About ready to start reloading 9mm

[Viper22]

So I've got somewhere around 500 9mm cases tumbled, and I'm going to try my hand at reloading. I've got a Lee Pro 1000 set up. The local shop (Nick's Sport Shop, Palmer MA) has an array of powder to choose from, along with all the other reloading supplies. I'm planning on picking up 500 LRN 125 gr. bullets. IIRC there was a thread about 9mm loads for LRN bullets. Which powder was used at 5 grains? It might have been W231 or Unique.

Other than bullets, powder, and primers, is there anything else I need to pick up before I sit down and begin reloading?

I do have a set of digital calipers to measure OAL. With the aforementioned bullets, what OAL am I looking to achieve?

Also, Is it necessary to get a chronograph to measure the velocity the reloaded rounds are producing? or since I will be using a previously established reloading recipe will it be ok not to measure the velocity?

 

[romoman]

First, you should get a reloading book. That will give you the info you are asking for including powder charges, oal length, crimp dimensions, etc. Without a book you are flying blind. I would suggest starting with a Lyman book and building from there. Make sure you have a scale to check you powder measure and remember to start low and work up to the max load. Don't load all 500 at once in case you find a problem with the load, length, etc.

 

[WILDCATT]

reloading

some do it right BUT many are jumping in with out knowing what their doing and blowing guns.I have recently seen about 10 guns blown.not because its dangeous but because they did not know what they are doing.
like he said get the manuals and read them dont skip over the instructions.and dont go for the top load.load enuf for a clip and if they work load the rest.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

No really, Not trying to be a smart ass here, but you are starting from the wrong end of this whole ordeal.

Buy yourself at least two reloading manuals and read them both, cover to cover, then read them again and be sure you understand what and why they are telling you.

Reloading isn't guess work. especially for a novice.

 

[gerrycaruso]

The reloading manual will give you the OAL. I assume the dies are carbide. If not you need case lube.

 

[xstickfightx]

I found the book "THe ABC's of Reloading" very helpful. I read the relevant chapters before I loaded anything. Also get a loading manual or two. You should be on your way to crankin out them rounds in no time.

 

[Junglerott]

I know others have already stated this, but you need at least one reloading manual. Reloading is very easy, however it is also very dangerous if you are relying on other peoples recipes without having enough knowledge to know they are out of wack.

 

[RKG]

Before getting too far down the road, I'd check the primer pockets. I've found a lot of 9mm brass has swaged pockets.

 

[NavyRedneck]

I use Unique with 9mm and I base my max length on the max OAL given by the book, usually I'm just under.

I started with the lowest load which didn't work too well in my Glock so I've now upped it by .3 grains (which happened to coincide with the next setting on my autodisk powder measure). I've made 20 rounds using this and will be trying it out at the gun range soon.

This is attempt 3 for me. Last two were pretty rough. The funny thing is that on attempt 2 I made 40 rounds. 20 were awful in the glock with at least 5 or 6 failing to cycle the action (I'm guessing they didn't have the req'd power). The next 20 were shot in a friend's S&W 9mm which shot them just fine. I'm gonna clean the glock real good but I think it's just the differences between guns. A chronograph would really help here but I haven't been able to justify the expense as I'm still building up my basic reloading tool supply. (ie just ordered a case trimmer last night and still don't have a tumbler)

Good luck with reloading. Another reason I like unique in 9mm is that you can't doublecharge the case. Already it will be a packed load with the bullet compressing the powder. And Unique is one of the cheapest powders out there. And versatile... Buy a big jug and you will be good to go. Primers seem to be the biggest problem for me lately.

Good luck and let us know how it goes. Reloading (and particularly bullet casting) seemed to be a sport of old men for a while but it seems that more and more people are joining. Will be very good for the industry. I'm still learning and already have many friends who are looking to jump in shortly.

 

[DukeInFlorida]

I strongly echo the comments about getting and using a reloading book. GET A CURRENT EDITION of any book you plan on using. The formulations for powders change over time, and the publishers of the book reflect info that is current.

I use TITEGROUP powder (Hodgdon) for my 9mm's. I used to use 231 but found that I can use a slight bit less of the Titegroup (more rounds per pound). Always start off at the lowest end of the scale suggested in the book, especially in the 9mm brass, which the books will tell you, is VERY susceptible to case pressure/bullet seated depth issues.

