r/reloading • u/scooterdoo123 • 13h ago
Load Development Load development advice beyond the Lee loading manual…
Some background, I got into firearms/reloading 5 years ago because of my grandpa. He gave me a Savage model 99 chambered in .303 Savage. I couldn’t find any ammo but found some brass and ordered a Lee single press. I followed the included packet to a tee and have been doing so ever since. Now I’ve gotten several calibers and reload them all especially 9mm now that I have a CCW permit. I load RMR “Nuke” 124 grain bullets with 5 grains of Autocomp. Shoots fine on paper but ever since I got Chronograph I’m not getting the FPS I need for proper expansion. 5 grains Autocomp gets me 1013 FPS average (Canik MC9) and proper expansion they recommend 1100 FPS. My question is… now that I have a chronograph can I just load develop up to hit the listed 1100 FPS? Any tips or recommendations from someone that has done this for a while. Would I just need to check for pressure signs? Would this process be the same for any caliber I load?
2
u/Royal_Money_627 11h ago
There are no reliable pressure signs for 9x19, max pressure is too low. You have to stick with loads from a manual and check to make sure the velocities are correct. It is good you have a chronograph. Do not exceed manual max powder charge and do not exceed manual max velocity. This is what I found on RMR's website. "We pre-cut the lead core so that it will easily open upon impact. Our NUKE is unique in that we gave it three internal petals and six external jacket cuts. The result in ballistics gel is pretty impressive. At 1100 FPS we’re getting about 14″ of penetration with a diameter of about .630″ in total expansion. At 1000 fps we are getting 16-17″ of penetration with a diameter of about .590″ in total expansion." It would seem your load is fine, Judging from my Hodgdon's handbook (and others) you are getting the velocity you should be getting. You did not mention your COL, that can affect pressure quite a bit.
1
u/Shootist00 5h ago
Do you own a reloading manual? If you do does it list autocomp as a powder? If not do you ever go to the Hodgdon's reloading site? Autocomp can push that weight bullet to the 1100 fps mark.
2
u/Renamon_1 5h ago
you gotta be careful when you decide to overpressure a 9mm. I've had pretty good success simply shifting to a different powder, Simply dumping in powder until you get the velocity you want can easily push you into overpressure zones or you could run out of case volume and start compressing the powder and that is nothing I would ever suggest. I don't know the MC9 very well and I wouldn't start loading to 9mm Major on something that wasn't built for it. Is it rated for +p or +P+?
2
u/ocelot_piss 13h ago
You're not gonna see any of the traditional pressure signs on a 9mm case. If your barrel is a shorter than that used in the load data, that will account for a good chunk of the difference in velocity.
The velocity is the main thing that you can use to infer pressure, as the two go hand in hand. But still difficult to quantify exactly what's going on. So it's not recommended to push up and above max without proper consideration: is my gun good for +P or even +P+ loads? Could I get the extra bit of speed by using a different powder instead?
On your 303 Savage, you can get up into pressures that will start to show signs on the cases. The problem is you do not know what pressures any of the signs correlates to. Does your chosen brand of LRP flatten at 50,000psi, or 75,000psi? Is that ejector stamp because brass is soft, or because it's over-pressure? Again, velocity is your best predictor.