springer 1911 9mm load rec

[soldierbilly1]

I picked up my RO this afternoon. Can you guys recommend a light, low recoil load for a 1911 9mm? I have BE & TTGP powders and the Lee 120 gr TC mold. Should I go with a heavier boolit? I had been using Power Pistol 6.3 gr with a j-word plated, but now I realize that i am somewhat recoil sensitive. Soft is good. What works? thanks
Bill boy Reformed boolit boy.

[Joe K]

Lyman cast bullet handbook 4th edition, shows load data for all the powders you have listed with two very similar molds. I use 4 grains of Bullseye with that Lee 356 120 tc boolit. Very consistent and predictable. Not much recoil.

[tazman]

I own 2 Springfield Range Officer 1911 pistols in 9mm. They are heavy enough that shooting full power loads feels like light loads in other guns.
I have tried light loads in them but they both prefer full power loads for accuracy. They will function with almost anything.
When I shoot light loads in them, my groups open up about 50%.

[Lloyd Smale]

my 1911 sti Trojan just loved the 115 and 120 rcbs round noses cast out of #2 with 3 grains of bullseye using an 8lb spring if my memory is correct. One inch 25 yard groups all day long and won me quite a few trophy's shooting ppc

[6bg6ga]

I own 2 Springfield Range Officer 1911 pistols in 9mm. They are heavy enough that shooting full power loads feels like light loads in other guns.
I have tried light loads in them but they both prefer full power loads for accuracy. They will function with almost anything.
When I shoot light loads in them, my groups open up about 50%.

I may be a factor of your trigger pull and the correct lighter load for your particular 9mm springfield. One thing I have learned is no two guns will shoot the same with the same load.

[Panman213]

Ive had decent luck with 3.8gr Bullseye in my officer 1911 shooting the Lee 120 TC, but the best groups by far were with 4.0gr HP38 or W231. Very light recoil, emptys drop right beside you.

[tazman]

I may be a factor of your trigger pull and the correct lighter load for your particular 9mm springfield. One thing I have learned is no two guns will shoot the same with the same load.

The triggers on both guns measure 3.5lb. I have tried a number of different light loads and none of them seem to work well for me. With near full power loads they both shoot very well.
My Taurus pt92 9mm pistols shoot any load reasonably well but not as well as the Sprinfields do.

[6bg6ga]

The triggers on both guns measure 3.5lb. I have tried a number of different light loads and none of them seem to work well for me. With near full power loads they both shoot very well.
My Taurus pt92 9mm pistols shoot any load reasonably well but not as well as the Sprinfields do.

What are you sizing them too? How much crimp?

[tazman]

Sizing to .357. Barrel slugs at .356.
Enough crimp to hold the boolit in place during chambering.

[6bg6ga]

Can you go .0005 or .001 more to try a few? Can you share where you are at load wise? What powder and load? Are you at a medium load, between medium and maximum, or almost max? It wight be interesting to plot what your getting accuracy wise and then vary the load by .1-.2 grain and see what happens.

[tazman]

The current loads are Bullseye 4.2, CFE Pistol 5.0, and Titegroup 4.0 using either Lyman 356402 120 tc or Lee 356-125-2R cast from range scrap and water dropped. Hardness is enough that I cannot scratch them with my fingernail. They are either tumble lubed or run through a Lyman lubesizer with White Label 50-50. These are near max loads and work fine.
Very nearly as accurate as jacketed or new. Group size is less than .25 inches difference on average. Great for practice.
The light loads I tried were Bullseye 3.7, CFE pistol 4.2, and Titegroup 3.5, The resulting groups were about 50% larger than the full power loads. I get no leading with any of them, light or max.
I am not very worried about getting a light load for it. The Range Officers are heavy enough that full power loads feel about like a light load does in my PT92. About like a 38 special target wadcutter in a K frame with a 6 inch barrel.
I currently shoot these pistols as well as I do my target revolvers. I am very happy with the results I am getting with them.
I haven't chronographed them yet. I am waiting for warmer weather for that.
I am not set up to change the diameter of the boolits, sorry. I have a .358 diameter sizing die but the boolits don't drop that large.

[6bg6ga]

The current loads are Bullseye 4.2, CFE Pistol 5.0, and Titegroup 4.0 using either Lyman 356402 120 tc or Lee 356-125-2R cast from range scrap and water dropped. Hardness is enough that I cannot scratch them with my fingernail. They are either tumble lubed or run through a Lyman lubesizer with White Label 50-50. These are near max loads and work fine.
Very nearly as accurate as jacketed or new. Group size is less than .25 inches difference on average. Great for practice.
The light loads I tried were Bullseye 3.7, CFE pistol 4.2, and Titegroup 3.5, The resulting groups were about 50% larger than the full power loads. I get no leading with any of them, light or max.
I am not very worried about getting a light load for it. The Range Officers are heavy enough that full power loads feel about like a light load does in my PT92. About like a 38 special target wadcutter in a K frame with a 6 inch barrel.
I currently shoot these pistols as well as I do my target revolvers. I am very happy with the results I am getting with them.
I haven't chronographed them yet. I am waiting for warmer weather for that.
I am not set up to change the diameter of the boolits, sorry. I have a .358 diameter sizing die but the boolits don't drop that large.

Do you happen to know the FPS on any of these loads?

[6bg6ga]

No chronograph data yet. Maybe when things warm up we could meet someplace to shoot. Sometimes when I have a question about the accuracy of a particular gun I simply have someone else try it. I'm in the same boat that you are with my new 45acp Range Officer 1911. It seems to favor the max loads 230gr rn max load or 200gr swc max load.

