9mm 147g RN FMJ subsonic load/ powder issue

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JohnMatrix
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9mm 147g RN FMJ subsonic load/ powder issue

Post by JohnMatrix »

Hi,

I just bought a case of berry's 147g RN fmj 9mm. I have hp-38 powder (also known as 231?) Unfortunately, speer reloading manual does not list a RN 147g Round Nose, only a 147g Flat Nose. Also, it doesn't give a listing for the powder that I have for this type of bullet.

-Do I have to go buy a different powder (Kind of hard to find) ?

-I'm thinking that I should just use the standard 1.135" Over All Length from the 124RN listing

-I'd be going out on a limb and guessing that i could start with somewhere around 4.0g of 231, since thats the minimum recommended for 124gRN

It will be fired through a walther PPQ with suppressor.

Thanks in advance, gentlemen.

Ps. As inaccurate as these claims may be, I have found several posts by people who have done it with this round/powder:

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/inde ... 78947.html

"I respectfully disagree with the comments about W231 being not appropriate for 147 grain bullets. A while back there was a poster with the User name "Jim Watson" that said the 1993 Hodgdon manual listed a load for W231 (same as HP38, check the load data from Hodgdon if you don't believe us) with a Winchester 147 grain bullet. The bullet material was unspecified. The starting load was 4.0 gr and the max was 4.3 gr.

I used this data to work up a competition load for my son. The gun is a Glock 34. We are using Berry's 147 gr plated bullets, with a charge of 4.0 gr of W231. The OAL is 1.135", but we didn't find any big velocity difference between 1.125 and 1.135" OAL. Average speed of 10 shots in 957 fps.

There are several of us in the competion world that prescribe to the "heavy bullet, fast powder" school of though to reduce felt recoil (for making power factor), which allows a faster follow-up shot. Please, don't take my word for it, check out any of the other forums, Especially Brian Enos."
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chrismartin
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Re: 9mm 147g RN FMJ subsonic load/ powder issue

Post by chrismartin »

For 231, I use 3.8-3.9 grains for all jacketed and plated 147gr 9mm loads.
It cycles everything I shoot (Glock 17, 19, 26, 34, STI 2011 9mm, Sig P229, 9mm AR15 SBR 5.5" barrel, etc)

You should be able to use the OAL for most hollow point bullets. I'll double check my OAL for my flat nose loads and post back later today.

I used to use the flat nosed Berry's a lot, so I've got the data on my laptop at home. I have had no issues with accuracy at all.
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chrismartin
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Re: 9mm 147g RN FMJ subsonic load/ powder issue

Post by chrismartin »

Here is my load for Berry's 147gr RN 9mm using WW231 powder:

3.8gr WW231 (I tested up to 4gr, but I'd recommend the lowest functional weight for this powder and bullet)
OAL 1.16 (Also used 1.155)
Crimp (at case mouth) .378

Watch out for the plate shaving off or crumpling at the case mouth (You need enough bell at the case mouth before you seat the bullet) If you crumple the plating, it can lead to malfunctions in some guns (if the chambers are tight). Also, never run plated bullets too fast as it could cause plating separation, which for silencer use would be bad. I never had an issue though and I've (and others here) have run thousands of rounds of Berry's and other plated bullets through out silencers.
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