reloading for 9mm

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saskminer

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I'm a newbie at pistol caliber reloading - just got my first 9mm handgun last month and immediately have the itch to reload for it. I went shooting intending to pick up the brass but I didn't realize how much brass is laying around the outdoor pistol range we have up here. I wouldn't be able to find my 1X fired cartridges if my life depended on it. That said, I would like to pick up a bunch of discarded cartridges for sorting and sizing. What am I looking for when sorting pistol cartridges other than the obvious problems like bulges, splits and visible defects?

I would like to reload 147 grain target rounds. Anyone got a recipe for a load good for a CZ Shadow?
 
I can tell you, with a single stage press, 9mm almost isn't worth the time as it's not super pricey.

That being said I run 125 grain campro plated with 4.1 grains of win231 out of my hi power. Accuracy? Sure. It hits the target..sometimes in groups..ish I don't have any kind of rest or chrono.
 
If you only want to reload your own brass, mark the case heads with a "Sharpie". Even after shooting, some color will remain.
 
Reload any of the popular American brands (Winchester, Remington, Federal etc.). Don't worry about how many times they've been fired, keep reloading them until they split. The only thing to keep an eye out for is crimped primer pockets, discard any if found.

P.S. If you want a recipe give us a powder and tell us if the bullet is lead/coated or plated/FMJ.
 
No choice on powder yet and still need to buy my components. I would lean towards FMJ or some type of target projectile. I was googling the hell out of it last night and looking at X-Metal's offerings. I also bought 1000 rounds of 9mm from SFRC on sale to tide me over while I figure out the whole thing. Reloading rifle calibers is a no-brainer but 9mm borders on being cost neutral if you get cheap ammo. I'm no sharp shooter so it has to go bang and hopefully hit the paper/pop can/ clay I am aiming at. The long term goal is IPSC shooting so ultimately I'd like to reload good quality rounds if I ever get good enough to compete.

4n2t0 said:
Reload any of the popular American brands (Winchester, Remington, Federal etc.). Don't worry about how many times they've been fired, keep reloading them until they split. The only thing to keep an eye out for is crimped primer pockets, discard any if found.

P.S. If you want a recipe give us a powder and tell us if the bullet is lead/coated or plated/FMJ.
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I would try campro plated. Heavy plating but much cheaper than fmj. Berry's bullets aren't bad either. But pricier

Their 357 magnum plated can take full house magnum loads. I ran them out of my lever.
 
don't worry about the primer crimp- use a swage and about 2 seconds of time- the stepped cases came from something that fired from an open bolt or is way over pressure-all the brass from my uzi has the swelled "magnum" ring, as do most stens/sterlings
 
saskminer said:
What am I looking for when sorting pistol cartridges other than the obvious problems like bulges, splits and visible defects?
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If you collect range brass, you might come across "stepped brass." Stepped brass cases have a visible "step," right about where the base of the bullet would sit (not a cannelure). Reloaded cases can apparently fail at the step, leaving the front portion of the case stuck in your chamber. I've only come across a few, out of several buckets of range brass, but they are out there. Head stamps on the ones I've seen are IMT and FM. Do a Google search for stepped 9mm brass and you'll have a clearer idea of what I'm talking about. Sorry, I don't know how to post pics.
 
Black Sheep Brass ships 9mm brass. It’s cleaned, sorted, sized and deprimed. Its 6.5c a piece and honestly it’s not worth processing range brass compared to Black Sheep Brass.
 
4.14" barrel
CamPro 147gr
900ish fps

3.6gr of Titegroup
3.8gr of WST
4.1gr of WSF

You can reduce all those weight slightly because you're using a Shadow. Also, check the OAL using the barrel. Being a CZ it's probably on the short side (1.10ish).
 
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I make my 147gr Campro loads with 3.3gr Titegroup and an oal of 1.10”. Fps is 889-903 with three different Shadows. The most worn barrel is the slowest.
 
I shoot a powder coated cast lead 147gr. Pushed by 4.7gr. of HS-6. Gets me about 880fps from a 4" Glock 19 factory barrel. The same load should also work for a Campro plated bullet. Start a little lower and work up. Don't worry too much about brass. I have some I've been loading for over 25 years. The headstamps are so flat to be almost unreadable. They still load/ shoot fine.

Auggie D.
 
I pick up brass at my range on occasion, I just pick all the brass cases, and leave the steel and aluminium alone. Although with the price of primers and powder lately, even when its on sale I find the savings are very minimal nowadays. When 9mm goes on sale it can be had for just a little more than buying the components.
 
I was at the range today and managed to pick up 500 9mm cases and 50 cases of 45 ACP. I think I'll definitely get set up for reloading now that I have a bunch of brass to play with.
Thanks for all the recipes - I'm going to try the 9mm with CamPro 147 gr RNFP, CFE Pistol or Titegroup I think. CFE definitely looks to be higher pressure so I might go conservative to keep recoil down...
 
saskminer said:
I'm a newbie at pistol caliber reloading - just got my first 9mm handgun last month and immediately have the itch to reload for it. I went shooting intending to pick up the brass but I didn't realize how much brass is laying around the outdoor pistol range we have up here. I wouldn't be able to find my 1X fired cartridges if my life depended on it. That said, I would like to pick up a bunch of discarded cartridges for sorting and sizing. What am I looking for when sorting pistol cartridges other than the obvious problems like bulges, splits and visible defects?

I would like to reload 147 grain target rounds. Anyone got a recipe for a load good for a CZ Shadow?
Click to expand...

As to range brass, If they were fired by a reloader they woudn't be laying around. I reload anything that is laying on the ground. You will have time to inspect them, picking up, sorting, decapping, cleaning ,capping and loading. YMMV but straight wall pistol cases don't ''grow'' like rifle brass
 
577/450 said:
As to range brass, If they were fired by a reloader they woudn't be laying around. I reload anything that is laying on the ground. You will have time to inspect them, picking up, sorting, decapping, cleaning ,capping and loading. YMMV but straight wall pistol cases don't ''grow'' like rifle brass
Click to expand...
most at my range don't reload so the picking is good
 
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