Lee 358-158-RF in 9mm ???

[marek313]

I bought Lee 358-158-RF recently for my Ruger GP100 MC which seems to work great and will probably replace my Lyman 358446. Out of my alloy powder coated they run around 163-164gr sized to .3575. At the same time I started running into posts of people using heavy 160-165gr RN bullets in 9mm. Running subsonic 165gr in 9mm apparently creates really soft shooting gun as suggested by some so I was wondering if I could use this 358-158-RF in 9mm case.

Just to see what that would look like so I loaded one dummy round. I was expecting bad bulge on the case since this projectile is so much longer and had to be seated so much deeper but it didnt. For some reason this buller design has little bit of a boat tail like design (not a GC shank) which helps in this case. Pulled bullets were still at .357 which is great. It was probably really close though since I had to use more force then usual when seating these. Since these were cast for up to mild 357s these are cast out of alloy thats about 12bhn and water dropped after powder coating so these are little bit harder which worked out great in this case as they didnt get swaged down.

At first my rounds were sticking in the chamber I'm assuming they were right against rifling in my sig p320. Loaded to the top of the crimp grove and FCDed lightly I got them to chamber correctly without sticking. So its a close window to work as far as length is concerned but they appear to cycle fine now.

Now of course is the matter of case volume, powder selection and pressure. This long bullet cuts down case volume considerably so here is where I need to be careful to make sure I dont cause bad pressure spikes. Since I still play around with many different loads I have more then couple pistol powders that might work here so I'm trying to figure out which one would work best.

For pistol powders i have HP38, Titegroup, WSF, WST, Unique, HS6, Trail Boss. Trail boss and WST are out because I dont have enough case volume for those powders. I'm thinking HP38 or WSF might work well here. I'm afraid that TG (titegroup) might be prone to pressure spikes since it burns so quick but I know people used TG too with decent results. I would like to try HS6 or Unique but I dont think i have enough case space for those.

So what do you guys think? Is this worth exploring?

Pics vs my standard Lee 356-125-2R

215550

215551

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

As to reduced case capacity...
I had a similar situation when loading heavy for caliber brass jacketed swaged bullets for 40 S&W.
My bullets weighed 193gr.
After lots of reading, I found AA#5 is quite dense (actually it was the most dense I could find in the burn rate area) and worked well in my reduced capacity 40.

[fredj338]

Now of course is the matter of case volume, powder selection and pressure. This long bullet cuts down case volume considerably so here is where I need to be careful to make sure I dont cause bad pressure spikes. Since I still play around with many different loads I have more then couple pistol powders that might work here so I'm trying to figure out which one would work best.

For pistol powders i have HP38, Titegroup, WSF, WST, Unique, HS6, Trail Boss. Trail boss and WST are out because I dont have enough case volume for those powders. I'm thinking HP38 or WSF might work well here. I'm afraid that TG (titegroup) might be prone to pressure spikes since it burns so quick but I know people used TG too with decent results. I would like to try HS6 or Unique but I dont think i have enough case space for those.

So what do you guys think? Is this worth exploring?

Pics vs my standard Lee 356-125-2R

215550

215551
That makes no sense. A smaller charge of faster powder will fit better in the smaller case. I have run 165gr RN from Xtreme with WST & RedDot. I just didn't like the slow slide speed in my 1911. In a g26 they are great, very soft shooting. WSF will work better than Unique, smaller volume per same charge wt.

[sigep1764]

How much of the boolit is in the case? Ive loaded a 155 grain boolit in 9mm at 1.125 with 2.8-3.2 grains of red dot. 3.2 started flattening primers pretty good, but the 2.8 are fairly soft shooting and that boolit is still gettin down the road at a pretty decent speed. Maybe start at 2 grains and work up to 2.6, depending on the amount of boolit in the case. I am using a specially designed boolit for short lead/throat chambers tho. Use at your own risk, of course.

[Canada]

I've been thinking about doing this for a subsonic 9mm load for the suppressor I don't have yet. I think it sounds like a great idea!

