LiveLife
Member
I used the search function and browsed through the threads and the "pet load" suggestions were mostly caliber specific and not pistol specific, often without all the reloading details like OAL used for a particular bullet nose profile. I have found shooting "older pet/target loads" would not reliably cycle the slide of Glock 27 with stiffer recoil springs and many XD owners reported having to shorten the OAL to properly feed in their pistols. Also, many of us have aftermarket barrels in our Glocks and M&P and the pet loads specific to these changes would benefit other shooter/reloaders thinking of doing the same.
Whether you endorse or not, many reloaders DO use Handloads.com to reference an unfamiliar powder/bullet combo or to look for accurate "pet loads" faster than conducting a full load development work up. Also, when max or over-max load data is mentioned (like using max data with shorter OAL) as some powder manufacturer's website now only list max load data (like Alliant), THR members are quick to point it out.
Why not share our "favorite accurate and SAFE" loads with those new to reloading? This way, we'll get them started on the right foot and also provide THR guidance? So I wondered. In the spirit of THR, why not have a "sticky" thread for THR "SAFE" pet loads that is specific to particular pistols? Of course, the usual disclaimers/safety warning would apply.
I can volunteer (and others can do also) and compile the ongoing pistol specific pet loads into a table like Handload.com uses and convert it into a pdf for easy download and viewing/printing.
So, here is the format example I think we can start with (I am sure it will evolve over time) to include: Pistol model and barrel length, Caliber, Bullet make/weight/type/nose profile, OAL, Powder/charge, Primer, Notes/Comments (velocity, felt recoil specific to the pistol, average/best shot group in inches/yards, feed/chambering/ejection/slide cycling, where ejected cases land and other comments like how clean burning the load is).
--------------------------------------
Pistol: M&P45 - 4.5" barrel
Caliber: 45 ACP
Bullet: Missouri Bullets 230 gr 18 BHN lead RN
OAL: 1.25" - 1.27"
Powder: W231/HP38 5.0 gr (4.9 actual from Pro Auto Disk)
Primer: Winchester LP
Notes: Mild recoil, accurate target load with average 1.0"-1.5" groups at 7-10 yards (best 1.0" at 20 yards so far). Spent cases land behind and to the right. Clean burning. Even more accurate in 3"-5" Kimber 1911 (Sub 1.0" average groups at 7-10 yards).
Here's a current PDF version of the Pistol Specific Pet Loads.
Whether you endorse or not, many reloaders DO use Handloads.com to reference an unfamiliar powder/bullet combo or to look for accurate "pet loads" faster than conducting a full load development work up. Also, when max or over-max load data is mentioned (like using max data with shorter OAL) as some powder manufacturer's website now only list max load data (like Alliant), THR members are quick to point it out.
Why not share our "favorite accurate and SAFE" loads with those new to reloading? This way, we'll get them started on the right foot and also provide THR guidance? So I wondered. In the spirit of THR, why not have a "sticky" thread for THR "SAFE" pet loads that is specific to particular pistols? Of course, the usual disclaimers/safety warning would apply.
I can volunteer (and others can do also) and compile the ongoing pistol specific pet loads into a table like Handload.com uses and convert it into a pdf for easy download and viewing/printing.
So, here is the format example I think we can start with (I am sure it will evolve over time) to include: Pistol model and barrel length, Caliber, Bullet make/weight/type/nose profile, OAL, Powder/charge, Primer, Notes/Comments (velocity, felt recoil specific to the pistol, average/best shot group in inches/yards, feed/chambering/ejection/slide cycling, where ejected cases land and other comments like how clean burning the load is).
--------------------------------------
Pistol: M&P45 - 4.5" barrel
Caliber: 45 ACP
Bullet: Missouri Bullets 230 gr 18 BHN lead RN
OAL: 1.25" - 1.27"
Powder: W231/HP38 5.0 gr (4.9 actual from Pro Auto Disk)
Primer: Winchester LP
Notes: Mild recoil, accurate target load with average 1.0"-1.5" groups at 7-10 yards (best 1.0" at 20 yards so far). Spent cases land behind and to the right. Clean burning. Even more accurate in 3"-5" Kimber 1911 (Sub 1.0" average groups at 7-10 yards).
Here's a current PDF version of the Pistol Specific Pet Loads.
Last edited: