Casting 38 cal for 9mm

[layusn1]

I am going to order some cerrosafe from MidwayUsa next week so I can get my chamber/barrel size before I start casting and complaining about leading issues...lol. I hear people talking about shooting cast bullets that are larger than the normal size for that caliber, i.e. .358 in a 9mm. I'm totally new to this so when you cast a 9mm bullet does it drop out of the mold at .356 or does it drop at some random size close to .356 and you run them all through the sizer to make them all .356?

I heard somebody talking about using a 38 caliber mold for 9mm in another post. They recommended the Lee 90318 which is a 140gr SWC in .358 and their website says their customers rate it as having "excellent accuracy". I find it interesting that apparently none of their customers rate any of their 9mm bullets as having "excellent accuracy". So if I cast my barrel and it comes out to something like .357 should I get the 38 caliber mold? I noticed its only $25 so its not much of investment to see if it will work and if not I'm sure I could recover some of that cost by selling it on ebay. With the price of the Lee bullet size and lube kits it wouldn't be too expensive to buy one in .358, .357, and .356 to see which on works best. but is it a normal practice to cast a 38 caliber bullet for a 9mm gun? I will be shooting my cast bullets through a CZ75 just in case anyone has personal experience with casting for them and it might help answer the question.

[Ricochet]

The question that only trying will answer is: Will a bullet of that diameter seat in the case and produce a round that chambers properly?

Swell up a case with a fat bullet, and it'll likely cause a jam.

The Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Dies are a great help with that problem in straight walled cases. I don't load 9mm and haven't looked to see if they have that die for it.

[layusn1]

Yes, they make a FCD for 9mm

[USARO4]

Riccochet is right on track. I reload 9MM for a Ruger BH Convertible. I occasionaly use boolits designed for 38/357. I usually size them to .356, The Ruger has a tight 9MM cylinder and I had a devil of a time getting cast reloads to fit until I went to the Lee FCD.

[layusn1]

I'm not sure I'm following the direction this is going...if 38 caliber bullets are too tight than obviously you wouldn't use them right?...but apparently some people have guns that are loose enough that they have had better luck going that route. If you have to resort to a Lee FCD to force a 38 caliber bullet to fit than I would assume you wouldn't need to use it right? Or is the issue that even though the barrel may need a .358 bullet to reduce leading the portion of the bullet in the case still needs to be .356 to feed and function properly?

[9.3X62AL]

All three of my 9 x 19 pistols have .357" throats. I size boolits to that dimension and seat them wothout incident in Rem 9mm cases. I have used Lyman #358121 with good success, but most decent boolit molds produce castings wide enough to size to .357"-.358". Where problems usually occur is with 140 grain boolits or larger--they hit against the interior sidewall's radius, and swell things out.

[Buckshot]

.............Another issue with 9mm is casewall thickness. It is all over the place. A thick caseneck and a fatter boolit may give a problem, where the same sized slug in a thinner case won't.

..............Buckshot

[Leftoverdj]

Lee moulds tend to run from nominal diameter to .002 over with undersized moulds being as common as those .003 or more fat. The odds are against getting a nominal .356 mould that actually casts .358. The sizing dies also have tolerances with dies that size a thou smaller than claimed being very common.

In all fairness to Lee, some of this is caused by variation in alloy. Very few of us know the exact composition of our alloy, and WW varies a lot.

I've never loaded for a 9mm that would not chamber a .358 bullet, and I've loaded for about a dozen 9mms. If I ran into one and wanted to keep it, I'd promptly open the chamber up a bit.

btw, I favor heavier than standard bullets when loading cast in the 9mm. The increased bearing surface and lower velocities seem to cope with the ridiculously fast twist rate better.

[Cloudpeak]

I'm at the "searching for a 9mm mold stage" right now. I'll be getting a S&W M-P 9mm shortly and need to buy a 9mm mold. I like the Lee 6 cavity molds but, when casting for my 45s have had some slight problems. My last Lee mold, 452-200-SWC produced bullets from .450 to .452. My S.A. 5" loaded slugged bullet measured .4515. I finally shimmed my molds halves to drop a larger diameter and used the Lee .452 sizing die so I knew I had consistant bullet diameters.

I'm going to split the cost of a Lee 6 cavity with a fellow 9mm shooter and he's going to supply me with lead and I'm going to cast bullets for both of us. He said he liked either 115 or 124 grain bullets. I'm leaning toward the 124 grain Lee TL356-124-2R or TL356-124-TC. After having occasional feeding problems in my 1911s with the Lee 452-200-SWC and TL452-200-SWC (especially the latter bullet), I'd love to buy a Lee 9mm mold that casts bullets that feed well. (BTW, the Penns 200 SWC modeled after the H&G 68 design feeds fine in both of my Springfield 1911s.) I'd be really interested in anyones thoughts on a good feeding 9mm bullet.

