What To Try Next For 9mm Accuracy

[ArrowJ]

I took sixteen rounds to the range...all I had.

I shot from ~25 feet. My group was about six inches and all over the place. Much of this is me as factory rounds are about three inches, but a tighter pattern. I am shooting for the first time in years. I am not certain, but I think there may have been some key holing, but not every round.

127 gr Lee 356-125 RN
4.5 gr Ramshot Silhouette
1.086 COL

The bullets came out powder coated at .359-.360 and my barrel is .354 so I ran them through a Lee .356 sizer die, but they came out .355

There was no leading and no powder coat residue, but there was a yellow residue in the chamber and barrel that I believe was powder residue that wiped out with a single pass of a dry patch.

After using The Internets I saw try larger bullet, more powder, and reduce crimp.

My plan is to try another grain of powder first as that is the easiest along with checking my crimp which did not seem over done and was not swaging my bullets.

I am also going to try my Aloxed bullets that are closer to .356 unsized. I would have to open up my sizing die to size my powder coated bullets larger than .355.

What are your thoughts?

I cannot try anything until my press gets back from Redding, but I want to have a plan.

[runfiverun]

well you have 2 things you can try right now and they will answer some of your questions.
1 is the larger diameter.
2 is the powder amount.

I'm thinking a combination of the 2 will get you better groups.
I size 358 for my 9m's and it works fine in all 5 of them.

[Schrag4]

I don't know where in the range 4.5 gr lands for that powder but I've seen the high end shoot better than the low end with other powders. It would be easy/inexpensive to try that first.

I'd also point out that I've had recipes that I thought were mediocre in the accuracy department, and then a year later I found that they actually shot pretty well. I chalk that up to some combination of me having a poor shooting day a year earlier, or (more likely) a year's worth of shooting has simply made me a better shot.

You mentioned this is your first time shooting in years. Did you try factory alongside your ammo this time out? Or is your half-group-size from factory ammo just your experience from years ago? If you did shoot both the same day, which did you shoot first? Is it possible you either settled down and started shooting better after you were through your ammo, or that you started to mentally fatigue after shooting the factory ammo? Shooting is so much mental and so little physical that it could be that your mind was distracted while you were shooting your ammo.

[dverna]

Accuracy testing should be done off a rest. I admit that for plinking ammo I shoot groups handheld and if the load shoots into 3" at 15 yards I call it good enough.

Good advice above wrt shooting some factory ammunition. Also agree that a bigger diameter bullet should help. That is the first thing I would do and also pull some bullets to confirm they are not being swaged during seating.

[ArrowJ]

Two people today suggested a rest. Good idea. I did shoot factory ammo about a week or so ago, and some plated reloads. I did better with both, but it certainly could have been me. I will try a hotter load and then a bigger bullet as that will require tweaking of my sizing die or using Alox instead of powder coat. This sounds like a good place to start. Unfortunately I had to send my press back to Redding for repairs so it all has to wait, but I will start there when it gets back. Thanks!

[runfiverun]

1 press?
are you new

[ArrowJ]

Just started. Now I realize I certainly need at least two

[dverna]

Ok. I need to ask. How do you break a press?

[DerekP Houston]

Ok. I need to ask. How do you break a press?

Won't lie I'm a bit curious too .

[ArrowJ]

When I first got the press the handle would not stay tight. Chris (from Redding) suggested a lock washer. Not ideal, but it did the trick.

After a sizing a few thousand 9mm cases the linkage got loose and developed marks in the linkage where the clips hold them onto the press. I tightened it until it was almost as tight as new, but I assumed some loosening would happen.

Then it started tightening on it own after several hundred more cases until I had to loosen it again. Eventually it became loose again and had to be tightened.

Chris sent new linkage as I was trying to avoid sending the press in. Before I had a chance to put the new linkage on I bought a Lee push through sizer and noticed the stem was rubbing the die when I pushed it in. Naturally I thought it was a crappy Lee die. Then I started priming cases and noticed the primers were getting hung up on the case occasionally which they did not do when I loaded 250 9mm rounds when I first got the press. I started crimping with my Redding die and noticed it was biting the brass on the case in the same place as the Lee die was rubbing (the front of the press).

