Best Load for 9mm 125 Gr Lead Round Nose BHN 17

[beex215]

I get keyholes like mad with 4 grains of red dot under a 125gr boolit.
3.5 grains, and my 9mm behaves, but barely.

What's your OAL?

'Sifrid

i also use red dot/ promo and used 3.8 to 4.2 grain loads with various oal from 1.10 to 1.15. never got a keyhole.

[Blintersifrid]

i also use red dot/ promo and used 3.8 to 4.2 grain loads with various oal from 1.10 to 1.15. never got a keyhole.

Guess I'll have to try some 3.8s and see if I still have a problem.
Thanks.

'Sifrid

[Treeman]

4 grains of Red Dot has worked in a lot of guns for me. OAL depends on the boolit design but seat them as long as you can get good chambering/feeding with.

[bruce drake]

My Taurus 99 and FEG Hi-Power would both keyhole with a 4gr load of Red Dot with either Lee's 124gr TC or RN sized at .357 I switched to using Unique and the tumbling issues stopped. Same size boolit and same powder weight so I'm thinking my two pistols had issues with my Wheelweight based alloy with Red Dot. Nothing scientific but the Unique load works for me out to 25 yards.

My RIA 9mm 1911 also likes the new Unique load as well so I know the powder question is almost settled for me in 9mm Parabellum, although I'd like to see if anyone has completed results for Alliant's American Select powder that was referred in a previous post.

Bruce

[Finster101]

Four grains Red Dot works great,not too light ,not too heavy.

I'll second that.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

4.7-4.8 grains of 4756 just about fills the 9mm case and with a 120 grain round nose like Lyman 358242 will cycle a Luger without beating it to death and the group is at least 9 ring or better-at 25 yards. Pressure is low and the load burns clean; no leading. Also works very well in a 92 Baretta and a Smith 952. LLS

[smokesahoy]

I like to tailor my powders by what fills the case on a max charge so invariably go for slower powders but it keeps pressure down without me shooting lead that feels like a .22, i never got that, if you want it so light why not just throw the projectile and leave the powder out of it?

[farmerjim]

I like herco.

[krag35]

I'm shooting 5.6 gr Blue Dot under the Lee 125 gr RFP. I like it

[rintinglen]

Herco, Unique and Power Pistol have been my powders of choice for the 9 millimeter and cast. 4.5 grains of Unique or Herco and a 358-242 120 grainer works very well as does 5.2 grains of Power Pistol with the same boolit.

[tfpblaster]

I am using 4.2 grain 700X with a Lee TL356-125RN bullet and good results in a M9, Sig Sauer and Colt 2000. If my lee pro 1000press would meter well 3.9 works well also but sometimes 700X doesn't flow well in the powder measure so with 4.2 grains I have had zero function problems. Some manuals may show this as slightly over max. but that is with a jacketed bullet and generally lead bullets give lower pressures. I am getting very little leading if any and a cleaning with patches is all thats needed after 150 rounds to make the bore shiney. If any lead depostits and run with a copper brush and the bore is spotless. I was going to say this load works perfect in my buddies SW sigma also.

what is oal of bullet

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I get keyholes like mad with 4 grains of red dot under a 125gr boolit.
3.5 grains, and my 9mm behaves, but barely.

What's your OAL?

'Sifrid

what does your barrel slug at I had some that would shoot fine in ,my .355 barrel and key hole in a .357 barrel both 9mm , a lot of newer 9's are using .357 barrels and you need to have a fatter bullet , the good part is these new 9's generally also have a sloppy chamber so you can chamber the over sized bullet in most any brass

if your using a factory crip die , put it back in the box and get a taper crimp and use it just enough to take the bell off the case mouth and get reliable feeding

there is a great sticky in wheel guns ,pistols and hand canons that MTgun44 did about loading cast for the 9 if anyone is having problems in a 9 and it applies well to 40 also

[Canman]

I have some 125gn lrn I want to load with bullseye between 1.12-1.10 OAL. lee load data states Min OAL of 1.15 and 4.7-4.9gn of Bullseye. What would be my safe powder charge if I drop my OAL in the 1.12-1.10 range?

[Forrest r]

5.0gr of wst and the Mihec 125gr rfn cast bullet chews bugholes in paper for me in a nm 1911.
[IMG][/IMG]

I've shot countless 1000's of this powder/bullet combo. It actually has a pretty good smack to it considering it's nothing more than a "target" load.
[IMG][/IMG]

[winelover]

My 9mm load using Bullseye is 4.0 grains under RCBS 125 RN, OAL of 1.10"

Accurate and gives 100% reliability in both my full size and subcompact pistols.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Guess I'll have to try some 3.8s and see if I still have a problem.
Thanks.

'Sifrid

+ one more with 3.8 RedDot

[GARD72977]

That is a lot harder bullet than i like to shoot im my 9mm. You will want to push that bullet pretty hard. I would use jacketed loads.

I load soft bullets about 10bnh at 135pf

[Shingle]

Can't go wrong with that load.

[Rodfac]

Win 231 or WST work well in my 9mm guns (Colt Combat Commander, 3 Sigs, and a Ruger fitted with a Barsto bbl.). Loads from 3.8 to 4.2 grains give pretty close to 1000 fps and minimal leading with commercial cast RN's (Missouri Bullet Co.) Groups run less than 1" at 10 yds from a Weaver two-hand stance, offhand).

But, I haven't found a good load with Lyman's venerable 356402 yet, as cast from WW's (about 3" @ 25 yds is the best it can do even with a good inspection but not weighed). Of the two powders mentioned, Win 231 at 4.2 with Phoenix 124 hard-lead alloy Rn gives me ~2" at 25 yds in a Sig P226 (all Federal brass, Win caps, & .356" dia., lubed over the commercial hard stuff with LLA)...as good as my best JHP loads. HTH's Rod

[TCLouis]

A guy here whose picture depicts a guy astride a horse wearing a big ol sombrero suggested 3.2 grains of Red Dot in answer to my inquiry.
My PROMO matches my Red Dot so I substituted it and have not looked back.

Dang, it shoots real good outa the pocket gun and PT99.