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Berry's 180 gr RN DS and Blue Dot?

6K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  HiccaBurp 
#1 ·
I've just started reloading. Reloaded some 9mm successfully with Berrys 124 gr RN with VV N330(very nice).

Need to shoot my G29 at a carry gun match at my local IDPA club tomorrow and want to load up.

Here's what I got...

1. Hercules, yes Hercules not alliant Blue Dot. It came with my reloading press. It's old, but has not been opened. I imagine it's good??

2. Berrys 180 gr RN DS

3. CCI 300 LP Primers

4. Once fired brass of my own.

Load data? I'm thinking around 10 grains of Blue Dot? What case length?

Any help would be appreciated :D
 
#2 ·
I have shot a few thousand of the same bullet with Blue Dot. In my G20, 10 grains is too much for any reasonable expectation of grouping worth a darn. This bullet does not like to be pushed. It has thin plating that shears easily and thus leads to bullet instability.

Really good groups occur with about 9.2 - 9.3 grains of Blue Dot. I ran this in IDPA matches for a while. Groups start opening up big time when getting closer to 10.0 with the occasional tumbler. 9.2 - 9.3 grains is going to give only modest velocities. About 1035 fps.

Load these out to 1.26". Give a generous bell. Seat and crimp in separate steps. Crimp only enough to barely iron out the bell.

When you exhaust your supply of Berry's I suggest switching to a better plated bullet that can be driven faster. Power Bond bullets are proving to be a better bullet due to thicker plating. I have pushed them close to 1200 fps with very good groups. Here is a thread with a review I did recently.

http://www.glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1404110
 
#3 · (Edited)
Hercules/Alliant Blue Dot = same product. Powder will be fine as long as it was stored properly.

from the Hornady 8th Edition:

Max. Case length is 0.992"
Case Trim Length is 0.987"

Maximum Cartridge overall length is 1.260"

Here is what Berry's has to say about loading with they're plated bullets.
http://www.berrysmfg.com/faq-q9-c1-How_do_I_load_Berrys_Preferred_Plated_Bullets.aspx

I'd fire and inspect my handloaded workups (brass) tomorrow before shooting the match. Not doing so is a bad habit to get into and would make for a bad time to discover problems.
 
#4 ·
I have shot a few thousand of the same bullet with Blue Dot. In my G20, 10 grains is too much for any reasonable expectation of grouping worth a darn. This bullet does not like to be pushed. It has thin plating that shears easily and thus leads to bullet instability.

Really good groups occur with about 9.2 - 9.3 grains of Blue Dot. I ran this in IDPA matches for a while. Groups start opening up big time when getting closer to 10.0 with the occasional tumbler. 9.2 - 9.3 grains is going to give only modest velocities. About 1035 fps.

Load these out to 1.26". Give a generous bell. Seat and crimp in separate steps. Crimp only enough to barely iron out the bell.

When you exhaust your supply of Berry's I suggest switching to a better plated bullet that can be driven faster. Power Bond bullets are proving to be a better bullet due to thicker plating. I have pushed them close to 1200 fps with very good groups. Here is a thread with a review I did recently.

http://www.glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1404110
Thanks Taterhead. After a bit more research, I came to the conclusion to start around 9-9.5 gr. Don't need high velocities for indoor IDPA match! The Prvi Partizan 10mm is only going around 900 fps. Those power bonds look good. I'll give them a try.
 
#5 ·
Hercules/Alliant Blue Dot = same product. Powder will be fine as long as it was stored properly.

from the Hornady 8th Edition:

Max. Case length is 0.992"
Case Trim Length is 0.987"

Maximum Cartridge overall length is 1.260"

Here is what Berry's has to say about loading with they're plated bullets.
http://www.berrysmfg.com/faq-q9-c1-How_do_I_load_Berrys_Preferred_Plated_Bullets.aspx

I'd fire and inspect my handloaded workups (brass) tomorrow before shooting the match. Not doing so is a bad habit to get into and would make for a bad time to discover problems.
Thanks Minnow. As for the older blue dot, I read somewhere that the older blue dot is a different formulation? I was concerned grains would be different from older to newer. But it seems to be about the same. It was sealed and no water or physical damage to the container(cardboard, not plastic).

As for work up, yes I need to develop good habits! I'm going to try and get out early and hit the range before the match. I'll keep you guys posted :D
I'm going to try and get to the range a couple hours before the match and test out my run.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Yeah, you'll have to limit those Berry's plated bullets to 40 S&W velocity, or lower. Blue Dot really isn't the best choice there, especially for high volume loading. Unique or even a fast powder like Bullseye would be better, although my preference would be a ball powder like AA5 or AA7 for consistent metering.

What powder are you using for 9mm? The good 9mm powders will also work well for this application.

Edit - duh, missed your first line that said your 9mm powder. I haven't used that one, but it should work better for a light 10mm load than Blue Dot.
 
#7 ·
Yeah, you'll have to limit those Berry's plated bullets to 40 S&W velocity, or lower. Blue Dot really isn't the best choice there, especially for high volume loading. Unique or even a fast powder like Bullseye would be better, although my preference would be a ball powder like AA5 or AA7 for consistent metering.

What powder are you using for 9mm? The good 9mm powders will also work well for this application.

Edit - duh, missed your first line that said your 9mm powder. I haven't used that one, but it should work better for a light 10mm load than Blue Dot.
On paper, Blue Dot is not the best "go to" in this application. However, Blue Dot at that 1015-1050 fps range groups very well. I have run a few thousand for general range time and IDPA matches the last few years. It is noticeably better than A7. The only downside is that it burns pretty dirty. Never caused any trouble in the G20 though. Oh yah, and the IDPA safety officers hate BD, 'cause it is very loud. Tee hee hee.

I have A5 onhand, but I haven't tried that with the plated bullets.
 
#8 ·
I loaded up 70 rounds of Berrys 180 RN DS over 9 gr of Blue Dot with a 1.255-1.26 OAL. Used them at our carry gun match last night.. worked flawlessly! Nice manageable recoil, good groups, and the flash/bang wasn't as bad as I thought I'd be. I'll try and bump it up to 9.5 gr but won't push it with plated. I'll order some FMJ bullets and experiment those with some higher pressures.

I haven't found much info on N330 with 10mm. I do LOVE the N330 for my 9mm. I need to load up couple thousand this week to prep for IL State IDPA Match coming up in June. I've only used plated in my reloads. Thinking of trying FMJ. I want to dial in the load i'm using for State and shoot, shoot, shoot the next month!!

Thanks for all the info guys!
 
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