Strange Happenings in 9mm

[pearcetopher]

Hi all, my names Chris and I'm new to this forum. I joined to find my questions answered to my favorite hobby, bullet casting.

I have been casting for about 6 months now and have an unlimited supply of wheel weights. I absolutely love it, even doing it on the balcony of my apartment in Canada its a great way to save on shooting costs.

I started casting for my 629 6" in 44 mag using the lee 429 240 gas check mold and sizer and it has amazing accuracy.

Then I started casting for my JCP .40S&W using the six cavity lee 401 175 tumblw lubw and it shoots very well with no issues

Now I have started casting for my Norinco 9mm Chinese police issue gun and have been scratching my head at a number of problems.
I found I had to use the full loads listed on the hogdon website for titegroup 4.4G and use bullets with absolutely no wrinkles and they had to be quenched in order to not keyhole and tumble through the air. However they still had absolutely awful accuracy and terrible leading. Im talking having trouble hitting a paper sized target at 10 yards!

my bullets are six cavity lee tumble lube 124g RN and they mic at .355

I am almost certain my issue is that the bullets are too small for the bore as I have not slugged my barrel. An easy fix for 50$ would be the .358 104G six cavity lee mold as I'm sure the extra .002 would give me great accuracy. What do you guys think?

also stupid question but couldn't I just buy a .358 sizer and run my current .355 through it to get them nice and circular and accurate?

thankyou for listening,

Chris

[outdoorfan]

Here you go. I would read this first: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?121607-Setting-up-for-boolits-in-a-new-9mm

If your boolits are coming out of the mold at .355, you are not going to get them to be .358 by running them through a larger sizer. Not gonna happen. You can "beagle" (I think that's what it's called) the mold to drop fatter boolits. .355 will cause leading; I'm quite sure. You seem to know that already.

[MakeMineA10mm]

Welcome Chris.

I think you are on the right track looking for a larger dia. mould. However, I would avoid going to a lighter bullet than the 124gr you are already at. When a gun requires max loads just to reliably function, going with a lighter bullet may cause you to loose reliable function because the load is not producing enough recoil.

[tomme boy]

That Lee mold causes a lot of people trouble. That tumble lube version has had a bad reputation.

[retread]

Welcome Chris,
I had the exact same problem with my SR9. Terrible accuracy and leading. Similiar bullet but not TL. I saved buying another mold by powder coating (see thread). With the powder coated I was able to size to .357 and .358. No lube required! This completely eliminated both the accuracy and leading problems. I now powder coat a lot of my different calibers. The various colors are distintive out at the range. The girls are especially fond of the red and pink.

73608

[runfiverun]

both of my type 99's want 358 diameter boolits.
I hang in the 3.8 zone with titegroup and 231, so they shoot to the sights for me.

[Shiloh]

I'd be curious to know what that pistol barrel slugs at.

Shiloh

[Iron Mike Golf]

Sounds like undersized. When you don't quench, the boolits strip on the lands and so don't spin up, giving you keyholes. When you harden them up, they take the rifling, but may still be slipping a bit at first. That'll open up channels and give you more gas gutting and leading than just being undersized and taking the rifling without slipping.

As said before, you really need to slug the bore and mike the slugs to get the groove dia. Then size .001 to .002 over that diameter. If your rifling is shallow, I'd water drop, let the boolits age at least a week, and think about a slower powder than TG.

[pearcetopher]

Retread is powder coating just spray painting your bullets ?

[Iron Mike Golf]

Retread is powder coating just spray painting your bullets ?

No. The coating goes on as a dry powder that is attracted to the object electrostatically. You put your boolits on a metal tray and electrically ground it. The powder coat spray gun give the powder particles and electrostatic charge and the powder is attracted to grounded metal objects. Then you bake the coated boolits (toaster oven will do). to set the coating.

Get some .358 boolits from someone because you have a good chance of success with that. If you don't have any in a week, I'll be happy to send you 50-100, and they will be hard (BHN 22+). I am fresh out at the moment and will be pouring some this weekend.

Personally, I would not go the powder coat route unless: the gun won't chamber a boolit sized to groove dia +.001, I could not get or want to pay for jacketed, and I really, really wanted or needed to shoot that piece a lot.

[pearcetopher]

I'd love that
Anything you want from Canada that I can give you as a token of my appreciation??

[RogerWatsonfromIdaho]

Chris,

Before you spend any money, I suggest that you slug the bore.
Then you may learn where the problem is.
Roger

[fcvan]

So far, I have only been using flat black from Harbor Freight. Those pretty red ones make me want to bust loose and get fancy! I'm really digging the way they shoot. I have been able to coat consistently at .001 thick. None of my 9mm molds go under .358 but PCd and sized to .358 they shoot great.

[bangerjim]

I am sold on powder coating. I now coat every cal I shoot. Seems to eliminate that horrid black hole subject called "boolit lubing - the why's and how's of wasting shooting"!!!!!!!

I use the HF powders with great success and am ordering a rainbow of colors from Eastwood.....even blue (NOT pinK) for my wife's loads!

Have fun!

bangerjim

[MtGun44]

Too small and too hard. Avoid tumble lube with 9mm. Use NRA 50-50 lube in
the Lee 356-120 TC conventional lube, sized to .357 or .358 and you will succeed.

Bill

[Iron Mike Golf]

I'd love that
Anything you want from Canada that I can give you as a token of my appreciation??

Chris, I missed the bit in your OP that you are in Canada. As I am in the US, this means we'd need to set ourselves up with export and import licenses, even when sending ammunition components as a gift. I am sorry, I can't send them.

[ironhead7544]

I have had good luck with the 160 grain lead bullets in the 9mm. They seem to take the rifling better.