9mm load suggestions???

[abunaitoo]

Not much of a pistol reloader, but I'd like to find a light reload for my Luger.
I have some Lee 365-120, 90239, boolets to try.
I'd like to use W231, but I've got lots of other different powders too.
Looking for something that would not be to hard on the pistol, but still give good accuracy.
Don't plan to shoot it much.

[NickSS]

I do not use 231 or load for a luger pistol but I have heard from guys who own them that you need warmer loads to make the luger work well. If I was you I would pick a starting load from a reliable loading manual and try it working up in pressure until the gun works reliably and see how it shoots.

[tacklebury]

Think I'd start more in the 3-4 gr. unique level and chrony it. ;)

[MtGun44]

Unique is good. 9mm is a pretty high pressure round, needs a reasonably slow powder.
My load uses a oddball French powder that I got 8 lbs of for cheap, so I won't bore you with
it. I used to use Unique many years ago with great satisfaction.

Bill

[Ausglock]

Lee 120TC lubed with BAC. loaded over 4.2gr W231.
Pet load for my Glock 34.

[parisite]

4.0gr of Green Dot.

[scattershot]

The Luger got its reputation for being finicky from light loads shot in it. original German ammo is hotter than what we use today, if I recall correctly.

[miestro_jerry]

With that bullet I use 4.0 grains and it cycles my P229 well, it does a great job in my Hi Power also.

Jerry

[thegreatdane]

I enjoy 4 grains of bullseye with that boolit.

[Hammerhead]

IMR SR 7625 is a great powder for 9mm. Single base (burns cool), meters very well.

[Multigunner]

The Luger got its reputation for being finicky from light loads shot in it. original German ammo is hotter than what we use today, if I recall correctly.

Some commercial ammo may not have been hot enough, but I've read that the most common cause of jams with the luger was excessive wear to the cut out in the magazine body where the magazine latch engages.
A bit of wear there did not affect functioning when the trucated cone bullet was the standard German Miltary load, but once they changed over to the round nose bullet jams began to be an issue.
The Luger was designed around the 7.65 Luger bottle neck and the truncated cone 9mm FMJ.
Some modern NATO Stanag and Plus P 9mm loads may be a bit too energetic for the older Lugers.
The change was due to the wounding effect of the flat point bullet and the Hague convention.

I never owned a Luger, but back in the old days I used only Supervel truncated cone hollowpoints with my p-35 and never had a jam. I had ordered two brand new magazines for it since the mag was missing when I got it, so that may have contributed to its reliability as well.
I had read of the Luger jams and looked for a truncated cone bulleted ammo because of this.
I later ran across some very old cupro-nickel jacted truncated cone FMJ ammo, I suspect this was Italian SMG fodder, which the Germans greatly prefered over the standard issue German ammo for use in the MP40. The truncated cone bullet, even in FMJ was a pretty good manstopper compared to round nose 9mm.

[lead-1]

I use that boolit with 4 grains of Unique for my KelTec, seems to work real well.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Been loading for my Luger for a long time. Once someone gave me some ammo made in Spain. It was supposed to run in sub-machine guns used by the "guarda civile". It was pretty hot stuff. The second round broke the rear toggle bolt. After that I always took care to keep things down between 900 and 1000fps. Luger parts live in the high rent district if you can find them. So recommendations to run things hot might need some thought...beforehand. I have used red dot, unique, bullseye and a few others...always in moderation. You need enough to run the action/feeding and keep some semblance of accuracy. Many powders will work well, but I finally settled on 4756...4.7-4.8 grains with 115-120 grain roundnoses or conical noses. Most of the 9mm case is full so you don't have to worry about doublecharging or the bullet telescoping into the charged case. Use a slight taper crimp anyway. Neck tension is important as any increase in seating depth will raise pressure and you don't want that. The 4756 loading generates less pressure and recoil than any of the other powders pevciously mentioned and will group consistently in the 8 ring or better(on a twelve inch diameter target a 25 yards) with a two handed hold off the bench. Luger sights aren't exactly target grade and the trigger pull on mine is pretty awful so I'm happy with my setup. I guess moderation is the name of the game. LLS

[big dale]

I have been shooting 4 grains of red dot behind a 125 grain round nose cast boolit in 9mm since the mid 70's. It is not a very hot load, but it works reasonably well in lots of different 9's.

Big Dale

[max it]

Lee 120TC lubed with BAC. loaded over 4.2gr W231.
Pet load for my Glock 34.

Hi Ya,
I just cast and loaded some TL356- 124gn. 9mm; Lee mould. I used 3.5gn "231" very mild nice and accurate at 23 yards. Not Luger but Springflield XD-9 tactical.
Made me think twice about my usual load which is a 147gn and a bit more powder. However that one is for knocking over steel plates at 15-30 yards.

Keep your powder dry.

p.s.> I think I will P.M. you on shooting in Aus.

Max

[dnotarianni]

3.5 bullseye with a 147 gr head. Easy with low recoil in my XD

[azrednek]

I've been using published data using Bullseye and Unique with 100% reliability with the exception of my P-38. My P-38 prefers slower powders like Herco with heavier boolit weights. My Sig is finicky about boolit size. 357 will not chamber without some help pushing the slide forward, 356 is iffy but 355 works perfectly. All my other 9's swallow and digest .357 sized boolits.

[trail troll]

Mine pet load is 4.5-4.7 Unique under a lee 120TC drop in water from the mold. I had leading issues until I water quenched them as the 9 is a fairly high pressure round for the size.

It'll cut cloverleafs at 25 from my Hi Point carbine.

[Reddog177]

What sort of experience is out there regarding loading lead bullets in the S&W39? I'm having a hard time finding a lead load that will stay on an 8.5 X 11" target at 25 yards off sandbags. I'm using Lyman mold 358242 seized .356 and UV Clays or Unique. My lead is WW, recovered range lead and 2% tin. I've used this bullet in several other 9s with 4.7 gr. UV Clays with good luck?
Dick

[scattershot]

if it will cycle your Luger, I like 4.0 Red Dot and a 124 grain lead bullet. Accurate and mild shooting, about 1050 fps or so.

[UnderDawgAl]

My standard 9mm load is 4.3 grains HP-38 (W231), which comes out of the .40 disk of my Lee Deluxe Auto Disk Measure. I use anything from the Lee 105 SWC to Berry's plated 124-gr FMJ.