9mm Handloading - I've Finally Started

 I was able to pick up some carbine dies for 9mm. I've been saving up spent cases and have some cast bullets that just got delivered. In the same way I'm doing a rolling 357 Mag load post, I'll update this as I go. As usual, if you duplicate my efforts, you are doing so on your own and are responsible for your own actions. By continuing to read below, you acknowledge that you will not hold me or anyone accountable for your actions. 

160 Grain

I'm starting with 160 grain cast bullets from Bayou Bullets since I know that I want to shoot subsonic. These are powder coated. I have a 9mm pistol that will not feed anything other than round nose and shooting it suppressed would be nice without burning through my expensive 158 gr PPU. Again, I currently only have HS-6 with magnum primers. The Hodgdon website has a starting load of 3 grains going up to 3.7 grains for around 800 fps for whatever barrel they tested with. Those look like good starting points. I don't know how they will do out of a 16 inch barrel rifle like the Henry Homesteader but this will be fun.

The Henry Homesteader - ProjectHomesteader is Getting Started

2023's SHOT Show turned out to have some interesting stuff announced but the Henry Homesteader really took the cake for me. That's a statement that I have been very open about. 

I was so interested in the rifle that it actually bumped my plans to build a new Marlin 336 hunting rifle when those are released by Ruger. Partly because the 336 Classic won't have a threaded barrel at the beginning that we've seen and it took the wind out of my wings, so to say.

The new Homesteader comes at a time perfectly for me. My wife and I have embarked on a new project to build a homestead of our own on 19 acres in Georgia. We're starting from partially open land and woods and are trying to clear the land and build a home. We want to raise cattle and chickens and have our own family. I have no idea how long it will take before we can build but I wished it was happening now.

 My vison for the Homesteader is as advertised. A rifle that I can carry around as needed, something that the wife could use to bust larger varmints but also be loaded with ammunition that could be used in a defensive situation should something pop up. My intent is more for something we could have handy in the pantry or similar that the wife could access easy. 

The first question I worked on answering was viability. Was this rifle something we could roll into that situation? What answers that question is ammunition. The internet has lots of data available and if you know what to look for you can probably find what you need. 

We have an ample stock of Speer's Gold Dot 124 gr +P defensive ammunition. It works very well in my P365XL carry gun. I had no data on how the bullet runs in a rifle. Lucky Gunner has done much to provide data on ammunition choices that goes beyond the data the Ballistics By the Inch compiled a decade or more ago. Below is a chart of a selection of cartridges and the velocities from different barrels. We're interested in the Ruger PC Carbine and it's 16 inch barrel. 

The community owes much to the folks at Lucky Gunner. Thank you very much.

The +P variant in of the 124 gr loads from the the 16 inch barrel are showing 1422 feet per second from the Lucky Gunner testing. If we plug that information into the GunData.org calculator with a 50 yard zero and a scope 1.5 inches over bore, we see that the bullet is moving pretty fast and flat up to the 55 yard mark. The bullet is never .11 inch above or below during that flight. It does start to drop fast around the 75 yard mark. The bullet is still moving around 1155 fps according to the calculator.

At 100 yards the drop is pretty significant. We can tinker with the distance where the zero is at to give us a better battle zero. Zeroing for 15 yards gets you a secondary zero at 92 yards while still moving at 1112 fps but the bullet is high at 55 yards at 1.72 inches above point of aim. I don't know if that's the best choice for busting ground hogs and armadillos. 25 yards seems to give good options as well. 

Looking around, Lucky Gunner did find that in ballistic gel, the 124 gr +P load did lose out on penetration compared to a handgun that the higher velocities. While that would be an issue, unless you're shooting the deer at sub-25 yards, the velocity tapers off pretty quickly as the bullet moves out. Please note, Lucky Gunner's test did find that even at short ranges, the bullet from a rifle barrel is still meeting the minimum penetration of 12 inches in gel at 14 inches. It's noteworthy that the both the Federal HST 147 gr  and +P variant load penetrated to 17 inches from the 16 inch barrel. All of these tests would have occurred at short ranges. To properly test, you would need to put a block at 25 yards or so to see what would actually happen in a situation where you'd shoot a deer.

