New to 9mm

[H3nchman]

Hello,

I have reloaded a lot of rifle cartridges successfully. Tonight I started my journey in 9MM. I am using Lee dies. Sized 9mm brass, Unique powder with charge weights from 4.9-5.9 grains, CCI 500s and RMR 115 grain fmj. Seated at 1.150" this is matches blazer brass and new freedom munitions 115 grain rounds. I am planning to shoot 8 of each charge to check for function and accuracy. Is there anything you guys can offer before I hit the range. These are my first handgun reloads and I don't want to make a mistake.

Thanks.

[Abenaki]

I would do this first.

Load up a dummy round...No powder or primer.
Take the barrel out of you gun. And do the plunk test by dropping the dummy
round in the barrel to see if it will fit with no problems.

I would also check to make sure that the case has enough tension on the bullet, so that the bullet will not be set back when it is being chamberd.
You can test this by pushing the cartridge against some thing solid. You need to measure the round before and after to see if the bullet set back.

Take care
Abenaki

[ironhorse1]

You're on the right track and the only thing I can add is that I never load 9mm that long.

Most of my loads run to 1.120"-1.130" per the Speer manual. There is nothing wrong with loading them longer. I just prefer having more bullet in the case.

irh

[Raiderh20boy]

Your ideas are similar to mine. I was using Bullseye but had a 1lb bottle of Unique to try out. So far I have2 issues. Higher load volume compared to what I was putting in with Bullseye (4.4 Gn) and not getting consistant load drops with my Dillon 650. I’m actually going to test out tomorrow morning at The Gun Range in North Sac and then decide if Unique is a good choice for me and my wife. If not, the next powder to try is HP-38 (comparable to Win 231).

[holdfast]

Be sure to check that the bullets easily drop from the barrel too. I just did my first batch and had to adjust my crimp die after they failed to drop from one of my barrels, a tight Lone Wolf 9mm conversion barrel I use in my Glock 22. Bullets plunked and dropped fine from two other 9mm barrels but not the Lone Wolf until I re-adjusted the crimp. All good now.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[hambam105]

Unique is a great powder, but not for small pistol cartridges such as 9mm, 380. Sure the manuals show the loads but I wouldn't.

W231, HP-38 and Titegroup are more suited for 9mm. Non magnum pistol primers, real jacketed bullets or plain old cast bullets, USA made case gauge. Some say plated bullets work great but I haven't seen plated bullet shooters anywhere near the winner's circle when the course of fire included a healthy percentage of accurate shooting beyond 25 yards.

[kramynot]

Agree with this

I would do this first.

Load up a dummy round...No powder or primer.
Take the barrel out of you gun. And do the plunk test by dropping the dummy
round in the barrel to see if it will fit with no problems.

I would also check to make sure that the case has enough tension on the bullet, so that the bullet will not be set back when it is being chamberd.
You can test this by pushing the cartridge against some thing solid. You need to measure the round before and after to see if the bullet set back.

I definitely agree with Abenaki! Whenever I load up a new round or load a round using a new bullet, I do the plunk test and check for tension. The only thing I'd add is that I also use the dummy round(s) to make sure they chamber easily. I've found in some cases with semi-auto pistols, such as loading lead SWC or TC bullets, there is a need to adjust (shorten) the OAL in order to feed reliably. After chambering the dummy(s) a few times I'll then go back and check the length for set back.

[avcrew]

One thing I like to do is match the velocity of factory ammo.

Chronographing 115 grain Blazer Brass or WWB out of a Sig P226 gave me about 1100fps.

With Unique powder and 115 grain plated bullets seated to 1.125" I got to 1100fps with 5.0 grains of Unique.

[diveRN]

Loaded on a single stage, I suspect? Since only you know your reloading practices of checking/verifying, my suggestion is to take your time when firing these first rounds. Handgun rounds tend to be shot at a faster rate and a missed squib can be disastrous.

