Good reload for a 4" P08

[Sieger]

Originally Posted by ithacaartist

A question about modifying a magazine:
One factor in function is friction between the front of the magazine and the noses of the cartridges, right? Has an industrious reloader ever tried lining this inner surface with a Delrin strip? One would seat the bullet into the case a little farther to compensate for the new overall dimension, but this might cover the lube groove--left hangin' out in some combinations to achieve the required overall cartridge length.

Hi:

Let's see if I can help here.

To answer your specific question, you might try a shim on the rear of the inside of the magazine, as the cartridges ride up on both the front and rear of it. Cutting a long, square shim, just the right thickness, and fixing it to the rear of the inside of the magazine, would, definately change the OAL requirements for proper function.

But, here is how I have personally addressed the lube groove "problem".

All of my Luger shooting is done with my handloads. These are carefully assembled and stored in plastic pistol cartridge boxes until I make it out to the range. No dust or grit is allowed in the boxes!!!

You are right in stating that most of the lead bullets we either buy off the shelf or mold ourselves have their lube grooves exposed when the proper, longer, original OALs are used to make our Lugers function properly.

Unless the positioning of the lube groove impacts the "straightness" of my final assembled cartridges, I simply ignore this little imperfection. In the RCBS 9mm-124-CN load I gave above, the upper edge of the lube groove is, indeed, showing.

To mitigate the problem, typically, I'll lube my bullets with the old NRA formula of 50% Alox and 50% Beeswax. This formula is not "sticky", nor will it "run" in the 100 degree weather we often have here in South West Florida.


Sieger

[ithacaartist]

Thanks, Sieger,
I just brushed up by checking with a G. Hemrotin e-book; yes, I'd forgotten that, of course, the upper edge of the cartridge's rim is the contact point under pressure. My thought was mainly to reduce the friction within the mag. I'm not a reloader yet, but had heard about the lube groove's exposure as a concern other reloaders had. I figured that the slippery strip/shim's dimension must be accounted for to maintain the cartridges' angle within the mag--gotta be as parallel to the upper side of the follower as possible. I reason that the optimal precise cartridge length would be changed by the new internal geometry, and hypothesize that shortening cartridges by seating the bullets further in would be a way to compensate for this decrease in width of the mag. It occurred to me that doing this might also address the lube groove "problem" I'd heard about, probably right here on this forum.
David Parker