[Landshark9025]

I'd recommend just getting a 147g 9mm mold like the one from MP or Arsenal. A lot easier and less risky.

[mnewcomb59]

http://www.shootingtimes.com/reloading/reloading-heavy-bullets-in-9mm-luger/

[FISH4BUGS]

I have always been told by my suppressor manufacturer that you should never put lead bullets through the can. I would suppose powder coated would be included in that too. If you are going subsonic to run them through a can, I would check with your manufacturer. If not using a can, it is an interesting experiment.

[mnewcomb59]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?335681-Share-your-9mm-load-data&p=4066682#post4066682

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?282976-9MM-Luger-reloads-with-158-gr-cast-bullets&p=3312499&viewfull=1#post3312499

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?335641-Heavy-9mm-success!-158-grain-SWC&p=4059017&viewfull=1#post4059017

I'll quote myself because I am lazy. At this point I could have just typed it out and could have spent less time than looking for looking for my old posts and copy pasting lol

"The Lee 158-RF is shorter than the plated hollow point in the article above, and I'm loading to a longer OAL than the article, so I KNOW I have more case capacity and less pressure."


This quote is from before the shooting times article. "Use absolute caution with what I am about to tell you. I have sucessfully used the Lee 158-rf in 9mm loads. This bullet loaded at 1.07 has more internal case capacity than Lyman data for their 147 #356637. The Lyman data is the absolute deepest seated 147 data that I have come across. I started 20% lower than their starting data, with my shorter bullet loaded to a longer OAL." 356637 often weighs 155-158 gr in WW alloy.

I am a big fan of these heavy bullets in the rifle. There is something special about shooting a 38 special bullet faster than any snubby, yet being quiet as a 22lr and being semi-auto mag fed.

My main tip for accuracy and driving band swaging is to use a 38 S&W expander and PMC or R-P cases as they have a longer neck before the case walls begin to thicken.

[fredj338]

More to it than case cap though. Measure the bearing surface of the 158, probably a bit longer. 158-165gr will work, you just have to go as long as possible in OAL & work up your loads carefully. IMO, 900fps is about all you are gonna get safely & there is little margin for error.

[rsrocket1]

I've tried the calculations with Quickload before actually loading and shooting the same bullets. I believe you have to seat the bullets to 0.355" seating depth to reach the crimp groove on the 358-158-RF so that leaves a usable case capacity of about 0.345cc with the average 9mm case. A 105% filled volume (5% compression) of 3.3g Unique will give you 860 fps out of a 4" barrel with a peak pressure of 26,500 psi (safe) and a recoil similar to a 120g bullet at about 1100 fps. You can go lower but at some point you risk FTE's and failures to lock the slide back on the last shot because they are purely dependent on recoil (roughly bullet weight x muzzle velocity).

If they feed and chamber properly in your gun I would start out with about 2.8g Unique and work up to 3.3g and see how they shoot. If the 2.8g load cycles the gun properly, you might work down 0.2g at a time until you start to get stovepipes or jams (this will happen long before you get a stuck bullet). My Lee bullets would not feed in my M&P 9 barrel so I simply got a 356-120-TC 6 cavity mold and never looked back.

[mnewcomb59]

rsrocket that is awful deep seated. 1.07" is about at the top of the middle driving band. You also won't find a brand of case that allows seating that deep without making the bottom driving band undersized.

[marek313]

I've tried the calculations with Quickload before actually loading and shooting the same bullets. I believe you have to seat the bullets to 0.355" seating depth to reach the crimp groove on the 358-158-RF so that leaves a usable case capacity of about 0.345cc with the average 9mm case. A 105% filled volume (5% compression) of 3.3g Unique will give you 860 fps out of a 4" barrel with a peak pressure of 26,500 psi (safe) and a recoil similar to a 120g bullet at about 1100 fps. You can go lower but at some point you risk FTE's and failures to lock the slide back on the last shot because they are purely dependent on recoil (roughly bullet weight x muzzle velocity).

