Good 9mm Boolit mold

[lts70]

My brother has a new 9mm springfeild XDm handgun and wants me to cast him some lead boolits to reload. I was wondering if anyone has had good luck useing lead in this model?

I have read that lead 9mm boolits can be tricky. Any advice and insight would be appriciated.

[MtGun44]

Try the Lee 356 120 TC, sized to .001 larger than your bore slugs to.

Please go to the stickies and read "Setting up a new 9mm for boolits" thread.

Bill

[noylj]

1) Get the Lyman 4-Cavity #356637 9mm (356 Diameter) 147 Grain Flat Nose Bevel Base from MidwayUSA for $86.99

2) Get the Lyman 4-Cavity #356402 9mm (356 Diameter) 120 Grain Truncated Cone from MidwayUSA for $86.99

3) Get the Lee 6-Cavity 356-125-2R 125 Grain 2 Ogive Radius bullet mold from MidwayUSA for $38.49

Those work very well for me in all my 9mm's, even my pre-WWII P-08s and WWII P-38s.

[milprileb]

Get the Lee 6-Cavity 356-125-2R 125 Grain 2 Ogive Radius bullet mold from MidwayUSA for $38.49

You might try this first as its a low entry cost to casting and a decent bullet that runs in about anything. The molds are light and really fast and less tiring than the steel molds by Lyman. They are also six cavity molds and you can flat out cast a ton of bullets in a few hours time if you use a bottom pour furnace.

However, the quality and performance of Lyman molds is a consideration if the weight is not an issue for you and 4 cavity will perform for your needs. For certain, steel molds will last just about forever with proper care.

Lots of things to consider. I like the 3 handle design of Lee for ease of operation and speed. I own Lyman molds as well and RCBS: all first rate tools. I don't like the slowness and labor to knock off sprue and open the molds for my pistol bullet making needs.

I find the truncated 9mm design to be more accurate in my weapons than RN design but t hat may be due to a lot of factors... pistols themselves.

I shoot 1000 rds of cast pistol on a bad month, Summer months has seen 1000 rds at times per week. The Lee molds allow me to make volume bullets that shoot accurately at 25 yds in my auto pistols. Lee meets my needs in this regard for speed, ease of operation and solid bullets for the mission.

The two posters above have provided you with very solid recommendations. Their experience is such that I recommend you take it to the bank.

Oh,. that bit about: .001 larger than your bore slugs

Well, had I know that, I would not be owning sizing dies at .356 which were wrong for my pistols bore !!!! I would not have had a ton of leading in that bore !!! and I would not have endured a lot of frustration etc etc. So.......................Slug that bore before you get any sizer dies or you get into a minefield of misery

[garym1a2]

The Lee 120TC with a slow powder (WSF) burns clean and leadfree in my Glock 22 with a Storm Lake 9mm barellel. Easy to cast also.

[Rick N Bama]

Try the Lee 358-125RF, it's great in my Beretta.

Rick

[got_lead?]

The Lee 125-2R is a very good boolit that will feed well in just about any gun. I use quite a few of them because they feed very well in Luger and Walther P-38. It is also very accurate, shooting 1" groups from my Luger and BHP.

The Lee 120 TC is also a good boolit. It's been my experience they won't feed in the P-38 or Luger, but work well in just about everything else.

Your XD will feed just about anything you give it, and the 120 grain TC's are fine.

Once you start using a 6 cavity mold, it's hard to ever go back. They're well worth the cost.

Good luck, oh, 9mm isn't that tough to load for, just work up your loads. You should be able to dial that XD down to 1 1/2" groups at 25 yards.

[Shiloh]

Get the Lee 6-Cavity 356-125-2R 125 Grain 2 Ogive Radius bullet mold from MidwayUSA for $38.49


The only mold so far that casts large enough for me, and I have three 9mm molds. I size at .358

Shiloh

[Tinbullet]

I have had really good luck with the RCBS 09~124~CN cast with 14~15 bhn, sized at .356 and loaded over 4.0 grains of Titegroup. I've used most of the other molds mentioned and you can't go wrong with any of them.

[Artful]

You know I have a few 38/9mm molds but I will generalize - get a rounded nose can have a flat point, go 124 or heavier - slug and measure the barrel and go at least that large or larger - you will find 9mm barrels vary wildley from .355 to .358 - go with a multi cavity mold and I suggest sorting brass and taper crimping after seating.
I have a Lyman 147gn RN flat tip with bevel base #356637 can run small .356-.357 depending upon alloy
http://media.midwayusa.com/productimages/large/241/241746.jpg
- a group buy 135 grain RN (actually pointy) with beveled base
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4952&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1251127025
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=20249&highlight=9mm+135
- I have used the lyman RN 158gr 38 spcl bullet 358311
http://media.midwayusa.com/productimages/large/339/339823.jpg
and have come truncated cone 125 grainers.
Rapine made a Truncated cone - my mold number on my 4 cavity is 357606
some have reported sucess with lee's 105 SWC 38 bullet and I own the mold but never tried it in 9mm.

