Yup they all fired and ejected fine. After reviewing different books and such I chose to start with the load data from the powder manufacturer, which for 115 gr lead cast round nose the min Cartridge Overall Length (COL) is 1.070
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That's right on the money for just about everything in the ball park of 115gr round nose. I load all mine right at 1.140 + or - .005 depending on the brand of bullet.Is it just me or does the OAL of 1.075 seem a bit short ? I normally load 9mm RN at 1.135 but I realize it's dependent on the brand bullet and firearm.
So, as a guy who not only wants to get into reloading and plans to start with 9mm, am I correct in assuming that a (COL) of 1.070" means NEVER load the 9mm shorter than this length? On the recipes I follow, would I be fine to have a slightly longer case length for safety's sake or should I am to get as close as possible to the minimum COL of the round I am trying to make? Thanks..........
So, as a guy who not only wants to get into reloading and plans to start with 9mm, am I correct in assuming that a (COL) of 1.070" means NEVER load the 9mm shorter than this length? On the recipes I follow, would I be fine to have a slightly longer case length for safety's sake or should I am to get as close as possible to the minimum COL of the round I am trying to make? Thanks..........
That means there wasn't a box of 9mm on Walmart's shelves all summer long again and thanks to you they got some trigger time in.My first reloads last year were 9mm also, I did 200 of them and my two neighbors sent them down range. They said they were "shooting crooked and were terrible" then they wanted to know when the next batch would be ready for re-evaluation. Not sure what to make of this.
And I would be willing to bet the re-evaluation all shoot low and will need a need to batch to retest. Lol.My first reloads last year were 9mm also, I did 200 of them and my two neighbors sent them down range. They said they were "shooting crooked and were terrible" then they wanted to know when the next batch would be ready for re-evaluation. Not sure what to make of this.
I am new also, the way I understand it, as long as you do not go under min OAL you should be fine, but going longer will not hurt anything as long as your firearm feeds the longer round. I welcome correction if I am mistaken.
Do not be afraid to load within a recommended OAL for a cartridge. No need to go with the minimum or maximum. As long as you are not working with "hot loads" you should have no worries. Lack of pressure can be just as big of an issue as too much. A squib that is not noticed can have catastrophic consequences.....ask me how I know
I load my 9mm to 1.14......feeds great and is right down the middle.
Thanks to you both for the information. I am eager to start reloading 9mm for my XDm. All I am waiting on right now is for online vendors to stop showing "out of stock" for pistol powders. Someday soon, I hope................