Purchased the 9mm XDM two years ago. Love it. Shoot IDPA and after 10,000 rounds still shoots great groups. No problems at all. Easy to clean and work on. Have fun.
Curious to how much variation you are seeing in OAL when loading 9mm. Please specify what type of reloader and dies you are using. I am seeing plus or minus .002 using a dillon 550B and Lee dies. I measured every fifth round out of 100. Berry's 147 g.
My Lymans 49th shows 168 gr HPBT with 4064 at 45 grains (2551 fps) to 50 grains (2816 fps) max load. It states garand users should load at one or two grains below max. Have loaded some nosler and sierra at 48 grains using 168 and have not had good groupings. Guess I better chrono and back off...
The special grade I got last year actually shoots best with the CMP Greek. Adjustable gas plug has only made the greek worse. Still working up several reloads. Have not found any that shoot better than the CMP stuff. Will take alot of trial and error to get the reloads tuned to the rifle.
Better accuracy, low cost, GREAT hobby. You really have to run the numbers to figure out how much you need to shoot to recoup your startup costs. But in the end, its great to go to your reloading room and Hide.
Buy good tools. Talk with the people at the gun club and gun store. Take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Until you have enough experience do not deviate from the reloading manual, if ever. Follow the reloading manuals letter by letter. Ask a ton of questions. The support you will...
Dillon. Have reloaded at least 20k 9mm and 5k 223. Also load 30-06 and 45. No problems, consistant powder drops, fast caliber changes and reliable bullet seating. Sometimes us "old timers" know what works. Don't base all your decision on 100 or 150 dollars. It will pay you back 10 times in...