Greetings. Been at this for a few decades, and now it’s time for some new blood, or new powder – that is.
Since the late 80s one of my most consistently successful 9mm loads has been Hornady’s #3556 Truncated Cone Flat-Nose over Alliant’s Blue Dot; 5.8 & 6.0 grains both at 1.040″ OAL (Over All Length), mild taper-crimp, win brass, win primers, and achieved quarter-sized 10 shot groups at 60 feet (20yds) sandbag-rested, out of a 4″ & 5″ bbl H&K P9S, and Walther P88, 4″ bbl. Since late 2020, Blue Dot has been in absentia, (until recently) so back then I shopped for an alternative. I found Vihta Vuori’s N350 to be an excellent choice and a close match in burn rate to B.D.
Since HDY no longer lists #3556 TCFN, I decided to give RMR’s version a try and am impressed with the quality and consistency. Already have tons of good results with N350 and 231 in both 9mm and 45ACP. VV’s powders are the apex of clean, consistent propellants. That being said, I
recently acquired some Vihta Vuori N320 and N340. Does anyone out there have positive experience/data with RMR’s 124 gr flat point and 340?
I’m willing to listen and learn if your experiments have gleaned positive results.
Now, for a little house-cleaning and maintenance, PLEASE FORGIVE my next step into the waters here, but I’ve been feeling a need to express this “PEEVE” for some time. I’ve been handloading since the mid-eighties, and some things have changed, but some haven’t, so here goes.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE include O.A.L. dimensions ANY TIME you list handloading/reloading data. I get so frustratingly weary of reading a promising blog with some great load data, only to find that they left out their (C)OAL. Hey guys, you need to realize this one particular aspect of this hobby: It is practically useless to list details of handloading data only to leave out seating depth. Especially to a lot of the newbies who are trying to get started into reloading these days under the “current conditions”, IMHO, you need ALWAYS to list, and not necessarily in any particular order — bullet type & wt./components/powder-charge/(velocity)/OAL — as a “complete string” of reloading data, able to stand on its own, in any sentence, any paragraph, etc. Don’t EVER ASSUME the OAL listed from the previous forum discussions or comments up the chain still applies. Does this make sense? I’m sorry to vent this way; I know it feels like beating a dead horse, but it needs to be said – AGAIN! This is such a CRITICAL piece of info, especially when you’re working with small high-pressure cases like 9mm. Now, I only load pistol calibers, no rifle, so I won’t go there. But I know FROM EXPERIENCE that just the slightest decrease in overall length can make a BIG difference in potentially catastrophic chamber pressures, so, please, always make a point to include your OAL with the rest of your handloading data. And as always, let SAFETY be your highest priority. This is a very rewarding, even therapeutic hobby.
Be patient, be kind, and don’t mess up! It’s a great time to be alive!
Thanks for your indulgence, and hopefully, suggestions.
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