The calculator says that at 40 yards you'd see more like 1265 fps which is about 65 fps faster than what I get from my P365XL at the muzzle. I've taken a few deer at shorter ranges with the first deer I took on the farm at around 45 yards. At that distance, the penetration should be back up to the original 16 inch mark. It may actually be better to run the 147 gr rounds but I only have the 124 gr bullets in stock. The 147 gr rounds seem to taper off just a bit too quickly for what I like based on the calculator. I don't know what the minimum velocity for the 147 gr HST hollow point is but with a 25 yard zero at 1057 fps, the round looks like it could work out to 50 yards. 

The 124 gr loads drop below 1100 fps around 98 yards and if I recall correctly, they should still open up just fine. I'm thinking, though, I would try to keep my shots under 75 yards. I would definitely keep my shots under 50 yards with the 147 grain bullets making the higher velocity 124 grain loads more versatile and flatter shooting further out.

Optics

For the sighting plane, the rifle comes with a front post and a rear aperture sight mounted to the barrel. The receiver is left available for whatever optic you chose. A red dot does immediately come to mind but I like the idea of running a small amount of magnification such as 2x or 3x for the more precise shots on varmints. The Leupold FX-II 2.5x scope is pretty nice as it's lightweight and at a great price but the diameter of the rear glass is kind of narrow and the reticle isn't illuminated. It's worked well on my Marlin 357 mag lever action. Mishaco, the blind YouTube gun guy, has a video of  his comrade Jake with a PC Carbine and the FX-II. Jake seemed to make it work great at 100 yards. I like the idea of the FX-II for it's more traditional aesthetic and clear glass even if the glass diameter is a little small. You could run a 2-7x or something like an LPVO. Looking over the various options, the Leupold VX3-HD 1.5-5x does everything I want. It's got their Firedot illumination, low end magnification and the eye relief is generous. Sadly, that scope is about $700 and I tend to be on a budget. At $299, the FX-II tends to fit better in my budget. 

I also tinkered with the idea of a 2x or 3x prism. The Ruger PC Carbine is laid out the same as the Homesteader so I did some research on if anyone had successfully utilized a prism scope. I did observe via Google, a few folks had used prism scopes such as the Vortex 3x, the Primary Arms 2x and Burris AR332. The Vortex unit has an eye relief of about 2.8 inches and the Burris AR332, also a 3x unit, has less eye relief at 2.5 inches. The PA GLx 2x is around 3.5 inches indicating it may be a better choice for a traditionally configured rifle. The PA optic has an illuminated, etched reticle and a long battery life per the advertisements. According to the PA website, the body weighs around 11 oz which is slightly heavier than the FX-II. I would happily trade a few ounces for an illuminated reticle. This is a homestead defense rifle first and foremost. 

The PA GLx 2x does have a variant that has a 9mm calibrated ACSS reticle called the 9mm Gemini. Looking at the manual for the reticle, the chevron's peak should be zeroed for 50 yards with a 16 barrel. That puts the bottom of the chevron good for 100 yards. They say the second dot should be around 150 yards and the third dot for 200 yards. I really do think the Primary Arms GLx 2x 9mm Gemini would be a great choice. My only beef with the optic is the mounting system. These scopes are intended for picatinny rails on AR-15 based firearms. I would prefer to see a mount designed for the Homesteader that directly screws to the receiver but the way the scope is setup, all the screws are under the optic. The mount is then attached and tightened from the side. A long picatinny rail ruins the aesthetic in my opinion but it should be functional. 

Until all the parts I want to try are available I set the rifle up with a temporary configuration.

The rifle won't stay in this setup. There will be better looking accessories later.

Early Build Up

First, I pulled the Burris Fast Fire 3 red dot off of my turkey shotgun. This works because I also have a 336 / 1895 mount for the FF3 that only uses two of the receiver's holes. I used this same setup on the Marlin 1894 for a while. I also borrowed a JMAC Customs flash hider off of an AR-9 that I haven't been using. I shimmed the device and got it timed just right. I added a leather sling off of another project to complete the early build to make the gun usable. 

