This is kind of long. And kind of wordy. But my reasoning is that it’ll save time to tell as much as I can.
So, just to lay out the variables…
I’m working on a 9mm load with HP-38 (I have six pounds…) and 125gr moly-coated conical nose bullets from Summit City (cheap). I did a ladder test and found that 4.6 grains seemed to give me the tightest group at 25yds. I loaded up a batch with an OAL of 1.120 and did a sight-in (Canik TP9SFX with a Vortex red dot on sandbags) but was disappointed with the result.
I’ve been reloading for over 10 years and have never really gotten “The One” for 9mm. I originally got the HP-38 for .45 and while I’d like to switch, I’m kinda broke right now… And, since I’m stuck with the same powder/bullets, I’m not really sure what help you can give. But I’d really love to hear your what you can get from looking at my targets.
I guess my question really comes to "Is there anything I can do (oal change?) and/or am I expecting too much from a sub-$500 gun?” (which to be truthful is way more accurate than my pricier Tanfoglio Elite…)
A few things
- if you look at the bullets I’m using, the top of the cone is kind of convex, which may make teeny-weeny oal adjustments off a little (?)… maybe I should set up my loads with premium bullets and then switch to the cheap stuff?
- I do ‘plonk’ tests with the barrel and try to go with the longest oal where the round doesn’t need any coaxing to fall out when I upend it. That happens right around 1.124.
- my ultimate goal is to be able to shoot a little faster (well, a lot faster but I’ll settle for a little) so pinpoint accuracy isn’t really that important. But still...
So, attached are my black/white sight-in targets. The 4.6 has what I thought was a flyer ("operator error" and I go way back…), but now I’m wondering if that was the actual ‘circle’ and I just got lucky in the corner.
The color is the sight-in attempt, and the groups seem pretty inconsistent to me.
So, the upshot is; given this data - what would your next move be?
Thanks - much appreciated!
f
So, just to lay out the variables…
I’m working on a 9mm load with HP-38 (I have six pounds…) and 125gr moly-coated conical nose bullets from Summit City (cheap). I did a ladder test and found that 4.6 grains seemed to give me the tightest group at 25yds. I loaded up a batch with an OAL of 1.120 and did a sight-in (Canik TP9SFX with a Vortex red dot on sandbags) but was disappointed with the result.
I’ve been reloading for over 10 years and have never really gotten “The One” for 9mm. I originally got the HP-38 for .45 and while I’d like to switch, I’m kinda broke right now… And, since I’m stuck with the same powder/bullets, I’m not really sure what help you can give. But I’d really love to hear your what you can get from looking at my targets.
I guess my question really comes to "Is there anything I can do (oal change?) and/or am I expecting too much from a sub-$500 gun?” (which to be truthful is way more accurate than my pricier Tanfoglio Elite…)
A few things
- if you look at the bullets I’m using, the top of the cone is kind of convex, which may make teeny-weeny oal adjustments off a little (?)… maybe I should set up my loads with premium bullets and then switch to the cheap stuff?
- I do ‘plonk’ tests with the barrel and try to go with the longest oal where the round doesn’t need any coaxing to fall out when I upend it. That happens right around 1.124.
- my ultimate goal is to be able to shoot a little faster (well, a lot faster but I’ll settle for a little) so pinpoint accuracy isn’t really that important. But still...
So, attached are my black/white sight-in targets. The 4.6 has what I thought was a flyer ("operator error" and I go way back…), but now I’m wondering if that was the actual ‘circle’ and I just got lucky in the corner.
The color is the sight-in attempt, and the groups seem pretty inconsistent to me.
So, the upshot is; given this data - what would your next move be?
Thanks - much appreciated!
f