What I always do it select bullet that are close to what known commercial bullets are. "Known" meaning you know the commercial round functions in your gun. I then set the reloaded bullets to that same depth, using a marked commercial round (marked "AS REFERENCE ONLY, DO NOT FIRE!" - keep it with your reloading tools, so it doesn't get misplaced) to help set the seating depth when setting up the press.

So, if you are shooting round nosed bullets, find a box of commercial round nosed rounds, and take one apart (using an Inertial Bullet Puller - you should get one of those right away!), and make sure the bullet is the same weight, and dimensions. Then, fire some in your gun to make sure they cycle ok. Then, once that is confirmed, mark a round as a "REFERENCE ONLY" round, and use that to set your seating die. You'll probably find that when you gently turn in the seating portion of the seating die (for bullet length), the result will come up a bit long. You'll need to further adjust to get the rounds to come out the same as the commercial reference round.

DO NOT set to a cannilure as a reference. That's always a big mistake. Seat only to the depth that a "known" round is set to.

Load maybe 10 rounds, and then test fire those at the range.

Look for:

• Did the gun cycle ok?
  
• Pick up the brass, and check those out
  
• Did the brass get side dented in any way that's different than a known commercial round? Differences in denting could be under pressure/over pressure indicators.
  
• Look at the primer on the fired round. If the edges are flattened against the brass, it's overpressure.
  
• Look at the sides of the brass, and examine for bulges. Bulges are indicators of overpressure and or head space issues. Your book will explain head space, and why it's important.
  
• Look for sooting issues. freshly shot brass, loaded up with powder soot on the sides is an indication of improper brass length, loose crimp, and other issues.
  
• Shoot a few rounds at a paper target from a muzzle distance of 3 feet. If there's just a clean hole, then you taper crimped OK. If you get a neat spiral of powder residue on the paper, around the bullet hole, you didn't crimp tight enough. The spiral is powder that didn't burn inside the brass, but did so after the fact.

Only after you have confirmed by testing that all is well should you continue loading. If you have inadvertantly loaded too much pressure into a round, the first few rounds might be ok, but gun failure could occure unexpectedly. You don't want to have your gun explode into pieces weeks after using reloaded brass that wasn't done correctly. Some testing will tell you how it;s doing, if you know what to look for.

That's why you have to read a couple of books, end to end, a couple of times. And, then ask questions before treading into dangerous areas if there's something that you don't understand.

Don't use any simple "recipes" on the label of a jar of powder. It's simply not enough information!

A very accurate scale for measuring dumped powder weight in an absolute must have. DO NOT reply on Lee's chart of powder weights for safe loading. I have proven their charts wrong over and over and over. Letters to John Lee have gone ignored! Use the disk references on that chart ONLY as a starting point. CONFIRM the actual dumped powder weight, and be sure you have consistency (in actual dumped powder weight) over about 50 tests before you start cranking on that handle. And, then, once you start loading brass with powder, test every 10th load for 50, and then every 20th for another fifty, until you have absolute certainty that your powder is dumping accurately. I tend to like the digital scale these days better than the balance beam type. But, get a scale before you shoot round #1.

Lee's Pro 1000 presses DO NOT come all set up. They come with the parts installed (well, you have some things to assemble), but you have to double check all the screws that are supposed to be tight. AND, most importantly, you have to set up every die station. Bell mouthing pistol brass, and proper taper crimping is essential to long brass life, and safe shooting. Don't overlook that in your setup.

Bullet seating length is just one of about 200 things that you need to be checking for.

 

[lord1234]

The reloading manual will give you the OAL. I assume the dies are carbide. If not you need case lube.

you need case lube on non-carbide dies if you are reloading pistol? I thought you didn't?

 

[Viper22]

DukeInMaine: Great post. Lots of good advice for me to follow!

The press I have was used by my grandfather, and has been set up. I'm assuming I'll have to adjust the dies and powder measure depending on what load and bullet I'm using.

Thanks everyone! Keep the advice coming!!!

 

[DukeInFlorida]

YES, you must assume that you MUST always adjust the dies, and check the powder, every time you reload. Don't presume that it's all still in "calibration" from reload to reload. And, yes, every powder change or bullet change requires "working up a new load."

