Dropped the order at Midway. It's on...

[bullpen7979]

Having run low on the initial order of 124 gr fmj, and having now exactly 183 lbs of ww lead biscuits prepared, I decided its time.

The mold, the furnace, sizing kit, etc, is on the way, along with the lee micro powder disk thing that lets one fine tune the powder charge.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=658356#productTabReviews

I ordered this mold. Profile looks very similar to fmj. I also ordered a 357 sizing kit.

I plan to tumble lube, since it looks a whole lot easier than the pan lube thing. This mold looks like it's designed for pan lube, but as I understand it, tumble lube will work as well.

(perhaps its easier for a reason?)

Anyhow....going to forge ahead and see what happens with this adventure...

Hoping evidence of leading is obvious.....

[Sprue]

Well congrats with your Order. Just hope that your 9MM pistol will shoot boolits from that mold without leading. I assume that you slugged your Bore before you decided on which mold to get, as .001-.002 thou over your bore size is adequate.

Happy Trails

[9.3X62AL]

That boolit design is the most reliable feeder in the most pistols. Try an overall length of about 1.150" and see whether the the boolit ogive makes contact with the barrel throat's rifling origin.

.357" is a good "guess" at proper diameter. Have you slugged the barrel's throat and grooves?

Leading makes itself known in at least 2 ways. It is clearly visible on the bore surface, and accuracy is likely to go south once it gets established. One way to minimize leading with a given load is to use only enough powder to provide reliable functioning. This load rate is usually found at about 75%-80% of max loading with the faster powders.

I make these recommendations here since you are using a fairly soft alloy--marginal lube application methods--and have an unknown throat or groove dimension. The 9mm is much more a "rifle caliber" than a handgun caliber when it comes to loading cast boolits--it runs at high pressures, uses very fast twist rates, and accordingly is somewhat unforgiving about lapses in dimensional integrity and lube character. By limiting the performance envelope, you can sometimes avoid the cascade of consequences that beset some beginners with this caliber and the 40 S&W. Neither of these calibers is a "beginner chambering".

Once you achieve success with your start loads, you can begin inching up the powder weights to the desired performance level until some element of the mix fails. Using harder alloy (92/6/2) and Javelina Alox lube applied in a Lyman 450 sizer, I'm able to get full-value loading of 120-125 grain castings in three 9mm pistols (1200-1250 FPS). No leading, good accuracy, reliable feeding.

[prs]

You prolly won't need the size kit. Slug to see.

If this is your first attempt; figure on remelting your first batch or two of boolits. You will be on a learning curve and your boolits will get better and better as you gain experience. That is pretty good advice once you are experienced, but are breaking in any new moulds, as they have their idiocrasies.

prs

[prs]

The micro disc is for throwing very small charges. Lee does make an adjustable charge bar type fixture for its Pro-Auto Disc measurers, it has an adjustment knob. Lots of reloaders complain that it is erratic of charges dropped. Some of that erratic tendency is user technique, I find it to be consistent IF I alsways approach the desired charge from either "higher to lower" or "lower to higher". That is if you are working UP a charge, but then overshoot your desired charge, do not simply dial it back a bit, dial it back well beyond your last setting and then go back up to and past that .

prs

[Lizard333]

Let the addiction begin.......

[onondaga]

You have more guts than I do trying a 6 banger first! Check out CowboyT videos, Never seen anybody handle one better.

I'd say copy him exactly and just do it.

Gary

[bullpen7979]

I've watched probably everything in the cowboyT repository.

[bullpen7979]

9.3x,

Sounds like I started at the difficult part of the learning curve. You indicate that tumble lubing is
a "marginal" method. Pan lubing is better/more reliable? More likely to reduce leading?

[birdadly]

Enjoy your new hobby, bullpen! I'll be starting the adventure in the next couple months as well. I'm slowly getting everything in order for 45ACP. I'm sorry I have no advice for you at this time, but just wishing you good luck and enjoyment!! -Brad

[onondaga]

Tumble is easy to have a an opinion on. I really like it and that is my position on all calibers I cast and all boolit designs. I use the Recluse 45:45:10 mix for lube and also straight Lee Liquid Alox. The LLA dries slow, can be tacky when over applied, and is very easy to over apply.

My opinion of pressure lube application is that it is costly to get started and I see no great advantages unless your joy is trying countless home brew mixes of lube for fun using expensive equipment. I'm sure somebody would like to slap me for saying that, especially because of the cost of their equipment.

