is this overpressure ? 9mm

[mikeyr]

I have a Berreta 92FS and when it was new I had lots of feeding issues, FTF, stovepipes, etc.

I worked up a load that was 100% reliable by doing 20 rounds at a time going up in .1gr increments from 3.9, ended up at 4.3gr. of HP-38/Win231 with a 124gr. plated bullet, COL 1.150, very reliable and good shooting round. Winchester small pistol primer, range brass.

As I learned more about the gun AND reloading I started shooting the gun wet (before I was using minimal oil) and lowering my charge because of what you see in the primers, I think its overpressured. I am now down to 4.0gr and those rounds are from the 4.0gr. load, the primers are still bulging out some. I think that is overpressure right ? It has not really changed from using 4.3gr. to 4.0gr. it looks pretty much the same. With 4.0gr.'s of powder my brass is getting pretty dirty each shot, something that did not happen with 4.3gr.s. that implies to me I am not sealing well and I did try annealing some brass to no change.

I am going to try increasing my COL a little bit this weekend and also go to another tenth down on powder but my book (and the Hodgon website) says 3.9 is min and 4.4 is max. I have double checked my pretty old beam 5-0-5 RCBS scale with a Hornady cheapie digital scale so I know my drops are pretty accurate.

[robert101]

Mike, I don't believe those primer strikes are indicating over pressure. Reading primers is very unreliable. The primer edges don't look flattened at all. You are right to stay within published data and be aware of COAL and powder charge. Measuring case head expansion might give you a better indication.

[Lead Waster]

My load for 124gn FMJ (Precision Delta) is similar with Win 231, actually a touch more, but I loaded it to 1.135-1.140 OAL. No problems and I shot about 2000 of them through my CZ. And within loading manual min-max ranges.

[rix]

Do factory loads have that same bulge around the firing pin strike? If so, most likely the primer is flowing into the firing pin hole and for some guns its normal.

[hermosabeach]

OP

did try annealing some brass to no change.

One can anneal the neck to keep the neck from splitting.


The primer pocket is not something that one needs not wants softened by annealing.

Normally straight wall pistol cases do not need to be a sales from my experience.

I so not know if the .40 recoil spring is market differently that the 9mm spring in the beretta platform. While it is unlikely that you have the stiffer .40 cal spring in your pistol, you might check to verify that the spring is correct.


From the pictures, I don't see a problem with the primers.

If you had primers come out, check the brass. Was it once fired military brass with tight pockets that were swaged open?

[hermosabeach]

4.4 grain is the max without exceeding the standard pressure load
As other said, check the overall lenght and fire 3/4 of a mag and measure the remaining rounds from the mag. Are the bullets moving forward or back with recoil? Is too little crimp.

Check loaded ammo visually for too much crimp as well.


BULLET WEIGHT124 GR. BERB HBRN TP
ManufacturerWinchester
Powder231
Bullet Diameter.356"
C.O.L.1.150"
Starting Load
Grains3.9
Velocity (ft/s)920
Pressure27,400 PSI
Maximum Load
Grains4.4
Velocity (ft/s)1,037
Pressure31,900 PSI

[Bastard]

look at your slide around the firing pin hole I believe that you should have a matching recess on it - I had the same thing showing up in some of my 45 colt loads & it drove me crazy because I new I was nowhere near being over pressure...

[J-cat]

These are normal primers out of a Beretta. If you look at the firing pin hole in the breech face you'll see a corresponding dish.

[Carcassonne]

.

I have a Berreta 92FS and when it was new I had lots of feeding issues, FTF, stovepipes, etc.

I worked up a load that was 100% reliable by doing 20 rounds at a time going up in .1gr increments from 3.9, ended up at 4.3gr. of HP-38/Win231 with a 124gr. plated bullet, COL 1.150, very reliable and good shooting round. Winchester small pistol primer, range brass.

As I learned more about the gun AND reloading I started shooting the gun wet (before I was using minimal oil) and lowering my charge because of what you see in the primers, I think its overpressured. I am now down to 4.0gr and those rounds are from the 4.0gr. load, the primers are still bulging out some. I think that is overpressure right ? It has not really changed from using 4.3gr. to 4.0gr. it looks pretty much the same. With 4.0gr.'s of powder my brass is getting pretty dirty each shot, something that did not happen with 4.3gr.s. that implies to me I am not sealing well and I did try annealing some brass to no change.

I am going to try increasing my COL a little bit this weekend and also go to another tenth down on powder but my book (and the Hodgdon website) says 3.9 is min and 4.4 is max. I have double checked my pretty old beam 5-0-5 RCBS scale with a Hornady cheapie digital scale so I know my drops are pretty accurate.

That is no where near over pressure. It is well within safe limits.

As a reference, my Quickload program shows you can use 5.3 grains of 231/HP38 with a 125 grain bullet @ 1.150 OAL.





.

[buffybuster]

Those primers are fine.

My standard 92FS load is 125TC with 4.8grs W231 loaded to 1.095". Shoots fast, smooth, totally reliable.

[mikeyr]

Thanks everyone, I never thought to look at the breech face and you guys are right there is a matching groove there that the primers are flowing into. I will re-increase my load a little as its getting pretty dirty with the lower load. I feel kind of dumb for not having checked the breech.

Learn something new everyday I reload or think about reloading.

[Mot Mi]

Mine does not look like that and ive gone over .2 over max data in my manual with 1.5 coal 124 gr rn xtreme

[J-cat]

Are you using CCI primers? Which Beretta do you have.

[Leethe4th]

No signs of overpressure, but that brass sure is filthy.

CCI small primers, 4 grains TiteGroup, 125 gr Bear Creek at 1.100" from a Glock 17



normal case left, over pressure right



clean and shiny brass ready to load



loaded clean and shiny brass ready to shoot

[mikeyr]

Yeah yeah yeah...I was hoping no one would notice how dirty my brass was

The rounds in the pictures I posted have been fired 4 times without any cleaning at all as I was playing with different loads trying to get rid of that bulge in the primers. The lower the powder load, the dirtier the round got. I am not a big brass cleaner to begin with but I do use walnut shells on them occasionally. I even got some brass cleaner to mix in with the walnut shells a few weeks ago but have not used it yet.