New Campro 158gr 9mm loads

J

jimbo14

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
35   0   0
Location
GVRD
I picked up some of these bullets to play with, and I'm curious if any of you early adopters have found a load you liked. I'm a new reloader, (just over a year), and only have Titegroup and Clays. A Campro guy said to avoid TG in this application, because the powder is too fast, with a narrow range of 2.6-2.8 grains. He suggested HS-6 from 4.0-4.4, with a COL of 1.090".

The Campro guy didn't get back to me with my follow up questions on other powders they've tested, so I'm going to borrow some CFE Pistol from a friend tomorrow to make some test loads for chrono on Sunday. I don't feel like waiting. :) CFE Pistol has a similar speed to HS-6, and I'll start low and bring a squib rod.

Curious what you're trying out.

I'm loading this for IPSC.
 
HS-6? Used it a few thou rounds, never again. 158gr 9mm? Really? 147gr should be the most one goes to in 9mm, Too much drop at 30+ meters. 124-135gr are best in my book.
 
I'd have to shoot some to see if there's a noticeable difference but the common use of 147gr bullets means there's a lot of data and knowledge to help support that weight. I know some guys who were swaging plated 158gr .357" bullets down to .355" and loading them in 9mm to try to reduce recoil but I saw it as too much work for too little benefit. I tried some 158gr .358" cast bullets swaged down to .356" in 9mm and I believe I used Longshot for powder. It was incredibly dirty though and I gave up after only one test since my shooting volume was increasing to a point where I couldn't easily support it with casting (due to time constraints).

I've used HS-6 with several thousand 124gr and 147gr bullets and have no complaints. Clean burning and nice, dense kernels that metered well.

Percussion said:
I think 158 is what they use for sub sonic 9mm
I would love to find a subsonic load using these.
Click to expand...
All the sub-sonic 9mm I've seen is loaded with 147gr. You will have a hard time making a 147gr super-sonic (>1160fps) without going over-pressure (possibly above +P).
All of my 9mm's will cycle with subsonic 124gr loads as well, albeit barely. My IPSC loads are just a hair over the sound-barrier (usually 1180fps) and run flawlessly.
 
Ohh ic, I just remember reading somewhere that 158 is good for subsonic in both pistols and carbines. I know that carbines generally allow for a bit more velocity, so a load that is subsonic in a pistol may not be subsonic out of a carbine.
 
Got a little testing done today. Not too promising though.

Since the window for Titegroup was so small, I tried strings at 2.7 and 2.8 grains (2.8 being the max Campro specified)

Shot with a Shadow, and a COL of 1.10" and CCI primers:

2.7gr TG - avg 754 fps, 119 PF
2.8gr TG - avg 787 fps, 124 PF

TG doesn't look good.

Then tried CFE Pistol:

Low of 2.8 grains, which caused the cases to dribble out of the gun, up to 3.6 grains.

2.8 gr, avg 603 fps, 95 PF
3.0 gr, avg 661 fps, 104 PF
3.2 gr, avg 723 fps, 114 PF
3.4 gr, avg 777 fps, 123 PF
3.6 gr, avg 813 fps, 128 PF

I wasn't sure where the max pressure is, so I stopped at 3.6 grains.

I'll wait to see if I hear more from Campro, then go from there.
 
jimbo you read my mind, I grabbed some 158s to test some loads, will stay tuned here. From what I was told IPSC shooters pushed campro to come out with these projectiles, so there must be some loads floating around. Good luck, will share what I find as well
 
Tried HS-6, from 4.0-4.4 like Campro suggested:
1.10”
CCI primers

4.0gr, avg 744fps, 117 PF
4.1gr, avg 747fps, 118 PF
4.2gr, avg 777fps, 122 PF
4.3gr, avg 779fps, 123 PF
4.4gr, avg 820fps, 129 PF

Shot from a Shadow, 10 shot strings for each load.
 
I found this info on line, and have not tried it; velocities seem a bit high to me. ht tps://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/approve-my-loads-for-158-gr-rnfp-cast-357.814557/:

Clays 3.2 gr. 867
Clays 4.6 gr. 1,079 max


Unique 6.0 gr. 1,034
Unique 6.8 gr. 1,295 max


TrailBoss 3.2 gr. 754
TrailBoss 4.2 gr. 865 max


HP38 & W231 3.4 gr. 796
HP38 & W231 3.9 gr. 846
HP38 & W231 5.0 gr. 1,109 max
 
Dedw8 said:
From what I was told IPSC shooters pushed campro to come out with these projectiles, so there must be some loads floating around.
Click to expand...

From my understanding most high level IPSC shooters still use 124gr because it drops less at range and cycle the slide faster. They don't need to compensate as much at distances past 20-25m and higher level matches will have targets out to 35-40m. The slide cycling is said to be because if you're shooting world-class-fast you can initiate malfunctions if your trigger finger is too fast and the slide is too slow.
The new 135gr seems to be the new "optimized IPSC weight" for high-level competitors with various manufacturers having released 131-136gr 9mm bullets previously.

The only guys I've heard about shooting 158gr are mostly in IDPA (shorter distances) and some less common target shooting disciplines.

That's not to say some IPSC shooters weren't calling for heavier bullets to further reduce felt recoil. I know lots of B-D class shooters who use 147gr including myself (though I'm considering switching back to 124gr for various reasons). But I don't think it's going to be the new hotness in IPSC at higher levels. Someone, somewhere would have made them before and they'd be flying off the shelves if that were the case.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom