Is this a bad time to buy reloading components?

[kc17 622]

I read about that online. One suggestion was to use lead fishing weights.

[Heavyopp 167]

3 hours ago, JC_68Westy said:

The way I have seen it done is different than you describe.  I have seen a round ball (pure lead) hammered into the end of the barrel and then driven out with rod.  I have never heard of a bullet being forced through a barrel.

Sounds like the same thing to me — the end result is what we are after

do you have a .357 round lead ball?

[kc17 622]

My multiple manuals & two smaller reference guides arrived today. A quick look revealed none of them mention IbejiHead, or any coated bullets at all for that matter.

Which leads me away from IbejiHeads, for now at least. I'd rather start off with a published recipe. At least now I have many and can begin to pick out the individual components and hopefully get them ordered.

My die set arrived today also, last thing I'm waiting on is the shell holder and then I should be ready to go equipment-wise.

[JC_68Westy 1,024]

It might not be the right thing posting this, but in my experience the published starting loads for 9mm are usually too weak to cycle a semi-auto 9mm.  I usually start in the middle in between starting and max.

[Heavyopp 167]

17 hours ago, kc17 said:

My multiple manuals & two smaller reference guides arrived today. A quick look revealed none of them mention IbejiHead, or any coated bullets at all for that matter.

Which leads me away from IbejiHeads, for now at least. I'd rather start off with a published recipe. At least now I have many and can begin to pick out the individual components and hopefully get them ordered.

My die set arrived today also, last thing I'm waiting on is the shell holder and then I should be ready to go equipment-wise.

You will never find a book that mentions Ibejiheads — generally you would load coated bullets with lead bullet data — no need to pay for the premium stuff listed in your books

 

I load all my handgun stuff with a powder called promo — you’ll never find a published load with it in modern books— older books, before lawyers and insurance companies had so much influence on everything, have different data and promo is loaded using Red Dot data.

In the end you need to do what makes you comfortable

[JC_68Westy 1,024]

10 minutes ago, Heavyopp said:

You will never find a book that mentions Ibejiheads — generally you would load coated bullets with lead bullet data — no need to pay for the premium stuff listed in your books

 

I load all my handgun stuff with a powder called promo — you’ll never find a published load with it in modern books— older books, before lawyers and insurance companies had so much influence on everything, have different data and promo is loaded using Red Dot data.

In the end you need to do what makes you comfortable

I agree, you can find out what mold Ibejiheads uses. If I am loading a bullet that is not in my load books I just measure the bullet and use load data for a similar bullet that matches the dimensions or is very close.

[JackDaWack 2,895]

Book either publish lead or jacketed bullet specs. 

 

Any special coatings or plating you need to figure they fall somewhere in between. You always work up your load so it's really an irrelevant issue.

[kc17 622]

I had read previously (and again here) that coated would fall someplace in between lead & jacketed. The manuals I have do not list the bullet's dimensions though, only the COL. I understand the bullet's shape & dimension impacts the recipe significantly, so I would not know what to start with.

I absolutely plan to start at a lower load and work my way up.

I've emailed IbejiHeads & Northeast asking if they can provide me mold data or a recipe. I'd like to use one of them since they're local and the overall cost savings would be significant.

[Heavyopp 167]

What ibeji bullet are you thinking of using?

what powder are you using?

what primer?

 

sometimes there is just too much info with the internet— when I started the internet didn't exist — you bought a few books — got some bullets that looked close, and started with a low powder charge and worked your way up — bullseye was my powder of choice back then — bought off the shelf at Rays

[kc17 622]

I was leaning towards the 124g CN FB as a "middle of the road/avg" bullet.

Earlier research led me to believe I should pick the bullet first, then the powder and lastly the primer. I plan to be in a LGS Monday and I was going to see if they had anything while I was there.

[10X 3,298]

6 minutes ago, kc17 said:

I was leaning towards the 124g CN FB as a "middle of the road/avg" bullet.

Earlier research led me to believe I should pick the bullet first, then the powder and lastly the primer. I plan to be in a LGS Monday and I was going to see if they had anything while I was there.

Go in with a couple of alternatives in mind.   In times of short supply, they may not have your first choice, but will have something else that will work fine--it's just easiest if you already have some idea of what else would work for you (or if you bring the loading manual with you).

A lot of gun shops don't carry reloading supplies at all, so I assume you're going to one that does.

