9mm loaded with Unique, primer question

[exlax66]

I loaded my first 9mm rounds, they were 124 grain jacketed round nose and I used 4.5 grains of Unique.
My question is this, the primers were seated slightly deeper than flush but are right flush after they are ejected.
Is this a sign of too much pressure or is it normal that the primer move out to flush?
Cycling was good and 50 rounds functioned flawlessly in my XDM.

 

[luke s]

If you got the load from a reliable book, and you are sure about your powder weight then dont worry

 

[Spawn-Inc]

that's perfectly normal, when fired the primer gets pushed out of the brass, then the brass gets pushed back and reseats the primer flush.

google excessive primer pressures and you will see what is normal and not.

 

[exlax66]

Thanks guys! Less than max in the Hornady manual and it worked good. I just wasnt sure that the primer should move, it does make sense nkw the way you explained it Spawn-Inc.

 

[moosedude]

Perfectly normal dont worry. On a side not, I have an Xdm and load 124 gr over unique too. I have run up to 5.5 grains without issue and settled on 5.0 as my go to load. At 4.5 You are probably still subsonic

 

[RSA1]

Your load of 4.5gr Unique is a very safe load with the 124gr bullets in 9mmP. I use 124gr Frontier plated and the plated Berry hollow point with 4.6 - 4.7gr of Unique, which is still far below maximum published loads (although the manuals vary quite a lot with this particular combination). My chronographed loads showed a velocity ranging from 1070 - 1130ft/s from my Glock 19 (4th Gen) with a 4.25" Lone Wolf barrel. Primers were all CCI 500, and not flat. Interestingly, Remington Golden Sabre 124gr HP produced about 1140ft/s and the 147gr Winchester Black Talon (Ranger???) only about 930ft/s. Temperature of all 3 ammo loads was about 6 Celsius when fired. Bullets needed to be seated much deeper than max COL.

Using a slower powder like Unique gives higher velocities with safe loads in 9mmP than very fast powders, and is also much safer/better suited for using in carbine length barrels and 147gr bullets with 9mmP. My biggest concern with Unique is a very unreliable / not consistent powder charge being dropped from my Lee Pro 1000 with the adjustable slider. I have my own system of getting it to be reliable and do a visual check of each case before seating bullets. I also do not like the muzzle flash, even in 9mmP, but it was not worse than the Rem. Golden Sabre, but much more noticeable than when using AutoComp in reloads, including 200gr bullets in 44 Mag (IPSC power factor of about 240).

 

[luke s]

forgot to mention that there is a difference between jacketed and plated bullets, they use different data, so double check which one you actually have

 

[ted_dent]

My biggest concern with Unique is a very unreliable / not consistent powder charge being dropped from my Lee Pro 1000 with the adjustable slider.

I also found that the adjustable charge bar in my Loadmaster press threw very inconsistent powder charges with flake powders like Unique or Red Dot. I eventually went back to the Lee disk system. It's not perfect but the charges are a lot more consistent than with the adjustable charge bar.

 

[RSA1]

Hi luke s,

The loads listed by myself above are safe with all bullets containing a lead core, whether plated or a jacket. Some manuals e.g. Speer #14, pages 853 - 858 (9mmP data) list both their plated and jacketed bullets together, with the same load data. Other manufacturers (such as Berry) advise to use load data as for lead bullets. So there is no simple rule: know the product you are using and begin with a safe load and work up.

Another example is looking at the Berry bullets with thick plating intended for high velocities such as 38 Super and 9mm Major, or the Frontier Ranger series for hunting big animals (510gr bullets in .458". You cannot compare these product to softer plated bullets. Some bullet manufacturers cast their bullets before plating (e.g. Frontier) which allows a harder lead alloy to be used, resulting in a tougher bullet than one which uses soft lead or a soft lead alloy and then swage the bullets to shape. Know your product and work up safe loads for your particular firearm. I have loaded (and chronographed) very heavy 357 Mag loads in a Ruger Redhawk, where I ended up using small rifle primers because the regular CCI small pistol was too soft, but they were safe in that Ruger and only in that Ruger. Do not use data produced for another firearm without starting safe and then working up in your firearm.

 

[Redneckwannabe1]

I've been running 124fmj under 5.3 grains unique for a while now in my Beretta. Not one issue, but it is a little hot so my next batch will be toned down to 5 grains. I started out at 4.5 when I worked it up and I had a few ejections issues. In my gun it was a bit too light. My measure is not consistent with Unique so I take into account around a .2 grain allowance both ways.

 

[RSA1]

Hi All,

In a small cased cartridge such as the 9mmP/9mm Luger, operating at a very high (for handgun) pressure, the seating depth of the bullet into the small case is also vital. A load that may be safe at say 29mm COL, but too high if bullets are seated deeper to say 27mm COL. Therefore, do not only consider the powder charge, but also other aspect such as COL and bullet type. A 124gr lead RN bullet (say BHN of 10-12) cannot be compared to a large HP such as 124gr Speer Gold Dot (an excellent Premium Grade bullet), and load data for the two will not be the same and be safe or sensible.

Firearms also differ, so loads which are safe in my firearm may not be safe in yours. Speer Manual #14 (page 771) shows extensive data where various 357 Magnum firearms from the same manufacturer were compared, same models but different firearms, and in the examples, two identical Colt Pythons with 6" barrels, showed more than 200ft/s difference in velocity when fired with the same factory ammunition( 1002 ft/s and 1207 ft/s respectively). Therefore, it may be impossible to safely duplicate the performance in your firearm when using load data from a friend or a respected manual. This is what makes reloading and shooting so interesting! Enjoy it.

RSA1