DEVELOPING CARRY LOADS
…using Peregrine’s self-defence bullets
…with Peregrine premium projectiles
II RECENTLY ORDERED 250 170gr .45-calibre Peregrine SD (self-defence) bullets to work up a carry load for my 1911 pistol. Peregrine Bullets of Pretoria ha veaw ell-deserved reputation for high-quality monolithic rifle bullets, and I was intrigued by the concept of a monolithic hollow-point for handguns. Peregrine’s website says the SD bullet is specifically designed for one-shot stopping capability and for use in all popular handguns; it is also a very good tactical bullet and can be used highly effectively in counter-terrorist applications.
Peregrine recommends a muzzle velocity of around 1 200fps. I did a theoretical comparison between the Peregrine SD bullets and the Federal Hydra-shoks I was carrying at the time. The Federals are typical jacketed hollow-points, the 230gr advertised as having muzzle velocity of 900fps, indicating muzzle energy of 414ft.lbs. On paper, Peregrine’s recommended velocity of 1 200fps for a 170gr bullet easily tops this with 544ft.lbs.
I worked up test loads starting at 1 000fps as a baseline for my full-siz e 1911 Frankengun built on an Essex Arms frame. Cases were oncefired Winchester Western .45ACP; I used Winchester large pistol primers and Somchem’s MP200 propellant.
I HAVE ALWAYS been wary of theoretical projections of a bullet’s ballistic performance, but a program we’ve had a lot of success with in Zimbabwe – and which is also recommended by Peregrine Bullets – is QUICKLOAD (QL). This is a Windows-based application which predicts ballistics performance based on the cartridge case, the projectile, the barrel length, the propellant, and the cartridge overall length. QL has served us very well when developing rifle loads, especially for heavy, dangerous game cartridges. QL’S default database has some 2 500 projectiles, 1 200 cartridges, and over 225 powders extant, but is also tailor-made for inputting data directly for working up your own loads.
The principle behind QL is determining the actual internal capacity of the cases used. This is achieved by weighing
empty once-fired cartridge cases from a production lot, then filling the cases to overflowing with water and weighing the water-filled cases. Working on the premise that 1cm3 of water weighs approximately one gram at 40°C, the added weight of the water is then used to establish the liquid volume and in turn the case capacity. It is important to use cases from the same manufacturer and to measure a number of cases, say ten, from each production lot. When inputting that data into QL, you use the average case capacity.
This software clearly demonstrates how changing variables affect ballistic performance, and can predict the effect of variables such as ambient temperature
(especially important when developing dangerous game loads for places like the
Zambezi Valley), bullet seating depth, and barrel length. However, QL is merely a computer simulation; this portends certain limitations. When using any such program, it is the shooter’s responsibility to cross-reference the software’s predictions with load data supplied by the propellant manufacturer, and to employ caution when working up any load. While I have been impressed by the accuracy of QL’S predictions, I strongly urge you to heed these warnings.
I cannot overemphasize the need to err on the side of caution and to make haste slowly with propellant increments – not only for safety’s sake, but because increased propellant weight does not necessarily translate into increased bullet performance
I ASKED QL to predict a suitable charge of MP200 to achieve velocities of 1 000fps, 1 100fps and 1 200fps using the above components. The variable here was the propellant; I also used S121, S221 and MS200. QL didn’t give me any options that would achieve even 1 100fps within safe working pressures. So, I got in touch with Peregrine’s ballistics expert, Adriaan Rall, who told me that the QL data was a couple of beats off for their SD bullets. He sent me his own data, which was 7.6gr of MP200. Peregrine’s excellent little reloading manual also had a 7.8gr charge, but I didn’t go that far. I started with the QL prediction of 6.9gr, keeping a close watch on pressure signs and felt recoil. Velocity was but one variable I sought; more important to me were accuracy, reliability, and an estimation of terminal performance.
When charting new reloading territory, I cannot over-emphasize the need to err on the side of caution and to make haste slowly with propellant increments – not only
for safety’s sake, but because increased propellant weight does not necessarily translate into increased bullet performance. This was a mistake a lot of wildcatters made with their so-called ‘improved’ loads in the days before everyone owned a chronograph. Some of their loads lived up to expectations but, quoting Field & Stream’s gun guru David Petzal, “In real life, most improved rounds produced piddling increases in velocity but huge increases in pressure.”
I assembled five rounds of each test load on a singlestage RCBS press, using the Hornady Lock-n-load electronic powder measure to provide a very accurate and consistent charge. A quick check confirmed that the bullet diameter was in fact .451, so all good to go.
I WANTED A reliable, accurate and manageable load. I used a Labradar Doppler chronograph, which can track a projectile to record diminishing velocities up to 100 metres. It records maximum and minimum velocities, and calculates averages, standard deviations and extreme spreads (see table).
Higher velocity may give more impressive muzzle energy, but I wanted to test other factors, including the bullet’s reliability in feeding, its deformation with repeated chamberings, its accuracy, terminal performance and recoil recovery time.
Loading for a cartridge overall length of 1.250ꞌꞌ, which is well within the SAAMI maximum of 1.275ꞌꞌ, I experienced no problems with magazine fit or reliability in feeding (the SD ogive is very similar to that of an FMJ ball projectile). To check for deformation I chambered several rounds ten times each; these exhibited the expected markings on the bullets, but the SD’S petals were pretty much unaffected.
I have a 16-pound recoil spring in my 5ꞌꞌ-barrelled pistol; I expected my SD loads to bite some, but the recoil was not at all noteworthy. At 20m, the 1 070fps load – pretty much the velocity I had decided on – shot into ‘minute of IDPA target A-zone’, which is exactly what they are intended to do.
When the FBI assesses any cartridge, they test for penetration, velocity and accuracy. I had yet to test for penetration. Many years ago, I was assisting the late Detective Superintendent Charlie Haley to do comparative terminal performance tests with various dangerous game bullets. Charlie was the commanding officer of Police Forensic Ballistics in Harare, and Don Heath of National Parks had asked him to evaluate several different bullets. Charlie came up with what he called the ‘elephant sandwich’, which consisted of numerous water-soaked telephone directories interspersed with the odd elephant femur and hip-bones. This proved quite effective for testing bullet penetration and expansion. At the time, I’d been reading anything I could find by Dr Martin Fackler, who was the originator of modern ballistic gelatin, which is probably as good as it gets for terminal performance tests.
To my mind, wet telephone
At 20m, the 1 070fps load – pretty much the velocity I had decided on – shot into ‘minute of IDPA target A-zone’, which is exactly what they are intended to do
directories provide the same comparison potential: a bullet’s performance in a wet paper medium may differ from the same bullet’s performance in ballistic gelatin, but wet paper nevertheless provides a consistent medium for comparing the performance of different projectiles in the same medium. Besides, here in Zimbabwe, phone books were in plentiful supply, as no one uses landlines any more.
So, I took a heap of water-soaked phone books out to the range and let fly. My load penetrated 19cm into this medium, which I consider acceptable. The recovered bullets had expanded to 29mm and looked pretty much like those on Peregrine’s website.
PEREGRINE’S SD BULLETS measured up to the company’s claims, and I had a lot of fun playing with all the latest toys like the Labradar chronograph.