[Heavyopp 167]

In a perfect world you could get exactly what you want — this isn’t a perfect world

I’m not sure what is local to you but around here, Garden State Armory is the only place with reloading supplies — and they know it — luckily I’ve never been desperate enough to have to spend what they want for stuff

You most likely will have to “settle” for something you can find that works — thats how I stumbled onto Promo — it was the only thing available back in the sandy hook reloading crisis — and I bought a few 8 pound jugs

powder and primers are generally harder to find than bullets

If you’re serious about this, and you find a powder that will work, buy it — you may not get another chance for awhile

 

 

[kc17 622]

I think I just had an epiphany.

The main differences (besides weight) is the nose and base profiles. If I can find 3-5 recipes using the same powder, same primers and similar profile bullets; I should be able to avg them out and come up with my recipe?

Does that sound feasible?

 

 

[JackDaWack 2,895]

31 minutes ago, kc17 said:

I think I just had an epiphany.

The main differences (besides weight) is the nose and base profiles. If I can find 3-5 recipes using the same powder, same primers and similar profile bullets; I should be able to avg them out and come up with my recipe?

Does that sound feasible?

 

 

 

If a bullet is not listed in a book with load data, you have to find it's closest alternative and adjust accordingly. You can cross reference load data from manufactures as well. Many times, you will find that the data is not ideal and shows conflicting min and max powder charges. 

For most people when they start out with unknown load data, they usually load their bullets to max COAL and min charge (nearest comparative bullets) so they don't run the risk of over pressure, and will work up from there. 

 

 

[kc17 622]

Nick at Northeast responded already, made a suggestion and since he only has one 9mm coated that part is easy. $26 for 250 I'll give them a go.

 

[kc17 622]

On 6/13/2020 at 11:00 AM, 10X said:

A lot of gun shops don't carry reloading supplies at all, so I assume you're going to one that does.

This shop does not carry any reloading supplies, the owner was helping me and I asked. He said it would cost him about $600 a year in additional licenses and he didn't think he'd sell nearly enough to justify the additional costs.

I placed a small order of powder and primers from Midway over the weekend. If the combinations I've purchased work out I'll be placing a larger order.

[Heavyopp 167]

What did you end up ordering?

[kc17 622]

250 coated bullets from NE, 1lb Hodgdon Tightgroup and 1000 CCI #500 Primers.

 

[10X 3,298]

10 minutes ago, kc17 said:

250 coated bullets from NE, 1lb Hodgdon Tightgroup and 1000 CCI #500 Primers.

 

That'll work fine.  

With some coated bullets and all lead bullets Titegroup will give you loads that are a little smokey, and Titegroup will work best for loads on the light end of the spectrum, but you're in good shape to crank out 250 safe and accurate loads.  And you'll still have nearly all of the Titegroup left when you're out of bullets--a little of that stuff goes a LONG ways.

Watch out for double charges--fast powders like Titegroup and others occupy so little volume in the case, that an accidental double charge won't necessarily overflow the case, so it's possible to overlook if you aren't paying attention.

[kc17 622]

4 minutes ago, 10X said:

 

With some coated bullets and all lead bullets Titegroup will give you loads that are a little smokey, and Titegroup will work best for loads on the light end of the spectrum, but you're in good shape to crank out 250 safe and accurate loads. 

It's disappointing to hear Titegroup is smokey. My first choice was Universal, but I switched to Titegroup at the last minute.

[10X 3,298]

2 minutes ago, kc17 said:

It's disappointing to hear Titegroup is smokey. My first choice was Universal, but I switched to Titegroup at the last minute.

The powder isn't smokey, it's just very hot burning, so with some bullets it converts more of the bullet lube into smoke.  With jacketed or plated bullets it won't be noticeable, with coated it depends on the bullet, with lead, you'll have to decide if it bothers you or not.

[kc17 622]

I have not gotten to the measuring out part. I realized I need a funnel also, I think I have one from the kitchen I can acquire (it will not go back to the kitchen). I did read someplace plastic funnels are a pain due to static buildup.

My current plan is to load a few dummy cartridges to make sure I have that process down before adding any powder. Then load batches of 10 at different loads for testing. Once I've decided on the load I think works I'll load another 50 for additional testing; if they pass then load whatever I have remaining and place a bulk order.

 

[Heavyopp 167]

Sounds like you are in good shape to make your own ammo 

powder funnels are not like a regular funnel — the funell doesn’t go into the case it sits on top — there is a small inverted cone on the bottom of the funnel which centers the funnel on the case — you can get by with a regular funnel thas small enough but it will be a PIA

I still use the 1st powder funnel I ever bought — RCBS — bought it back in the very early 90’s

[njJoniGuy 2,131]

I like the Satern funnels. MidwayUSA for most of your needs.