To handle a silencer, a JMAC GFHC KeyMicro compatible flash hider was installed but I think it looks out of place, in my opinion. That said I see that Dead Air has their DA115 micro flash which isn't all that expensive. I like the idea of using one of the old JMAC ZERO mounts but they won't make anymore of those. I may trim the tines off of the DA115 to make what I want. In the interim, the JMAC unit gives me a KeyMicro mount that I can use my Dead Air Wolfman with. 

Problems

When I got the rifle home, I looked it over and everything did check out minus one very serious issue. The stock was cracked where the receiver and stock join. I had missed this when I checked it at the gun shop who transferred it to me. I didn't look very hard. 

Top side

I called Henry within the hour of getting home and they said they would ship me a replacement.

Bottom side of the rifle.

I don't know if it happened during shipping but I'm struggling with idea that it left Henry this way. It doesn't feel loose though, which is odd, as if the assembler cranked down on the stock but I feel like QC would have caught this. Either way, Henry made it right as the stock showed up within a few days.

Future Setup

After having played with the rifle a bit, I've settled on using the 336 Ashley Performance mount I have for the 336 project and an FX-II from Leupold. I did mock up the Ashley 336 mount and found the front screws need shorten by a very small amount as it interferes with the bolt. Additionally, you do have to remove the rear sight to make room for the scope mount but that's okay since you can't use the iron sights with a scope installed anyway. I'll be saving up for another 336 mount for the upcoming 336 project and an FX-II scope for this rifle. I reached out to Michael over at Ashley Performance to give them a heads up on how it works out. It'll be a while before I have the money saved for the new scope and low rings but that'll be the direction I head down.

I've also reached out to Lee Mason over at Mason Leather down in Texas to see about a cartridge cuff that can hold a spare Glock magazine. I'm hoping I can have a spare 15 or 17 round magazine on the gun in addition to something like a 30 rounder already in the gun. 

Ideas

For the most part, I want to keep a certain classic aesthetic to the beautiful rifle but I still want it to be highly functional. I don't like that it doesn't have a weapon mounted light. I do know that a company is prototyping a mlok rail for the Homesteader but I don't think I'm going to like the looks. I'd prefer to see WOOX make a handguard for the rifle with a single mlok slot but I'd settle for routing out a pocket and making my own slots. Add a scout light and I'm good. 

I'm also open to seeing what Midwest Industries and Ranger Point Precision comes up with since Henry guns are being supported by both companies with various products. 

I've also seen that Skinner Sights already has an integrated rear aperture sight with picatinny rail for the receiver. If you are inclined to run with a dot or with just iron sights, those could be a great upgrade. I could duplicate the setup I have on my 10/22 with this rifle. That is a very useful and fun setup.

Current Conclusion 

I haven't even had trigger time with the rifle at this point since I haven't been off work yet. I have pulled out a variety of ammunition and magazines to take to the farm this week if the weather holds. I hope to have it zeroed with those Speer Gold Dots but I really want to hear how it sounds with heavy, subsonic ammo. 

Update: After posting this, I opted to strip the FX-II off of my Marlin 1894 and use the 336 mount on the Homesteader. I put the T1 mount from MI back on the 1894. I did have to trim the front screws down from .3365 to .3265 inch to clear the bolt. I think it looks great and I can't wait for the leather goods. 

Done for now. Just needs better leather goods and a different muzzle device. 

Originally posted on 12 April, 2023

The Henry Homesteader - A Nearly Perfect Barnyard Gun; Project Idea

 In 2023, Henry made waves with the announcement of the Homesteader 9mm semi-auto rifle. With it's wood stocks and threaded barrel, it's right up my alley. Some much so, that I'm thinking of put off my Marlin 336 rifle project and buy the Homesteader around the middle to end of 2023.

My initial idea for the rifle is to use it exactly as Henry named it, the Homesteader. I have been wanting a semi-auto PCC for home defense and as we build up this farm, this rifle makes a lot of sense. Sometimes, I carry a rifle around the farm while I check trees, walk fence, clean up trash and look for small game. My primary AR is heavy with all the parts, so I'm thinking I want to keep the weight down on this one. The Marlin 1894 is light enough to do the job but I do prefer a semi-auto for real defensive use. At 6.6 pounds, the Homesteader should be easy to pretty lightweight. Even with just a red dot, it'll be pretty light. I'm thinking 9mm would be pretty great if the gun runs hollow points just fine. If that's the case, then I can use the existing Glock mags and self defense hollow points I already have.

