I went to the range yesterday with a fellow TFLer to try out some of my reloads. I was mostly shooting .40 out of my SIG 229 and Walther P99. Loads were Rainier 135 gr FP over 7.4 grains of SR 7625 and Rainier 155 gr FP over 11.0 grains of Blue Dot. OAL was 1.135-1.140". The SR 7625 load was very accurate, with little flash and minimal muzzle flip/recoil. However....
Holy Moly on the Blue Dot!!! My buddy, three shooting lanes over, thought I was shooting my .44 mag Redhawk when I touched off a few rounds with the stuff out of my SIG. I have NEVER fired a .40 round that had so much ferocious bite. Recoil and muzzle flip was serious (as a matter of fact, the most I've ever felt in an autoloader). The brass ejected 20-25 feet out of my P99. Muzzle flash was horrendous-I could see a fireball clearly even in daylight. I thought I was going to blow up my guns (especially the Walther), but when I inspected the brass, there were no undue signs of overpressure.
These loads were gleaned off of a post I made a week ago, from two suggestions that I use Blue Dot. I even backed off the grainage slightly from what was suggested. I cross-referrenced this data from the Alliant guide. I shot a few rounds of Fiocchi 180 gr and Corbon 155 gr for comparison and there was no comparison. Granted, I didn't have a chrono with me, but these rounds made the Corbons and the Fiocchi look like *****cats. And it's been my experience that those two are among the "hottest" of factory loads.
So is all this normal? Does all that huge flash mean that Blue Dot is burning too slow for my 4 inch barrel, and I'm wasting powder? Am I just being a candy a$$? Was I weaned on wimpy ammo, and now that I'm reloading, steppin up to what the caliber is all about? Most of all, is this load safe? Safe enough that you would run it through your GLOCK??!!
BTW, the load WAS very accurate! 2" for the Walther at 25 yards, rested, and 2.25 for the SIG. Accuracy testing was done when it was starting to get dark, so I might have been able to do even a little better.
Holy Moly on the Blue Dot!!! My buddy, three shooting lanes over, thought I was shooting my .44 mag Redhawk when I touched off a few rounds with the stuff out of my SIG. I have NEVER fired a .40 round that had so much ferocious bite. Recoil and muzzle flip was serious (as a matter of fact, the most I've ever felt in an autoloader). The brass ejected 20-25 feet out of my P99. Muzzle flash was horrendous-I could see a fireball clearly even in daylight. I thought I was going to blow up my guns (especially the Walther), but when I inspected the brass, there were no undue signs of overpressure.
These loads were gleaned off of a post I made a week ago, from two suggestions that I use Blue Dot. I even backed off the grainage slightly from what was suggested. I cross-referrenced this data from the Alliant guide. I shot a few rounds of Fiocchi 180 gr and Corbon 155 gr for comparison and there was no comparison. Granted, I didn't have a chrono with me, but these rounds made the Corbons and the Fiocchi look like *****cats. And it's been my experience that those two are among the "hottest" of factory loads.
So is all this normal? Does all that huge flash mean that Blue Dot is burning too slow for my 4 inch barrel, and I'm wasting powder? Am I just being a candy a$$? Was I weaned on wimpy ammo, and now that I'm reloading, steppin up to what the caliber is all about? Most of all, is this load safe? Safe enough that you would run it through your GLOCK??!!
BTW, the load WAS very accurate! 2" for the Walther at 25 yards, rested, and 2.25 for the SIG. Accuracy testing was done when it was starting to get dark, so I might have been able to do even a little better.