Shot My First Loads

[scalce]

and no not those kind

This information of for informational purposes only. I am not liable for you blowing yourself up.

Anyway this was my first adventure into reloading and I have to say it wasn't rocket science.

I made 15 rounds of 115 grain Raniers, WWB brass, Federal match primers, and three different types of powders set to 1.135 OAL.

I installed the Uniquetech micrometer which IMHO is a must for any reloader and especially a beginner. Review to come soon.

These shots were fired through an XD9 4".

String 1 - Titegroup 4.0
1) 1036.0 -44.4
2) 1057.0 -23.4
3) 1086.0 5.6
4) 1111.0 30.6
5) 1112.0 31.6
High: 1112.0
Low: 1036.0
E.S.: 76.0
Ave.: 1080.4
S.D.: 33.5
95%: ±46.5

String 2 - Unique 5.5
1) 1103.0 -59.4
2) 1133.0 -29.4
3) 1219.0 56.6
4) 1109.0 -53.4
5) 1248.0 85.6
High: 1248.0
Low: 1103.0
E.S.: 145.0
Ave.: 1162.4
S.D.: 66.7
95%: ±92.6

String 3 - Bullseye 4.2
1) 1115.0 26.0
2) 1079.0 -10.0
3) 1079.0 -10.0
4) 1092.0 3.0
5) 1080.0 -9.0

High: 1115.0
Low: 1079.0
E.S.: 36.0
Ave.: 1089.0
S.D.: 15.5

[scalce]

Do you guys want me to post stats on the the XD9 or is this just the excitement of a newbie reloader?

[f4tweet]

Post! I started my first 9mm reloading with some old Quality moly 125gr. bullets. I am using the 1.135 OAL with 3.6-3.8 gr of Titewad. 3.4 was very mild, 3.6 was noticeably stronger, and my next try will be 3.8 gr. All have been accurate. I use Titewad for IPSC Limited in .40 and .45. It isn't the cleanest powder, but it is inexpensive.

[DNM]

What was your take on each setup? Which felt better? Which was most accurate (Bullseye, I assume)?

BTW, you still have all your fingers, correct?

[scalce]

Originally Posted by DNM

What was your take on each setup? Which felt better? Which was most accurate (Bullseye, I assume)?

BTW, you still have all your fingers, correct?

Yes all my fingers are still here luckily.

Bullseye and Unique seemed to group better for me then Titegroup at 50 feet but I only shot 10 rounds of each so it was hard to determine.

Bullseye and Titegroup have a short and snappy recoil when you get over 1150-1200 but are very tame around 1080-1100. I never thought that 50 fps would make that much of a difference in pereceived recoil. Unique, which is a slower powder then the other two, was loaded the hottest but still didn't feel too snappy.

I really need to load up some more of each now that I can keep the fps right around 1100 and work on accuracy and feel. I am going to do groups of 10 as groups of 5 tend to skew the numbers. I went up in grains on Unique but the average FPS went down from yesterday which I attribute to the small sample from yesterday. Also it is a high volume powder and I think I may be slightly compressing it if not right on top of it with the 115s since it takes up 90%+ of the case volume at 5.7 grains.

This is data from yesterday:

String 1 - 115 Rainier - Bullseye 4.3
1) 1117.0 23.9
2) 1106.0 12.9
3) 1102.0 8.9
4) 1104.0 10.9
5) 1087.0 -6.1
6) 1101.0 7.9
7) 1087.0 -6.1
1081.0 -12.1
9) 1076.0 -17.1
10) 1070.0 -23.1
High: 1117.0
Low: 1070.0
E.S.: 47.0
Ave.: 1093.1
S.D.: 15.1
95%: ±11.4
String 2 - 115 Rainier - Titegroup 4.2
1) 1089.0 -18.9
2) 1094.0 -13.9
3) 1107.0 -0.9
4) 1116.0 8.1
5) 1115.0 7.1
6) 1121.0 13.1
7) 1096.0 -11.9
1113.0 5.1
9) 1103.0 -4.9
10) 1125.0 17.1
High: 1125.0
Low: 1089.0
E.S.: 36.0
Ave.: 1107.9
S.D.: 12.1
95%: ±9.1
String 3 - 115 Rainier - Unique 5.7
1) 1110.0 -38.3
2) 1117.0 -31.3
3) 1149.0 0.7
4) 1128.0 -20.3
5) 1134.0 -14.3
6) 1188.0 39.7
7) 1156.0 7.7
1192.0 43.7
9) 1140.0 -8.3
10) 1169.0 20.7
High: 1192.0
Low: 1110.0
E.S.: 82.0
Ave.: 1148.3
S.D.: 28.1
95%: ±21.2

[scalce]

[fredj338]

Scalce, I see your ES is quite large using Unique. You may want to adjust your powder return arm so it puls the slide all the way back into place. Unique is a great powder for high end loads, but meters poorly. My most accurate loads are using Unique & 124gr XTPs. BTW, nothing wrong w/ slightly compressing Unique or other powders that run slower. It actually helps uniformity.

f4, powder is THE cheapest component of your handload. Look for a powder the gives you the perf. you want, powder cost is almost negligable (3.8gr v 5gr = 0.009c v 0.0011c per rd).