[Cherokee]

The Lee 356120TC (not TL) is my most accurate bullet in 9mm and Super 38, the Lee 356125RN (not TL) is also good. Lyman 356402 is accurate as well. All mine are sized .356 because all my barrels are .355 and I don't have leading issues.

[ChuckS1]

I use the Lyman 358242 for my BHP and CZ-75.

[Echo]

I use the -402 boolit in my P1...

[Ugluk]

<snip>The Lee 120 TC is also a good boolit. It's been my experience they won't feed in the P-38 or Luger, but work well in just about everything else.
</snip>

Thats funny. I've tried a lot of designs in search of a boolit that would feed well in my 1906 Luger with MecGar mag. For some time I didn't bother with the 120TC design as I believed it to be to short for good feeding. All prior tests indicated that longer rounds fed better and for some time the 356-125-2R from lee seated to1.17" was my most reliable load at roughly 1 fail in 50.

I finally tried a few 120TC's and they feed flawlessly in my luger so far, seated out so that the case just barely cover the lube groove.

You knever know.. Until you try that is..

My Taurus PT99 likes nothing better than 358-125RF.

[Gripmaker]

FYI, the original bullet loaded for the P-08 was a rather long truncated cone bullet of about 125 grn. Used to have one but it apparently didn't like the fact that I got rid of P-08 so he disappeared also.

[soldierbilly1]

For my XD9, I use the Lee 120 TC, the 356402 and the 356242 (120 gr) from Lyman. They all work well, the lattermost is the most accurate in my gun.
Again, they all work fine.
billy boy

[lts70]

I went ahead and got got the Lee 6-Cavity 356-125-2R 125 Grain 2 Ogive Radius bullet mold from MidwayUSA for $38.49. I figure it is a good one to start with. I am sure it wont be the last.

[Sapper771]

I like the Lee 120gr TC as well. I have found that this boolit is very accurate out of my Glock 17. I cast this boolit from AC WW alloy , sized at 0.358" , and lubed with BAC. My 120gr TC boolits cast out at 0.359" - 0.360" and weigh in close to 124gr when using AC WW. I havent tried a lot of powders under this pill yet, but I have found that WSF and Silhouette to work very well. I have been playing with AA#5, just havent fine tuned it yet.

[beex215]

smart move to go with a 6 cavity. its very slow to cast with a 2 cavity and i kinda regret getting that over a 6 cavity.

[lts70]

I got my Lee 6-Cavity 356-125-2R 125 Grain 2 Ogive Radius bullet mold and after breaking her in a bit now have a good supply of freshly cast 9mm boolits. They are dropping a little out of round and are measuring from .358 to .359 because of the out of round factor. I have .357 and .358 sizing dies for my RCBS lube-a-matic. What size are 9mm boolits usually sized to, I would think that the .357 die would be just about right but wanted to check with the experts. I am reloading these for my brothers XDM 9mm and do not have access to it to slug the barrel.

I have a Lyman #311 nose punch for my lyman 358311 - 158gr 38sp/357 round nose. That is close to fitting this 9mm boolit but is just a little off...Bad idea to use it or would it be alright?

[NuJudge]

You really need to know the groove diameter before you do anything, and cast bullets that are at least .001" larger than that. After lubing (and if you size, that too), your chamber has to allow cartridges to chamber with bullets of that size. If the chamber will not allow cartridges with bullets of the appropriate size to chamber, you are stuck with jacketed bullets.

Shooting Lead bullets that are too small will cause fantastic Leading.

[garym1a2]

Besides getting the right boolit size for 9mm you need to make sure the complete round fits right in the gun. too short and the pressures spike, too long or not crimp enough and the bullet does not fit or feed reliable. Over crimp and you destort the boolit. don't use Lee crimp dies unless you truly have too.

I seat to ma length for my barrel and barily crimp my rounds so that they chamber 100% in my barrel. For the first few hundred rounds I remove barrel from the Glock and checked every round for fit.

When everthing is done right I can run over 300 rounds in this gun and only need to run a brush done the barrel 5 times or less.

Someelse recommended a slow powder for 9mm on this site and that works well for me (WSF) or Unique.

[lts70]

I have the Lee Deluxe Pistol 4 Die Set with the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die. Will that not not work? Is there an additional crimp die that I will need to purchase?

Good news on slugging the barrel. My brother found a local guy in his area that builds muzzle loaders and is willing to slug his barrel for him tonight. Once that is done he will be able to send me the measurements I need to do a proper sizing on the boolits.

[metweezer]

Try the Lee 356 120 TC, sized to .001 larger than your bore slugs to.

Please go to the stickies and read "Setting up a new 9mm for boolits" thread.

Bill

Can't find it.

[lts70]

metweezer, here is the link, it took me awhile to find it as well.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=121607&highlight=Setting+9mm+boolits

[MtGun44]

Two places for stickies. Go to the top of whatever Cast Boolits page you are on and there
is a full width box with the directory/subdirectory map of the site. Click on the leftmost
"Cast Boolits". The top thread is "Classic and Stickies".

The stickies also are usually posted under the topic - in this case, "Wheelguns, Pistols and Handcannons"

Bill