Need an education on 9mm reloading

[Dumpstick]

I've been loading 9mm since the late 1980s. I've progressed from FMJ to plated to lead to coated lead, and back to home-cast lead. 9mm is a cartridge that is a bit more tricky to shoot lead than some other cartridges. I will suggest either 124-125 grain bullets (which is what the 9mm was originally spec'd for) or 147gr. I've never been a fan of the light-for-caliber 115gr things.

The biggest trick with shooting lead is to find a bullet soft enough, and big enough. Many companies sell 9mm bullets that are too small (.356"), and too hard (15-18BnH). That combination pretty much guarantees leading.

Try these:
https://missouribullet.com/details.php?prodId=234&category=5&secondary=9

You'll notice right off they are for .38Spl. That gets the diameter you will probably need (.358). I shoot .358" in 7 different 9mm pistols, from surplus military to a new SCCY. I have never had any problems, once OAL has been adjusted.
Next thing you will notice, is 12BhN. That's fairly soft. That's soft enough to obdurate, bump up, to fill the grooves of the barrel.

I shoot a Lee 358-125RN cast from mixed Clipon Wheelweights and soft lead. That figures to about 10 BhN, softer than most.
https://www.titanreloading.com/lee-...ec-38-sw-38colt-np/lee-6-cav-mold-358-125-rf-

Easier to load, especially for beginners, would probably be a plated bullet. Berrys Bullets makes a good one -
https://www.berrysmfg.com/category/preferred-plated-bullets/plated-pistol/9mm
Plated bullets are very soft lead that obdurate easily, but the copper plating prevents leading. One needs to be careful with the taper crimp to not break through the copper.

Or perhaps an FMJ that won't break the bank, from Rocky Mountain Reloading (RMR)
https://www.rmrbullets.com/product-category/bullets/pistol/9mm-355/

The plated or FMJ will take the leading problem off the table, and get you going with minimal trouble. I've shot them all, with good results.

 

[chazroh]

Shadowrider, is pretty much on it, precision bullets have been really good for me, shot a bunch of them with bullseye powder and had no issues. Taper crimp is where it’s at for pistol. Don’t go crazy with the crimp, I do just enough to get the neck flare straightened out. As with any loading, start on the lower end of things and work up, all guns like different loads/bullets

 

[Mad Professor]

On the dies. I have not used a lee progressive press.
Look carefully to determine where the case expansion occurs with the pistol configuration. You also want to see what stages you have available and what the limits are at those stages.

Decap and Size
Case expander
Seat Die
Crimp Die

Typical 3 die sets combine the seat and crimp die.

Typical 4 die sets sets have all of the above.

Dillon 3 Die sets and Redding Competition Pro 3 die sets are not typical. They are typical 4 die set without an expansion die. Dillon 550/650/750s use a flow through expansion drop tube on the powder measure. Dillon 1050/1100s use a combination expansion “die”/swage backer and expand at the swaging station. You will need to buy an expander die for these sets if used in some presses. The Lyman M die is a very good choice to add.

I recommend keeping the seat and crimp in two different stages if you press supports it. You can adjust a combo seat crimp die to run as one or the other, just add another die. A jacketed bullet is more forgiving if using a combo die. I see a lot of mistakes with a combo die scraping the coating off of coated bullets and breaking the plating on played bullets. Separate these steps if you can. It is so much easier to setup even if you are running jacketed bullets. Yes, even jacketed bullets can be screwed up.

The Lee Factory crimp die is basically a sizing for with a taper crimp built in. It has a carbide ring at base of it and will “fix” damage to the cartridge that occurs during the loading process, like expansion and bullet seating. They are great, but care still needs to be used to prevent damaging some bullet types.


Hands down best 9mm die set I have used is the Redding Competition Pro Series part number 58172. It is pricy, however.

Most of my 650 pistol heads are set up with:
a) Dillon decap
b) Redding Competition Micrometer Seating Die
c) Lee Factory Crimp Crimp Die.