I ran a rough calculation through a ballistic calculator for Speer Gold Dot 124 gr over at GunData.org based on values from Ballistic By the Inch with a velocity of 1379 feet per second and found that with a 50 yard zero, the rifle should be capable of minute of whistle pig (ground hog) out to 70 yards. That means you can hold the crosshairs or red dot directly on the vitals of the animal and be within 1 inch of impact. At those distances, the hollow point should still open up based on the 1100+ fps values BBTI got and from what I think the velocity envelope is for the Speer 124 gr 9mm hollow point. I have a theory that at shorter ranges, those Speer Gold Dots can take a whitetail deer. I don't know they would get out the other side of the deer on a broadside shot but I absolutely believe they would make it into the opposite side lung with a broadside shot. I'm also thinking about the Federal 147 gr HST rounds for subsonic hunting but the drop shortens the small game utility by about 5 yards. The 124 gr loads seem to be a better choice but I do like the idea of having a semi-auto rifle for subsonic shooting. I could tinker with the zero for something like 65 yards. The GunData calculator puts the bullet high of 1.09 inch at 40 yards but does give you 5 inches of drop at 100 yards. A little hold over would put that bullet into the vitals of the deer. I think maybe stick with the 50 yard zero since it's easier to work with. The 124 gr loads will be louder since they are supersonic but they do give a much flatter trajectory which would work better for small game and hunting in general. I also already a bunch in my inventory. 

While I'm thinking about ammo choices, I've been looking at what options I have for general subsonic plinking. I found a few recipes with one for HS-6 and 147 gr bullets. The 147 gr bullets from GT Bullets would be a good, inexpensive choice and are generally the cheapest heavy bullets I can get. I did find a company called Bayou Bullets that does 160 gr round nose bullets for a little more money. The 160 gr RN bullets are the best choice for my AR-9. It may be time to start learning to reload for 9mm and pick up a new bottle of HS-6.

For optics, I think I want to use a low power scope. Leupold has an inexpensive 1.5-4x scope that's lightweight and a little magnification would be great for taking small game like ground hogs, rabbits and beavers. Too bad they don't make a Firedot version anymore (they used to). I'm also thinking about the Primary Arms 3x prism. The eye relief is a little short on the PA 3x scope so it may not work with the traditional layout of the Homesteader. They do have mounts that push the optic rearward. I'll have to think that one through. Experimenting with low power scopes and red dots with this rifle will be fun.

For accessories, a basic leather sling will be ideal but I reached out to Lee Mason who owns Mason Leather down in Celina Texas. He has cuffs for Mini-14 stocks to hold a 20 round magazine and stuff for 10/22's and I wanted to see if he would be making any stock cuffs for the Homesteader to hold a magazine. He said he thinks it could be easy to do but didn't note any plans. I'll see about pestering him later on. 

I was blown away when I saw the first video of the Homesteader that came out of SHOT Show 2023 from TopShotDustin's Instagram page. There haven't been a huge number of guns that really caught my attention so I think this project will be a great idea and a wonderful addition to my family's inventory. All in all, I think the Homesteader is going to be an amazing rifle and that Henry has absolutely nailed it. As a plinker, this rifle should end up being inexpensive enough ammo-wise for people to be able to shoot. The recoil should be light, working well for sensitive shooters. The cartridge is substantial enough to do various work with. The caliber isn't so powerful that if you shot a big rabbit, beaver or ground hog, you'd obliterate it. The 9mm cartirdge will never be as cheap as .22 LR to shoot but .22 LR won't ethically take deer. 9mm works well as a defensive cartridge more so than a .22. 

SHOT Show 2023 - New Stuff I Think is Interesting

 SHOT Show is always interesting to me and 2023's edition is turning out pretty cool. I'm not an industry or media guy so I'll never be invited, not like I could afford to if I wanted. So I read what others put out on social media and their blogs etc. 

