New reloader, advice on bullet choice for 9mm

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nstg8r

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Hi all,

I've got a Dillon SDB and I'd like to start loading 9mm with it. I picked it up used and it came with 4#s of Win231 and brass. What would be a good bullet choice for using in an IPSC type shooting. I've been using Blazer Brass in 124gr and like it fine, but I'd also like to try somehting in 147gr. Berrys and Campro seem to be easy to get - any recommendations on either, or any other suggestions?

What do people think about cast lead bullets? I don't see many brands offered, I take it's due to them being not as popular but is there any draw backs to using them?

For the powder, I've seen a few posts where 231 burns too fast for a heavier bullet like the 147gr although I have load data for that weight. Am I overthinking this aspect?

thanks all
 
I regularly shoot ipsc and am back to 9mm minor in classic division
147s will knock steel poppers down easier than 125s
Around here, campro is easier to find than berrys, many people say campro are superior to berry, i have loaded both and they “seem” similar.
Just watch out for crimp, too much will rip jackets and keyhole.
If shooting indoors, either your lead projectiles won’t be allowed or if they are, might get frowned upon, as it doesn’t help in the equation on lead poisoning.

I will be honest, i have no experience with win powder
In my 50/60K reloads of 9mm/40, i went vvn320 and titegroup

Great choice for first press btw, in a few years you may want to look into dillon 650 if ever you get heavily invested into the sport
 
I hate shooting lead bullets. My daughter use to shoot lead .38 SPL full wadcutters, when she use to shoot PPC. Took me forever to scrape all the lead splatter off the gun. We started using plated WC's and clean up was a breeze. Plated/jacketed bullets aren't as "smokey", either - on a lead bullet, the ignited powder charge, always "boils" a bit of lead off the back of the bullet (unless you're using "gas checks". I've had guys tell me that lead bullets are more accurate, because they "seal" better, in the barrel. I can't support that, with my experience. Near as I can tell - the only thing lead bullets have going for them - they're cheaper and not by a whole bunch, unless you're casting your own.
W231 is fine for a 147 gn bullet - just make sure you stay within the maximum recommended charge weight.
 
Good info, thanks.

I see that lead isn't that much cheaper either, and I think if there is any difference in accuracy I doubt I would notice it at my skill level.
 
I normally shoot 124gr Campros but at the end of this season, I started shooting 147gr Campros for matches and really like how they performed. I've tried X-Metal and there was way too much inconsistencies in a single batch to make me never buy them again. I've tried to go cheaper and used DRG lead pills but while it was good, I hate cleaning lead fouling and for a few $ more, I could get plated Campros. I've tried Berrys and haven't noticed any difference in accuracy so I don't bother spending the extra $ on them. I used to buy a lot of Calibers before Campro came around but then Calibers supply dried up and couldn't find them on the shelves and Campros were readily available and cost about the same or a hair cheaper and performed well. It was a no-brainer to switch to Campros.

Nope, I don't work for Campro.
 
I run Campro 124's with (4gr) Win 231 for plinking but if you want to run IPSC you will probably want to switch to Titegroup to get the min PF required.

Used Berry's initially as that is what my LGS stocked, but after trying Campro and comparing I found little difference so went with the cheaper bullets.
 
CamPro 147gr or 124gr for me. Lead's great for accuracy but the extra cleaning effort sucks. W231 isn't too fast for the 147gr bullet. Many, including myself, have loaded 147's with much faster powder.
 
Are you guys finding that the load data from Campro is accurate? It seems like the data from Campro is hotter than what Lymans has for 147 TMJ.
 
I use it, my minor PF falls within their specs
They also provide crimp data which is nice, as in you set caliper on crimp are of casing once crimped, you can then give it more or less crimp to match their data
Never blown a jacket or keyholed using their crimp number
 
nstg8r said:
Are you guys finding that the load data from Campro is accurate? It seems like the data from Campro is hotter than what Lymans has for 147 TMJ.
Click to expand...

When in doubt, go with the lowest recommended powder weight and build up from there. I found the Campro listed powder weight to be on the hot side myself. Hornady's reloading data seems to be on the conservative side so I go by that and build up a load that works for my pistols.
 
OK, so now I'm going down the rabbit hole...

This maybe is more of a general knowledge thing, but how can I relate data from different sources? For instance, Campro load data is hotter and the OAL is shorter while Lyman is the opposite - lower powder charge and longer OAL.

The golden rule seems to be find the lowest powder weight with corresponding length and start there. My question is, Campro is providing this data wouldn't that be the most accurate?

Again another more general question, at what point do I start considering moving the OAL? Is it better to fine tune the powder weight and then the OAL?
 
Different manufacturer's barrels have longer leades than others which is why not all OAL measurements will work 100% of the time. Rule of thumb is to find a start load, knock it back about 10%, find your barrel's min OAL and knock it back a few thou and build up a load from there.

You can make up a dummy round with one of the bullets at the suggested OAL and with your barrel removed from the pistol, drop the dummy round into the chamber and see if it seats fully. Flip the barrel end over and see if the ammo falls out on its own without you having to pry it out of the chamber. If the round gets stuck, seat the bullet a little deeper and repeat the process until you have success. That's your OAL for that barrel. Keep that dummy round as a template to reconfigure the die should you need to reload for a different bullet weight or profile and need to come back to this one.

For me, my Shadow 2 and Springfield RO have the shortest leade so I set my OAL to those barrels and my round will chamber in all my other pistols.
 
I run campro 147gr in both my M&P and 9mm AR, can't go wrong with them. I started with the Campro load data and worked my way up to find out what my AR liked, I run the same load in the M&P now.
 
CamPro's have a thick plate so they act like FMJ's. e.g. I needed 3.6gr of Titegroup (max listed charge) with their 147gr bullet to make 900 ft/s (132 PF) out of a 4" barrel (Ruger SR9). My WSF load with the same bullet out of the same barrel required 4.1gr (near max charge) to make 902 ft/s (132 PF). Finding an optimal OAL for handguns will bring little to no gain, unlike rifle rounds. Use an OAL that works in all the barrels you're loading for and live life happy.

Important

Do not pay attention to the OAL's listed in manuals/data, always find your own OAL. Here's a link to show you how:

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...mm-reloading-question?p=14394562#post14394562
 
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Trinimon said:
When in doubt, go with the lowest recommended powder weight and build up from there. I found the Campro listed powder weight to be on the hot side myself. Hornady's reloading data seems to be on the conservative side so I go by that and build up a load that works for my pistols.
Click to expand...

For 9mm I also find Campro listed loads are hot and I use Hornady or Lyman. On the other hand their 38 Spl listed loads are (seemingly) light.

As above, I start low and work up. As far as OAL, find the one for your pistol(s) and load for the shortest pistol.
 
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