115 gr 9mm with unique question

[Wild Zebra]

Hello, so I've been getting used to my equipment and reading the past few days and last night I loaded up some 38spl with 158gr JHP with 4.5 titegroup and some 115gr FMJ 9mm with 5.1 Unique. Know I've read diffierent powders will fll up cases differently and for a beginner this is good thing so you don't double charge.

Well I noticed the 38's barely look like any power is in there and the 9mm are well over half full. Both cartridges came out nice and I'm very satisfied and ready to go shoot. I just want to make sure this is normal for these loads and I'm doing everything right before I load more rounds. Using Lee perfect powder measure (which I can't figure out how to set) then check on digi and Lee analog scale. So I'm pretty comfortable I'm doing everything right. Just checking.

 

[TheBigO]

With the Unique Powder it will fill the 9mm case up pretty full. I would say at least 3/4. I was using it with a 115 JRN and a 6.3 grain charge. However I found that the large flake powder did not meter well in my lee auto disk. I switched to power pistol and it seems to do better.

 

[Unclenick]

Not only is the .38 Special case taller, but the SAAMI maximum peak pressure is half the pressure of a 9mm. As a result it will have a much lower percentage of the case filled by a modern smokeless powder. That's not uncommon for cartridges originally designed for black powder. They tend to have more volume and lower maximum pressure than modern powders can take full advantage of.

There is a relatively new powder for shooting lead bullets in these older rounds called IMR Trail Boss. If has high bulk, so it fills the cases well while still working within original pressure limits.

 

[Wild Zebra]

Thanks, until I do this a little more and get used to the norms of how it should look, I'd rather ask and get more knowledge. I'm double, triple checking my powder weight although I seem to trust the regular scale over the digi.

I have unique, universal and titegroup anyone have an opinion or info on which powder would make a good load for 115 FMJ

 

[texasloader49]

...opinion or info on which powder would make a good load for 115 FMJ

Try them all. You will find that each pistol has it's own likes and dislikes for different powders. One suggestion...if you can, get a copy, or go online for a copy, of each powder manufacturers recommendations for the loads you want to use. Always, always be safe, and if you aren't sure, post here with a question, or better yet, contact the powder company and see what they have to say about it. But the best thing is, when all is said and done, you will REALLY enjoy reloading and the satisfaction of "building your own"!

 

[cliffspot]

9mm and 38 special powders

I have had great results with 231 and Universal in 9mm. They both work well in 38 special also. On the plus side they meter well from most powder measures.

 

[phrogpilot]

You will find this to be the case with certain cartridges, especially those which were originally black powder, such as .45 Colt. I too use 5.1 grs. Unique with a 115 gr. FMJ in my 9mm Browning High Power and it works very well.

When my dad loaded .38's, .44's and .45 Colt, he would insert a wooden dowel into the case after the powder was inserted, with a mark to show the correct insertion depth when properly loaded with his desired amount of powder. I have come to be able to look into the case and tell easily, but whatever you do, do it every time, repeatably.

I have learned so much from these forums; you're doing the right thing asking these questions. Good luck

 

[Wild Zebra]

Thanks, well I won't be able to shoot till this weekend and I do not want to get to far ahead of myself but with the info at hand I think I'll go ahead and load up about 50 for testing in my 9mm's this weekend. Thanks! I have not been able to get my head around how to set up the Lee Perf. Powder measure. Til I do I've been loading it up with powder then turning it increments til I get desired measure, then double check on digi and trip check on Lee scale. Over kill maybe but for now I'll do it.

 

[Unclenick]

That's a good approach. The measure cavity stem is calibrated in cc's. You need to know the bulk density of the powder in grains/cc to convert the cc setting to grains. Most measures with micrometer adjustments have arbitrary scales, as near as I can tell, so you have to go through repetitions of tweak-and-weigh until you get what you want anyway. Many measures have no calibration at all, so you have to do that anyway.

What you can do is throw ten charges and get an average weight, then turn the stem in or out exactly 1 cc, throw a few settling charges, then weigh ten more and take their average. The difference in the two average weights is going to be how many grains per cc the measure alters the load with your powder. After that, if you want to adjust the charge 0.5 grains, just divide 0.5 by the differences in averages to see what decimal fraction of a cc you need to adjust the scale to. Even with that, you need to double-check on the scale after throwing settling charges. No free lunch there. The arithmetic just makes it quicker to get to your destination in fewer tweak-and-test cycles.

 

[chris in va]

Or, you can just make your own powder dipper out of a spent shell casing. Kinda retro but works every time.