9mm bullets too long COAL

[WillametteWill]

e careful with 9's, 9mm loaded .010 to deep can double the working pressure of some loads due to the compression of powder. Your issue may be more to do with your weapon and the bullet design. Beware!

Thanks, convinced it is bullet design since it is not close with any gun I have and completely inconsistent with other data. Agree on the pressure, which was pretty much why I posed the initial question. Historically I have stayed with pretty normal bullet designs. As I'm venturing into other bulk opportunities it seems that there are very non-traditional bullet designs (deep hollow bases that change the "normal" contact surface length, teamed with conical bullets that now must extend the ogive so they hit the rifling, non-standard bullets weights because of this, etc.).

Unlike the big manufactures (Sierra, Speer, Hornady, etc.), they don't provide load data and in many cases no COAL info...since they don't have data. For plated bullets, one advises to use data for jacketed or lead bullets. Well these are different...which is it??? These companies wouldn't still be in business and selling lots of bullets if many others didn't find a way to make them work. For me, they are out of my comfort zone, especially knowing my family shoots my reloads. It's not a surprise that with some companies the "normal" bullets are sold out and these non-standard ones are still in stock. Thing they call that a clue

Thanks for your input!

 

[ma96782]

I hope that, besides the COAL. That you're also thinking/concerned over/about the powder load that you're using?

Remember....
Start low and work your way up.

Aloha, Mark

 

[Oneeyedjack]

So I know the correct answer is to call the manufacture and I'll do that on Monday, but wanted to tap into the few thousand years of experience here as well. Two bullets, same issue. Have some 147gr Berry's Flat Points. Website lists overall loaded length at 1.130". At 1.110" they are nowhere close to chambering. The bullets are hitting the rifling and they fail the plunk test massively. The fit in a checker and I have confirmed my crimp is the same as other rounds. Just picked up some 121gr FP, website listing COAL of 1.110"...same issue but not as bad. At 1.105" they are close, 1.100" might do it.

So question, I know 9mm is susceptible to pressure spikes when bullets are seated too deep and volume decreases. How much deeper do you go? The 121gr have a hollow base which I guess increases the volume. Not planning on any spicy loads for either of these. The bearing surface on both these bullets seem to run longer. Thanks for any input.

I think I would contact Berry's bullets to see what they suggest or if they have any recipes for them. I assume these are just target rounds. I have not load Berry's. I've always gone for the trust jacket bullets. If I'm not mistaken, Berry's are plated. Check the diameter of the rounds failing to load. It could be that your chamber has tight tolerances. You could put a unloaded round in your barrel out of the gun and see if it drops gets tight it may just be the bullets are a tide to big for your chamber. Not all guns are made the same. You shouldn't have to load terribly deep to get a round to fit flat nose therefore doubtful it bottoming out in the barrel. Load up a dummy round to suggested length and drop it into the barrel out of the gun. It should slide right in if the chamber is clean. Measure the diameter of the round?

 

[Oneeyedjack]

So I know the correct answer is to call the manufacture and I'll do that on Monday, but wanted to tap into the few thousand years of experience here as well. Two bullets, same issue. Have some 147gr Berry's Flat Points. Website lists overall loaded length at 1.130". At 1.110" they are nowhere close to chambering. The bullets are hitting the rifling and they fail the plunk test massively. The fit in a checker and I have confirmed my crimp is the same as other rounds. Just picked up some 121gr FP, website listing COAL of 1.110"...same issue but not as bad. At 1.105" they are close, 1.100" might do it.

So question, I know 9mm is susceptible to pressure spikes when bullets are seated too deep and volume decreases. How much deeper do you go? The 121gr have a hollow base which I guess increases the volume. Not planning on any spicy loads for either of these. The bearing surface on both these bullets seem to run longer. Thanks for any input.

Ok, my Lyman book has a 147 flat nose lead bullet with AOL at 1.058. This is a Lyman lead flat nose lead bullet. Starting point. Try a dummy round and see if it chambers in the barrel out of the gun. If so play with start low and work it up. Hope this helps.

 

[WillametteWill]

It could be that your chamber has tight tolerances. You could put a unloaded round in your barrel out of the gun and see if it drops gets tight it may just be the bullets are a tide to big for your chamber.

Ok, my Lyman book has a 147 flat nose lead bullet with AOL at 1.058.

So I don't know if you read the entire thread but we covered all those possibilities, with photos, a few pages back. The barrels are fine...all four that I tried from different manufactures. Check out the photos in post #18 (#17 as a reference with bullet length). These are clearly hitting the lands; neck size is my standard with all of them. This is with the 121 gr bullets that will be shorter than the listed COAL but will work.

Berry's lists the COAL with the 147's at 1.30. That Lyman data is .242 shorter, nearly a quarter of an inch!!! That is HUGE in the reloading world...and thus the issue I've been having with these. Berry's does not publish any data nor do many other bullet manufactures. Thanks for the input! Just thought I would try some different options but I think I'll be sticking with 124gr RN for now, it's not broken.

 

[WillametteWill]

I hope that, besides the COAL. That you're also thinking/concerned over/about the powder load that you're using?

Remember....
Start low and work your way up.

Thanks Mark and definitely. The COAL was just really the burr in the saddle with my 9mm COVID reloading adventure. Now I'll see if I can find another problem for riot reloading!

 

[Oneeyedjack]

Thanks Mark and definitely. The COAL was just really the burr in the saddle with my 9mm COVID reloading adventure. Now I'll see if I can find another problem for riot reloading!

Checkout the reply I posted at 4:22 pm that includes loading data from Lyman. That's a flat nosed 147 lead bullet. From Lymans 47the edition

 

[WillametteWill]

Checkout the reply I posted at 4:22 pm that includes loading data from Lyman. That's a flat nosed 147 lead bullet. From Lymans 47the edition

That COAL may work for that specific bullet mold but it appears to by way off from what Berry's states is the COAL for the same weight, similar style bullet. I'm good and expect some difference, but 1/4" is gigantic. That actually seems crazy short since 124 gr bullets go at about 1.150", granted round nosed. Hornady shows a 147 gr lead fp at 1.169", over .1 longer than Lyman. If .01 can spike pressure, imagine what 10x or 25x would do!!!

In 35+ years of reloading, I have found some areas have too much variance and/or conflicting data to fall into my comfort zone. These bullets are firmly here. I'm sure others craft perfectly safe loads, but think I'll shy away from this combination when there are soooo many other good options. Thanks again for the conversation.