Lee .358 125 RFN for 9mm?

[kingemandigger]

I started casting for my 9mm handguns a little while ago, and have been using the Lee TL .356 124 RN lubed with LLA. Problems... yes:x The boolits cast at exactly .3555-.356, as is apparently not unusual for a Lee mold. The lube is also probably sub-par. Do to this, I have been getting a fair amount of leading and poor accuracy. Therefore, I have been looking for another mold and boolit type for my 9s, and think I have found the right one. Is the Lee .358 125 RFN a good load for the 9mm? I know its designed for the .357/.38, but I figure that the lube groove will give me ample opportunity to more effectively lubricate the boolit, and it will probably cast to between .357-.358, a perfect diameter for both my Baby Eagle and CZ75. Question... Will this chamber in a CZ pistol without having to seat the boolit too deep? I am using 4.5 grains of WSF, and have been really happy with the performance of the powder. Thanks

[theperfessor]

I use that bullet over 6.8 to 7.0 grs Blue Dot in 9mm for my HiPower. Works fine when you get the seating depth right so it feeds properly. I don't have a CZ so I can't address that issue.

Edit to add: MtGun44 put up a sticky about setting up a 9mm for cast bullets:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?121607-Setting-up-for-boolits-in-a-new-9mm.

It is well worth reading. A 9mm isn't all that hard to load for, it just helps to have a guide sometimes.

[paul h]

Another lee design to consider is the 105 gr swc .357 mold. I shot probably close to 1000 of them out of my 9mm before I traded it off. It functions great and accuracy was good.

[chutesnreloads]

If your CZ75 is like mine ...you WILL need to seat it deeply and so need to reduce loads to compensate.They will however cycle just fine in my CZ.

[williamwaco]

I would be surprised it you ever get a .3555 bullet to work without leading.

If I were going to try, I would try a near max load of a very fast powder, Bullseye or AA2

[NuJudge]

Only your barrel will answer the question whether this bulllet will chamber. I have four Beretta and two Walther barrels which a just slightly below .358" groove diameter, plus a Browning High Power that is about the same barrel groove diameter. The Beretta and Walther barrels will all chamber a cartridge that has a .359" bullet in it, but the Browning will only chamber a cartridge with a bullet .356" or smaller.

[Balta]

That bullet shape it not god choice for CZ,you will need to seath them deep to chamber..Mihec have some 9 mm molds,in 359 diameter and that bullet shape work great in CZ pistols in standard COLs.Hope this helps

[spfd1903]

Just tried some of these. Cast with 20:1 alloy and put them through a Lee .357 sizer. First load in four years that allowed a Hi-Point $125 pistol to print touching holes at 30 feet. Set at 1.04 OAL. The Hi-Point load was 4.4 grains of Unique. Hoped this would be as accurate in my Browning Hi-power.....no way, terrible group. With 5.0 grains of Power Pistol, all the holes were touching from the Hi-power. I love this mold.

[MtGun44]

Going to have to whack that undersized boolit hard to get it to fit. My Lee 356 120 TC casts
about .3585 with COWW and I size mostly to .358. Strongly recommend the TC shape to
aid function in short throated barrels.

Bill

[milprileb]

All of this but do try a less harder alloy for the bullets: that often allows a properly itting bullet to be accurate and not lead.

[reloader28]

We use that boolit sized .358 in 5 different guns. My Dads takes .356, but all of them shoot pretty good with 4gr Bullseye and a plain base gas check with clip on air cooled WW.

[Shiloh]

Work up loads carefully. This boolit shoots well for me, but needs to be seated a bit deeper for functioning. I use it with Unique. I could look up the data if you like.

Shiloh

[Thompsoncustom]

My CZ likes the 124gr TL bullet but I find Alox to messy and sticky I recommend using the HI tek super coat or a powder coating method as the 124 TL bullet works better in my CZ than the normal lube groove bullet from lee.