Reloading 9mm: Question about projectile weight

[Buzzdraw]

There are many powders suitable for 9mm Luger. 231/HP38 will do if that's what you already have. Over years I've used Bullseye, Unique, 700X, Red Dot, Accurate #2, Alliant American Select, Clean Shot and others, some now discontinued.

 

[Dumpstick]

The first 50 rounds I made had a significant number of rounds that failed the plunk test. I had to adjust the crimp die and and run them through a second time to get them to successfully drop in and out of the test barrel. D

I would think it easier to sort by headstamp than to run them through the press twice.

But, you do as you see fit.

 

[Rustygun]

This was range pickup and I saw FC, IMI, Win, Aguila, and a couple others. It wouldn’t have been worth it sort by headstamp. I could tell a difference when priming, sizing and belling the cases between the manufactures. It was less work to ballpark the die adjustments and make functional ammunition, than process cases by manufacturer and adjust dies for each on.

The first 50 rounds I made had a significant number of rounds that failed the plunk test. I had to adjust the crimp die and and run them through a second time to get them to successfully drop in and out of the test barrel. Didn’t take much, but all the rounds passed after that.

Once again I agree with your decision. I never sort by head stamp, never have sorted pistol range brass at all. In my opinion there is no need for this unless you just need to kill time.
I Load 9mm on a Dillon 650 and make 400-500 rounds in a loading session which is usually about an hour. if there are any cases that “resist“ the process, they go in the trash. I have several five gallon pails full of 9mm brass so tossing a couple out of every thousand is not an issue. the only exception to this is the IMI cases which have an internal step or shoulder about half way between the bottom and the mouth of the case. If I see any of those I just toss them. I have not seen any of these since I moved back to Tulsa from the Houston area.

in my opinion anything done off the press like brass sorting or de-prime or prime is defeating the entire purpose of a progressive press. The progressive presses are designed to do it all in one stroke of the handle. If you want to spend hours doing things that have little or no impact on the final product that’s up to you.
after all a wise man once said “time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time”

 

[JoeUSooner]

My three granddaughters and I load well-over a thousand rounds of 9mm per month, using a 'Lee 1000' turret press.

We clean/polish brass with a dry tumbler, and visually inspect every case (tossing the bad ones, of course). My grands use the automated priming tool, but I prefer to hand-prime brass... which allows me a bit more control over depth of seating. Just a personal quirk, there.

As exclusively as possible, we use Hodgdon's TightGroup powder. Although it leaves a dark residue, we find it to meter exceptionally well in this Lee press and it burns very consistently, producing reliable and accurate ammo for us. We seat the (115grain only) bullets to the recommended OAL on the Hodgdon website, and the crimp is minimal... and we have five individual quality-control steps (visual and metric) in the overall process.

We have reloaded more than 80,000 rounds since late 2016, and we have even used our reloads in competitive matches with no problems.

 

[HiredHand]

I would think it easier to sort by headstamp than to run them through the press twice.

But, you do as you see fit.

It was just a slight tweak of the seating/crimp die to allow those particular rounds to pass the plunk test. That re-adjustment made enough difference that I only had a few rounds not pass the test out of several hundred more that I loaded.

Even brass with the same head stamp can vary in length. I’ve thoughtfully collected once fired brass and had enough variation that it’s made a difference when crimping/removing the bell from the case mouth.

 

[R D Harmon]

For 9MM handloads using 124gr and 115gr cast, I use Unique. I have also loaded up 150 gr hollopoint .357 cast using unique. the hollowpoint dont really expand due to me casting the hollowpoints in strait linotype. I have since decided to melt the lino bullets down and mixing with a pure lead mix. Book COL for all and using a LFC die.
Some say Unique is too dirty, but that never bothered me. Clean up is easy enough.
I have decided Next time I cast, I am gonna use strait pure soft lead and paint coat them to see how they work in .357 and .45. I will post results later. Seems like I always pick the hottest time of year to cast. I know,,, sounds crazy.

 

[HiredHand]

I reloaded some 380 ACP with Unique. I remember it was a little more finicky to throw consistent charges.

 

[Dumpstick]

For 9MM handloads using 124gr and 115gr cast, I use Unique. I have also loaded up 150 gr hollopoint .357 cast using unique. the hollowpoint dont really expand due to me casting the hollowpoints in strait linotype. I have since decided to melt the lino bullets down and mixing with a pure lead mix. Book COL for all and using a LFC die.
Some say Unique is too dirty, but that never bothered me. Clean up is easy enough.
I have decided Next time I cast, I am gonna use strait pure soft lead and paint coat them to see how they work in .357 and .45. I will post results later. Seems like I always pick the hottest time of year to cast. I know,,, sounds crazy.

Try mixing that linotype 25% with pure lead. 3 parts lead, 1 part linotype.

Cast that up, use it for everything.