I'm assuming I'll have to adjust the dies and powder measure depending on what load and bullet I'm using.

you need case lube on non-carbide dies if you are reloading pistol? I thought you didn't?

The Lee Pro 1000 (which is the press that he said that he is using) comes with Carbide dies!!! No need to lube the brass.

If you use non-carbide dies with straight walled pistol brass, there's a LOT of friction, and you'll probably wear out the die set rather fast. And, the wearing out isn't totally visual. Stretch will be the issue, resulting in dangerously thin brass, prone to head space ruptures! If you use non-carbide dies on pistol brass, you should lube.

The "powder measure" on the Pro 1000 is actually a set of disks that come with the press. The disks have different size holes in them, to give you different volumes of powder, one of which (it is hoped) would yield the correct weight of a given powder. I have never seen the chart that comes with the loader to be accurate for any powder. That's why I suggest that you select a disk/hole size for the powder/weight you'll use, and then double check that with a scale.

 

[Jamie]

Duke, excellent posts, I assume you've been reloading for a bit more than 10 minutes!

Viper22, I have only one thing to add. If you have any questions about anything at all, no matter how trivial it may seem, search here, then ask. The only stupid question is the one that you don't ask. It's much safer to ask than to blindly stumble along possibly creating a dangerous situation. If your embarrassed or shy about asking, send a PM to any one of the folks who post here often. If we can't answer your question directly, we'll point you in the direction of someone who can.

p.s.: I too have a Lee Pro 1000, a.k.a. "The Tinkerers Dream". Take Dukes advice in regards to this press. Keep an eye on your powder, don't let it get below 1/2 in the hopper. Keep a good eye on your primer feed, it requires a tap once in a while as the primers tend to "bridge" at the mouth of the tray. Watch for the occasional spent primer under the shellplate carrier. This will cause immediate confusion and frustration. Also, you haven't lived until a live primer has gone off in the press, keep some Charmin handy! Take your time and have fun!

 

[DukeInFlorida]

Actually, been reloading since 1975. All rifle up until a year ago, and now both pistol and rifle.

I'm writing a syllabus for a reloading training class I will be doing in May. I'm thinking I should write it as a reference book. Give a copy of it to every one that goes through my class.

The class will cover both pistol and rifle reloading. The class will be taught using single stage dies on a bench mounted RCBS Jr press. The students will tell me what cartridge they want to load for, and we will be prepared for them to actually do THAT load (die set on hand for it, along with powder, brass, primers, and bullets for 100 finished rounds. We'll spend about 4 hours doing the class stuff, and then go to the bench, and work up around 10 loads. Take those to the local shooting place, and test. And, then back to the bench, and they can load another 90, and take those home.

First class is scheduled for May 9th. I have only a few more weeks to complete the typing.

Duke, excellent posts, I assume you've been reloading for a bit more than 10 minutes!

I also have TWO Lee pro 1000 presses.

• One for 9mm, which gets a LOT of use. Just had to sent it back (pretty good 2 year warranty) for a casting replacement (amuminum casting broke. They fixed it nicely.) It needs lots of TLC when running it, but I can't make 9mm's any faster than this thing goes. Not bad for the money. Comes with carbide dies and a machine for $140.
  
• The other is for 223 Rem, and doesn't work worth a damn for those. At least not for doing total assembled rounds. I have taken the die set off, and ONLY use it for loading primers. Damn fast for doing that!!!! Fot getting a good quality die set, and being able to install primers that fast, it was worth the $140.

p.s.: I too have a Lee Pro 1000, a.k.a. "The Tinkerers Dream". Take Dukes advice in regards to this press. Keep an eye on your powder, don't let it get below 1/2 in the hopper. Keep a good eye on your primer feed, it requires a tap once in a while as the primers tend to "bridge" at the mouth of the tray. Watch for the occasional spent primer under the shellplate carrier. This will cause immediate confusion and frustration. Also, you haven't lived until a live primer has gone off in the press, keep some Charmin handy! Take your time and have fun!

 

[BIG GUN]

My standard load for the 9mm Luger, 38 super, and 9mm Largo has been 125G cast over 5G Unique. Old powder was a little dirty but shoots well. I now am using Universal with a slightly lower charge.