Hey guys,
While on my new journey loading pistol rounds, I've come into something I'd like an opinion on from OSA before I move forward. I've got two different brands of bullets as part of my first foray into loading 9mm. I loaded up 50 rounds last night of Xtreme - 124gr - RN Copper plated bullets - .355 dia. Everything went really well. I found some load data and OAL data that I began with. I did the plunk test and everything was groovy with those rounds.
Tonight, I decided I'd give the NB Reloading bullets a shot. These are powdercoated lead RN 124g bullets - .356 dia. The profile of these RN's is a little wider than the Xtreme rounds, and the ogive is closer to the tip of the NB's than it is on the Xtreme's. I loaded the Xtremes to an OAL of 1.125", which was in line with the manual's data and passed the plunk & twist tests with flying colors on my glocks and CZ's. While loading a dummy round tonight of the NB, I was hitting the lands until I reached a OAL of 1.085". This is a pretty big jump (I feel), and it seriously makes me unsettled just giving it the eye test. Obviously, the deeper the bullet is seated, the smaller the interior space is inside the brass, and the same powder load will generate greater pressures with less interior space. My question is, what is a good rule of thumb when determining safe OAL's and power charges when trying out a new round? How do you know how much to lower a powder charge when seating a bullet deeper. How deep is too deep in a 9mm (or any pistol round for that matter)?
Any help you can provide would be appreciated.
FYI - I thought about adding some extra taper crimp, but right now, I've only got it set to remove the flare. I obviously don't want to add so much that it begins to deform the bullet.
Thanks.
While on my new journey loading pistol rounds, I've come into something I'd like an opinion on from OSA before I move forward. I've got two different brands of bullets as part of my first foray into loading 9mm. I loaded up 50 rounds last night of Xtreme - 124gr - RN Copper plated bullets - .355 dia. Everything went really well. I found some load data and OAL data that I began with. I did the plunk test and everything was groovy with those rounds.
Tonight, I decided I'd give the NB Reloading bullets a shot. These are powdercoated lead RN 124g bullets - .356 dia. The profile of these RN's is a little wider than the Xtreme rounds, and the ogive is closer to the tip of the NB's than it is on the Xtreme's. I loaded the Xtremes to an OAL of 1.125", which was in line with the manual's data and passed the plunk & twist tests with flying colors on my glocks and CZ's. While loading a dummy round tonight of the NB, I was hitting the lands until I reached a OAL of 1.085". This is a pretty big jump (I feel), and it seriously makes me unsettled just giving it the eye test. Obviously, the deeper the bullet is seated, the smaller the interior space is inside the brass, and the same powder load will generate greater pressures with less interior space. My question is, what is a good rule of thumb when determining safe OAL's and power charges when trying out a new round? How do you know how much to lower a powder charge when seating a bullet deeper. How deep is too deep in a 9mm (or any pistol round for that matter)?
Any help you can provide would be appreciated.
FYI - I thought about adding some extra taper crimp, but right now, I've only got it set to remove the flare. I obviously don't want to add so much that it begins to deform the bullet.
Thanks.