If they feed and chamber properly in your gun I would start out with about 2.8g Unique and work up to 3.3g and see how they shoot. If the 2.8g load cycles the gun properly, you might work down 0.2g at a time until you start to get stovepipes or jams (this will happen long before you get a stuck bullet). My Lee bullets would not feed in my M&P 9 barrel so I simply got a 356-120-TC 6 cavity mold and never looked back.

Thanks for sharing your Quickload info. Thats exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to make sure that I have enough case space available to load it safely without spiking pressure out of control. I was going to try it with HP38 / TiteGroup or Unique starting around 2.5gr and working my way up. I'm expecting stovepipes at 2.5gr but better start low. With so little case space available pressure could spike really quick I think.

I'm going to try this but everything has to be just right for this to work correctly I think. I feel like there is some wiggle room in other loads but not here. Maybe its just me but better safe then sorry right.

I really like my Lee 356-125-2R load with 4.0-4.2 of HP38 so I'm not sure why I'm really messing with this other then curiosity. Seems like I'm not the only one that thought of that though.

[Tom W.]

Anything new? I have the Lee 358-158 RF in a six cavity mold and nothing to shoot it out of. Sooo, I figure my CZ should handle it in moderate loadings. It's all steel.... But such a heavy bullet...

[Boolseye]

I've shot the Lee 158 gr. SWC in 9mm–it works. Not brilliantly but OK.
I would think the RF version will be similar. It will work in 9mm, as a relatively slow thumper. 2.5-3 grains of BE was what I was using. There is actually 158 gr. data to be found in some of the older manuals, I believe it maxed out at 3.5 gr. BE.

[scattershot]

I like the looks of that flat nosed bullet. Keep us posted on how it works out.

Good luck!

[Tom W.]

I have plenty of BE...., plus Red and Green Dot. I load mostly for handguns...

[rsrocket1]

I've shot the Lee 158 gr. SWC in 9mm–it works. Not brilliantly but OK.
I would think the RF version will be similar. It will work in 9mm, as a relatively slow thumper. 2.5-3 grains of BE was what I was using. There is actually 158 gr. data to be found in some of the older manuals, I believe it maxed out at 3.5 gr. BE.

Did you get good ejections and reliable feeding? I have no reason to do this myself but I just may try it for the sake of satisfying my curiosity :) All my 358-158-RF's are already TL'ed so I'll have to cast up some more to powder coat. Thanks for the inspiration.

[Boolseye]

I recall getting good functioning in my p226. This was the Lee TL358-158 SWC. Like you, I did it just to do it.

[rsrocket1]

Well I found a couple of unloaded 358-158-RF's and tried making a couple of dummy rounds again. I had to seat to the crimp groove in order for the cartridge to have any chance of chambering in a 9mm gun. I sized the bullet to 0.356", seated to the crimp groove and it fit in the case gauge and in my 92fs and just barely in my Shield but it still would not fit in my XD9, M&P9 or M&P9c Storm Lake conversion barrel so it looks like it may be something doable, but extremely marginal.

The toughest dimension to overcome is getting the fat part of the bullet body to seat short of the leade or rifling lands. You want the bullet seated as far out as possible to get some safety margin in case volume to keep the pressures from skyrocketing, but seating any further out than the crimp groove will prevent chambering in a lot of guns and even at that, it may not chamber in a short leade barrel.

[Boolseye]

Yeah, you’re right. The boolit will be where it will be. There was a lot of boolit in the case with those 158 SWCs, and I recall them being pretty mild with light loads of BE. I had a buddy who was concerned about pressures with those loads, but they never posed a problem for me. It may be different with the RFs.

[Landshark9025]

Hoping someone posts up some target photos. I'd like to see what level of accuracy you get.

[warf73]

Any traction on 158's? I've got the 358-150-1R mold that I use exclusively in my 357mag. Gave it a thought about maybe loading up a few for grins in the 9mm. The 356-124-2R is my go to mold as of now.

