Different 9mm ammo and my CZ

jacky

jacky

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
40   0   0
Location
in the valley
So today I go out shooting with three types of 9mm ammo and my CZ Shadow.
115 gr "re-manufactured ammo" by Western Ammunition
115 gr MFS ammo steel cases
124 gr Vollmantel

All full metal jacket. Now I am no expert shooter and set up my targets at 12 yards. I start by shooting 30 rounds of the Western ammo. Probably the best I have ever shot. All 30 go into a 4"X4" square ( 3 targets). I then decide to try the MFS ammo and shoot another 30 into a 4"X4" square (3 targets again). Quite proud of myself at this time.

So I then decide to try the Vollmantel 124 gr. Well these shot go everywhere. They all hit the paper but no group. I decide to take a rest and then try again but the same thing happens.

I then try and shoot some targets at 20yards. Same thing again. I am shooting both brands of 115 gr ammo better than I ever have but the 124 grain ammo is all over the place.

The truth is that the re-manufactured ammo was the best. What I am not sure of is whether brand or bullet size is making the difference. I was able to shoot both brands of 115 gr ammo better than ever before. Up until today I am only shot 124 gr and 147 gr ( I think) ammo, never 115 gr.

Has anyone else ever had this happen. Why would 115 gr ammo appear to shoot so much better than any other size bullet I have shot before ?
 
What type of bullets are the 124 gr? I have reloaded 115 round nose and 124 hollow points. The HPs are all over the place. 115 RNs are far more consistent groups.
 
Different pistols like different ammunition, so shoot a variety and select the one that performs the best. The alternative is to reload and work up a combination for your pistol.
 
I forgot to say that they were all round nose. I tlaked to a buddy this afternoon and I think the 115 gr bullets are best for my gun.

I have considered hand loading but I bought the 9mm ammo for $12 per 50 which I think is good.

Does one work up a load like I do with rifle ? Or is it more like shotgun where I chose a recipe based on the type of performance I wanted ?

Better question is has anyone else experienced this before with a pistol. ?
 
jacky said:
I have considered hand loading but I bought the 9mm ammo for $12 per 50 which I think is good.

Does one work up a load like I do with rifle ? Or is it more like shotgun where I chose a recipe based on the type of performance I wanted ?

Better question is has anyone else experienced this before with a pistol. ?
Click to expand...

If you reload you save about half. 1000 copper plated 9mm bullets from Custom Reloading on this site will cost you $77 + T&S. Powder, lots to choose from 2-3 cents per load. Primers 3 cents a load. Collect brass at range. If you shoot enuff you can pay off that press after 2000 rounds. I have a Lee Turret, one of the cheapest new presses. I have reloaded about 5000 rounds and it still works great.

When I started reloading I noticed that my groups were noticeably tighter. You can control the power of your loads too. Choose fast or slow powders. Weight of bullet, type of bullet. Youtube some vids on reloading and you will see how simple it really is. Its a fun technical hobby I find. You will need to buy a reloading manual that gives you data for specific powders and bullet weights. I suggest the Barnes manual.
 
The different weights and amounts of powder may have caused a difference in recoil, causing worse/better groups. Ammo usually is more accurate than the shooter, at shorter distances.

In my CZ75, I ran everything, LRN, 115, 124, 147, HP... I found it shot similar with everything. Some had a little more/less recoil and that's what I attributed small differences to.
 
Oh yeah, forgot to mention. It's all about pressure when that striker hits the primer. Factors of pressure are, bullet shape, weight, seat, crimp, powder type and amount. Barrel length and rifling type. And perhaps to some degree the strength of the locked breech / recoil spring action.
 
^^^ well this is what I was thinking. Maybe my gun doesn't like that ammo. But considering both types of ammo using 115 gr RN shot very well, I am thining either I shoot better or the gun likes 115 gr's.

I already reload rifle and have for years. I also used to reload about 8000 rounds a year of trap loads for competition. I assume reloading pistol is similar. Is the Lee Turet a good starter press for the money ?
 
jacky said:
I already reload rifle and have for years. I also used to reload about 8000 rounds a year of trap loads for competition. I assume reloading pistol is similar. Is the Lee Turet a good starter press for the money ?
Click to expand...

Pistol is easier and quicker than rifle. No need for case trimming, no need for resizing lube for 9mm. I don't need to clean the primer pockets either. I have been happy with my turret press but I also bought a Pro 1000 progressive press to speed things up.

But since you have a press already perhaps you wanna stick with that brand?
 
Definetly try another brand of 124.

Bullet weight makes a difference in the elevation the gun shoots. I've always found that my own Shadow shoots a hair low with 115 and spot on with 124.

With good ammo the gun should shoot nice groups into your 4x4 card regardless of bullet weight. But due to the elevation change as you switch to the heavier bullets you will find that you have to hold the sights a hair low. With 147's if you aim right at the middle you'll find your group is centered on the upper half of the card.
 
triplepete said:
Pistol is easier and quicker than rifle. No need for case trimming, no need for resizing lube for 9mm. I don't need to clean the primer pockets either. I have been happy with my turret press but I also bought a Pro 1000 progressive press to speed things up.

But since you have a press already perhaps you wanna stick with that brand?
Click to expand...

Well I use a Redding single stage so I think a turret or progressive would be better. Certainly something to consider.
 
I've done the Lee 1000 progressive. Then I got a Dillon 550b. Head and shoulders better than the Lee for a bunch of reasons.

For loading 9mm and other frequently shot ammo progressive is the only way to go.

The 550b forces me to index the plate manually. But it sure pays off when something hiccups compared to the auto indexing on a Lee. On my own Lee I soon removed the spiral auto index rod and used it manually. For me that was a big improvement as it makes it a lot easier to move the problem casing out to where you can reach it and then put the others casings back in place as I back track. But it doesn't make up for the cheezy primer feeder which is prone to clogging. Or the improper amount of leverage from the linkage which makes it hard to get a good primer seating in some brass.

I was considering a Lee Loadmaster as a second press. But in looking over the procedure for setting it up I was amazed at the Mickey Mouse/Rube Goldberg aspects of how the mechanism works and the things to deal with for tuning it.

Dillon all the way baby! ! ! !

If you're already big into reloading and know you'll be doing a lot of it I'd say jump in big and go with a 650. The 5 positions on the head leaves you room to install a powder checking die. I would also strongly suggest the Hornady decapping dies with the snap spring pin that will avoid the spent primers folding around the ejector pin and being drawn back up into the brass. I only recently found out about this last item and it sounds like a primo product. With the small pistol primers I've found that deforming and "sticking" to the ejector pin is simply all too common.
 
I tried Federal 124grn round nose this week as well as more of the 115's and the 115's are still giving me better groups. The 124's always seem to shoot low and to the right a bit. Probably my shooting but the 115's shoot into the 4X4 card consistently. I am going to try 147's like someone suggested but it sure is weird to me how these 115's make such a difference in accuracy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom