Hack Reloader Succeeds Where Professionals Fail

I cracked the 10mm mystery.

A long time ago, I made 10mm ammo with Speer Gold Dot bullets and Accurate No.7 powder. When I checked it at the range, I got speeds over 1200 fps from a short-barreled Glock 26. I carried it for years. It was very good compared to the stuff most people carry.

Recently, I decided I needed more ammo. I did a lot of detective work to make up for my lack of good records, and I tried to reconstitute my old loads. At one point, I got good velocities (with 12.0 grains of No.7), and I decided to use the resulting recipe to make defensive rounds. Then I checked again, and I got low velocities. The primers were the same. The charge was the same. I never found out what the issue was.

I decided to do research, and I discovered BE-86 powder. It’s made for defensive use. It has a flash suppressant, so if you shoot a soy commando in your bedroom at night, it won’t mess your night vision up as much as other powders.

Of course, there were no published loads for Speer 180-grain Gold Dots and BE-86, so I started with a recipe for a different 180-grain hollowpoint. The published load was for 8.2 grains. It was a maximum. I backed down to 7.8, figuring this was a good margin for safety. That was incorrect. I have since learned that you’re supposed to go down 10% from a maximum load. It worked, however.

A few days back, I shot some rounds made with 7.8 grains of BE-86, and I got velocities that were not satisfactory. The average was 1086. That sounds more like .40 S&W, which is what you buy a 10mm to get away from.

Yesterday, I made rounds with 8.0 grains, and today, I shot them. Or so I thought. I actually picked up the wrong magazine. I was shooting my old tried-and-true No.7 rounds from a decade ago. The came in at almost exactly 1190 fps, which is acceptable. The spread was almost nonexistent, at 6 fps.

It’s bad that I shot ammo I wanted to keep, but it’s good that I shot old ammo right behind new ammo. When I shot the new ammo, I had a very fresh memory of the way the gun felt with No.7. With BE-86, the recoil was much sweeter. Sort of like .45 ACP. With No.7, the recoil was sharp and snappy.

Even though the rounds were nicer to shoot, the velocity was no lower. The average was 1189 fps, with a spread of 3 fps.

I was hoping for 1200, so 1190 is very good. Bullets go slower out of short barrels, and I was using a short barrel. I would prefer 1250 fps, but if I load for that velocity in the Glock 29, I may hit 1300 in the Glock 20, which has a longer barrel. I’ve seen complaints about the way the Speer Gold Dot performs at 1300.

I got very good velocity, pleasant recoil, an extremely tight spread for 6 shots, and a suppressed flash. I think BE-86 is the answer.

I guess it pays to experiment. No one else uses this load. All the published alternatives were inferior. They lacked flash suppressant. Some were harsh. Some were slow. Some couldn’t produce velocity without creating too much pressure. My recipe is better than anything out there.

I can’t see any pressure signs on the casings. I guess I’m good to go. I’m tempted to try for another 50 fps, but I may be better off right where I am.

I keep good records now. I act like a scientist. I record things that don’t even seem important. If I need to revisit this ammo 10 years from now, I’ll be ready.

Now I can crank out some ammo and move on from 10mm to something else.