Reloading mistake. Too light on powder?

B

BigRed911

Member
EE Expired
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
frozen tundra 8 months a year
So I loaded about 300 rounds of 9mm over the winter.
These were my first experience with making my own ammo And well......they don't work. :runaway:
124gn ww cast boolits (actual average is 127gn)
sitting on 3.5gn Sr4756

The recoil on them was about half that of a factory round. All that I fired were FTE.
I know I'm going to have to knock every single one down but my question is: Should I recast the boolits or try and load them up again as is?

Anyone have any recommendations for a good powder weight? Or should I split the Min/Max loads down the middle and load that and work from there?
 
3.5gn of SR4756 is way under minimum. Where'd you get the data? Not that it matters, You'll have to pull 'em anyway.
You don't start in the middle either. Use the published staring load.
 
BigRed911 said:
well its lesson learned for sure. -40 is not conductive to an enjoyable shooting trip. And it was a "I've got the equipment, let do this" kind of mentality.
Click to expand...

To save a whole bunch of time and grief, follow published data and get fancy later, when you know what you're doing. You don't need more than a box of cartridges to know if they're going to run and shoot accurate. Could have tested six different loads already. How do the bullets look after being removed?
 
Which edition of the Lyman book are you using? I just checked my 5 year old 49th edition and 4756 is only listed for 147gn cast bullets.

As for re-casting or re-using it'll depend a lot on how badly deformed they were during the crimping and knocking out operations. Also in how good you expect them to shoot for accuracy. It's very likely that they were swaged down by all the operations they will be put through so most likely they'll be too small for correctly engaging the rifling in the barrel. So they may not group as tightly. For action shooting where ultimate accuracy only needs to be "good enough" you'd likely be fine. But if you're looking to punch nice neat groups then I'd melt 'em down.

If these are the multi ribbed style that uses Alox for lube I'd most certainly melt them back down and re-cast. The smaller riding bands are quite a bit weaker and would certainly be damaged by all the loading, unloading and reloading forces to where they are just too small.

It's also not only a case of a possible loss of accuracy. If they don't have enough neck tension in the cases you run the risk of set back of the bullets that are in the mag due to recoil. Your last few rounds could end up a lot shorter and if they feed into the gun then you could see a major pressure spike from the reduced case volume and a burst barrel.

For myself I make it a point to NOT reuse cast bullets. Jacketed or plated is fine for re-use though.
 
BCRider said:
Which edition of the Lyman book are you using? I just checked my 5 year old 49th edition and 4756 is only listed for 147gn cast bullets.
Click to expand...

I was wondering about that too. That powder is listed as 3.1 to 3.6 for 147 gr, and 5.3 to 7.2 under a 90 gr. And that's in my Lyman 49th, which I'm assuming is the very same one you guys have. I find it odd that it doesn't list that same powder for the bullet weights in between... But, it does look as if 3.5 gr would be just a little shy for a 127 gr cast.
 
Look on the Hodgson reloading web page. They list 4.2 grains as a starting load for a 124 grain LRN with SR-4756. They do not show a load for a heavier bullet with this powder. The older reloading books may show a larger charge but nowadays companies tend to be on the lighter side when they suggest loads. Remember that as bullet weight goes up, powder charges go down.
 
BCRider said:
Which edition of the Lyman book are you using? I just checked my 5 year old 49th edition and 4756 is only listed for 147gn cast bullets.

As for re-casting or re-using it'll depend a lot on how badly deformed they were during the crimping and knocking out operations. Also in how good you expect them to shoot for accuracy. It's very likely that they were swaged down by all the operations they will be put through so most likely they'll be too small for correctly engaging the rifling in the barrel. So they may not group as tightly. For action shooting where ultimate accuracy only needs to be "good enough" you'd likely be fine. But if you're looking to punch nice neat groups then I'd melt 'em down.

If these are the multi ribbed style that uses Alox for lube I'd most certainly melt them back down and re-cast. The smaller riding bands are quite a bit weaker and would certainly be damaged by all the loading, unloading and reloading forces to where they are just too small.

It's also not only a case of a possible loss of accuracy. If they don't have enough neck tension in the cases you run the risk of set back of the bullets that are in the mag due to recoil. Your last few rounds could end up a lot shorter and if they feed into the gun then you could see a major pressure spike from the reduced case volume and a burst barrel.

For myself I make it a point to NOT reuse cast bullets. Jacketed or plated is fine for re-use though.
Click to expand...

If the bullets in the magazine move from recoil, they will move forward, not backward.
 
H4831 said:
If the bullets in the magazine move from recoil, they will move forward, not backward.
Click to expand...

On a revolver yes. On a semi I'm guessing that they move forward but then slam into the front of the mag and are pushed back into the casing.

I've talked to two folks that ran into the rounds closing up from too light a crimp and little or no neck tension. One blew up a barrel and spit out a magazine on his 1911 and another just blew out a mag and split a grip on some other gun he had that I don't recall the brand. Both reported as an afterthought that the last couple of rounds before the big badda boom felt stronger but they were in the groove and kept going.
 
BCRider said:
On a revolver yes. On a semi I'm guessing that they move forward but then slam into the front of the mag and are pushed back into the casing.

I've talked to two folks that ran into the rounds closing up from too light a crimp and little or no neck tension. One blew up a barrel and spit out a magazine on his 1911 and another just blew out a mag and split a grip on some other gun he had that I don't recall the brand. Both reported as an afterthought that the last couple of rounds before the big badda boom felt stronger but they were in the groove and kept going.
Click to expand...

OK, I was thinking revolver, where we carried a little dowel and a mallet to tap the 44 mag bullet bullet back, when we were shooting silhouette in competition, getting the cylinder to turn and still maintain the time limit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom