Lee 125 .358 rfn in cz - report

[kingemandigger]

I think that I finally found the right boolit for my CZ 75 b. Other bullets that I have tried, including the lee 124 TL leaded badly, likely do to their being too small. The lee 125 casts at .358 which is perfect. However, it is designed for the 38/357 mag. and the way that the nose is designed makes it a challenge to fit in the chamber of cz pistols.
Well, I recently made up some rounds. These had 4.3 grains of WSF & O.A.L. 1.021
These I took to the range and was pleasantly surprised to see zero leading and holes touching at 15 yards. However, about 1 out of every 5 rounds wouldn't chamer do to slightly long bullets:(

I recently fixed that problem by loading the bullet slightly deeper. I was surprised to note though that the O.A.L. was 0.987! My question is, is this safe? I using a minimum starting load in my gun, and the rounds function fine. I just hope there is no mal pressure symptoms of such a deep set boolit

By the way, the powder is not compressed, but is probably touching the bullet.

[fa38]

I did the same thing with my 9mm. I have been trying to get a 125 grain plain base bullet to shoot in a S&W M&P 9mm semi auto handgun.

The bullets were quite soft and running them from the magazine to the chamber I was getting a bit of lead flaking that interfered with the bullet being fully chambered. There was a build up of lead where the case mouth was to headspace in the barrel.

I dropped the powder charge by one grain and seated the bullets deeper into the case so that there was space around the case mouth for the lead flakes to go. I think due to the decreased powder weight the pressure actually went down. Instead of the cases being ejected about 10 feet they now land about two feet away from me.

Before I made the change about 8 in ten would not fully chamber. Now they all chamber and go bang. And I don't have any lead build up where the case mouth is supposed to headspace.

My bullet is Accurate 358-125c

8940189402

[fcvan]

Another happy 9mm shooter whose found that most 9mm pistols like .358 vs smaller. When I fist started loading for 9mm back in the 1980s I was sizing to .356 with disastrous results. The Lee 356-125 2R as cast went .358 and the S&W 459 I was loading for preferred them as cast. I also learned to expand the case and crimp so as not to size down the boolit. I like that Lee 358-125 RF, I just haven't added it to my inventory of molds. Happy shooting!

[kingemandigger]

What powder and charge are you guys using. I have found that WSF is a great 9mm powder, burning just slightly faster than unique, but not as snappy and dirty as 231. Perfect for those 125s, however, it is not a common sight on 9mm threads

[fa38]

My original load was 6.2 grs. of HS6. When I increased the seating depth I dropped it to 5.2 grs. No failures to feed or failure to eject. Since I am only putting holes in paper I don't think I will increase it any.