Reloading for USPSA Competition

[Gary13]

Not sure if this is the correct section, but will give it a try.

I have been to a couple of practice matches and am interested is going more often, which means looking into reloading. One thing I noticed was that it seemed most were using jhp. Why?

Also, am I better off going with 147g for 9mm and 230g for .45acp?

[Gunsrruss]

Bullets

I would think you would want the 115gr bullets for 9MM. As for the 45 I find the 230 gr jam less. A wide feed ramp is also a good idea on the 45. Keep the feed ramp clean as you can during your shoot

[Fjold]

From my experience most shooters use jacketed round nose bullets for more reliable feeding. Usually loaded with heavier bullets at just enough powder to make the minimum power factor floor for either minor or major classification.

[kmca]

Not sure if this is the correct section, but will give it a try.

I have been to a couple of practice matches and am interested is going more often, which means looking into reloading. One thing I noticed was that it seemed most were using jhp. Why?

Also, am I better off going with 147g for 9mm and 230g for .45acp?

Using JHP and TMJ in an open gun keeps the comp clean. You might even find they are more accurate.

[spddrcr]

I would think you would want the 115gr bullets for 9MM. As for the 45 I find the 230 gr jam less. A wide feed ramp is also a good idea on the 45. Keep the feed ramp clean as you can during your shoot

I shoot limited minor in 9MM and the majority of shooters i know use the 120 to 125 gr bullets. I had a brief stint using 147's until i had a couple case separations due to inaccurate powder drops. a 124 or 125 can take a little extra powder and you just get a hot load, a 147 with a little extra powder becomes very dangerous very fast. I have since then pretty much enclosed myself off from the world when i reload to make sure there is zero distractions during the process.

[OzzieF]

I use what's cheap. For me that's Molly coated lead bullets. Bear creek to be exact.
They are reliable and use less powder to make major pf in my limited gun. Giving me less precieved recoil

I think it pretty much comes down to price you are willing to pay.
Some say jhp are more accurate. I cant tell enough of a difference.

With bullet weight it's preference. Try some bullets at different weights and see what feels good to you. I like 125gr round nose moly's for 9mm.
And 200gr swc moly's for .45.

[Mstrty]

OK here is my 2c. I have loaded dozens and dozens of different bullets with different powders for different sports. ICORE, IDPA, USPSA ect. Since you only talked about 9mm and 45 I will only tackle those 2 calibers.

First. You need a Chronograph. If you dont have one you are shooting in the dark. Save you money or beg, borrow, steal, one.

Record you data for different guns you own. I run my ammo through each gun it may ever be used in. The results can very broadly. My pet load in my M&P is not my pet load for my XD, ect. I run .45 in both minor and major powers depending on the sport and division.

OAL (over all length) is also important. The lands in one gun may effect a given bullet differently. Polygonal barrels act differently on a given load verses a traditional lands and grove barrel.

And Yes I prefer JHP's in my semi auto gaming guns more than round nose bullets. I am no bullet flight engineer all I know is what I know. JHP's require less fine tuning (oal and charge weight) vs round nose. In my experience they are more forgiving on accuracy. I can dial in any round nose it just takes more work to get 2 bullets into the same hole.

9mm) I do not run any 115 in any action pistol sport. I like the felt recoil of fast powder and do not like the results of light bullet with fast powder.
My bullets of choice are
124 JHP Montana Gold $308 for 3750 bullets
147 Extreme bullets. RN Plated $81 per 1k
147 Black Bullets Molly coated $210 3K

The 124 Montana Gold JHP is a great bullet for a ton of different guns. It is a proven round with tons of proven loads used at several major matches. 4gn of tightgroup (or equivalent) loaded at 1.115 is a great a load that will make minor power in most any gun with a barrel lenght of more than 3inches. It makes 132-135PF in most all my guns.

The 147 plated bullet with 3.5gn of tight group is one of my favorite IDPA loads. Very soft... like .32 caliber soft. I run this load through the chrono the most because it almost feels like cheating. I am always amazed when I calculate the PF. The moly bullets are a nice alternative for less money but are just not as accurate in my guns.

My full Power .45 loads are mostly Delta Precision 230gn FMJ
I run 4.2gn of 700x
I also run a lot of 200gn SWC with 4.5gn of VV N310 (Bill Wilson test load)
N310 is mostly my minor power powder in .45 I run a lot of Montana Gold JHP 185gn bullets im both a 625 revolver for ICORE and an HK45 for IDPA ESP division. Of late I have swithched to 9mm in ESP just for a cost savings. I wise man once told me "your 9mm may expand...My .45 will never shrink." I was forced out of .45 as the cost over the last couple of years shot up. Now I am stuck with little girl'ie holes.

Anyway Here is a small sample of my spreadsheet I hope it gets you started. I dont have the last couple of years added to this sheet yet.

[damndave]

I load Montana Gold 124g JHP. Seems to be one of the most popular next to Zero bullets. From what I hear from others, JHP is more accurate. I have only shot JHP since I started reloading 9mm, so can't comment on that.

[Gary13]

Thanks for the comments. I am currently running in production class and plan on adding single stack running a full size .45. My 9mm are a XD9 Service and a CZ SP01, which is my main gun. I plan on reloading .45 first for the greater potential cost savings. Actually, I probably would not even shoot .45 in competition if I dont start reloading.

[joelogic]

How do you balance loading for the bottom of the PF and accuracy of the round? Or does it even matter when the targets are 25 yards away max?

I am going to start working up a minor load for 200gr FMJ in 40 S&W with 700x. Starting load is 3.5 grains at 744 fps but I only need it to go 625 fps. Should I just try and find the floor while trying different recoil springs?

[kmca]

How do you balance loading for the bottom of the PF and accuracy of the round? Or does it even matter when the targets are 25 yards away max?

I am going to start working up a minor load for 200gr FMJ in 40 S&W with 700x. Starting load is 3.5 grains at 744 fps but I only need it to go 625 fps. Should I just try and find the floor while trying different recoil springs?

First, which division are you shooting? If it's Limited, why shoot minor?

Back to your question, I load for accuracy first, then power factor. If I can't get the power factor, then it's a different powder. Back and forth...back and forth, until I find an acceptable load. It usually only takes 3 or 4 powders and 3 or 4 bullets to find the combination.

[joelogic]

First, which division are you shooting? If it's Limited, why shoot minor?

Right now, I shoot more multi-gun but I wanted a .40. I will work up a major load next.