Well, that worked well

[jonk]

I posted a few days back about anyone having data for a 158 gr bullet for a 9mm round. Kinda outside the box. A few people said yes, such data existed, namely 3 gr of Bullseye.

Well I tried it with a Lee 158 gr SWC GC design in a Walther P1. I'd not previously had much luck with lead in this gun.

Worked great. I started with 2 gr, then 2.5, finally 3.

All functioned and fed (surprisingly) well. 2 barely functioned, 2.5 was just right, 3 felt a tad stiff. 2.5 was also best accuracy wise.

No leading. In fact it scrubbed out most of the leading that had been in the barrel. ACWW with 50/50.

Will load up some more with 2.5 and see what I get. :drinks:

[NSP64]

Sometimes you must tread where few have gone.:drinks:

[jdgabbard]

If you have a 9mm rifle, I'd like to know how well they work in that. I have a Ruger PC9 Carbine and have thought about this many times. However, never have messed with working up a load. I would be interested in your results though!

[beagle]

Yeah, 158 grainers are a bit out of the box weight wise.

I've fired a bunch of 148 grainers and they were dissapointing to me performance wise.

Dropping down to 140 grainers (Lyman's 358480) and HPing for a 133 grainer gave me agreat small game load that I use a lot. Still, it's no streaker velocity wise./beagle

[S.R.Custom]

Yeah, 158 grainers are a bit out of the box weight wise.

Years ago I was on an accuracy quest with my Beretta 92. Bore measurement revealed a groove diameter of .357", which I have since discovered is standard for service 9mms. Putting .355" lead downrange was an exercise in futility...

So I had these .358" 158 gr LSWCs laying around, and I said, "I wonder..."

The neat thing about the Beretta is the fact that it'll feed nearly anything; if you can get it in the magazine, it'll feed. For the experiment, I used 231... can't recall the exact amount, but 3 grains sounds familiar. Anyway, I ended up eliminating the leading problem, and shrinking group sizes by 1/2 over previous best.

Subsequent experimentation with that bullet and maximum charges of AA#7 yeilded a fairly stiff 9mm load that chrono'ed major. A most satisfying load for bowling pin shooting, as pins for the 9mm are set closer to the back of the table, in deference to the 9mm's perceived lack of power... :twisted:

[AzShooter]

Years ago I shot a Glock 17L in USPSC competition. I experimented a lot with it and eventually decided to shoot 158 grain lead bullets because that was the same stuff I loaded in my revolver.

Bullseye worked very well for a nice light accurate load.

I also experimented enough to make Major power factor with the 9 mm while it was still legal. Since then USPSA changed the rules to eliminate Major 9 and now has allowed it again.

There are great choices of powder. In Handloader Magazine there is an excellent article on reloading the 9 mm and it discusses heavy bullets. I wouldn't try real hot ones out of your Walther but a concervative load of .158 grain bullets will shoot tight, lead less and group well.

Good Shooting