pistol (start at 6.0g)
OAL 1.130--1.145" (start at 1.130")

Make ten test ten, then if successful, make 100 test 100.
Then, if successful, make millions.

Khaot1c · November 6, 2008, 08:23 PM

Awesome!
I've got some AA#7 and Titegroup I'd like to try and dial in too..... going back to my original thought, using the lead load data should get it pointed in the right direction.
BUt i'll load up some with WESHOOT2s data and see how it goes.
Thanks!

November 5, 2008, 09:53 AM	#1
Khaot1c Member Join Date: March 14, 2008 Location: Florida Panhandle Posts: 54	A newbie's train of thought. can someone set me straight.... I just got back into handgun shooting and decided to takeup reloading for all the "benifits" there-of. I've only been reloading a few short months and am still doing most of my reloading with maximum budget in mind. For that reason I bought a bulk of Rainier 180gr RN/FP .40 and 115gr RN 9mm. I understand they shoot pretty well (as well as I'm going to shoot them at this point anyway) but now I'm finding "offical" load data to be a little scarce. At this point I'm only recreational target/plinking. Most of the books/printed media I have found shows AA#7/#5 or Viv. N340/N320 to be the powders of choice for those bullets. Of those only the AA #5/#7 is readily available where I live. For some other FMJ bullets I've shot (Hornadays and Remmington) , I bought some Titegroup, Clays, and Power Pistol. (maybe i'm a little to eager to try new things) I've been hesitant to try those powders with the Rainier because i'm far too new at this to 'guess' on how much to lighten the load for the Rainier bullets. From what i've seen, Rainier says to "use cast lead reload data" for their bullets. So what im' thinking is to use the charge data for a similar weight cast-lead bullet but use the C.O.A.L. from a similar FMJ to figure the best start load for Rainier. Starting no more than .2 grains over lowsest charge (to make sure cycle operation) is this line of thinking bad? Along those lines, if I buy an FMJ bullet from remmington or some other Generic company, is it safe to use load data from a similar bullet type (say: Sierra's FMJ bullets) Sierra and Lyman manuals do list a lot of powder types for a decent spread of bullets.....

November 5, 2008, 12:08 PM	#4
WESHOOT2 Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 1999 Location: home on the range; Vermont (Caspian country) Posts: 14,324	how about no guessing 180g Rainier TCJ-FP CCI500 / WSP sized case (new or used) 5.4--6.0g Alliant Power Pistol (start at 5.4g) OAL 1.130"+/-.005" 115g Rainier TCJ-RN CCI500 / WSP sized case (new or used) 6.0--6.7g Alliant Power Pistol (start at 6.0g) OAL 1.130--1.145" (start at 1.130") Make ten test ten, then if successful, make 100 test 100. Then, if successful, make millions. __________________ . "all my ammo is mostly retired factory ammo"

November 5, 2008, 11:03 AM	#3
Loader9 Senior Member Join Date: July 29, 2008 Posts: 949	From the Rainier loading manual (yes, there really was one): 9mm with 115 bullets, OAL 1.169: Bullseye- 3.5 grs min- 4.5 grs max- 1143'ps Unique- 4.3 grs min- 5.3 grs max- 1092'ps HS-6- 5.9 grs min- 6.8 grs max- 1159'ps 231- 3.3 grs min- 4.5 grs max- 1089'ps No data given for the 40 SW. I assume the manual was written before it became popular. But if you reduce jacketed loads about 10% you should be fine or you can use lead bullet data as suggested by Rainier. I've pushed Rainier bullets into max jacketed bullet territory and have had no problems in pistol cases. Rifle cases are another issue. Experience says as long as you keep the speed down using Rainiers to around 1500'ps or less, you'll be just fine. Neither of the cartridges you have will get near that. As always, start low and work up.

November 6, 2008, 08:23 PM	#5
Khaot1c Member Join Date: March 14, 2008 Location: Florida Panhandle Posts: 54	Awesome! I've got some AA#7 and Titegroup I'd like to try and dial in too..... going back to my original thought, using the lead load data should get it pointed in the right direction. BUt i'll load up some with WESHOOT2s data and see how it goes. Thanks!