9mm .358's??

[Foto Joe]

So I happened to temporarily get my mitts on a Lyman 358480 mold. My plan is to cast up a few hundred for my wifes 38 snubby but I got to thinking that I don't at this time have a mold for my S&W 39-2 and my stash of store bought bullets is less than full.

I realize that it's probably been discussed before but I haven't been able to locate a pertinent thread on it. If the .358's will chamber I'm assuming that I can indeed send them down the barrel??

[Anonym]

I've got a 9mm with a pretty large bore (.3565 or so). I was shooting unsized 356634 boolits that were around .358 and they shot really great. Just got a .358 sizer for my Lyman 450 that I'm planning on running through, mainly to round them up and lube them before shooting. Unless yours is unusually tight, I don't see any reason why you couldn't.

[gefiltephish]

If the .358's will jussst push through each throat with your thumb, you should be ok.

[Ed_Shot]

You mention ".358's". Do you know the as-cast diameter for the Lyman 358480 mold you intend to use? I wouldn't assume anything... might be .356. I agree that if you can push the boolit thru the cylinder forcing cone with you thumb you're OK.

[tazman]

Gentlemen he is asking about the use of this boolit in his 39-2 which is a semi auto 9mm pistol, hence no cylinder.

If the boolit will chamber you can shoot it, however it may perform much better if sized 1-2 thousandths larger than bore size. I would suggest slugging your barrel to see if you really need to size down a bit. If all you are looking for is a plinking round by all means use it if it will chamber.

[runfiverun]

I went out of my way to design a 9mm mold that poured larger than 358 just so I could shoot lead in my 9m's.
most every 9m I have ever had has wanted a 358 diameter, and slightly harder than ww alloy to give it's best.

[gefiltephish]

Gentlemen he is asking about the use of this boolit in his 39-2 which is a semi auto 9mm pistol, hence no cylinder....

Opps! Guess I just can't get my head wrapped around the idea of an S&W NOT being a wheel-gun. :bigsmyl2:

[wcp4570]

Joe
To answer your question, that boolit will shoot great in both guns. I have that mold and my Model 19 and 66 shoot it very good. I have shot the boolit in a model 39, 915 and 3913 and it has never failed to feed and gives good accuracy. You may want to size the 9mm boolits to fit the bore of your 39. I size that boolit to .356 to load in my 9mm's. My only problem is I only have a 2 cavity mold and can't produce enough to always feed my 9mm's. I have to rely on the lee 120tc 6 cavity to produce volume boolits.

wcp

[Dusty Bannister]

I sort of hate to be picky, but doesn't anyone know that there is a difference between the bore and the groove diameters in a barrel? You do NOT fit the bullet to the bore diameter with smokeless powders. Unless it is a two diameter bullet which requires the nose be supported by the lands, and the body fills the grooves.

[tazman]

I sort of hate to be picky, but doesn't anyone know that there is a difference between the bore and the groove diameters in a barrel? You do NOT fit the bullet to the bore diameter with smokeless powders. Unless it is a two diameter bullet which requires the nose be supported by the lands, and the body fills the grooves.

Sorry about that. I have used the wrong terminology for 35 years so it sometimes just slips out. I will try to do better.

[wcp4570]

If the boolit will chamber you can shoot it, however it may perform much better if sized 1-2 thousandths larger than bore size. I would suggest slugging your barrel to see if you really need to size down a bit. If all you are looking for is a plinking round by all means use it if it will chamber.

tazman
I understood what you meant in your statement above. I don't know what else to call the hole in the barrel of any firearm. I used the same term as you, I've been sending my cast lead down range for about 40 years now and have always referred to it as a bore. Just out of curiosity I looked up the word bore and caliber and this is from the web page below.

Hallowell and Co
Illustrated Firearms Dictionary

"Bore - 1. The inside surface of a firearm's barrel."
http://www.hallowellco.com/abbrevia.htm#B
"Cal. or Calibre - System of measurement for the internal bore diameter of a rifled-barreled firearm (rifle or pistol) based on the decimal part of an inch."
http://www.hallowellco.com/abbrevia.htm#C

wcp

[runfiverun]

they call it the internal part.
or the smaller diameter.

the 270 is a 270 bore, the 7mm's are a 284 groove and a 280 bore [hence the 280 rem/284 win]
the 308 win would then be called the 300 like savage did theirs.
it flip-flops back and forth depending on the maker, 350 magnum/260 rem and 358 win/264 win mag are the same bore/groove dimensions.
[see a pattern here?]
it's when you start dealing with actual dimensions that things become confusing.
if you said you were dealing with something that has a 315 bore [and we all take it to be the major number] then we think we are dealing with a moisin nagant or LEE enfield, when we are truly dealing with a 98-k mauser.

[trapper9260]

I say for what was ask is that slug your barrel and then size it if needed down or to what ever it needs to be.I have some molds that cast that I can use in both 9mm and 357 .it is just that needed to size down for the 9mm and It shoot great also for cast and it is a S&W Sigma. I also use the same bullet but size different for my 357 that I also shoot 38spl in also.

[MtGun44]

Most folks have had better success with .357 or .358 diam than .355 or .356 in 9mms.

OF COURSE - if a .358 will chamber - it will be safe to run down the bore. Whether it is
needed is an unknown, but it appears as if the number of 9mms that like .356 diam is
much smaller than the number that like .357 or .358 diam.

Check out the sticky on "Setting up a new 9mm for boolits" - may help you out.

Bill

[tazman]

+1 on checking out the 9mm sticky. It saved me a lot of headaches.

[Harter66]

Which is why a few of us say the x39 we're working on will feed and load a a 321 for the 305 x 316 bbl........

That might ought to have been purple.....

[Old Dawg]

Actually 7mm are a .276 bore as in the Army's .276 Pedersen. .264's would be a .256 bore. 30-06 are .30 bore therefore ".30 caliber".

[Foto Joe]

Interestingly enough, I measured the BearCreek Bullets that I've had for this gun for a few years last nite and they're .357. Thanks to those who've has some experience with this particular mold, I appreciate the input. I also measured the boolits that I was casting yesterday and they're dropping from the mold at .359-.360. I shouldn't have any problem with these once they're sized but I'll have to make sure that the feed good before I get carried away.

The whole problem with this scenario though is that I sold the gun, on the other hand I sold it to my oldest daughter so I'm probably still married to it for the time being. Since I finally parted with a gun that I'd had for over 30 years now I have to find a replacement. Colt 38 Super in nickle?? Out of my price range I'm afraid, maybe a Ruger SR1911 in Commander size, I don't think that there's such a thing as having too many 1911's.

[Sgtonory]

I use .3585 in most of my 9mm just fine. G17, Hi-point's etc. Only one that did not like it was a browning high power.

[Shiloh]

.358 is my go to size for 9mm. .357 works good, .358 much better.

Shiloh

[CWME]

I have one 9mm that wont take a .358, needs .357. It sits in the safe for the most part. The others that take .358 get shot because I load the same boolit in 38 special and only size .358 now. If it fits, shoot it!