I pressure lubed decades ago and it works fine but now I prefer tumble lube and have it worked out to a zero stress procedure that is completely efficient for me. Also, I find no velocity limitation with tumble lube when also getting good boolit fit and suitable alloy selection along with gas checks when appropriate for higher velocities. Good bore condition is important to make the most of any lube also and all my bores are honed or polished and then slugged to determine boolit size.

Gary

[grisy11]

I got the Lee mold that is the TL356-124-2r and that works real good in my 9mm

[gray wolf]

What scale did you order to measure your powder ?

[mpmarty]

+1 on what Gary said. I tumble lube 45acp, 10mm, 308 Win. and 45/70. No leading and good accuracy with air cooled wheel weights and a bit of tin.

[bullpen7979]

What scale did you order to measure your powder ?

I ordered the lee scale. I already have too much $ wrapped up in this endeavor including the firearm itself, the conversion kit, now the mold, sizing dies, etc.

As it is, I'm going to have to try to intercept this shipment, shuttle it downstairs and pretend like it was there all along.....:cool:

[bullpen7979]

Well congrats with your Order. Just hope that your 9MM pistol will shoot boolits from that mold without leading. I assume that you slugged your Bore before you decided on which mold to get, as .001-.002 thou over your bore size is adequate.

Happy Trails

Yeah, I hope so as well. I had a heck of a time slugging the bore; never could get a slug pounded in without fearing I was going to damage something on one end or the other. Perhaps that is a decision I will regret. I guess worse come to worse, I try a different mold. I did look at the 356-120 TC model.

From what I have read, even though the mold says 356, they may drop a few thousandths over, at which point I can put them thru the 357 die.

Right now, I have titegroup powder. Ought I consider something else? Unique was recommended, but iirc, its a flake, and not likely to meter well from the pro auto disk.

Last question/comment: My understanding was that the micro disk was used in conjunction with the main disk on the powder measure to provide the ability to fine tune the powder charge. (I think the disk jumps from .34 to .37, which would essentially put me from the min to the max charge with TG. Was I wrong about the operation of this unit?

[gray wolf]

The Lee scale is capable of throwing good charges
but some say it is a little bit of a learning curve.
Make sure you understand everything about it and always double check a few charges.
Your powder weight and the accuracy capabilities are what separates you from a good day and a bad day.

Sam

[azjohn]

I am loading that boolit right now and have in the past. Now I'm using 231. Just loaded some last night and upped the charge to 3.7 grains. Mine come out of the mold at about 130 grains and a shade under .358, air cooled ww with a bit of tin added. Come out of the sizer at .3575 lubed with BAC. I have a 38 spcl sizeing die I ground the end off of and use to open the case up so the boolit is not sized down by the case as much as it would be. I would suggest you remove your barrel and experiment with some dummy rounds to find a good seating depth. I seat mine for a col of 1.125. This is a fat bodied boolit because of the ogive. Good luck with your new adventure and remember every gun has it's own personality just like we do. I did not trademark that last remark. That belongs to Bass.

[utk]

Last question/comment: My understanding was that the micro disk was used in conjunction with the main disk on the powder measure to provide the ability to fine tune the powder charge. (I think the disk jumps from .34 to .37, which would essentially put me from the min to the max charge with TG. Was I wrong about the operation of this unit?

Sorry - the microdisk is for small charges, below those from the regular disks. They cannot be combined with the regular disks.

You can try the adjustable charge bar. I did so, but found it very irregular around 4.5 to 5.0 grains of VV N340 for my 9mm. This is because the opening down into the metering chamber is a very narrow slit at this setting, causing bridging of the powder kernels. The adjustable charge bar is more suited for heavier loads.

A work-around could be buying extra disks and enlarge selected cavities until you have a set of finely-spaced disks which would enable better tuning of your load.

For heavier loads you can also use the double disk kit which allows you to fine tune the drops fairly well by combining different powder cavities.

[Doby45]

Right now, I have titegroup powder. Ought I consider something else? Unique was recommended, but iirc, its a flake, and not likely to meter well from the pro auto disk.

I owuld say be prepared for a smokey experience. Titegroup and LLA combined will make sure you only use that ammo outside on a nice breezey day.

WST, 231, Bullseye and Unique are nice.