9mm 147 gr Flat Point loads (lead)?

[xsquidgator]

I bought a 1000 lead 147 grain flat points yesterday at the show to replace my stock of 9mm lead practice bullets. But, I'm having trouble definitively finding a load to start with for these bullets.

I'm using Unique powder (just bought another 4# of it at the show, too).
The info I've garnered from Alliant's site, and my Lee #2, Lyman #3, and Speer #13 guides is as follows (none of it seems exactly like what I have though):

GUIDE bullet Start gr max OAL

Alliant's 147XTP 3.5 3.9 1.140"
Lyman #3 147 lead 3.2 3.8 1.058
Speer#3 147TMJ 3.8 4.3 1.130​

Here's my question:
For the load, I'll start with 3.2 grains of Unique. But what's the right OAL? I don't think any of these listings are exactly the kind of bullet I have, the Lyman #3 guide seems closest but I can't tell if the bullet they're talking about is round or flat on the end.

If I can't get any more info, I'll just seat the bullets so that the crimp goes in the cannelure (sp?) and see what it is. Hopefully that will make the OAL closer to 1.130" than 1.058".

Does anyone here have experience with 9mm 147 grain lead flat point loads they'd mind sharing with me?

 

[xsquidgator]

Fwiw, it appears that 1.130-1.140" is a correct-looking OAL (based on where the crimp is on the bullet). I think the OAL for the 147TMJ is probably correct but use the powder charge for the 147 grain lead bullet?

 

[wally]

I'm using "Bushwacker" 147gr hard cast lead FP 9mm with 3.4-3.7 gr Unique (its what my Lee Auto Disk throws depending on powder lot (newer lots seem ligher charge weight for the same volume. I like this load enough that I was loading it up for steel plates when I could still buy CCI aluminum Blazer for $3.86/box of 50. Now my time spent loading it is making a lot more sense (and dollars saved )

I load them long enough to just fit the shortest 9mm mag I have, which I believe to be my Kahr CW9.

Generally a cast bullet OAL is "right" if about a half a mm of the cylindrical section is visible above the case mouth when seated.

I don't obsess about OAL, I make them as long as will fit my shortest magazine in the caliber and that has always worked well as you probably shouldn't be loading near max pressures with cast bullets anyways.

--wally.

 

[xsquidgator]

Thanks for the info, Wally. As it turns out these will be going mostly through my Kahr CW9 (great little gun isn't it?) too.

Glad to hear your load info and to see my first guess doesn't sound that far off the mark. I did make an empty round at 1.130" and my CW9 chambered it just fine, so I ought to be set for a first test batch run of maybe 25 or 50 of these.