Blue Dot for 9mm and 45ACP

[M27]

:subscribed:

I've been messing around with BD in .45ACP looking for a loud firey toy for indoors. Might try it in 9mm now. I think the wife could have some fun with it.

If you are looking for something "firey" try power pistol.

[sjg1966]

:subscribed:

I've been messing around with BD in .45ACP looking for a loud firey toy for indoors. Might try it in 9mm now. I think the wife could have some fun with it.

I'm wanting to use Blue Dot for 45acp too. I have 185gr Xtreme that I want to use. Can't find much data for that combo though......suggestions welcome.

I'm going to change the title of this thread to include discussion for 45 too.

[Bill Steele]

I'm wanting to use Blue Dot for 45acp too. I have 185gr Xtreme that I want to use. Can't find much data for that combo though......suggestions welcome.

I'm going to change the title of this thread to include discussion for 45 too.

You can start at about 9.0 gr and stop if you get to 10.5gr, loaded to 1.230" OAL. Should get you in the 1000+fps range.

[M27]

Here's what's in my Lyman book for 9 mm 115 grain JHP using Blue Dot
Start w/ 6.8 gr, Estimated 1101 fps, C.U.P. pressure @ 22,900
MAX 7.6 (compressed powder charge) 1189 fps, C.U.P. pressure @ 32,300
I find that Blue Dot work well with 44 & 357 mags, & 410.

What OAL

[sjg1966]

I did my 9mm Blue Dot at 1.140"

[stilly]

I wish that I did not rush to use up all of my blue dot for 44 mag loads.

When I found out that it is GREAT for .45 I was like, SLAP! dammit. Two bottles gone now. I am saving the third and looking for more.

[M27]

I made some 9mm blue dot test loads with 100gn frangibles. I have had trouble finding a load that I liked with these bullets and I kept going with faster and faster powders. I decided to go the complete opposite way and go with a slow powder to see what happens.

I shot my BD loads today. They shot like sh1t. Even the hottest loads barely cycled my 19 gen 4. The lighter loads gave me all sorts of type 2 and 3 malfunctions. What I ended up doing is haveing my girlfriend mix the underpowered rounds with my proven 124gn loads in my mags and used it to practice malfunction drills.

The 100 gn frangible a are suposed to use 135gn data but because that is far and few between I used 124gn data and made my starting load a little lower than usual. I ended going up to 7gn (of the top of my head). It is going to need to go quite a bit hotter but that was already a compressed load.

[Bill Steele]

I shot my BD loads today. They shot like sh1t. Even the hottest loads barely cycled my 19 gen 4. The lighter loads gave me all sorts of type 2 and 3 malfunctions. What I ended up doing is haveing my girlfriend mix the underpowered rounds with my proven 124gn loads in my mags and used it to practice malfunction drills.

The 100 gn frangible a are suposed to use 135gn data but because that is far and few between I used 124gn data and made my starting load a little lower than usual. I ended going up to 7gn (of the top of my head). It is going to need to go quite a bit hotter but that was already a compressed load.

Are the frangibles longer than normal for a 100gr bullet? Might be a problem getting enough powder in there to get enough pressure to make things work well.

I was loading some above book Blue Dot 10mm loads this evening to chrony tomorrow. I was running out of space in the case with those loads as I got into the range I was shooting for with this ladder. It is bulky.

[sargenv]

I suspect the culprit is the too light bullets with the too slow powder (Blue Dot). Blue dot tends to like heavier payloads to burn right.. usually 115 and above in the 9mm, 124, 135, or 147 would likely produce better results..

When I loaded Blue Dot in the 12 gauge, powder performance degraded with too light of a weight of shot.. anything under 1 1/4 oz and it got dirtier and dirtier.. If 100 gr bullets are what you want to use, I'd stick with more medium to faster powders like Unique, Green Dot, 231, Solo 1000, Titegroup, and the like..

[M27]

Are the frangibles longer than normal for a 100gr bullet? Might be a problem getting enough powder in there to get enough pressure to make things work well.

I was loading some above book Blue Dot 10mm loads this evening to chrony tomorrow. I was running out of space in the case with those loads as I got into the range I was shooting for with this ladder. It is bulky.

they are longer than a FMJ or JHP of the same weight. I don't know how long they are but supposedly they are the same length as a 135gn FMJ of the same profile.

to compound the length problem, if these bullets are loaded to long the last round in the mag will jam on the lip of the feed ramp so I have to load them short at 1.100 (off the top of my head may not be correct)

the final issue with these rounds is that you can't use much if any crimp, to increase pressures, without literally snapping the bullet in half.

I am going to do another test load group starting at 6.8 and keep working up. I am already compressed so I don't know how much more powder I can fit. then again alliant says 8.5gn for BD with 115gn

I don't have a whole lot of experience with compressed loads, how do I know when to stop? If the bullet seats can I over compress? I plan to make small increments. Is there anything else I need to know?

[Bill Steele]

they are longer than a FMJ or JHP of the same weight. I don't know how long they are but supposedly they are the same length as a 135gn FMJ of the same profile.

to compound the length problem, if these bullets are loaded to long the last round in the mag will jam on the lip of the feed ramp so I have to load them short at 1.100 (off the top of my head may not be correct)

the final issue with these rounds is that you can't use much if any crimp, to increase pressures, without literally snapping the bullet in half.

I am going to do another test load group starting at 6.8 and keep working up. I am already compressed so I don't know how much more powder I can fit. then again alliant says 8.5gn for BD with 115gn

I don't have a whole lot of experience with compressed loads, how do I know when to stop? If the bullet seats can I over compress? I plan to make small increments. Is there anything else I need to know?

On the crimp, I don't think extra taper crimp will yield any benefit at all. I have always found the maximum neck tension you can provide (basically using the thickest brass headstamps in your inventory, given you only have one sizing. If you have multiple sizers, use the tightest one) is the best you can do on a non-roll crimp caliber. More taper crimp just loosen neck tension as the brass has more spring than the bullet under it.

On the compressing powder, I have never noticed any relationship to compressing powder and pressure signs in the fired case. For me, always with bulky powders, you just get to the point where you can't seat the bullet deep enough to fit in the magazine, usually the seating stem starts damaging the bullet before I get to max OAL, then I know that powder won't work in that load. I have that problem with AA #9 in my 10mm loads, just can't get enough in to get to nuclear territory.

Heading out soon to see about the BD loads I did last night. Right now, Longshot and VV-N105 (much more power to weight ratio) are leading the pack with the 180gr bullets I want to load.

Some fun.