Unique is a good all around powder, I have several 8lbers. It makes for nice shooting mid-to-upper range loads. In pistol rounds, it tends to be sooty at lower charge weights and doesn't meter worth a flip. I would always load to mid-scale and weigh every 5th drop on a single stage. If you end up loading towards max, make sure you weigh EVERY powder drop. Since I started loading on a progressive, I've been using 231 just because it meters so much better.

I primarily use it in shotshells nowadays and only weigh the first couple of drops since even moderate variances at those weights (22gr-24gr) won't affect performance that much.

[H3nchman]

Thanks everyone. I did the plunk test and the rounds fell easily from my shield barrel. No setback on cycled cartridges. I need to get the the range that allows me to set up a Chrono. My nearest indoor range you cannot do that. Ideally I want to load well shy of max. These are training rounds not hot rods. I did not know what powder to choose when I chose Unique. I like that you can't double charge a case. I may switch if I don't like the results. However, I have a pound of the stuff might as well work up a load and shoot it. Yes I am working off a single stage press and batch processing all my brass. Makes me want to save up for a nice progressive.

[BMICHAELS]

[RiskyBusiness]

unique leaves your gun a little dirty but the versatility is overwhelming. I load 9, 44, 45, 45-70 with this. I'm also doing 1.15" COL, 4.9gr, using 124gr Berrys plated.

[hambam105]

A few of the older reloading manuals of the 50s & 60 show loads for the 9x19 cartridge that exceeds 1,100 fps with a 124 grain bullet fired from a pistol.

1960s American Rifleman NRA Magazine used to publish the loads of the top pistol competitors. I don't recall seeing Unique powder listed for 45acp or 9x19. For the longer pistol cartridges, 38 Special in particular, Unique was listed a few times. Fast forward to current affairs, Bench Rest 38 Special pistol shooting, Unique is very desirable. Unique in progressive machines for current pistol action shooters is non-existent from my 30 plus years of limited reloading & shooting experience.

Unique is most versatile no doubt, but just because you can use it doesn't mean you should use it. It is all fun. Try Unique for yourself so you will know. I don't know a single Reloader who doesn't have at least one pound of Unique kicking around the supply shelf.

[H3nchman]

So if I am hearing this right, Unique is a good versitle powder, but other better options exist, specifically in the metering department. Do any of you Chrono at an indoor range? I was considering setting it up on the table? How far from the muzzle do you put the chronograph?

[arrowshooter]

All great info above. I would like to add some notes on case prep.

Expanding/Belling: Make sure that you have the brass pushed all the way into the case holder. If you do not, the die can and will distort the brass and you may not catch it until you crimp it or plunk test it. This will show up during the crimp step because it will noticeably tougher to run the ram.

Crimping: Just to be clear, you do not actually apply a crimp, but you are using the die to push the "bell" back down even with the rest of the case with the bullet seated. If you get into loading multiple head stamped brass, you will find that not all brass is the same and will expand and crimp differently. By not the same I mean that the thickness of the brass can vary between manufacturer and if you happen to set your crimp die up on thinner brass you will over crimp the thicker stuff, and setting up on the thicker brass you will not apply enough crimp to the thinner stuff. Ultimately I found a spot in between the lightest and heaviest setting that works for all. Here are some measurements that I took at the mouth of the case after expanding before I got smart:

*-* 0.377
*I* 0.377
BLAZER 0.377
F-C 0.377
FC NT 0.377
HORNADY0.377
HPR 0.377
ICC 0.377
R-P 0.377
RWS 0.377
SAZ 0.377
SPEER 0.377
WIN 0.377
WIN NT 0.377
W-W 0.377
xTreme 0.377

AP 0.380
A-USA 0.380
CBC 0.380
CORBON 0.380
G.F.L. 0.380
GECO 0.380
HOTSHOT0.380
HRTERS 0.380
PERFECTA0.379
PIERCE 0.380
PMC 0.380
PPU 0.380
S&B 0.380
S&B 0.380
TULAMO 0.381
WCC 0.380
WMA 0.380
ZQ1 0.380

Have fun and be safe!!

PS, I also started with Unique but quickly made the switch to HP-38 due to metering.