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Most accurate 9MM reload

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114K views 61 replies 28 participants last post by  DCOLLINS7  
#1 ·
I've been reloading 9mm for about 25 years and made a pretty comprehensive study of bullets, powders, loads, etc. My goal was to find a load that worked well is all my 9MMs with differing barrel lengths, rifling, etc.

My conclusion is that a 115 gr. plated or jacketed bullet at 1150 fps minimum came closest to the ideal load. It's accurate and reliable.

Need to be careful with plated bullets because not all are created equal. Plating thickness can vary from 0.003" up to 0.012". Jacketed bullets range from about 0.017" to 0.032". Lead tends to be soft.

My favorite powder is Alliant Power Pistol. Yes it tends to be loud and flashy but that's OK for the range and competition. Loads range from 6.0 to 6.5 depending on whether the bullet is plated or jacketed, and also depending on the bullet diameter.

What are your favorite 9MM loads?
 
#2 ·
I stopped loading 115 grain a few years back. I focus on 124 now and have had good luck with BE86. Haven't shot at paper in a while just steel plates.

I had a great paper target load years ago with AA5 and the 124. The stuff got hard to find for a while and I am finally getting back around to loading it up. Not a competition shooter but I surely notice a load that doesn't shoot straight.
 
#3 ·
I will add just a tidbit. I found the 115 gr. FMJ bullets from Precision Delta to suit my needs best primarily using Unique powder. Why go for more expensive reloads when you are simply range shooting.

I can see others who are shooting competitively dialing in on what is best for a specific pistol.

I am generically batch reloading since at my age the least accurate part is not necessarily the ammunition or the firearm.
 
#6 ·
I really like Frontier bullets, but they are a little hard to find at times. X-Treme are also good. Both are "thick plate".

I use Bullseye for all my cast (i.e., .45ACP) reloads. I never use cast in my 9MM.

I've settled on Bullseye for cast reloads and Power Pistol for plated/jacketed reloads. Got tired of having "47 varieties" of powder.
 
#7 ·
Not one brand of ammo will be the most accurate in ALL 9 mm pistols. It is best to try as many factory loads as you afford to find the best load in weight and finish. I fall els fails you do have empty brass to reload. I have three Sig 9 mm pistols and the ''all around '' for them seems to be the Speer Gold Dot 124 gr and the 124 gr Sig load in 2nd place if this helps. Never tried any of the Federal or Hornady loads so I can't comment on them.
 
#8 ·
I am at the point where factory 9MM ammo is used, almost exclusively, for self defense. Just about all my range and competition shooting is done with my own reloads. To be honest, I don't see that factory ammo is any more accurate than my reloads, and often less so. As I mentioned earlier, I've been testing for about 25 years. I think I've gotten it close to right.

I might be able to fine tune a load for a particular pistol, but I don't think the benefit would be worth the trouble.

Besides, if I had to shoot factory ammo, especially Speer or SIG, I couldn't afford to shoot as much as I do.
 
#11 ·
Everglades Ammunition has some outstanding prices on bullets.

Just be careful. The bullets marked "Made in the USA" are pretty high quality; uniform diameter, weight and ogive. The bullets NOT marked "Made in the USA" are made who-knows-where and not as uniform; good enough for practice and most everything else except bullseye.

If you are finicky stick with the made in US stuff.
 
#13 ·
Frontier is ABSOLUTELY top quality! I find their bullets to be very consistent!

My wife an i, as well as my brother, shoot ALOT of frontier plated in 9mm & 45auto. We get excellent accuracy from their 9/45 cal bullets.

Our 9mm load is Hodgdon CFE-Pistol w4.9grs and OAL 1.150 (124gr FMJ type bullet)
Our 45autos are Hodgdon TiteGroup w/5.0grs and OAL 1.200 (200gr FP type bullet)


If this data i posted is used by anyone, use at YOUR OWN RISK...!!!
I take no responsibility for your errors & actions. You`ve been FULLY warned!
 
#15 ·
I was getting awesome groups out of a couple CZ's with this two combos.


124G Round Nose
4.8 of N340
1.135 OAL
1100 FPS velocity


147G Ibeji Head
3.2 TiteGroup
1.135 OPAL
850 FPS (Subsonic)
 
#26 ·
I prefer 3.1 g of titegroup under a 147 Precision Delta tcfp. Loaded to 1.130” Will shoot under 1” at 25 yards in the ransom rest Also a 124 PD or Zero jhp c over 3.9g if accurate 2 loaded to 1.060 will also shoot under1” in the ransom. These were shot with Apex barreled M&P’s as well as a Barsto barreled Glock which preferred the 147g load slightly. I will be ransom rest testing my x carry and x5 hopefully this week. Stay tuned
 
#29 ·
I find the most accurate load I have come up with that consistently works in all my 9mm is:

124 Precision Delta JHP
4.2g Vit N320
Federal Primer
OAL 1.109
Brass Range pick up try to keep like brands together as much as possible

When I can't find Vit N320 I use Winchester 231 same 4.2g

This recipe works very nicely in every 9mm I own I do load to 1.116 for my 9mm 1911 the extra length make feeding flawless in that particular gun. Only red boxes for those loads.