[Lloyd Smale]

only problem with lead in a can is fouling due to lube. Pc bullets should work just as well as jacketed. On this fourm youll find guys that (me included) have shot MANY cast bullets through cans without problems. Keep in mind that cans have pressure limits depending on design and id bet most of that is just like glock saying no lead. It comes from the fact they don't want ANY handloads put through there cans because of the liability of some idiot shooting way over pressure ammo. If anything lead bullets produce less pressures at the same velocitys as jacketed bullets and if some as impossible as one going cockeye through a can could even happen a jacked bullet would do more damage then a cast bullet. Just make sure if your shooting lead you clean your can often. But then you should be doing that even with jacketed.
I have always been told by my suppressor manufacturer that you should never put lead bullets through the can. I would suppose powder coated would be included in that too. If you are going subsonic to run them through a can, I would check with your manufacturer. If not using a can, it is an interesting experiment.

[marek313]

I have some test round loaded with 2.7-3.0gr of HP38 so now I'm just waiting for weather to warm up so i can go shoot these. I was going to go with TiteGroup but i think slower HP38 would be better as it wont spike as much as TG would. Probably not a round that would chamber in every 9mm but seems to cycle fine in my p320 but then again i havent found anything that doesnt work in this gun.
I need sun and warm weather now!!! I cant be indoors anymore. I need to get out and :guntootsmiley:

[Boolseye]

Yah, SIGs-They’re good that way

[Soundguy]

what are you sizing those .358's to?

[marek313]

what are you sizing those .358's to?

.3575 for both my GP100 MC and p320.

Now I'm waiting for new brake calipers for my truck as my old ones started locking up. Ahh [smilie=b:

I have these 9s loaded as well as new to me saeco #68 200gr SWCs for my FNX45 but I cant go and try those right now. I hate waiting :violin:

[Pumpkinheaver]

I messed around with the Lee 158RNFP in 9mm a few years ago, thought they might be good for pin match loads. I have lost the data at this point but from what I remember I used Bullseye and HS-6. They shot grest from my Ruger P95dc but I never could get them to feed from my Glocks.
I eventually gave up on the project and went back to using 147s for pins.

[KVO]

Mihec 360-640, 155gr solid, 145gr HP. 4.2gr CFE Pistol and solid boolit averages 954 fps out of a Sig 2022 (~3.9"bbl)
217154
Same boolit loaded for .357 and 9mm

I previously tried the NOE 360-160 WFN but there was just too much bearing surface toward the nose, had to seat deep enough to clear the throats in some barrels that the brass bulged and would not consistently chamber. Haven't tried the 158gr Lee but heavy bullets in 9mm auto pistols will work with the correct bullet design.

[Soundguy]

Mihec 360-640, 155gr solid, 145gr HP. 4.2gr CFE Pistol and solid boolit averages 954 fps out of a Sig 2022 (~3.9"bbl)
217154
Same boolit loaded for .357 and 9mm

I previously tried the NOE 360-160 WFN but there was just too much bearing surface toward the nose, had to seat deep enough to clear the throats in some barrels that the brass bulged and would not consistently chamber. Haven't tried the 158gr Lee but heavy bullets in 9mm auto pistols will work with the correct bullet design.

what did you size them at?

[KVO]

Sized at 0.358", for everything 9mm. Might be able to use a more blunt ogive design with @ .357", but I try to keep 9mm boolits as fat as I can. Steeply tapered noses make it easier to work with.

[Soundguy]

Sized at 0.358", for everything 9mm. Might be able to use a more blunt ogive design with @ .357", but I try to keep 9mm boolits as fat as I can. Steeply tapered noses make it easier to work with.

.358 even for the 9mm.. must have good throats?

[KVO]

217233
217234
217235

Here is a bearing surface comparison between the MP 360-640 and the NOE 360-160 WFN after coating and sizing to .358". For this series of pictures the respective projectiles are touching the micometer faces right at the start of the bearing surface. Both boolits are within 3gr weight of each other when cast of the same alloy. My real purpose in sizing big for 9mm is to fight swaging the base. Even with a big expander (I use a cut down RCBS .357 cast expander .358"x.356") I've found that thick 9mm brass wants to spring back and smush boolit bases. If I start bigger then there is some buffer room if they lose a thou or two when seating. I prefer to go the route of fitting my boolits to the throat, rather than cut the throats to the boolit.

