Primers, Powder and Bullets

[Bro KV]

So I am ready, for the most part, to start reloading. I have new Starline brass coming but I need powder, primers and bullets. These will be for the range using my G20 and G29 with stock barrels.

[sqlbullet]

I pretty much mainstay CCI300 primers for 10mm.

I cast my own bullets, but if I were buying I would seriously consider Nosler 180 gr JHP.  Not sure how well they perform on flesh, but they are a bunch cheaper than anyone else usually.  They come 250 to a box.  Generally speaking plated bullets are designed for 40 S&W velocities and many don't handle 10mm speeds.

Powder....Longshot, AA#9 or AA#7 for best performance.  But, I have the most of Blue Dot and have shot it and Unique most in my 10mm.  Blue Dot delivers 95% the performance of the others for about 80% the price.  Longshot is a close second on performance/cost.  Unique doesn't get you full 10mm performance, but is far better than 40 S&W performance.  And it is quite inexpensive.  I can load 1000 rounds using Unique and CCI 300 for about $50 using my cast bullets, which are free.

[Taterhead]

For primers I run mostly CCI 300s. I have some loads worked up for WLPs and CCI 350s. If I had to pick one it would be CCI 300s.

For volume loading of bullets, I am really fond of PowerBond 180 FPs. They are a "copper bonded" bullet (really, a thick plated bullet) that is priced better than other plated bullets and is of much higher quality in my opinion. It can be pushed to 10mm velocities without the drawbacks of other plated bullets. I bought my last supply through a group buy with my club. They were 10 cents each. Pretty good deal for a darned good bullet.

For self defense in the woods, I like a 200 gr WFNGC hardcast bullet. For SD in town, I like the 165 gr Gold Dot HP.

My mainstay 10mm powder is Blue Dot for the reasons that sqlbullet described. It is also consistently accurate accross a number of loads. Down sides to BD are that it meters good but not great. It is dirty at modest pressure loads. It also has a lot of boom and flash.

My favorite high performance powder is Accurate no. 9. The only drawback to A9 is that so much is consumed per charge that it is more expensive to use. Otherwise, it is supurb: best "on book" velocities, fantastic metering, low flash, good case fill, etc. Using book data, I have loads for 2 different 200 grain bullets that go 1200 fps or faster through my G20. It also powers my 165 gr GDHP load.

[ignantmike]

where are you guy's buying your 200gr WFNGC hardcast?......

[sqlbullet]

Taterhead gets his 200 gr WFNGC from Double Tap.  They are not cheap.

I cast a 205 grain WFN from a mountain mold.  475/480 has a 200 gr Acccurate mold that is almost identical to my Mountain mold.  The lube grooves are spaced a little different is all.

There are a lot of opinions about gas checks on pistol bullets at these pressures/velocities.  It all comes down to what your gun likes though.  So far none of mine are asking for a gas check so I just see it as an extra $0.03.   YMMV

[Rick1987]

Anyone use Montana Gold for 10mm?

I use 155gr Montana Gold JHP for my .40S&W and I like them.

[Yondering]

I cast a 205 grain WFN from a mountain mold.  475/480 has a 200 gr Acccurate mold that is almost identical to my Mountain mold.  The lube grooves are spaced a little different is all.

There are a lot of opinions about gas checks on pistol bullets at these pressures/velocities.  It all comes down to what your gun likes though.  So far none of mine are asking for a gas check so I just see it as an extra $0.03.   YMMV

I shot a few of 475/480's 200gr bullets last weekend; they are a good design. I liked that I could load them in 40 S&W brass and crimp between the lube grooves. Pushing them at 1350 fps from my longslide, they did a little better with plain base gas checks applied; I'm always pleased to find a bright clean bore after shooting.

As a side note about gas checks, I've started to use them more often (plain base checks made from soda cans), as much to prevent breathing lead vapor as anything else. I only shoot outdoors, but depending on wind direction, sometimes that vapor and smoke is blowing right back at me.

[Yondering]

Anyone use Montana Gold for 10mm?

I use 155gr Montana Gold JHP for my .40S&W and I like them.

Yes, they are good stuff. Not great for self defense, but they are a good target/plinking bullet.

[sqlbullet]

I can see lead dust, but not lead fumes (vapors are what come off a can of gasoline, fumes is the correct term for metal in gas form )

I have never seen a plastic shotgun wad even slightly melted from it's trip down the bore with hot gas right behind it.  They melt at a far lower temp than even linotype.

[Yondering]

I guess "vapors" is probably not the right term. However, on pretty much every plain base cast bullet I've ever recovered, I've seen evidence of gas cutting right at the sharp edge of the base. It's not always obvious until you look closely at that sharp edge. Don't know if that lead is "vaporized" or just blasted away as dust. Either way, it does collect on the front of the gun, and anything near the muzzle like a shooting rest, and must be in the air for some period of time. I always see a silver/lead colored dust film on the rail section of my Glocks after shooting a bunch of plain base lead bullets, and have even noticed it on my hands at times. (I'm not talking about just powder fouling.)

By comparing the same load, with and without gas checks, I've found a big difference in visible "smoke" after the shot. That's not all bullet lube smoke, folks. I wanted to think it was, but don't believe that anymore.

Probably not a big deal for most shooters, but I do shoot a lot of cast bullets, so my exposure is increased. I've gone through over 1,000 rounds of cast bullets with just the G19 I bought last month, not counting other calibers (mostly 10mm and 45 Auto these days). I think I've used almost 2,000 rounds of 45 ACP in the past few months.

[pasky2112]

Anyone use Montana Gold for 10mm?

I use 155gr Montana Gold JHP for my .40S&W and I like them.

Great bullet.  I use their 155 JHP's in both .40 and 10mm and they shoot great for IDPA distances.  I also like their 180's in both TMJ and JHP.  $300/2500 for a nice jacketed bullet....back up the truck.  I stay away from lead as much as possible.  Tooo much ingestion/exposure...whatever u want to call it.  That's why I prefer the TMJ over the lead-base exposed FMJ. 
For internal and external ballistics, they perform like GD's but without the terminal performance.  So for rnds not intended for biological interruption, the MG's are great, IMHO.  Great service too.