BTW, we're just using these 9mm for practice and steel plate shooting.

Thanks guys, Cloudpeak

[singleshotbuff]

FWIW my SA XD tactical 9 wouldn't shoot a boolit sized .356" for crap. Switched to a .357" boolit and it is VERY accurate. So I guess, yes you could try a 38 mold. Only way to know for sure is to slug your barrel, slug your throat and try a .356", .357" & .358" boolit. As mentioned above however, you may be limited by what will chamber in your gun with your cases.

SSB

[MT Gianni]

My feelings are to drop the lee and go with a 358242 or 356402 in 4 cavity. Both feed well in my guns and unless abused your grandkids can wear it out. Gianni

[Cloudpeak]

My feelings are to drop the lee and go with a 358242 or 356402 in 4 cavity. Both feed well in my guns and unless abused your grandkids can wear it out. Gianni

These are Lyman numbers? If so, I'll bet the cavity's are pretty round. What diameter would wheel weight alloy drop from this mold?

Thanks,

Cloudpeak

[mike in co]

to cloud the picture, i shoot a 357 135 moly nosler bullet(jacketed) in one of my cz 9mm. they are .357 dia, i do plan on shooting some that i sized down to .3565 just to see if the pressure will come down a little.

and i have a 160 358 rn mold i plan to cast and shoot in one of these guns.

mike

[MT Gianni]

These are Lyman numbers? If so, I'll bet the cavity's are pretty round. What diameter would wheel weight alloy drop from this mold?

Thanks,

Cloudpeak

Interestingly enough my 356402 drops at .3568 and [2] 2 cav. 358242 both drop enough to be sized to .3585. Gianni

[9.3X62AL]

Same story here--my NEI version and Lee rendition of Lyman #356402 all "clean up" in a .358" sizer that gives that true measurement to sized boolits. My Lyman #358242 cleans up in a .359" die. These all get sized to .357" (true diameter confirmed) for my three 9mm's.

[PatMarlin]

I've got a RCBS 09-115-RN for the 9mm I'll sell you.. :drinks:

[Petander]

I have just started casting for 9 mm.



I had a Lee .358 158 RF mold , tried it on the "niners" and the boolits worked fine on my three 9 mm guns - except a Para , it needed more "LFC-shrinking" to feed. Very little, I ended up using a .357 sizer/decapper die for that "shrinking" because I happen have one with a missing decapper pin.


I got a sixbanger version of this Lee yesterday, this boolit does all it needs to do in my 9 mm - it is being sized .3575 , measured. I have to be very careful with the OAL though, just a little too long a round and it will not chamber in the Para because of the relatively wide nose. Lapua brass has a chambering problem even in a SIG with this boolit, too , I just noticed it today. So I use CCI and Magtech, got plenty.


( My first sixbanger Lee, I am very impressed. It is extremely easy to cast with, makes good boolits and feels much more "pro" than the dual cavity things. Easy to keep a good temperature for slightly "frosty" boolits, they drop clean out of the mold just by shaking - often no shaking is not needed at all. All I did was clean and lube, nada else. I´ve already made 1000+ boolits with it in a few hours.)

[Buckshot]

I have just started casting for 9 mm. ( My first sixbanger Lee, I am very impressed. It is extremely easy to cast with, makes good boolits and feels much more "pro" than the dual cavity things. Easy to keep a good temperature for slightly "frosty" boolits, they drop clean out of the mold just by shaking - often no shaking is not needed at all. All I did was clean and lube, nada else. I´ve already made 1000+ boolits with it in a few hours.)

...............When things are going well, it's hard to stop :-)

..............Buckshot

[DanM]

I have only older military 9x19 pistols. MK1 BHP, P38, and P08, all three bores slug at .357+. They all shoot better with .357" JB handloads than with .356" 9mm loads. My next mold purchase will likely be a mold intended for .38-.357. Hopefully a TC design, but may have to settle for a RN. I stick to 124-5gr for these older 9x19s.

[trickyasafox]

I have just started casting for 9 mm.
I had a Lee .358 158 RF mold , tried it on the "niners" and the boolits worked fine on my three 9 mm guns - except a Para , it needed more "LFC-shrinking" to feed. Very little, I ended up using a .357 sizer/decapper die for that "shrinking" because I happen have one with a missing decapper pin.


thats great to hear! i wanted to only get 1 mold for 38/357/9mm and i really liked that boolit since a member sent me a few to test! (thanks again gp100man!)