Anyone reloading for the R9?

[hk_mtbr]

I'm considering buying one of these fine pisols and was curious if anyone reloads for theirs.

I've read that they tend to like some ammo more than others. So I figured I would carry the suggested ammo but build some practice ammo that closely resembles the specs of that ammo...OAL at least...for practice and break in.

I use VV320 for 9mm. if anyone has a pet load for these guns it would be appreciated too.

Thanks!

Joel

[sslater]

Welcome to the Rohrbaugh Forum, hk_mtbr;
I've been reloading for my R9s for the past few months with good results.  100% reliable feeding & extracting, 100% reliable ignition.

I've been using primarily Winchester and Remington brass; CCI 500 primers; Berry's 115 grain bullets; starting loads of Unique, Universal Clays, Power Pistol, HS-6.  I like the Hogdon HS-6 the best because it generates very little flash.  (Power Pistol is a good powder, but the worst from a muzzle flash standpoint.)

From a lot of reading on the 9mm cartridge, I wanted to be very careful to not compress the charge.  So I measured O.A.L of a  115 gr Winchester White Box round, disassembled the round & measured bullet length.  Then I adjusted O.A.L. of the rounds I was assembling by the difference between the Berry's and Winchester bullet lengths.
The adjusted O.A.L. of my handloads fell within the range recommended in several of my reloading manuals.  100% function at the range was proof of the pudding.

Steve

[ACP]

Welcome to the forum hk. I am not a reloader so I cannot comment on the virtue of making your own rounds.

However, I would use a word of caution that if you reload that you not exceed pressures of standard rounds. Further, I would be concerned about warranty in the event something went awry with your R9.

I am not a spokesperson for the factory and I will defer to other forum members who may know better than me.

[kjtrains]

Welcome hk, to the forum.  I don't reload either, and 2nd ACP's comments.  

[yankee2500]

Welcome to the group. I no longer reload, but with the lesser number of rounds one would usually fire through the pup in a range outing, I think I would stick with factory loads, and use reloads in the hi cap 9s that are prone to burning up a lot of ammo. just my opinion.
John

[Richard S]

Joel:

I'm not a reloader, so I am responding only to welcome you to the Forum and to urge you to treat yourself to what I consider to be the finest pocket pistol on the planet.

[hk_mtbr]

Thanks guys!

I almost bought one (R9s) today at a local shop...but am going to watch the classifieds here too.

I wouldn't be loading anything hot for sure. I'm loading for USPSA matches and try for something fairly tame...but as mentioned - given the low expected round count I might just stick to the factory HP's.

[slashsplat]

Strongly think factory is the best bet.  I like to practice with what I carry, and don't do a lot of practice.  Very little financial impact offset by the benefit of always shooting the same load.  When practicing for High Power rifle, I will shoot cheaper stuff I don't compete with due to the number of rounds fired, but always finish the training sessions with match ammo.

[sslater]

The original question was, "Anyone reloading for the R9?"
I responded that I did and summarized my experience with the few hand load rounds I've used in my R9.

Then several of the senior forum members chimed in with how bad an idea handloaded ammo is for the little thoroughbred, how it should be fed only the best premium commercial ammo, etc.
This made me feel like an animal abuser for subjecting my poor R9 to cheap junk.

For the record, I carry with only Speer GDHPs, but I wanted to make sure I am capable of making functional ammo should the powers-that-be endeavor to make the ammo shortage permanent.   I know I can "roll my own" should the need arise.  

Steve

[Richard S]

Steve:

I'll gladly defend you against any false charge of R9 abuse.  

I have great admiration for reloaders. I started to take up reloading a few years ago myself, but my little wife made me an offer. The offer was that if I would forego the practice of reloading, she would never object to any of my future firearm purchases. (I think she had visions of my accidentally blowing up the house.) In any event, her offer was simply too good to refuse.  

[sslater]

Richard,
Thanks for the kind words.
It sounds like your wife made you  too good a deal to refuse!  

Hand loading can get out of hand if you are bitten by the equipment and tool bug.
I've been sorely tempted to buy a better press, time saving gadgets, etc. - and for the most part I've resisted because my mission statement is to "have sufficient reloading tools and expertise to load handgun ammo in the event of shortage or emergency."  

Finally, it's kind of satisfying to discover that I can assemble ammo that will run reliably in a known ammunition-sensitive gun like the R9.

Steve

[kjtrains]

Steve,

It looks like you've got the reloading down to a science, and that's what it takes.