[KVO]

Having never worked with the Lee 158 RF, I have always been curious about the dimensions as I have never seen a print of that design posted. Would someone with this mold be willing to post a similar photo showing bearing surface length and annotate meplat diameter?

[Tom W.]

I found out tonight that I'm going to have to send my barrel to Doug Guy before the CZ will chamber one of the Lee 158 RF. It will chamber, but I have a major fight with trying to extract a dummy round.

Seems like I've been down this road before.

[Petander]

I just loaded a handful of those using new Sako brass. Waiting for a HT -package from Down Under. Can hardly sleep from the excitement of soon being able to coat some 120 lbs of those boolits.

I have fired thousands of those 158:s in 9mm through cans, especially carbines, during the last ten,fifteen years. Usually VV N320. Always sized .358 by now... coated may work smaller...?

217362

Also did a test cast for a Lyman 145 RN that I've had for years but have never tried until now. Soon coating like a madman.

[Bullwolf]

Having never worked with the Lee 158 RF, I have always been curious about the dimensions as I have never seen a print of that design posted. Would someone with this mold be willing to post a similar photo showing bearing surface length and annotate meplat diameter?

I use the Bevel Based Lee 358-158-RF boolit in 38/357, but not in 9mm.

From Lee Precision 368-158-RF #90303:
http://leeprecision.net/support/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/347/62/cast-bullet-length-dimensions

Bullet's Overall Length in inches = .630

Distance from Crimp Groove, to the nose of the bullet = .360

Ballistic Coefficient = 160

Lee 358-158-RF model
https://www.titanreloading.com/image/cache/data/Products/90692-250x250.jpg

My Lee 358-158-RF mould drops at .360 with my hard Tin rich alloy.
I size it at .3585 for 38/357

I could not find the meplat diameter from Lee or anyplace else.
Measured meplat diameter to the best of my ability = .311

My best attempt at taking a picture like yours.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=217363&d=1522476144

Lee 358-158-RF (sized to .3585) and loaded in 38 Special case
Alongside an "as cast" example.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=133050&d=1423625335

Hope that helps out some.


- Bullwolf

[JBinMN]

I've shot the Lee 158 gr. SWC in 9mm–it works. Not brilliantly but OK.
I would think the RF version will be similar. It will work in 9mm, as a relatively slow thumper. 2.5-3 grains of BE was what I was using. There is actually 158 gr. data to be found in some of the older manuals, I believe it maxed out at 3.5 gr. BE.


I have plenty of BE...., plus Red and Green Dot. I load mostly for handguns...


I recall getting good functioning in my p226. This was the Lee TL358-158 SWC. Like you, I did it just to do it.


Yeah, you’re right. The boolit will be where it will be. There was a lot of boolit in the case with those 158 SWCs, and I recall them being pretty mild with light loads of BE. I had a buddy who was concerned about pressures with those loads, but they never posed a problem for me. It may be different with the RFs.

Maybe could be considered a little bit of a sidetrack/hijack, but both of the fellers above may be interested in this data using Red Dot that I did last year. Shot out of an SR9. Accuracy was pretty good & no signs of issues. I do not remember if there was any feed issues, but I don't think there was on the SWC. ight be more info there if ya read it. Flat faced WCs (147gr) were a bit of a feed issue, IIRC, but worked as well regarding shooting.

Chrony data located here in this post(#37):
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?345777-Soft-shooting-fast-powder-for-heavy-bullets-in-9mm-147gr-158gr&p=4187098&viewfull=1#post4187098

In this topic:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?345777-Soft-shooting-fast-powder-for-heavy-bullets-in-9mm-147gr-158gr

Posted only in the interest of helping out others. Not to distract from the OP here.
;)

Might be some info in that other topic as well, that could be used by others here , in regard to using heavier boolits in a 9MM, if anyone wants to check it out.
;)

[Petander]

Need to get a modern digital caliper.

