9mm lead load recipe for glocks

[Yareelohim]

I am going to be going through a TON of ammo in a short period of time for trainning purposes. I will be usuing a glock 9mm (not sure which model).

Just wondering if anyone can give me a good load recipe for 9mm LRN rounds usuing Bullseye. I won't have the gun prior to loading so I can't check headspace for OAL. Can anyone give me info on which grain slug (122, 124, 125, etc), what grain powder and which oal to use? I know GLOCK says not too shoot lead out of factory barrel but we have shot thousands of .45 LSW through glocks with no problem and we are fine with the 9mm's being abused to death. Thanks for all the info guys!!!

- Jonathan

[eaglemike]

Sizing is very important. My experience has been positive using a .3565 or .357 Bear Creek or similar moly-coated bullet. I've not used Bullseye, although I know a few that have. I prefer a slower powder in 9mm, so I can't help you there.

9mm is supposed to headspace on the case mouth, not the bullet. If the bullet you are using has a shoulder or full diameter portion that is outside the mouth of the case, that will likely be the limiting factor on AOL. I like to load mine as long as possible. If the should or full diameter portion is there, set it so this portion is only about 1/16" outside the case mouth.

Most 125's end up loaded about 1.100 or so. Since I can't see the bullet you are using, don't use this number, it's just a guess. I like to load my 9's as long as possible, seems to work very well. Max 9mm OAL is 1.169" IIRC, never had 125's loaded this long though.

all the best,
Mike

[XDRoX]

When loading lead you have to make sure everything is just right to prevent barrel leading. This takes some people a lot of time and trial and error.

To just take some recipe from the internet for lead loads can be very dangerous shot through a factory glock barrel. Leading can cause excess pressure which could be very bad.

I do not think it's wise to be shooting lead reloads in a factory glock barrel without lot's of experience and even then cleaning the barrel every 200 rounds.

[Yareelohim]

XDRox

Thanks for the info and concern about he pressure build up in the factory glock barrels. However, we have shot litterally thousands of lead .45 SWC through factory glock barrels and have never had a problem. Usually, 500+ rounds go through the barrel in one weekend before we clean them too. So I am not too worried about taking a recipe off the internet, especially if somone else is using an accurate a good recipe in their glock factory barrel. Personally, I don't buy all the talk about the pressure build up for one reason alone, experience. We have tested it with thousands and thousands of rounds along with many other people and no problem has every come up for any us. Thank you for the concern though, I do appreciate that.

For anyone who does shoot lead and is concerned about leading in the barrel; if you buy copper boy scrubbing pads used for cleaning pots/pans, wrap that around your bore brush and clean the barrel, you will get virtually 99% if not 100% of all leading out in a matter of minutes. Very easy. Plus the accuracy of the gun is restored

Eaglemike

Thanks for the info. Here is a link to the bullets I will be buying. I use dardas cast for my .45 and could not be happier, great bullets!

http://www.dardascastbullets.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=dardas&Category_Code=9

Which would be better, LRN or LFN and which weight is best for 15 yard silhouette shooting? Thanks for the info guys!

[eaglemike]

I like the look of the flat point and the 125rn. The 125 picture seems to show a nice full diameter driving band, and then slightly reduced diameter just in front of that. Your Glock should work well with either, but I'd order 500 or so of each and see which one works best. I would order the .357 size, but that's just me. You likely should order what you think is best. You might already know this too, but be sure to flare the case mouth enough to avoid scraping lead when the bullet is seated. 9mm pressures are quite a bit higher than .45, so temperatures will be too. That's one reason I prefer a slower powder in 9mm, especially shooting lead in a Glock.

Your 9mm Glock should eat almost anything. Proper bullet size is critical. I'm pretty sure a lot of the FUD about shooting leading in Glock came about as a result of shooting .355 lead. Yeah, I know they say not to shoot reloads, much less lead reloads in the manual. I don't know of ANY factory manual that says it's OK to shoot reloads..........

There is a lead removal cloth that I've been very happy with, and I'm thinking it's easier on the barrel than some of the other methods.

I've shot hundreds of thousands of moly-coated lead bullets through Glocks, zero issues. I don't need to clean the barrel often, in fact I've gone well over 1K before with zero issues.

I did have an issue with undersized and soft lead in a G21. About 100 rounds and it looked like I'd applied solder just ahead of the chamber.

At 15 yards, bullet design isn't going to be a big deal. Any reasonable shape and load will be fine.
hope this helps.....

General note to all that read this: If you don't know what you are doing, don't do it!

[pdq_wizzard]

I would also say keep your loads below ~1000 FPS

and thanks for the link I like the fact I can get 9MM sized at .357