Loads for Lyman 147gr 9mm (356637 Mold)

[Skyhawk]

Well I finally received this mold and managed to cast a few hundred bullets yesterday with it. They are dropping consistently in the 154 to 156 grain range with water quenched WW alloy, with a near exact .357" diameter. All I need to do is make minor power factor with a bit of safety margin - not more than 130 PF (between 835 to 840 fps) . The round will be used in IPSC Production in a CZ Shadow and CZ 75B.

I have Lyman's 49th where they list the 356637 Mold specifically (last 9mm table) and a OAL of only 1.058" is specified. That seems terribly short to me for a 155 grain bullet squeezed into a 9mm case... but anyway... they don't mention any of the powders I currently have which are Unique, 231, and N320.

Would using a very fast powder like N320 be dangerous or unlikely to give me the velocity I'm looking for without too much pressure? 49th lists 3.4 grains of N340 - a much slower powder. The manual also lists velocities for minimum loads that all exceed the PF I'm looking for too, even if I used one of the listed powders. Any load suggestions for this bullet? The closest guess I've come to a starting load to chrono is 3.0 grains of 231. Thanks!

 

[hatman1793]

I like PROMO.

I like the long shank that the 147grain bullet utilizes for stability. However I do not like the marginal increase in recoil that this heavier bullet makes.
My actual preference for 9mm is the 130grain RNL which is a very nice compromise from the 125's and the 147's.
As for propellant, I use PROMO which is like RedDot powder. If I was loading for me, using a cast lead 147grain bullet I would use 3.4 or 3.5 grains of PROMO powder. This load would easily achieve 800 FPS or better, but considerably under 1000 FPS.

 

[nada]

i use a redline 147[148/150] with 3.8 of 231 @ 1.125, in a shadow, 4.0gr was too hot & unstable. 3.2/3.4 of titegroup also works well.

 

[Skyhawk]

I tried them with 2.8 grains of N320 last night. While they cycled my gun just fine and seemed accurate as anything else at 25 yards, there is no way these can be close to minor PF. There was some "push", but literally no snap whatsoever. I've never shot a 9mm load that felt so much like squeezing warm butter through a tube. I compared them shot by shot, over and over against my IPSC match load (plated Frontier 147gr w/3.5gr N320) and my cast 126gr cast lead practice rounds. Something is wrong.

So I'm going to step it up to 2.9 and 3.0 grains of N320 to test next weekend with the chrono. I'm going "small steps" because I'm well aware of how a comparatively fast powder like N320 can pressure spike past a certain threshold. If I can make minor PF while keeping that snap at minimum with N320 I may have a winner load here.

 

[luke s]

Anyone else with 147 gr loads that make PF 125-130?

I am using aim plated bullets, but my hornady and Lyman book doesn't have any info. The closest is a cast Lyman bullet so I used that data with 2.6 to 2.7 gr titegroup which should give over 850 fps. I also have 700x, 800x, unique, bullseye, hs6, and clays on hand for powder.