Reloads gonna go BOOM ?

[Sparky72]

Hey guys..new to this column, but I've been reloading pistol and rifle ammo for a few years now..My question to you experts is this: For my M&P45, I usually load 185grn HP's ( usually XTP-HP's or Gold Dots ) with Universal Clays powder & various cases/primers.. A while back, I got a deal on some 230grn Gold Dots, which I never loaded..I decided to try Titegroup powder. I used brand new Double Tap brand nickel cases ( very good quality by the way, was my 1st time using them), and CCI 350 primers..Heres the problem: Somehow I misread the data, and used the ".43" cavity on a Lee auto disc, which is about 5.1 grains, when I should have used the ".40" cavity, which is about 4.7 grains..AND a light crimp.. Hodgden data says to use 4.8 grns MAX for a 230 grain bullet..I realize they are erring on the side of caution, but is this too hot a charge?..OAL is about 1.235, give or take a hundreth..I AM using a excellent cond. M &P 45, and HAVE shot plenty of plus-P ammo through it.. Thing is, I made 100 of these babys, all nice and shiny (lol), and all I have is a gravity ( hammer) style bullet puller...I'd really HATE to have to sit there for hours whacking away to unload them and start over..lol..BUT, if these rounds will blow my gun apart and my face with it, I will..I realize this is just advice, not gonna hold anyone ethically liable..lol..Just wondering what the general consensus would be..THANKS guys..

[ozo]

Welcome Sparky........to my fave zoo......
I too hate to kinetically 'pull' bullets....
I will NOT tell you to shoot them......or not to.....
I will tell you my solution when something like this haphazardly occurs......
I have Ruger Blackhawks and Thompson Contender barrels for my 'CAT'
and trust that a heavy charge will still be 'fireable' in these tried and true arms.
Maybe you have a friend with sumpin' that you can discharge them with, and still have fun doing so.......
I will say this.....had some Sellier&Bellot .357 that I bought in/around 2002 or so and when I fired them in my NEW Taurus M608 [stamped on bbl .357magnum] they jammed the cylinder so tight I almost did not get it unloaded to send in for repairs. Only fired 3 rounds, and you could hear/feel the POWER. S&B said the lot number was safe via SAAMI standards.........
Difference is....old school pressures were measured CUP.....new pressures are measured PSI......huge difference.
So......maybe research deeper into your data, and hopefully you 'missed' something......and now your OK......or you have sumpin' else to fire a "HOT" round in that will be safe to do so.
Me, I would ask the gun manufacturer, the powder manufacturer, and all I could ask, etc. before my lazy arse would start kinetically pulling very many bullets......but as I said, I have a solution 'in place' IF such a need arises.
Good luck....and be safe above all.....and keep us posted.

[Deacon_Man]

Sparky, Does your manual not have a call out for Titegroup powder when using the gold dot bullet? I notice you used Hodgden data for your powder charge.

[steve4102]

TG is a very fast powder and it does not play nice when pushing it to it's limits. TG has blown up more pistols than all other powders combined. Tread lightly when using max loads and never use over max loads.

[Archie]

Get out your bullet puller Sparky. Take them apart and start over.

If you fired them, you would most likely not blow up your gun in the grand movie catastrophe mode. You would, however, stress it way past what you ought, the recoil and blast would be most unpleasant (more than usual) and you'll probably ruin the cases. You might even jam up the recoil spring.

Pull them. Start over. It's a lesson.

[carver]

I vote to pull em too! Some times the best lessons are the ones we pay for! In this case you will pay with labor! Sorry!

[soundguy]

it won't take 'hours' with a bullet hammer to pull 100 rnds.

I sat and pulled various rifle ammo the other day to basically get projectiles and brass.. most all of them had factory crimp or roll crimp... wasn't as bad as i thought.. you'll be fine unlaoding and reclaiming your cases, projectiles and powder.

[Sparky72]

Thanks guys..thats all I needed to hear..Just wanted to make sure I wasn't being overly cautious ( probably no such thing when it comes to reloading! )..I'll start whacking away..

[gdmoody]

Hey Sparky, welcome to the firearms forum.

The only thing that bothers me about your post is the word "about" and I quote: which is about 5.1 grains, when I should have used the ".40" cavity, which is about 4.7 grains. The Hornady manual says that 5.2 is the maximum load for a 230 grain bullet, so 5.1 is a little hot but still within the range. Now, back to that word, if your about is off buy +.2 you are over the max load, if it is -.2 you OK. If I had loaded them, I would know if it were 5.1 or 4.7 because I would have weighed the powder. The only thing about Lee stuff that I don't like is the powder volume instead of actual weight.

I use different types of powder, but when I do use Titegroup powder, I load with 5.0 or 5.1 grains. I would venture to say that your loads will be OK in the M&P since I shoot them in my Sig P250 which is also a plastic gun.

[mikld]

Here's what chew dew; put the over loads away and buy some new brass. Reload your new stuff to spec. and in between reloading sessions (or when you feel like it) whack some of the hot loads. Don't have to do it all at once! Be over before you know it...

Some guys I hang around with have a saying when something seems overwhelming or too big to accomplish; "There's only one way to eat an elephant, that's one bite at a time".