I raised the ram and noticed that it moves forward and back almost describing a circle at the top of the stroke.

At that point I decided to send it in. Chris has been helpful. It is frustrating as I spent a big portion of my budget on it assuming I would have the same experience others have had, but these things happen. I waited until the press was on sale and offered with free shipping, and I just lost that savings paying to ship it back which is also frustrating. I am sure they will make it better.

[fredj338]

You didn't say what gun but if anything I owned shot 3" groups at 25feet I would sell it, much less 6"!!
Test your ammo off the bench if it's been awhile since you have been shooting. My Springfield 1911/9mm will group right at 2" offhand at 75 feet with my lead bullets sized 0.356", lubed or HT or PC coated. My Glocks will almost do that.
I think the 0.355" bullet is the culprit, but you can play with powder charges or diff powders. I had a BHP that would NOT group 125gr lead bullet loaded over W231. I tried all kinds of powder charges & OAL, but switching to Unique cut my groups in half.

[ArrowJ]

It is a Springfield Armory XD Mod 2 sub compact. The group size is almost certainly a result of my skill as it was large with factory ammo and plated too...just not as large. I have shot very little, but am going to a) use a rest next time, and b) practice more. I was never a great shot, but could do better than that. You are probably right about the bullet size. I will most likely be playing with that and the powder.

[sigep1764]

First thing i would do is check for swaged boolit. Pull a seated and crimped boolit and check the diameter, is it the same as an unloaded round? 1.086 is kinda short depending on the boolit. Do the plunk test to see what is the longest you can load it.

[runfiverun]

well I broke one swaging with it. [rcbs r-chucker]
the next I merely ripped out the 4" lag bolts holding it in the 4x4's and busted the flat part of the frame. [rcbs JR]
okay that one was Littlegirl.
I mashed the ram almost flat on a third [hornady]

[ArrowJ]

First thing i would do is check for swaged boolit. Pull a seated and crimped boolit and check the diameter, is it the same as an unloaded round? 1.086 is kinda short depending on the boolit. Do the plunk test to see what is the longest you can load it.

I pulled one and it was not swaging. I got that COL with the plunk test, but I could certainly try to tweak it a little. It was pretty close though. I might get another .001.

[sigep1764]

Will they chamber unsized as powdercoated?

[ArrowJ]

Will they chamber unsized as powdercoated?

That is a very good question. Assuming they will would you push a .360 bullet down a .354 barrel? I am happy to try it, I just thought that would be too much.

[dudel]

Have you chrongraphed any of your loads? Any idea of the ES? If you're not loading uniform ammo, you won't get uniform results.

What level accuracy are you expecting from a sub compact (3") barrel? I mean, your close to derringer country with that length barrel.

What factory ammo are you using?

How many rounds have you run through the gun? Some need a couple hundred rounds to break in.

A more reachable goal might be minute of belt buckle.

[6622729]

4.5gr is a very light load for Sillouette in 9mm. I use that powder at 4.7gr and it's still under 1000fps with Lee 125gr boolit. Ramshot says 4.5gr start to 5.0gr for 125gr lead cast boolits.

[ArrowJ]

Have you chrongraphed any of your loads? Any idea of the ES? If you're not loading uniform ammo, you won't get uniform results.

What level accuracy are you expecting from a sub compact (3") barrel? I mean, your close to derringer country with that length barrel.

What factory ammo are you using?

How many rounds have you run through the gun? Some need a couple hundred rounds to break in.

A more reachable goal might be minute of belt buckle.

Great points. I have only shot 116 rounds: 50 Federal ball, 50 plated 124 gr, and 16 powder coated 124(127). Of the first 100, the majority were in a 3.5 inch area. If I can get that (or even 4") I will be happy as the gun is for eventual CCW and 25 feet is the longest shot I would feel comfortable taking, and then maybe only in certain situations. Of course I have to qualify for CCW and I do not know what distance those targets are. I do not currently own a chronograph.