I have tried and am not against any other component but when I found this load it seemed to fit me and the way I shoot very nicely. I will use Bayou plated bullets on occasion and tweak my recipe accordingly I bought 3750 a while ago to give them a try.
I like the guys at Bayou very friendly and knowledgeable. I like PD jacket bullets a little better though. probably just in my head but I take my head where ever I go.....

RCG
 
#30 ·
I have tried and am not against any other component but when I found this load it seemed to fit me and the way I shoot very nicely. I will use Bayou plated bullets on occasion and tweak my recipe accordingly I bought 3750 a while ago to give them a try.
I like the guys at Bayou very friendly and knowledgeable. I like PD jacket bullets a little better though. probably just in my head but I take my head where ever I go.....

RCG
I do the same thing. When I find a recipe I like, including the powder and bullet, I tend to buy components in bulk and load 'em up by the thousands. I suspect I am not alone in this.
 
#32 ·
As I mentioned above, my favorite load for 9MM is 115 gr. plated or jacketed bullet at 1150 fps minimum. I prefer jacketed bullets or thick plated plated bullets.

My favorite powder is Alliant Power Pistol. Loads range from 6.0 to 6.5 depending on whether the bullet is plated or jacketed, and also depending on the bullet diameter.

I'm not sure why Power Pistol seemed to deliver better accuracy than other powders, even when the velocities were comparable. I have noticed that Power Pistol fills the case more so than other powders. I've read that this contributes to accuracy. Don't know if this is the answer but the recipe works well for me.
 
#33 · (Edited)
I have shot 124/125 gr LRN for many years and while dirty they functioned well in all my guns. For the past several years I have been shooting the Hi-Tek version and found them to be clean and accurate. They do seem to smoke a bit more than jacketed, but are clean to handle and have a low coefficient of friction.

As far as accuracy goes, I am not a bullseye shooter nor do I bench at 25 yards. However I have found them to do very well at the range. My standard powder is Win 231. I have tried VV N320, but even the max load does not eject reliably in all my guns.
 
#35 ·
I recently added a P210A to my 9MM pistols. I invested in 500 Hornady 115 gr. HAP bullets and, over 6.5 gr. Power Pistol, the accuracy is outstanding.

I wanted to see what the P210A was capable of.

I'm getting 1" groups at 15 yards off hand. Still working on my 25 yard groups and will be trying 50 yards shortly.

Unfortunately I'm pushing 70 and finding it a challenge doing this pistol + ammo combination justice. But I'll never stop trying.
 
#37 ·
I take a very pragmatic view of what is basically range ammo, and that extends to essentially all that I load. Bullseye works reasonably well for everything; .32ACP, .380, 9mm, .38Sp .45 ACP. An 8lb keg is far cheaper than lesser amounts, and avoids changes of lot, if that sort of thing troubles you.
Brass is a dog's breakfast, and never tracked by firings, a thing that's especially tough with autopistols.
Bullets are 115 FMJ from Everglades; recently I've gone to the domestic ones instead of the (Fillipino?) imports that showed more variation in weight. I've tried plated in .38s and .45s, but they were iffy in 9mm Glocks. This last is just me; guys at our Club have been entirely successful shooting lead in Glocks.
Load is 4.6, which generates 1128'sec, and runs in everything. It shoots at least as straight as I can these days.
BTW, this is a golden age of factory 9mm ammo; spanking new ammo is more expensive than my reloads, but not much. It requires a little looking for best prices, but I'd be leery of reloads, especially those of uncertain provenance.
Moon
 
#39 ·
I don't really believe in "plinking" ammo, even when I am only plinking. If it's not accurate, if I can't hit what I'm aiming at, it's not fun.

This goes for handguns as well as ammo. If I can't make a gun accurate, replacing sights, barrels, tweaking reloads, etc., I trade the gun.

To paraphrase Townsend Whelen's famous quote, for me, only accurate handguns are interesting, or fun to shoot.

I see no fun in just blasting away; targets look like they were shot with a Thompson. Might as well be using firecrackers.
 