For heavy cast in 9mm, also the 158 grain Lyman (in the middle in the pic) has worked for me. (EDIT:that is an older version of the same Lee, I just found the package ) Because up here suppressors have been legal and easy to purchase for decades, I have developed a heavy cast subsonic load for quite a few calibers including 45-70. And because commercial subsonic pistol ammo is not subsonic in most 9mm carbines there's the need to roll your own anyway.

Wide meplat 160 grain under 1000fps. N320. That Lyman (EDIT: Not Lyman but Older Lee 158!!! ) in the middle cast 156 for me.217367

[marek313]

I finally went shooting with one of my friends because he wanted so sight in his new scope so I grabbed my 300 blackout and almost forgot about my test 9s but last second I grabbed theose and my p320.
So my projectiles were around 164gr after PC and I loaded 10 with 2.7gr of hp38 and another 10 with 3.0gr of hp38.
This was more of a function test then accuracy test as I only had targets setup at 50 yards for our rifles. There isn't much room there but that's ok.
Both batches ran without any issues slide locked on empty, everything looked good. Started shooting second batch at my 8inch plate I had hanging at 50y and my first round hit it. Lucky shot I'm sure as missed next couple but they were all close to target. I need to do more serious testing then shooting freehand at 50y but accuracy looked very promising.
Here is the best part. These were the softest shooting 9s ever. Very little recoil. Very little muzzle flip so follow up shots should be easier. Also these are subsonic so these are much quieter. Almost sound strange like too quiet .
It really made my sig p320 feel like I was shooting super soft 45.
I think this round shows great potential. Im def going to make more. I think 2.8 -3.0gr of hp38 should work well here.


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[sukivel]

I finally went shooting with one of my friends because he wanted so sight in his new scope so I grabbed my 300 blackout and almost forgot about my test 9s but last second I grabbed theose and my p320.
So my projectiles were around 164gr after PC and I loaded 10 with 2.7gr of hp38 and another 10 with 3.0gr of hp38.
This was more of a function test then accuracy test as I only had targets setup at 50 yards for our rifles. There isn't much room there but that's ok.
Both batches ran without any issues slide locked on empty, everything looked good. Started shooting second batch at my 8inch plate I had hanging at 50y and my first round hit it. Lucky shot I'm sure as missed next couple but they were all close to target. I need to do more serious testing then shooting freehand at 50y but accuracy looked very promising.
Here is the best part. These were the softest shooting 9s ever. Very little recoil. Very little muzzle flip so follow up shots should be easier. Also these are subsonic so these are much quieter. Almost sound strange like too quiet .
It really made my sig p320 feel like I was shooting super soft 45.
I think this round shows great potential. Im def going to make more. I think 2.8 -3.0gr of hp38 should work well here.


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

So did you seat in the crimp groove? COL? I want to try this?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[marek313]

My COL ends up being at 1.0285. Boolit seated pass crimp grove. Shoulder of the brass is pretty much even with top of the crimp grove if that makes sense. No crimp grove is visible from the side. I had to seat it this far or my rounds would stick when I manually cycled which I didnt like. So its a close window because on one hand you dont want to seat it deep so you dont swage the boolit but on the other hand that boolit cant stick out far because its cutting into rifling because its fatter then normal 125gr RN. Might not work in all 9s I dont know but I wouldnt try this in my Taurus PT111 I'll tell you that. I'll never get that slide open unless I fire that round. It would def jam there. Still worth a shot make couple dummy rounds and manually cycle. Thats how I started. Good luck.

[Tom W.]

To get mine to pass the plunk test they were right at 1.000 or less. I ain't gonna try that.....

[Petander]

This bullet has been very accurate for me,too.

Fast powder makes for a very quiet report and recoil. Slow like VV 3N37 on the other hand gives 1000+ fps quite easily. Still a soft push,can't get much closer to a 45ACP feel.

I like to seat to hide the crimp groove.