Henry

Henry dropped two cool things this year. The first I won't jump on since I don't need a new cartridge (especially after 350 Legend) and the other I would buy. The first is a collab with Remington called .360 Buckmaster. It's a new straight-wall cartridge based on 30-30 intended for those few states that limit gun season to straight-wall cartridges. It's rimmed unlike 350 Legend and is designed for lever action rifles. It's also more powerful. I think this will be a great option for folks like me who love lever action rifles but are living in those states.

The second thing is the Homesteader rifle. It's a traditionally laid out semi-auto rifle with wood stocks, chambered in 9mm. Apparently, the magazine well can be swapped from the proprietary magazines over to the more popular pistol magazines such as Glock, SIG and Smith and Wesson. The versions shown at SHOT have a threaded barrel. Congratulations, Henry. You've packaged out a semi-auto 9mm rifle I'm actually interested in. Wood stocks and threaded barrels for the win. This is the most surprising thing for this year. I'm very excited about it. I want a WOOX stock for it though. 

Beretta

Beretta brought back their old .380 pistol, the Cheetah but modernized it. They call it the 80X. It has an accessory rail and provisions for red dots. I want one with a threaded barrel. I would love to see how .380 suppresses from a larger pistol than these usual pocket guns. 

They also, released a shotgun based on the A300 platform for home defense. It's packaged similar to the 1301 that's very well liked but it's not as expensive. I want a 1301 but I won't spend the money just yet. This one could fit that bill. I have an A300 Outlander I use for duck hunting and I like the platform. 

Marlin

No official word yet on the 336 but there are rumors of one at Range Day. A new 336 is my most anticipated release for this 2023.

Update: I checked the Marlin website and they have the 336 as early 2023 and interestingly, the 1894 will be re-released in Spring 2023. Good thing I've saving my money now.

Update 2: Apparently, Ruger does have a new 336 and 1894 on the show floor! Apparently, neither of those guns have a threaded barrel but are the traditional wood and blued steel. Looks like I need to wait to see if they do a version of the 336 with a threaded barrel. It would be genuinely funny if I got all hyped up for a specific version of the 336 and it never comes out!

Update 3: After talking with YouTuber, Target Suite, he says Ruger does have an SKU with a threaded barrel for the 336 but didn't get into the specifics of how the rifle is styled. We'll just have to wait and see.

It's also got me thinking that since I've changed the configuration of my 1894 CST to use Leupold's 2.5x scope instead of the red dot setup, maybe I'll wait for Ruger to release a new 1894 in 357 and set it up like I did ProjectVaquero but this time I'll execute exactly on how I wanted it with blued steel and wood furniture. I liked the CST's stainless which makes sense as an outdoors gun in the weather and all but I still love that blued steel and brown walnut look. I can't wait to see what 

Harrington & Richardson

This is an old name in firearms that got caught up in the Remington bankruptcy. They've made a huge selection of guns over the years including guns for the war effort during the 40's but was most recently known for inexpensive single shot rifles and shotguns. Palmetto State Armory bought the brand from Remington. Apparently they are starting up production of retro rifles starting with the Colt 723. That will make the Cloners happy as it will given them an option to build Black Hawk Down clones. RIP MSGT Gordon. 

I'm not a cloner but the return of the H&R brand is good news. Some folks are hoping for new make M1 Garands since they had tooling to make the rifle back in the day. Count me in for that. 

Looks like that's it folks. I've learned from SHOT Show 2023 that I wanted to know and plus some. Marlin will indeed have a threaded barrel SKU for the 336 but we'll see how it looks and incredibly, Henry has blown me away with the Homesteader. I can't wait to see how the Homesteader turns out when it's officially released. I think I'll make it my 2024 or 2025 project.

Bond Arms

Bond Arms is known mostly for 2 shot derringer pistols but they jumped into the lever action rifle market. They have a lever action lower receiver for AR-15 pattern uppers and uses Remington 870 pattern stocks. I'm toying with the idea of a .300 Blackout upper for that gun but apparently Bond Arms is planning a 9mm build. I might jump on that. I love lever action too much.