Stay safe, newbie! Remember, YOU are the QC guy now.

[JackDaWack 2,895]

I love the Lyman funnel with the orange inserts.. its the anti static one. 

Also I use titegroup exclusively.. with plated bullets, and the smoke is low.. it just doesn't like bare lead and certain coatings.

Xtreme bullets have always done very well for me, and they are oddly just as consistent as the other major brands.. even better than some. 

[kc17 622]

I loaded and fired ten rounds of 9mm today. Average COAL 1.156, 3.6 grains of Hodgdon Titegroup, 124gr Coated Truncated bullets from Northeast (ibejiheads never did respond to my email). Was very slow loading using a RCBS Powder Trickler onto the scale for every load. I have an RCBS UNIFLOW but I haven't messed with that yet. As a reminder, most of my equipment was gifted to me by a friend when he left the Country. He never reloaded 9mm. Since I hand poured every round, I seated the bullet after each pour; this eliminated accidentally doing a missed or double charge. I absolutely want to be able to speed the process up. 

I used an RCBS 3-die set followed up with a Redding taper crimp die, then verified with a Hornady gauge. I had to run a few cartridges through the Redding more than once before I was satisfied with the fit in the gauge, I can't explain that. 

Cycled them through the hand gun for fun, seemed fine, went to the Range, they all went Bang, no clicks and no BOOMS!

I'm contemplating reducing the COAL a hair, to be closer to Factory ammo, also some rounds were closer 1.16. It took me so long to get everything to this point that I'm hesitant to modify anything; even though I know I probably should.

Thanks again to all that provided guidance and encouragement along this journey.

 

[JackDaWack 2,895]

5 hours ago, kc17 said:

I loaded and fired ten rounds of 9mm today. Average COAL 1.156, 3.6 grains of Hodgdon Titegroup, 124gr Coated Truncated bullets from Northeast (ibejiheads never did respond to my email). Was very slow loading using a RCBS Powder Trickler onto the scale for every load. I have an RCBS UNIFLOW but I haven't messed with that yet. As a reminder, most of my equipment was gifted to me by a friend when he left the Country. He never reloaded 9mm. Since I hand poured every round, I seated the bullet after each pour; this eliminated accidentally doing a missed or double charge. I absolutely want to be able to speed the process up. 

I used an RCBS 3-die set followed up with a Redding taper crimp die, then verified with a Hornady gauge. I had to run a few cartridges through the Redding more than once before I was satisfied with the fit in the gauge, I can't explain that. 

Cycled them through the hand gun for fun, seemed fine, went to the Range, they all went Bang, no clicks and no BOOMS!

I'm contemplating reducing the COAL a hair, to be closer to Factory ammo, also some rounds were closer 1.16. It took me so long to get everything to this point that I'm hesitant to modify anything; even though I know I probably should.

Thanks again to all that provided guidance and encouragement along this journey.

 

If you chrono your loads im guessing you could seat the bullet a little deeper and drop more powder.

I've gone up to 4.2gr at 1.35coal 124gr plated

[kc17 622]

I don't have a chrono, my brother does/did from his paintball days a couple of decades ago. Don't know if he still has it, if it still works, or what speeds it registers.

If I just seat the bullet deeper, do you think I'd have to re-adjust the Reeding Taper die also?

[carl_g 568]

Just be cautious with a fast powder like titegroup. The ranges between min and max loads are pretty small.

Have fun!

[njJoniGuy 2,131]

Titegroup measures and drops thru the Uniflow great!

It's my go-to for handgun rounds. I use 50-hole trays from Midway. Stand your primed and belled cases up in the tray, and one at a time, move a case under the dispensing end of the uniflow. Pull the handle down then back up. Move to the next case and repeat until the whole tray is charged with powder. Using a good overhead light or a flashlight, do a visual to be sure all the powder levels are at the same height. Insurance you haven't double charged one or left any empties (squibs on the range are not welcome, neither are double charge kabooms)

Move the whole tray to the press and seat your projectiles. Then crimp (if doing a separate step, for example, with a Lee Factory crimp die) and drop EVERY round into your gauge to verify.

REMEMBER, YOU ARE THE QUALITY CONTROL MANAGER. NO ONE ELSE IS GOING TO FIND YOUR FUCKUPS IF ANY OCCUR.