9mm questions....

i know, i know, savage don't even offer a rifle in 9mm, so what am i doing asking this here.... because i like you guys, an know you'll be kind to me.

i am gonna be reloading for a SMG and they are extremely unforgiving of double charges and squibs.

is there a powder that will fill the case to near full in one charge, so that an extremely light charge would be plainly noticable or a double charge would make a mess, and still work the bolt properly, i know the cowboy action stuff is out there but is it for sami auto's? i used tightgroup last time i did handgun loads and i could probably get a triple charge in the case w/ that stuff...

You could try Blue Dot but you'll need a heavy bullet with it. What bullet weight are you using? There won't be any "magic" bullet so to speak. I load on a Dillon 550 progressive and check powder level with a bright light just prior to seating the bullet, if anything looks funny, I pull that case and check it out.

Longshot and HS-6 seem to both fill the case pretty well once you get close to max. You can definitely see a double with those powders.

Dolomite

I've never loaded for a SMG but my two favorite 9mm powders are Winchester WSF & Alliant Power Pistol. Yep, odd place to get 9mm reloading advice - but we are nice here. ;D

Well no 9mm is going to be forgiving of double charges!!

Trail boss might work (probably not best performing for 9mm but there is no way you could double charge). Any of the powders on the slower end of the "suitable" range would let you see a double charge (as long as you looked at all cases).

A high primer is a more likely problem with a SMG than a double charge or squib. Be sure you seat primers well.

What kind of SMG? Full auto?

I have loaded some very stiff charges of Power Pistol with cast and jacketed bullets from 124 to 147 grs. for use in my S&W 940 revolver. Power Pistol always gave the highest velocity and easiest extraction. Once I reached the maximum velocity it appeared any extra powder loaded would give no gain in velocity, which leads me to believe that it would not burn in that 2" barrel. While some of these loads might not be suitable for autos with unsupported chambers, it's clear to me that Power Pistol does have a very high "fudge factor" when loaded in the 9mm.

Dave Sinko

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Originally Posted by Eric in NC

What kind of SMG? Full auto?

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actually none yet, but i got the bug, i bought a box full of mac m/11 type stuff and have been piecing together guns and got some neat uppers and have been blasting away w/ the semi auto's, and found a full auto locally that a guy wants to trade on. i have used up most of my 9mm reloads and kinda figure that when i get the dillons going after christmas to replenish inventory that some of it will likely end up in that gun...

have been looking into how to buy it, i/e private sale, trust etc.

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Originally Posted by Eric in NC

Well no 9mm is going to be forgiving of double charges!!

Trail boss might work (probably not best performing for 9mm but there is no way you could double charge). Any of the powders on the slower end of the "suitable" range would let you see a double charge (as long as you looked at all cases).

A high primer is a more likely problem with a SMG than a double charge or squib. Be sure you seat primers well.

What kind of SMG? Full auto?

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TB isn't the best and might cause some serious problems. The amount of TB needed to launch a projectile from the small 9mm case would require you to compress the charge. By compressing the charge you change the characteristics of the powder. I have also read of TB causing kabooms when used with jacketed bullets trying to push it to higher velocities like you would want with a SMG. If you would pick just about any powder designed for 9mm and push it to the velocities you want it would be better than trying to get TB to work. Another thing is when you up the load ot SMG levels you can easily see a double charged case.

TB was designed for the cowboy action shooters that were shooting lead bullets. The makers of TB even warn against using it with jacketed bullets.

I have used TB for subsonic rifle loads in a few different calibers and I have tried compressing the charges in a few. Those compressed charges resulted in inconsistencies. Uncompressed TB works great for a lot of subsonic or lower velocity rounds.

Personally I would not try to push TB to SMG velocities unless you can do it without compressing the load and in the 9mm case I don't think it is possible because it is a very fluffy powder.

Dolomite

Edited to add:
I got to thinking about it and I think I actually tried TB in 9mm when I first bought some TB. I was thinking if I could just top the case off and seat the bullet it would make realoding 9mm so much easier. If it was TB I am thinking about, which I think it is, I remember it not having enough power to cycle my G17.

Have you considered IMR SR7625. I have used it extensively reloading 12 ga. loads and I noted that it did take a considerable larger charge as compared to Red Dot or other much faster burning powders. Hogdon HS-6 seems to be a slow burning/high volume powder as well but I have no experience with it yet.