Signs of over presure in 9mm Luger

[.Ben]

ive been loading 9mm for about a year now and we are experimenting with differnt loadings with 138 grain FMJ and 135 Grain cast lead RN

what are the first signs of over presure in handgun cartridges?...i know the ones for rifle cartridges but is there any speacial signs that only happen with handgun cartridges?


right now im up to 3.1 grains of titegroup under a 135 grain cast lead....

we dont have exact data for the 135 grain leads but the max load for 147 grain in the book was 2.8 so i would say i am up to about the max safe load for the 135's? any thoughts on this?

 

[saskgunowner101]

How do the primers look?
Excessive recoil?
Brass going to Montana on ejection?

I'm a fan of Titegroup, but I don't think it's best for top end loads. Just my .02

 

[duster]

Some times the first sign of over pressure in a hand gun is when it flies apart. be carefull.

 

[Quigley]

Primer flow...flat primers...breach face marks on the case head (usually in that order)

 

[B]

Primer flow is not irregular in a lot of guns. When nothing but the very tip of the striker\pin is visible I back off. I tend to look for strange marks on my brass, and am usually worried when I have to drive over to the next county to collect my brass.

 

[vagrantviking]

Can be a bit tough to tell in a handgun. Keep some fired brass from loads known to be safe (ideally same brass , primers etc.) and compare.

Trying to push cast bullets to the max might cause bad leading and accuracy problems.

 

[RojamB21]

Chronograph will tell ya
or your hands

 

[Breaker61]

Lyman Manual
9mm Luger
Titegroup powder
125 gr. lead bullet - start 2.9 gr., max 3.3 gr.
147 gr. lead bullet - start 2.5 gr., max 2.8 gr.

For 135 gr lead I'd say your close to max at 3.1 gr.'s of titegroup.

 

[JBD]

From hodgson reload center
125 GR. LCN Hodgdon Titegroup .356" 3.6 1002 22,900 CUP 4.0 1096
125 GR. SIE FMJ Hodgdon Titegroup .355" 4.1 1069 27,300 CUP 4.4 1
147 GR. HDY XTP Hodgdon Titegroup .355" 3.2 855 22,500 CUP 3.6 929

Your load is not overpressure and will not cause damage. If a 147 grain can be loaded to 3.6 grains then I would not worry about 3.1 with 135.
The limiting pressure factor is the accuracy of the plain based lead bullet.

 

[.Ben]

Well thanks for the info,

the loads don't feel extreme, and the brass looks alright so i guess i will say 3.1 is about as high as i want to go with cast lead.