Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Need Load Data 9mm 150 gr SWC

I have some 150 gr. 9 mm coated lead SWC bullets on order. ACME Bullet Company is the manufacturer. I will be using Unique powder with Winchester small pistol primers. I checked the 3 reloading manuals that I have and they do not list this bullet. However, they do list 147 gr. JHP bullets. I have contacted my supplier, Graf & Sons, and they have no loading data. I have checked also with ACME directly and they do not offer loading data on anything I was told. They did refer me to a website, but I also struck out there. I have also contacted Aliant, the manufacturer of Unique, and they had no data to offer for this bullet. I even did a Google search and checked YouTube with no success. I did find some data for loading coated 9 mm bullets of lesser weights, but there is a lot of difference between 115 grains and 150 grains. I can make a guess at the powder weight and OAL, but I really do not feel comfortable doing so. I would like to load these powerful enough for "business use" if needed, not just for paper punching only. Any knowledgeable data would sure be appreciated!

Since that bullet has a lube groove it has less bearing surface than Acme's 145gr or 147gr bullets. So, theoretically less pressure as a trade off for the 3 grains additional weight.
I would work up to book loads for 147 grain cast bullets.

Same here.

Bearing surface has very little to do with the load data in something like this, especially with a hard bullet and powder coating; it's not like jacketed bullets with high friction, the load data would be the same if the lube groove was removed from that bullet. I say that from personal experience removing lube grooves from my cast bullet molds. Case capacity is the primary concern; 147 gr load data might be appropriate, but you'd really need to compare case capacity (compare the length of the bullet that will be seated in the case) to be sure. If the case capacity is similar, just work from 147gr data and adjust as necessary, the 3 gr difference in bullet weight is meaningless in comparison to case capacity and alloy (hardness) variables.

However, being a SWC style I suspect the case capacity will be significantly less than with typical 147gr TC bullets, so you'd need to reduce the 147gr data somewhat.

Really though, if a guy isn't comfortable working up a load for a cast bullet like this, you should have chosen a different bullet with more common data available. Don't expect to find published data for that exact bullet design.

Yeah, I wish I had done more research before I ordered them. They came in today, a box of 500. It just never occurred to me that loading data would not be readily available for them. I was particularly put off by the response from the manufacturer, ACME, about this. The best they would offer me was a website called loaddata.com . It costs $34.00 to access any data on it and there is no indication if they even have the data that I need. ACME would not say if their products were listed or not. In theory, I think it was a good idea for this bullet, but in practice, a bad one with no data available. I have used their coated 115 gr 9 mm RN lead and .38 coated lead SWC bullets and have been very pleased with them. I am tempted to load these with 4.3 grains of Unique as my so far best guestimate, but I am a bit leery of making guestimates when it comes to reloading. On the other hand, I do have a tendency to over-analyze things.

I load 5.0 gr Unique under the Hornady 147 gr XTP. About 1100 fps from the Glock 17. It must be in the +P range.

Considering jacketed gives more friction than coated lead, you might get there safely, but good idea to start lower and use a chrono. If you are getting over 1050 fps, you are probably going to be getting close to the sensible top end.

I know Buffalo bore loads a 147gr lead to 1175 fps, but no idea what powder they are using.

The 3 gr extra weight shouldn't make a whole lot of difference, but the lead bullet might be longer if it has a lube groove. I've seen some coated bullets that were cast from a non-grooved mold, so depending on your 150s, it might be a factor.

That sounds like a pretty reasonable Unique load to start with; you may have to work up or down a bit to get the load you're looking for but it's in the ballpark. If you have soot on the cases, use a bit more powder until it burns clean or switch to a faster powder, depending on the velocity you are looking for. ~1,000 fps is completely reasonable with a bullet like that one in a G19 or G17 sized pistol with a powder in the approximate burn range of Unique (Universal, WSF, Power Pistol, SR7625, etc are also good candidates here).

Check out Accurate No.7 powder. Plenty of free load data on the online Accurate load data. Vihtavuorti N350 3N37 N330 N340 are other choices and free online data available.

The Lyman reloading handbook has many loads for their 147 cast bullets. There are loads for many common powders and should provide some good starting loads.