A Great Light 9mm Load and a too hot one also

[BBDartCA]

The Lee Handbook lists a light 9mm load consisting of 8.8g IMR4227 with 115g JRN with an OAL of 1.10. 4227 is generally seen as far too slow for a 9.

I loaded some of these at 8.9g with Winchester mag primers and found them to be tack driver type loads out of a LC9. Very light recoil, exceptionally accurate and fun to shoot out of a micro pistol. Nice smell too - like a Garand.

Same session we shot a bunch of 115g JRN with 6.1g Power Pistol with Remington 1 1/2 primers. Alliant lists 6.7g as max for this powder. These things kicked harder and boomed louder than Speer Gold Dot +P 124g. Massive muzzle flash too. Accuracy about the same as the Speer, but that little 9 sounded like a hot 40 with these handloads. A definite attention getter.

 

[1SOW]

re IMR4227: How 'dirty/sooty' was your pistol?

 

[BBDartCA]

Very clean. And virtually no smoke.

I shoot a lot of it in my 357 also, and it is much cleaner than No. 9.

 

[1SOW]

Usually, loading a slower powder very light --even a single base powder like IMR--leads to incomplete combustion or SOOT.

 

[BBDartCA]

I was thinking about that too, and that's why I went with a mag primer, thinking it would get things burning faster / better. Noticed the ejected brass was pretty clean too.

 

[1SOW]

Makes sense. May be 'faster' than you think, with a push instead of a bang.

 

[BBDartCA]

yeah I would like to Chrony this load.

 

[Walkalong]

I have used 4227 in .44 Mag, but not .357, and certainly not in 9MM. I do not think I have any left, or I would certainly try it out.

 

[1SOW]

I like 1050'-ish/sec with a 124gr bullet for comp and range practice with a full-size pistol.
I've read others who advocated 4227 with 124gr and heavier bullets using SPPs. Might have to try it out one day.