#44 ·
I load 2 types of pistol ammo, range/plinking and defensive. It does not mean that these are not accurate, but I am not striving to achieve maximum accuracy as I do with my rifle loads. Those who like to shoot for accuracy is fine, but my primary focus is maintaining my defensive skills. Here, I am running through various drills with a focus of placing shots on target, at various distances, and not group size. Therefore the ammo needs to be only accurate enough to only assure that shot placement is the result of my shooting skill.

While bullseye shooting or shooting for accuracy is not my cup of tea, I do take my hat off to those who like to pursue this endeavor. We all derive our enjoyment from different skill sets.
 
#40 ·
If you look further down the ammo reloading section you’ll see my write up on ransom rest accuracy results x carry /x5
This will answer your question. The only way to truly test mechanical accuracy is a ransom rest.
You’ll see rite away the Sig 9mm prefer 147g pills . A 147g Zero jhp or a 147 g Precision Delta tcfp over 3.1-3.3 g of titegroup loaded to 1.130”
No crimp sized with an egw undersize die.
Will shoot under 1” at 25 yards in the ransom in all my Sigs . The p320 line has proven to be incredibly accurate from the factory.
 
#42 ·
I agree with Jack#9, if I can’t shoot offhand accurately I’m just wasting my time and money. It doesn’t have to be rifle LRS precise, but the biggest reason I reload pistol is for better/more consistent accurate ammo.

I have had great results with the Hornady 115 gr. HAP bullets over 5.4 gr. CFE Pistol. Not the cleanest load, but very accurate in all my 9 mm pistols.

Liked the HAPs so much I load them in 9mm, 10mm and 45 ACP. I order a box of 1500-2,900 every month from Grafs, shipping is a flat 9.95/order.
 
#43 ·
I really like the Hornady HAP bullets. But they are a little pricey so I only use them when shooting Bullseye or doing accuracy tests. Lately I've been buying in bulk (4,000) from Everglade. In bulk the price is about $70/1,000 (9mm, 115 gr. FMJ), shipping included. But make sure you buy the "Made in USA" bullets.

I'm hooked on Power Pistol powder. I've tried many powders but PP worked best for me for jacketed bullets. It is loud and flashy but, to be honest, that doesn't bother me. It's also pretty clean and meters great.
 
#45 · (Edited)
If you load for better more consistent ammo than a ransom rest is a tool you should have. I like knowing the thousands of rounds I shoot every year are as accurate/consistent as possible. Which is why most people reload to begin with. However if you are just dumping mags into silhouettes at 7 yards any ammo/ load will work. I think a lot of people on here would be suprised to find out that their “pet load” isn’t what they thought it was.
 
#46 · (Edited)
I use only factory ammo for self-defense.

I actually experimented for years to find the most accurate and reliable load for my 9MMs. Then I selected a factory cartridge for self-defense that mirrored my ideal load in bullet weight and velocity.

I shoot both Action Pistol and Bullseye. The disciplines are very different and it is very hard to switch from one to the other. But I find by practicing both disciplines that my skills stay sharp and I don't get bored with the practice.

All my practice and competition, whether for Bullseye or Action pistol, is essentially with the same reload.

My goal is always to improve gun-handling skills, which is not always the same as improving scores in competition. I don't use light loads or big, heavy guns or optics. So I seldom win, but I am usually either second or third, which ain't too shabby.

Like Sinatra sang, I'm doing it my way.
 
#47 ·
Many years ago, as the Army (DoD) was making the transition to 9mm, I wanted to see if it could be as accurate at the venerable 45ACP had become. I spent stupid amounts of $$ trying to find accurate pistols. Star, Llama, Berretta, Browning, S&W, and so on. I tried everything from 115 gr to 147 gr. Many, many different powders. I continued to be frustrated because I could not get any 9mm pistols to group the way fairly average 1911s could.

A good friend (NRA distinguished) shared with me his own trials with the 9mm. The money he spent on a similar effort was instructive. So, it was when I shot a .38 Super the first time, that I started to get an inkling of what makes the 9mm work. When I shot that Super, (and it was nothing special, I think it was an Auto-Ordnance build), but it felt like I was shooting a laser pistol. So, I started thinking about velocity as a factor when coupled with bullet diameter.

My thoughts are that the 9mm is mostly limited by the size of its body size in contact with the rifling lands. Of course I experimented with different sized bullets (355, 356, 357, 358) based on slugging the barrel. While that mattered, a bit, it was still surprising to me that the 115 grain pushed around the 1300-1400 or so range tended to be the most accurate in the largest array of 9mm pistols.

Now, with more experience and loading many different pistol calibers over the years, I have come to believe that certain bullet calibers tend to perform best in a certain velocity band. But then, the 10mm remains a conundrum. Because it is awesome big and slow as well as small and fast as heck. I have a 10mm gas gun that pushes 135 grain at close to 2k fps!