Just make sure you understand your press, what the stages “need”, and what the dies need to do in those stages.

 

[HiredHand]

Another advantage to lead, coated lead, or plated lead bullets is the reduced risk of jacket metal coming back at you if you’re shooting steel targets.

 

[Glock 40]

Yeah its pretty crazy what you see and hear about reloading. Oh its like black magic, you will blow your gun up, you will kill yourself, burn down your house. All the hysteria around it.

I took a buddy to shoot a month or so back. I had 500+ lead coated and 500+ fmj loaded. He was short on 9mm so I offered him some boxed ammo I had and said he was welcome to use my reloads but wouldn't hurt my feelings if he didn't. He looked at them shot a couple of my guns with them. Then was running them in his guns with no worries. He actually talked about only reloads he had ever seen looked like crap. Were probably berrys bullets that were installed poorly with coating cut and all over the casing. Reloading done right should look as good or better than factory imo. I have made a habit of grabbing duds when picking up brass just to see the some of the poor work people and factories have put out.

 

[thor447]

Wow, fantastic info everyone, thank you. I think I've got my initial setup figured out. Luckily, I'm not coming into this totally green, as I've been reloading rifle cartridges for several months now. I understand the basics of pistol reloading, but having not physically done it yet, the task is still somewhat daunting. I greatly appreciate all of the info explaining the different type bullets and dies. I've got my order placed with Midway for the dies and a few other accessories (powder drop, powder riser, etc.). I will be going with a 4 die setup - full length size/decap, powder through/expander, seating die, and taper crimp. After reading your suggestions, and seeing some really good info online, I'm pretty excited to get started. I've also got some primers on the way, along with a pound of CFE and Smart Pistol to try out. I'm on the hunt for some bullets now. Precision Bullets emailed me back this morning and said they are 4-6 weeks out on orders right now, and are doing a production run this week of their 125gr RN 9mm. I'm also looking at Xtreme's 124gr and 147gr options. They show to have a ton of items in stock, but I've been reading about LONG shipping wait times even for in stock items. I spent $5 yesterday on their reloading manual, which they said would be immediately sent via email after purchase. I purchased it, and the only email I got was my order confirmation, but no attachment, nor was there a link to download the manual. I'm at 24 hours now and still haven't received the reloading data that I've been charged for. I sent an email to their customer service dept. and hope to hear back soon. Thus far, I'm not impressed. I also like what I see with Berry's, but they're just out of everything right now!

We'll see what happens, but I'd like to say thanks to everyone who gave advise on here. The same thing happened when I began reloading rifle cartridges. OSA was extremely helpful.

 

[Shadowrider]

As Mad Professor said the Redding dies are definitely top tier. The also have the regular Pro Series which is basically the same set he describes without the micrometer seating die. The are a fair bit cheaper or used to be.

That micrometer seating die is really nice if you change bullet styles a lot. You can record your setting for each bullet OAL and dial right to it when changing over. I just bought the regular Pro Series and have a dummy made up to get close.

They also have a micrometer adjustable taper crimp die. Now that's one I wish I had!

 

[retrieverman]

I’ve been loading for my rifles for many years but just started loading for handguns about this time last year, and so far, I’ve only loaded 45acp. I’ve got everything I need for 9mm but just haven’t switched everything over to do it. This discussion is just what I needed! Thanks!!!

 

[swampratt]

Like Shadowrider stated in the above I keep a loaded round for setting up my dies or getting them really close.

 

[thor447]

Quick question, what's the consensus on decapping before cleaning? With my long range rifle rounds, I always decap as my first step, then tumble, case prep, etc. I do this for many reasons, mainly to have an opportunity to clean the primer pockets and to ensure that my sizing die never sees any dirty brass. On run of the mill range ammo, I've been seeing a lot of people online say they really don't decap before they clean the rounds. They only remove the spent primer during the FL sizing die while reloading. What's everyone's thoughts on this?