[Physics]

I have always been told by my suppressor manufacturer that you should never put lead bullets through the can. I would suppose powder coated would be included in that too. If you are going subsonic to run them through a can, I would check with your manufacturer. If not using a can, it is an interesting experiment.

I called my silencer manufacturer and asked about shooting cast because the can is sealed and can't be taken apart to clean. They said no to plain cast but told me powder coat is fine.

[steve urquell]

I'm resurrecting this thread. I sent my FIL the Lee mold and he cast up some of these today and PC'ed them. Plan on loading some up tomorrow. I'm hoping to be able to get them to feed in my 5.8" very deep throated Alpha Wolf barrel I have in my PSA Dagger. I'll update as we go tomorrow. Looking to load with W572 and/or D037.1 Lovex for upper end velocities thru my suppressor.

https://i.imgur.com/hZr8ioR.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Mz4FBsj.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/NcpTfZj.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/n4T6pBW.jpg

[Doughty]

Just to add to the data, I have been loading the Lee 358-158 cast out of WWs, PCed and sized to .357. Loaded over 3.2 grns of Accurate #2, at a COAL of 1.017. In our Glock 19 it is an easy shooter. However, of late I have been experimenting with the new Lee 147 grain bullet and will likely go to that for our standard 9mm load.

[steve urquell]

So these did better than I ever could have hoped. When I saw how blunt they were I was very afraid they would not cycle. My barrel is a long throated barrel with full chamber support designed for 9major. I loaded them at 1.110, could have loaded longer except for needing to hit the top band. NLG would be good for me.

I loaded up W572 to the velocities I was looking for. I will not post my data because people won't take the time to educate themselves to understand how to load for 9major velocities safely.

I'll post in PM if you want it. Anyways they fed and cycled great and drove thru a 3/4" piece of fibrous rubber stall mat, 5 layers of leather welding glove, and 24" of water jugs expanding to .410" Really happy with this boolit.

https://i.imgur.com/abR1uNB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/nzvbIG3.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/6DGVQ5u.jpg

[35remington]

Aaaaand……the 9mm guys acknowledge the 38 Special was actually a good service pistol round.

Lol.

[fredj338]

I’ve sed WST & RedDot under 165gr plate rn with good results. Though i was loading 9mm minor, like 750fps.

[steve urquell]

A few more to play with. Red supersonic, black subsonic. Still haven't decided which powder I want to use for the subs. 315524

[mnewcomb59]

Today I shot the last of my 2015 lot of 158 gr 9mm. Lee 158-RF, 1.07 OAL (seated to the beginning of the crimp groove, which probably won't fit in your gun unless you plunk test it) and 4.0 gr Power Pistol. Shooting side by side in my little Shield they felt just as powerful as the 135 +p and 124 +p both with Power Pistol. They were only about 1 inch high at 12 yards. They shot great. My full size M&P needs about 1.04" OAL to chamber and if I needed to load that short of an OAL I would reduce the load and work back up.

Based on what I wrote on the box way back then, I was expecting about 875-900 fps in the 3" and 975-1000 fps in the 5" and it sure felt like it. I will also say that a light semi auto with the recoil spring and the slide travel is much easier on the wrist bones than a airweight snubby shooting a 158 at 900 fps.

[steve urquell]

Today I shot the last of my 2015 lot of 158 gr 9mm. Lee 158-RF, 1.07 OAL (seated to the beginning of the crimp groove, which probably won't fit in your gun unless you plunk test it) and 4.0 gr Power Pistol. Shooting side by side in my little Shield they felt just as powerful as the 135 +p and 124 +p both with Power Pistol. They were only about 1 inch high at 12 yards. They shot great. My full size M&P needs about 1.04" OAL to chamber and if I needed to load that short of an OAL I would reduce the load and work back up.

Based on what I wrote on the box way back then, I was expecting about 875-900 fps in the 3" and 975-1000 fps in the 5" and it sure felt like it. I will also say that a light semi auto with the recoil spring and the slide travel is much easier on the wrist bones than a airweight snubby shooting a 158 at 900 fps.

