First time pistol reloading

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

kwaynem

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Jan 29, 2017
Messages
3,965
Reaction score
6,411
Location
Pawhuska
B5170743-B5A3-427A-A567-EF09E69A28B5.jpeg
I loaded 3 different loads for my G23 the first was 5.6 grains and then these 2 today they were all shot off a bag at 10 yards
 
Joined
Oct 15, 2009
Messages
431
Reaction score
294
Location
Central Oklahoma
When I started reloading I was all about hotter is better until I found that
best accuracy is sometime found in less than max, maybe middle range or even
lower charges. Easier to shoot and not as hard on the pistol. Took awhile to
figure that out but that's been my experience. Looks like you're on the right
track so just keep it up.
 

Rez Exelon

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Jan 10, 2009
Messages
4,084
Reaction score
4,514
Location
Tulsa
When I started reloading I was all about hotter is better until I found that
best accuracy is sometime found in less than max, maybe middle range or even
lower charges. Easier to shoot and not as hard on the pistol. Took awhile to
figure that out but that's been my experience. Looks like you're on the right
track so just keep it up.
Not only that but it also gives a lot of headroom in case your powder drop gradually increases. I tend to check mine every so often to verify I'm in a safe working range. My testing protocol is:
1. Review what the book says.
2. Double check what the book says.
3. See if there's anyone posting good experiences with a certain load that resembles my situation (gun/bullet/powder etc)
4. Check if that data matches my book.
5. Run a ladder up and down from there to check accuracy.

Ideally, I'll have a happy accurate load that is going to be at minimum .3 grains from max on pistol. Most I've ever seen my dropper wander is .2 grain so that should cover it. But honestly, the closer to the middle of the load data I get the better. I want accurate, I want enough velocity for the projectile to reach it's best performance (especially on JHP that needs a minimum velocity to open up right) but I also want to get that with the least powder usage and least recoil I can.

The last load I did close to this I started high though for comparison. It was a 180gr federal HST over 6.6-6.8 gr CFE. No issues at all, no pressure signs, also fired from a G23 and a CX4. But in the early testing 6.6 gr was better accuracy than the 6.8. So on the next run I'll actually work downward from there.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom