When it comes to reloading your own ammo, the best powder measure that I’ve seen so far is the Frankford Arsenal Intellidropper. I’ve been incredibly impressed with the consistency and accuracy.
One of the most beneficial calibers to learn to reload is the 9mm because of its popularity and it seems like everyone has a 9mm pistol. Going to the range to shoot a box or 2 of 9mm ammo has gotten expensive and a lot of us are stuck deciding to shoot less or find a way to get reloaded ammo. I’m one of those who bit the bullet and bought a reloading kit from Frankford Arsenal and started my creating my own bullets.
When reloading your own ammo, there are so many different factors that could contribute to a successful reloading session, but one of the most important is charging your brass. You can argue that the most technical part of reloading is the measurement and distribution of the powder for each piece of brass.
We’ve discussed the Intellidropper in multiple blogs, but I’m starting to learn more the more times I reload my own ammo. I’d like to share some of the tips and tricks I learned that have helped me reload accurate, consistent, and versatile 9m loads with ease.
Generally, there are 4 factors I consider when I look at buying a powder measure tool for my personal arsenal. The only powder measure tool that I found that is great in all 4 factors is the Frankford Intellidropper. I can reload about 1,000 rounds of 9mm with the Frankford Arsenal reloading kit, which you can read about in our first reloading blog for beginners.
Powder Dispenser Consistency
When it comes to re-charging your brass with fresh gunpowder, the only way to have consistent shot placement is to have consistent loads with EVERY round. I would hate to set my powder dispenser at 5 grains and get either too low (squib round) or too high (ruptured case). When loading 9mm ammo the measurements are very small, relative to the larger rifle caliber rounds. Finding a sensitive enough scale to measure how much 5 grains of powder is difficult to find, but even more rare to find one consistent enough to trust your life with.
When I first started I was using a benchtop powder dispenser from RCBS and it was really good. However, at least 2-3 rounds per box would be a squib round, also known as a bullet that doesn’t have enough force to fire from the barrel. You’ll know if you have a squib round if the firing pin strikes the primer, but the bullet doesn’t leave the barrel. Since I’ve started using my Intellidropper, I’ve loaded a few dozen 50-round boxes with zero squib rounds.
The other concern is double charging your brass with 2x the powder than what is called for. Once you start reloading, you’ll see that this is not a very difficult thing to do, especially once you get in the groove and lose your spot on your reloading tray.
Squib rounds will just not fire, clear your barrel and you’ll be fine, but double charges are much different. The last thing any of us want to see is a ruptured case that blows out the side or blows up in your hand. I’ll show you in our steps below how to avoid double charging your 9mm brass. Regardless of the common problems that many products face, I’ve yet to see any of those issues in my Intellidropper.
When it comes to the Frankford Arsenal Intellidropper, it keeps my 9mm charge loads within +/- 0.1 grain for every bullet. I’m going to show you in the steps below how I can charge 1,000 rounds in less than 30 minutes and have them all be within 0.1 grains of my standards.
The first set of reloaded brass you shoot will most likely underwhelm your expectations of precision ammo. However, you’ll notice a difference in your accuracy as you make adjustments based on how your reloaded ammo shoots. For example, I learned that even 1 or 2 millimeters off on my bullet seat depth makes the difference between a bullseye and shooting a little low/high. The Intellidropper ensures that each load has the exact same gunpowder for the best accuracy and consistency.
Versatility/adjustability
The Frankford Intellidropper is the most versatile powder measurement tool that I’ve ever worked with. I can load any 9mm Luger bullets, from hollow points to FMJs with precision and I never worry about whether my powder measure tool can charge a specific round. The Frankford Arsenal Intellidropper will measure any weight 9mm bullet from 65 grain to 147 grain.
The best part about being able to load so many different weights is the Intellidropper App stores your previous load data sets in the app for your future use. Not many products can prove they can charge any caliber case with any weight that you could want.
Ease of Use
If a machine is too complicated to use then no one is going to use it, I think Frankford Arsenal understands that fact. One thing I respect is when engineers can make something incredibly complicated seem easy to people who know nothing about math or science.
All of the doubts I had about reloading revolved around safety and my perceived skill that I had to have to start reloading. Since I’ve been reloading my own 9mm ammo, I’ve gone through about 4,000 9mm Luger rounds in the past 6-8 months. The more I use the Intellidropper, the more comfortable and confident I get with my 9mm ammo. As of right now, If I bought the ammo I’ve reloaded, I would have spent $400-$500 per 1,000 rounds, on the low end.
However, since I’ve been reloading I spend about $85 per 1,000 rounds from start to finish. All hyperbole aside, I would never have been able to afford to shoot as often as I have if I didn’t have the Intellidropper.
Step-By-Step 9mm Powder Measure Guide
Reloading 9mm and .38 Special ammo is easier than any other type because the loads are always smaller than rifle-caliber bullets. With less gunpowder being measured, you can get 1,000 rounds reloaded by the time you can get 500 rifle rounds loaded.
Step 1- Hodgdon Reloading Data Center
You can check for load data for any company, but I prefer the Hodgdon Reloading Data Center since I pretty much use IMR or Hodgdon powder for all of my guns. Once you get to the Hodgdon Reloading Data Center, click the drop-down menu and choose 9mm Luger.
Step 2- Check the Starting Load
Once you locate the bullet you’re using, look for the Starting Load tab and find the Grs. that is recommended to start with. The Maximum Loads tab is important to pay attention to as you adjust your load weight to fit your gun and bullet.
NEVER go over the Maximum Loads for your bullet casings or you will risk injury or death to you and anyone near you. This is why having a precise powder measure tool is vital to your experience.
For my Hodgdon HP-38 powder, the Maximum Load is 4.8 grains per case. I’ve learned for my brass and my Walther PPS M2, I load 4.6 grains per case, but every make and model gun is different, so it’s important to use the log that the Intellidropper phone App gives you.
Step 3- Organize Cleaned Brass
One of the most important tools for reloading is a tray holder to stage your cleaned brass that you’re about to charge with gunpowder. Some people say you should have a tray for each specific caliber, but I’m more of a less is more guy. I have a small condo and no space, so having a tool that can be used for all of my cases is important to me.
As you can see there are different slots for rifle and pistol calibers that will fit any caliber pistol or rifle that I’ve ever shot with, including my 7mm Rem Mag and 30-06 Model 70.
Have You Ever Seen a Double Charge?
Double charges happen way more than you’d ever think because either people don’t pay attention or lose their spots because they’re not organized enough. I’m one of those people who need help with organization and this Universal Tray does everything I need it to.
If you look at how I placed the 3 cases to the right behind the 7 cases in the other row, you’ll see how I separate charged from uncharged cases. After I charge each case, place them in another row to separate them to avoid any confusion.
I have emptied more charged brass into the Intellidropper powder dispenser than I care to think about. However, if I even think maybe that I could have double charged a case, I empty it out and charge a new one. There are zero benefits to taking the risk of an explosion in your hand for the few seconds it takes to pour 4.6 grains of powder in a case.
Step 4- Set the Load on the Intellidropper
Once you have your cases organized and ready for loading, set the load on your Intellidropper to the Starting Load you see on the Hodgdon Reloading Data Center. Make sure you hit the start button at the bottom of the Intellidropper. As the Intellidropper runs, let it finish and wait for it to say Stable, and you can empty the powder into the cases in the tray.
Step 5- Aluminum Powder Funnel
Having a proper funnel to empty your gunpowder is so much more important than you may think. For example, your powder measure is measuring each specific grain of powder.
Even if you have a few grains fall out while you’re charging your brass, you could put your weight off and not achieve optimal performance. This is much more important in rifle calibers, but is still an issue for handguns. Frankford Arsenal has one of the best Aluminum Powder Funnel kits that I’ve seen with anything from a .17 caliber to .338 Lapua.
The Frankford powder funnels sit on top of the case and stabilize to provide a sturdy platform to pour your powder without worry. For under $35.00 it’s a tool kit that pays for itself in frustration alone.
Step 6- Prepare the M-Press Coaxial Reloading Press
Next week will do a blog on how to use the Coaxial Single Stage Reloading Press to stamp your bullets into your charged brass, so stay tuned by subscribing to our email sign-up list to get the updates once we publish.
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The best single-stage reloading press without any doubt is the Frankford Arsenal M-Press. With the addition of the Universal Bullet Die Seating Kit, you can load any rifle caliber bullet you’d ever want to as well as the handgun dies that the M-Press comes with.
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