Good Deal on Strange 9mm Bullets

[Dungannon]

Anyway, checked just a moment ago -- sold out. I shoulda got another box.

Whew! Ordered 2K last night and a 3in1 cutter; got an email at 6:12 this morning that it shipped.

 

[awshoot]

Whew! Ordered 2K last night and a 3in1 cutter; got an email at 6:12 this morning that it shipped.

You're the one! I knew it had to be someone here!

 

[po18guy]

I'm going to an estate sale tomorrow morning in Portland and the guy who passed on to the great shooting range in the sky left behind a whole bunch of reloading components.
I'm not versed in how much the stuff costs, but there's a lot of it. Should be interesting on what they want for it.



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Oh, crap! Did I die and no one told me???

 

[awshoot]

Not so far as I know.

EDIT: I have a speer manual from the 90s that matches powder I have at both 100 gr and 115 gr projectiles.

AA#5:
100 gr
6.7 to 7.4 gr
1150, 1274 book velocity

115 gr
6.1 to 6.8
1003, 1102 book velocity

This bullet is 1/3 of the way between the light and heavy bullets, and there is -0.6 gr between light and heavy, so I figure I'll start at 6.5 and see what velocity I get with that.

I'm working on a test load and trying to find as much info as I can about Federal's factory load. This article has some velocity data: Review: Federal Guard Dog

I really want to know the COLA on factory ammo. I measure the bullet itself at 0.663".

 

[ma96782]

Oh Yeah....at $0.09 per bullet......I'm glad that I brought cases of WOLF at the pre-CCP Virus prices. But of course, my son (in AZ) now has them.

YES....Wolf ain't the same thing as SD ammo. But, there it is.

Aloha, Mark

 

[ma96782]

I'm working on a test load and trying to find as much info as I can about Federal's factory load. This article has some velocity data: Review: Federal Guard Dog

I really want to know the COLA on factory ammo. I measure the bullet itself at 0.663".

If I may suggest?

Try working around the "plunk test" for a COAL.
Of course, some adjustment(s) may/might still be needed to ensure safety and functioning.

Aloha, Mark

 

[awshoot]

I've worked up a load for this bullet that seems to be working. All test series had five rounds each, the chronograph set at 6', and the target at 15 yds. I'm interested in any critical comments, particularly if you think I may be trending into dangerous territory.

I first started with a COAL of 1.15" which I tried calculating from pictures of the ammo I found online and the proportions of a known bullet length and presumed case length. It was awful -- one load didn't even put a single hole in a sheet of letter paper, another only 2/5 and third only 3/5. The two that managed 5 shots on paper grouped around 6". I felt maybe I'd started a bit hot too -- the lightest load gave me a velocity of 1142 and the hottest 1252 FPS. Interestingly, I'm using more powder with my later loads but achieving lower velocity with deeper seating which seems counter intuitive.

For my second try I seated the bullet to 1.13" -- lightest load gave me 967 FPS and hottest 1046. The three lightest all had the slide closing on a spent case and none would lock the slide open. Group size improved and at 15 yds two of the loads came in at 3" and one just over 2".

Third try: COAL 1.12", starting at the previous max load for the minimum. With the two lightest loads the spent case would get caught by the slide and with the heaviest load, the case would clear the slide but the slide would not lock back on an empty mag. Heaviest load gave me a 1.9" group at 15 yds and averaged 1078 FPS.

Fourth try: COAL 1.12", no case eject or slide lock failures for any of these loads. Lightest load averaged 1097 FPS and heaviest 1163. Heaviest load gives me a 2.1" group at 15 yds which was also best grouping for this test series.

Here's what I used for the winner of test #4 -- I have NO idea whether it is actually a safe load so use at your own risk.

Bullet: 105 grain Federal Guard Dog
Case: Winchester
Primer: Federal 100
Powder: Accurate #5, 6.1 grains
COAL: 1.12"

I feel like I am seeing the beginnings of some primer flattening with this load (though Federal primers are reputed to have soft cup material) and a bit of a crater around the firing pin indentation, but it isn't jagged. Anything low enough to not show some marks from the firing pin hole (with this or any other bullet) causes case ejection or slide lock malfunctions:



I am using about a 5" barrel and my load has less velocity than factory loads in this test (see CV column) -- I'm 163 FPS slower with a chrono 4 feet closer so I can't help but think I should be able push this a bit faster -- any discouragement of this notion would probably help save my hand and my gun: