Using lee 6 cav .358 125 fr for 9mm, Help with OAL, Im a newbie

[johnh9411]

Im new to casting an I starting off with a caliber that appears to be a pain, 9mm. I did a lot of research, and the one size that seemed to work for everyone was .357 so I got a lee .357 re-sizing die (didnt slug if i get leading ill re-attack that issue), im using WW lead with a little tin from pewter added goin for 2% tin 98%WW. I bought the Lee 6 cav mold .358 125gr rf mold, when I ordered the mold from brownells they didnt say it was actually for a 38/357 I was going on the assumption if I want a .357 boolet, I need a mold .001-.002 bigger so I bought .358, and 125 is about the standard gr for 9mm. Iv since read many reviews of ppl using this mold for 9 and having good results, so dose anyone have a good tested OAL for this load. Right now I checked the dimensions of the 115 Hornady hp-xtp bullets I have and there is only a .001 difference in length(cast is longer)so going off that I have come up with a hypothesis OAL of 1.075". Dose anyone see an issue with my set up I take constructive criticism very well when it means not blowing up my gun?

Any input on 700X would be helpful also since its the only powder I have access to right now. I hear is dose not measure consistently how is smoke?

[krallstar]

I have the 125-356 mold. mold drops at around .357-358. Sized to .357 my coal is 1.150. Fits my beretta and my smith

[tazman]

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/
That link will get you current published data on 700X for your cartridge.

[Cherokee]

I tried that boolit in my 9's & 38 Super's, and found I had to seat them deep to clear the rifling in my guns, even sized to .356. I use the boolit in 38/357 for fun loads. BTW, I have found that .356 works great in my guns.

[Hickok]

I just got finished working with my Berretta 92 and this Boolit. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?230094-Beretta-92FS-cast-boolit-results

[johnh9411]

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/
That link will get you current published data on 700X for your cartridge.

Thanks for the link I haven't found that one yet.

[johnh9411]

Great info big help.

[runfiverun]

the oal is what it is.
you need them to feed reliably in the gun or it's an instant L shaped stick.
work on the oal with some dummy rounds, then decide how much you have changed the case capacity from the data you have.
start there and work the load up incrementally looking for 100% function then tweak for accuracy.

[johnh9411]

I guess I should have stated this is for a Taurus pt1911 9mm. Trying to start uspsa and cant afford to shoot as much as i would like so going to extreme to make rounds as cheep and as reliable as I can.

[runfiverun]

that's what we are all doing...:lol:
the Taurus's like 358 diameter boolits.
the link hickock showed has pretty good information that will apply to your gun.
cheap doesn't have to mean anything other than that....

[spfd1903]

I tried this mold to get a larger diameter boolit for a Browning Hi-power and a Hi-point pistol. Other Lee and Lyman molds (for 9 mm) never dropped the diameter these two pistols wanted. I went through the testing described by runfiverun and ended up with an OAL of 1.04". This is the one boolit that makes the $125 Hi-point an accurate pistol. After a lot of trial and tribulation, I am glad I tried this mold.

[johnh9411]

I went with it and ended up with an OAL of 1.052 and it functioned great with the 15 test rounds and im using 3.1gr of 700X it drops poorly but its what I have.

[runfiverun]

I drop 3.5 grs of 700-x in my 32-20 cases I modified to fit my 30 carbine revolver.
I could use a powder dump or my dillons or whatever.
I chose to make a dipper and just go by volume, it's pretty accurate dump to dump.

[kingemandigger]

I would seat the boolit just deep enough to clear the rifling on your pistol. I bought that mold for my cz75 and ended up not being able to use it because I had to seat the boolit too deap (less than 1.00!). It ended up working great in my baby eagle and nano at the same seatin depth you are using. Over 4.5 grains wsf. Casts to .359, good accuracy, does not lead the poly rifling

[Hickok]

I went with it and ended up with an OAL of 1.052 and it functioned great with the 15 test rounds and im using 3.1gr of 700X it drops poorly but its what I have.Great! The 9mm is economical to shoot, "a pinch of powder and a dab of lead!"

[Shiloh]

It seats a little deeper in the case. I backed off my start load a little. wasn't necessary after the fact, but it wa safe. Tha boolit cycles and shoots accurately.

Shiloh

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I seat the Lee 358-125-RF to a OAL of 1.065
NO CRIMP, I just remove the bell.

I like Unique for 9mm, but due to the shortage and me running out, the last two batches of 9mm I loaded was with Bullseye (3.9gr). I size to .357 and lube with a beeswax based lube...the TL just doesn't "cut it" in 9mm for me.

[Jal5]

JonB what gun are you using in that example? just curious.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Ruger P89 and HiPoint C9 and Browning Hi-Power
Not necessarily in that order ;)

[w0fms]

I have the 356 125 6 cavity too and it drops at .3575.. I size to .357, powder coat and then resize to .357. Been using Win 231 but might try something else like Unique, or AA#2 or whatever else I can get locally. Win 231 is okay.. but I think a little slower burning powder might be better. 231 is the stuff for 380 ACP, tho.. so I was surprised that it wasn't the stuff for 9mm as well.

I had issues with the boolit until I took it out to maximum "plunk" in the chambers. Then working it up with that OAL made a really nice accurate boolit. The 358-125 should be able to be made to work with the sizer.

9mm is... well.. challenging... but the thing that made the most difference for me was going for the longest OAL that I could chamber and feed reliably... then my loads made a lot more sense and were a lot more consistent. I also found a very light FCD crimp helped too..

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have the 356 125 6 cavity too and it drops at .3575.. I size to .357, powder coat and then resize to .357. Been using Win 231 but might try something else like Unique, or AA#2 or whatever else I can get locally. Win 231 is okay.. but I think a little slower burning powder might be better. 231 is the stuff for 380 ACP, tho.. so I was surprised that it wasn't the stuff for 9mm as well.

I had issues with the boolit until I took it out to maximum "plunk" in the chambers. Then working it up with that OAL made a really nice accurate boolit. The 358-125 should be able to be made to work with the sizer.

9mm is... well.. challenging... but the thing that made the most difference for me was going for the longest OAL that I could chamber and feed reliably... then my loads made a lot more sense and were a lot more consistent. I also found a very light FCD crimp helped too..
Do you notice if the Carbide sizing ring comes in contact with the brass case ?

[Jal5]

thanks JonB. I am working on figuring out a load for this boolit in my S&W MP Shield. So far the gun likes the 09115 RN from RCBS and the Lee 358105 but I am looking for something a little heavier and hope the 125 can work with either Unique or Bullseye. Joe

[w0fms]

Do you notice if the Carbide sizing ring comes in contact with the brass case ?

I assume it does.. Lee says "turn down to the point of resistance and 1/2 turn more" for a "light" crimp.. I do a 1/4 turn or maybe slightly less. Just enough to take the "ridge" off which, especially with cast makes the round chamber a little more easily.

Probably not needed, but it makes a nice touch. I know the debate on the FCD but I've pulled boolits out of dummies I made and there isn't noticeable swaging and no accuracy or leading issues that way.

[johnh9411]

I shot about 200 of my lee 358-125 boolets today only down side is that the 700x at 3.3gr is only pushing 800-850 and I need 1k to make power factor and the suggested max load is 3.4 so has anyone pushed this powder past 3.4 in 9mm using a 130 gr boolet. my mold drops 130gr consistently. The load shot great is a def keeper but I have not inspected for leading yet however that is not important to the thread since leading is usually a personal problem.

My main concern is that if i go to much higher in charge i will start compacting powder when I seat the boolet. what are the hazards of this error. I would expect to over pressure the chamber but really dont know what would happen or how much to safely push the charge.

[whisler]

I'm by no means an expert but if the max listed charge does not get you the velocity you need to make power factor, I would suggest changing powders. I know that is not easy these days but better safe than sorry. Going past max charge usually results in something unpleasant.

[tazman]

Since the 9mm is already a small volume high pressure case, If you go beyond the suggested max listings you run the risk of sudden pressure spikes. Particularly with fast burning powders like 700x.
Like whisler said change to a different powder. Preferably a slower burning powder that reduces the pressure somewhat but still gives faster bullet speeds. You will need to load more grain weight of a slower powder, but it will give you the speed safely.
winchester 231/hp38, unique, winchester wsf, accurate arms no5, accurate arms no7, 800x, universal, are just a few of the powders that should do the job.