Crazy Horse
Member
Good morning,
Went to the Alliant reloading site for a recipe on 9mm 125gr LRN using sport pistol. The site states min OAL for their tested load is 1.12. The max charge is 4.2 grains (I reduced that by 10%-3.8 grains as a starting load).
Has anyone used an OAL of 1.090 or lower?
I have noticed that the ogive for cast bullets is wider than comparable plated and jacketed bullet load data. Because of the wider ogive on cast bullets (ACME and to an even greater extent Brazos Precision), using an OAL of 1.090 ensures my reloads pass the plunk test. At 1.10-1.17 the bullet sits right on the barrel. This means that it should work. However, I'm my experience, using OAL's greater than 1.090 (on my m&P Compact and taurus G3) will result in the bullet getting in the chamber fine, but sometimes, when I have to clear the firearm (ie completed a stage in a match), I cannot clear the chamber when directed by the safety officer (bullets gets stuck in the chamber and I have to push on the slide against something firm). I have already polished the chamber where the bullets sits, and it works well with reloads at 1.090, but gets iffy when I use OAL's (with cast bullets only) greater than 1.090.
When Using jacketed and plated bullets, I've gone up to 1.130 with no issues whatsoever. It's just cast and coated bullets that cause this issue (greater ogive).
Lastly, I know that SAAMI states that 1.000 is the minimum safe OAL for the 9mm, but thought it best ask if anyone has gone below what Alliant has published on their site.
TIA
CH
Went to the Alliant reloading site for a recipe on 9mm 125gr LRN using sport pistol. The site states min OAL for their tested load is 1.12. The max charge is 4.2 grains (I reduced that by 10%-3.8 grains as a starting load).
Has anyone used an OAL of 1.090 or lower?
I have noticed that the ogive for cast bullets is wider than comparable plated and jacketed bullet load data. Because of the wider ogive on cast bullets (ACME and to an even greater extent Brazos Precision), using an OAL of 1.090 ensures my reloads pass the plunk test. At 1.10-1.17 the bullet sits right on the barrel. This means that it should work. However, I'm my experience, using OAL's greater than 1.090 (on my m&P Compact and taurus G3) will result in the bullet getting in the chamber fine, but sometimes, when I have to clear the firearm (ie completed a stage in a match), I cannot clear the chamber when directed by the safety officer (bullets gets stuck in the chamber and I have to push on the slide against something firm). I have already polished the chamber where the bullets sits, and it works well with reloads at 1.090, but gets iffy when I use OAL's (with cast bullets only) greater than 1.090.
When Using jacketed and plated bullets, I've gone up to 1.130 with no issues whatsoever. It's just cast and coated bullets that cause this issue (greater ogive).
Lastly, I know that SAAMI states that 1.000 is the minimum safe OAL for the 9mm, but thought it best ask if anyone has gone below what Alliant has published on their site.
TIA
CH