Thanks for the followup. I need to work up a target load with my next batch. My powder choices are:
Nitro100NF
TiteWad
Shooter's World Clean Shot
Unique
TiteGroup
Accurate Silhouette
Shooter's World Major/Lovex D037.1
W572

I'd love to use that Nitro100 because I have 8lbs of it but am nervous because of the speed of it. There is a published load for it for a 160gr RN at 1.15". I'd bet I have more of this bullet outside the case at 1.11" than a RN at 1.15". I'll do some measuring to see how it shakes out.

315533

[steve urquell]

A little playing around with TiteWad today. Since there is no published data for this I will not post my charges. Rounds are 1.104" OAL. Bbl is an Alpha Wolf G34 5.8" bbl with a very long leade.

https://i.imgur.com/6ioGMuq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/hXCPXPS.jpg

25 yard 3/4" 4 shot group

https://i.imgur.com/lZDZr4W.jpg

Shooting the 8" gong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpKCpcRDMTk

[sukivel]

A little playing around with TiteWad today. Since there is no published data for this I will not post my charges. Rounds are 1.104" OAL. Bbl is an Alpha Wolf G34 5.8" bbl with a very long leade.

https://i.imgur.com/6ioGMuq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/hXCPXPS.jpg

25 yard 3/4" 4 shot group

https://i.imgur.com/lZDZr4W.jpg

Shooting the 8" gong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpKCpcRDMTk

Nice shooting! Which sights do you have on this G34?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mnewcomb59]

The NOE 360-154 WFN works great in 9mm. In 2-2-96 alloy it casts to 158 gr. It has a longer nose and less bullet in the case than the 158-RF from Lee. It also has a bore rider nose that will also help you get more OAL. If you have a barrel with no throat you should still be able to load to like 1.05" and if you have any kind of free bore before the leade you will be able to load it to 1.08-1.16".

The main problem is that NOE molds consistently (5/5 in my personal experience) .0015 over size, and they usually spec their molds too large to start with, so there will be a lot of sizing. Why isn't this mold cut at .358? Who even has cylinder throats that large? I have this mold in GC solid for 357 and it casts 361 with soft alloy and the gas checks need pressed on with a press and they shave lead. I won't even try it with harder lead because it will cast even larger and the little crimp groove disappears.The mold has been back to Al and he says it is fine. In HP form it looks really good for 9mm.

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop/bullet-moulds/358/360-154-wfn-an1/360-154-wfn-an1-rg4-cavity-pb/

[steve urquell]

Nice shooting! Which sights do you have on this G34?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks. It's the PSA Dagger above in posts 47 and 49 with an Alpha Wolf G34 bbl. It has a Swampfox Kingslayer green circle dot reticle RMR optic on it.

[steve urquell]

The NOE 360-154 WFN works great in 9mm. In 2-2-96 alloy it casts to 158 gr. It has a longer nose and less bullet in the case than the 158-RF from Lee. It also has a bore rider nose that will also help you get more OAL. If you have a barrel with no throat you should still be able to load to like 1.05" and if you have any kind of free bore before the leade you will be able to load it to 1.08-1.16".

The main problem is that NOE molds consistently (5/5 in my personal experience) .0015 over size, and they usually spec their molds too large to start with, so there will be a lot of sizing. Why isn't this mold cut at .358? Who even has cylinder throats that large? I have this mold in GC solid for 357 and it casts 361 with soft alloy and the gas checks need pressed on with a press and they shave lead. I won't even try it with harder lead because it will cast even larger and the little crimp groove disappears.The mold has been back to Al and he says it is fine. In HP form it looks really good for 9mm.

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop/bullet-moulds/358/360-154-wfn-an1/360-154-wfn-an1-rg4-cavity-pb/

For my use I really wanted that huge meplat in the Lee RF but if I wanted to cycle this in more barrels I'd probably go with this MP Mold with NLG.
https://www.mp-molds.com/product/9mm-38-147-154-bevel-basehollow-point-no-lube-groove-multi-choice/