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I cast some powder coated 9mm 135 grain hallow point flat base bullets. What should my starting and max load for titegroup be? Is there an optimum AOL for 9mm?
I looked on hogodons website and they dont list 135 grain bullets. They also dont list cast bullets. So what do I do?
I will be shooting in a Walther P99.
http://i67.tinypic.com/bi9uhh.jpg
Lyman's 4th Edition cast bullet handbook lists a 140 grain bullet with Titegroup in a range from 3.3 to 3.6 grains. OAL shown at
1.160". That should be safe for your 135s. My Titegroup is still unopened while I try to shoot up some older stuff, so I have no direct experience here.
load a dummy round and make sure the oal is right for your gun, also slug your barrel and make sure the boolit fits your gun.
Use the longest OAL that will work in your magazine and gun. I'd guess that a hollow point 135 will take up about as much space in a 9mm case as a regular 147 grain bullet would. I'd start with 147 grain data and see how it works. Worse case scenario is that a light load won't cycle.
The Lyman #48 manual I downloaded has a 147 grain cast bullet using 2.5 to 2.8 grains. The same manual shows a starting load of 3.3 and a max of 3.7 for a 120 grain bullet. I'd definitely start somewhere under 3.0 grains for that bullet.
way under and make 100% sure that your boolits will not set back.
titegroup does not like tight spaces.
it will go super weird instantly in small amounts in small areas.
Now I getting mixed reviews. Scary stuff. I guess I will start with 2.6 and work my way up by .1.Quote:
Originally Posted by reddog81
Others are telling me start at 3.3 and work up.
I don't powder coat but coat with Hi-Tek. My starting load with a 147gr is 3.0 Titegroup. I can make 2.9 work but it is close to the edge. I don't think 2.6 is going to work for you, but then I'm shooting mine out of Glocks. Titegroup is the only powder I use for 9mm and I have shot thousands in practice and GSSF.
In theory the max load for a 147 shouldn't be a problem for you're bullets. If it was me I'd make up a couple at 2.7 +or- .1 and a couple at 2.9 +or- .1 and see what works the best. Alll the loads with titegroup have fairly narrow window for start and max charges.
If a load doesn't cycle your gun it's not really a big deal - rack the slide and chamber a new round. You can always go up in powder charges. If you start high and damage your gun you can't easily reverse the damage.
I shot 3.5 of Titegroup with a 135 gr. RN from my Magma mold in my S&W Shield and the load handled well but accuracy wasn't all that great but I don't get as much trigger time as I used to.
Your ogive and meplat make me guess that your plunk length will be between 1.04 and 1.08" depending on throat and bullet size. The lee 125-rf has to seat that deep and weighs 130 for me. I loaded lots of 3.8 grains at 1.06" OAL. 3.5 grains at that OAL would not reliably cycle the action in 3 M&Ps I was loading for.
I loaded a few at 4 and 4.2 but decided to be economical because try as it might, max loads of Titegroup were only about as powerful as middle loads of Power Pistol, and I'm more comfortable pushing Power Pistol in the 9mm case for multiple reasons. Basically, even major PF loads are unheard of to Kaboom a gun and I never go that far.
3.8 is max for a (deep seated) 147 grain jacketed bullet in my data.
1 - try using all the same brand cases
2 - size bullets @.357 dia even if bore slugs @ .355 dia
3 - give power pistol powder a try , I have never gotten my best accuracy with cast bullets in the 9mm or 38 super with fast powders they like the med burn rate powders for best accuracy.
If that small of a charge ends up concerning you and you are not comitted to that powder yet, consider BE-86. It's not real popular yet. I'm using 5.2gr for 124gr cast and plated. Much fuller case so little chance of double loading for one thing and it's proving to be very accurate for me through a Glock 19. It tends to be available when other powders are not though that's not a problem right now and it was always at the lower end of cost.Quote:
Originally Posted by bobthenailer