LEE 140 gr. SWC for a 9mm

[Shiloh]

Can one of you folks give me the length of a Lyman 356637 147 gr. 9mm
flat point boolit??

My aim is it use this boolit as a guide for loading a LEE 140 Gr. SWC for the 9mm.
If I am able to seat it no deeper than the 356637 boolit, and still have it cycle, I'd like to try it. My current 9mm molds do not make it to .357.

THe molds I have are the LEE 120 gr. TCTL and a LEE 125 gr. Round Nose. Both tumble and are all over the place at 25 yards.

Any experience from those who have loaded the LEE 140 SWC in 9mm would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Shiloh

[thx997303]

In order for it to feed in my 9mm, I had to seat it much deeper in the case than I felt comfortable.

I no longer use that mold.

[TwoTone]

The Lyman 356637 is .686" long.

I load them to a C.O.L. of 1.159" which feeds fine in my 9mm.

They also come out weighing 153gn for me using WW with a bit of tin.

[casterofboolits]

#356637 Boolit OAL = .608

I do not load anything over 125 grainers in 9x19. 9x21 or 9x23 is another can of worms.

The #356637 cannot be sized larger than .356. I have two of the Lyman four cavity moulds for this boolit.

[TwoTone]

#356637 Boolit OAL = .608

I do not load anything over 125 grainers in 9x19. 9x21 or 9x23 is another can of worms.

The #356637 cannot be sized larger than .356. I have two of the Lyman four cavity moulds for this boolit.

I agree re. the sizing.

But I've got a bunch of them right here and they all measure .685" - .686". I double checked and they definitely came from my 4 cav Lyman mould #356637.

I even just went and measured one of the mould cavities, same thing.

Maybe you meant .680 rather than .608? Either that or one of us has a mis-marked 4 cavity mould, or in your case I guess two of them....

[Shiloh]

In order for it to feed in my 9mm, I had to seat it much deeper in the case than I felt comfortable.

I no longer use that mold.

Have you tried the LEE 105 gr. SWC??
I have concern as well with the deep seating.

Shiloh

[fecmech]

I also had a Lyman356637 4 cav and while the mold is gone I still have some bullets here. My oal runs .678 and the bullets with ACWW+ 2% tin weigh 153 grs.

[casterofboolits]

I agree re. the sizing.

But I've got a bunch of them right here and they all measure .685" - .686". I double checked and they definitely came from my 4 cav Lyman mould #356637.

I even just went and measured one of the mould cavities, same thing.

Maybe you meant .680 rather than .608? Either that or one of us has a mis-marked 4 cavity mould, or in your case I guess two of them....

TwoTone,

Nope. The boolits from my moulds measure .608 to .612 with my Brown & Sharpe 0 to 1" mics.

I worked for twenty three years for a company making precision insert tooling for stamping dies and worked to +.0002 minus .0000 tolerances and taught operators in the UK and Japan to do the same.

That said, I modified many of my four cavity Lyman moulds by removing stock from the tops of the mould blocks by milling or surface grinding to drop an exact weight with my alloy.

I had a part time boolit business for twenty five years and that is why I was anal about boolit weight. When I sold a boolit it was within +/- one grain of advertised weight. I don't remember if I did this to my 356637 moulds or not. Gettin' old and you know what happens to us old farts! :bigsmyl2:

The 356637 was a poor seller and I only added them to my offering because a buddy wanted them. I think I sold five or six thousand of them at $20.00/1,000. Just enough to pay for the moulds which cost me $38.00 each.

[Harter66]

For what its worth my LEE 356-124 TCTL drops at .358 and gets loaded as cast in my HP9 over 3:5 Unique . I'm not to picky about these boolits as the yougest boy burns through them a hundred at a time. It shoots a best group of about 5" at 25 for a full magazine and matching brass ,3" sand bagged w/weighed vs dropped charges. I've some 150 gr semis I've meant to try but time has not allowed of late. I did shoot a few 158 RNFPs ,although they grouped nicely they were low and left about a foot at 30yd.

[deltaenterprizes]

I thought of milling the top of my mold to make a 125 gr SWC to replace the SAECO 125 gr SWC I lost, you may want to try that.

[thx997303]

Have you tried the LEE 105 gr. SWC??
I have concern as well with the deep seating.

Shiloh

I have not tried that mold. I don't own it.

[putteral]

I have this mold in double cavity, one cavity I had hollow pointed by Eric. I load mine to 1.135 and they feed fine in all my 9's except my P6. There I load them to 1.18 in order to chamber. Like the others mine drop at 153gr using WW. Hollow point drops at 147 though.

[Shiloh]

For what its worth my LEE 356-124 TCTL drops at .358 and gets loaded as cast in my HP9 over 3:5 Unique.

You are fortunate indeed. Mine drops at .3572 at the widest, and sub .3568 on the narrow end. a bit smaller on the lube grooves.

Shiloh

[fecmech]

Shiloh--If you get the Lee 120 TC with the lube groove they seem to run .358 out of the mold. That bullet along with some Longshot or Blue dot makes for a very accurate high speed 9MM load.

[Shiloh]

Shiloh--If you get the Lee 120 TC with the lube groove they seem to run .358 out of the mold. That bullet along with some Longshot or Blue dot makes for a very accurate high speed 9MM load.

So I've been told. I was in contact with another board member found by perusing
Posts via the search feature. Its a gamble, but I hope to find one.
That would solve my problems. I have NEVER had as much difficulty with other calibers as I have the 9mm. All due to undersize boolits.

Thanks!!

SHiloh