I have an assortment of different loads and loads with slighly different OAL's. I think we could pin point the problem and arrive at a accurate medium and light load possibly. I'm willing to try if you have the time. My schedule will open up in May:bigsmyl2: when I retire.

[tazman]

No chronograph data yet. Maybe when things warm up we could meet someplace to shoot. Sometimes when I have a question about the accuracy of a particular gun I simply have someone else try it. I'm in the same boat that you are with my new 45acp Range Officer 1911. It seems to favor the max loads 230gr rn max load or 200gr swc max load.

I have an assortment of different loads and loads with slighly different OAL's. I think we could pin point the problem and arrive at a accurate medium and light load possibly. I'm willing to try if you have the time. My schedule will open up in May:bigsmyl2: when I retire.

I will try to remember that and contact you. I have had others that I know are excellent shots shoot my pistols and they consistently shoot my guns better than I do.
I am not certain what that means for the difference in group size I experience when shooting different loads though.

[soldierbilly1]

Taz:
just curious. I started going down the light load thing as one of the more knowledgeable 1911 guys in the club said that the gun was really bouncy (sp?) with the mid range and high loads. (FWIW, Springfld says the recoil spring is a 9 lb'r.) After shooting several of my loads, my friend suggested the RO was really running well with the light loads.
BTW, Springer said that they found the 147 gr's to be the most accurate for the RO. (OK, now I am totally confused.) Any bounce with your higher loads?
I would like to hear your thoughts on this.
bill boy

[tazman]

Taz:
just curious. I started going down the light load thing as one of the more knowledgeable 1911 guys in the club said that the gun was really bouncy (sp?) with the mid range and high loads. (FWIW, Springfld says the recoil spring is a 9 lb'r.) After shooting several of my loads, my friend suggested the RO was really running well with the light loads.
BTW, Springer said that they found the 147 gr's to be the most accurate for the RO. (OK, now I am totally confused.) Any bounce with your higher loads?
I would like to hear your thoughts on this.
bill boy

I would need to ask, "bouncy as compared to what?" My 38 special K frame Smith bounces more with full power loads than the 1911 with full power 9mm loads. I don't consider the recoil from full power 9mm loads in my Range Officer to be the least bit bothersome and I am recoil sensitive.
It may be that something in the way I am operating the pistol doesn't work well with light loads but works fine with full power loads.
I have fired some 135 and 147 grain loads in mine but didn't see an appreciable difference in accuracy.
My Springfield 1911 45ACP on the other hand loves light loads. 200 grain boolits running at about 750-800fps shoot great.

[fredj338]

I shot a Springer 1911/9 all last year in competition. It doesn't get much better than 147gr @ 875fps IMO. Nice slide speed, soft linear recoil, very fast gun to shoot. I use coated lead but plated or jacketed work too. I shoot mostly WST but RedDot & RS Comp also do well. I do not shoot TG. I also bumped UP to a 10# recoil spring. The slide seemed slow w/ the 9#.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/th_IMG_0702_zpslx0kmwrf.mp4 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/IMG_0702_zpslx0kmwrf.mp4)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsg327xxyp.jpeg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/fredj338/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsg327xxyp.jpeg.html)
Shoots plenty accurate too, this was 25y offhand.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/2e4174d3-21d4-4cd5-b352-07c3949e86c3_zpsbm8gwrwp.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/fredj338/media/2e4174d3-21d4-4cd5-b352-07c3949e86c3_zpsbm8gwrwp.jpg.html)

[gwpercle]

I picked up my RO this afternoon. Can you guys recommend a light, low recoil load for a 1911 9mm? I have BE & TTGP powders and the Lee 120 gr TC mold. Should I go with a heavier boolit? I had been using Power Pistol 6.3 gr with a j-word plated, but now I realize that i am somewhat recoil sensitive. Soft is good. What works? thanks
Bill boy Reformed boolit boy.
The Lee 120 gr TC is just fine, I like it. I've good results with from 3.5 grs. to 4.2 grs. Bullseye , depending on the gun . Start low, load a few and check feeding, firing and ejection....when you get 100% , you have your min. load...it may not be the most accurate , but work on accuracy next.
Gary

[Bullet Caster]

I use 4 grain of Bulls Eye with a 124 grain tumble lube Lee mold.

Rusty in eastern Tennessee

[AR15-SBR]

https://s19.postimg.org/t85ywztzn/20171213_134149_002.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/3pdmjzafj/)I load 3.8gr. of W231 behind a Powder Coated Lee 124 TL boolit. The best way to describe the recoil is the pistol feels like it is a car driving ove a speed bump.:razz:

10 rounds at 10 yards off hand.

[jcren]

I don't load for 9mm or a Springfield, so this is only worth what you paid for it, however I do load for several 380's from TCP to full sized and my wife is very recoil sensitive. I have found that the slower powders have much mellower and manageable recoil pulses than the old pistol standbys. Hs-6, autocomp and currently cfe pistol make that tiny tcp feel like a much heavier pistol. Even the 90 grain jhp's stepping out at 975 (chrono'd in the tcp) doesn't make the wife flinch.

[mps]

Tazman:

QUOTE: "I own 2 Springfield Range Officer 1911 pistols in 9mm. They are heavy enough that shooting full power loads feels like light loads in other guns. The current loads are Bullseye 4.2, CFE Pistol 5.0, and Titegroup 4.0 using Lee 356-125-2R."

What COL are you using for the Lee 356-125-2R in your Springfield Range Officers?

Thanks for your help.

[tazman]

I am using a OAL of 1.150 for the Lee 356-125-2R. It runs in everything I own and fits into the magazines easily.