9mm first time loader

[fvalmostthere]

So when I bought my 9mm 6 years ago I bought everything to reload for it but never really did. I did once and came up with the load 4.2gr of universal at 1.060 in length with hornady 124xtp’s. Ran a 5 shot group ladder today from 3.8-4.4 at 1.125 length from about 5yds and 3.8 was my best group at 1.5inches and 4.0 and 4.1 were both right around 1.75 as my next 2 best groups.

with rifle I usually work off muzzle velocity and whichever charge gives me the lowest es and sd. With pistol I can’t do that so I have to go off groups and I’ll be the first to admit I am not the best pistol shooter. I feel like I could reload this test, go out and get completely different results. Not sure what others do. Thinking about going with 4.1 even though it wasn’t my best group just to get a little more speed in there where 3.8 is the bottom of the safe zone.

gladly accept any advice!

 

[Gustav7]

I'm sure someone on here does pistol reloading like rifle reloading but I don't know anyone who does. They're just not the same class of reloading.

A few notes on your method:
1.) I would stop worrying about OAL. I load to one of two spots: 1-to the crimp groove/cannelure or 2-to the book length(if it makes sense). In my experience, OAL for pistols does not correlate like it does with rifles.

2.) If you're going to test the accuracy of a pistol, don't do it at 5 yards. I would recommend doing it from a rest, at 25yds. And if you're not confident in your pistol shooting, I would not rely on group size to tell you what you want to know.

3.) if you use muzzle velocity for rifles, why can you not use it for pistols? Do you have a magnetospeed I take it?

For my .38/.357 I load near the bottom of the book, around 650fps..which puts me easily into light target loads used for Cowboy Action style shooting.

For 9mm, I try to load around factory ammo, usually in the 1000-1100fps are with 115's. I don't really worry about accuracy...ESPECIALLY the difference between 0.4gr of powder. Its practice ammo and plinking ammo. Its accurate it enough.

Is there something specific you're trying to do with this 9mm ammo?

 

[mdmp5]

I’ve been loading pistol for quite some time. Loading pistol for accuracy is more about finding a load that feeds and cycles reliably with a little less recoil than a standard full powered load. This includes selecting a good projectile. Mind you, I am speaking with the assumption that the objective is just target shooting, with no concern about energy and penetration.

I hold my position that unlike rifle, seating depth, optimal charge weight and velocity nodes are not applicable here unless someone else has some hard data. Talked to Brian Enos about this back over a decade ago.