I appreciate you, P Flados. I needed that laugh!
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I appreciate you, P Flados. I needed that laugh!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
My Go to load is the Lee 120 TC non tumble lubed over 3.8 grn of bullseye. I coat and the. Size to .358 for all of my 9mms (over 20 9mms in my collection) I don’t have the OAL on me but on my rifles I can hit a 4 inch plate at 100 yards every shot with a 2.5MOA Lucid red dot function is 100% and VERY clean.. I have shot 2k of those loads in my Ruger PC9 over this past month and a half and I have yet to clean it and it still looks good
I Highly recommend the Lee 120 TC powder coated with HF red sized to .358 over 3.8 grn of bullseye in mixed brass and any SPP you may have( I don’t use federal primers)
My current pet load is very nearly identical.
4.0 grains of either Bullseye or Titegroup with a Lyman 356402 120 grain tc boolit.
Only difference is I shoot them as cast since they drop right at .357 for me. I either tumble lube or run them through my lubrisizer at .357.
I haven't shot them in a rifle since I don't currently have one but they work well in my handguns.
My other favorite is an NOE 358-135-fn. It gets sized to .358 and used in all 9mm guns and in 38 special as well.
My favorite is the lee 356- 120 tc at .3575 with c-red over 3.8 red dot . It just works for me and hits what I point it at unless I mess it up + it keeps my wife happy shooting them to.
Two other posters in this thread mentioned expanders, IMO in the 9mm they are critical due to the tapered case! I have always used Lyman "M" dies in all my loading, just what I happened to start out with. Evidently the NOE are similar. When I started loading for the 9 I expected all kinds of problems from my reading but it didn't happen. I've loaded for 5 different 9's including a Khar with polygonal rifling and had no problems and accuracy in the 3" range @25 yds. The bullet I used the most was the Lee 120TC.
"Masculine republics give way to feminine democracies, and feminine democracies give way to tyrannies.” Aristotle
I didn't mention expanders because I haven't had an issue with boolits getting squeezed down in the case.
I don't use exceptionally hard boolits. They are range scrap that is water dropped from the mold when casting. None of the boolit styles I use go far enough into the case to be a problem.
I just use the standard expander that comes with the Lee die set.
I'd say that would put them in the 15-18 BHN range, somewhere between Lyman #2 and lino. I can see why the tapered case is not a problem for you.I don't use exceptionally hard boolits. They are range scrap that is water dropped from the mold when casting.
"Masculine republics give way to feminine democracies, and feminine democracies give way to tyrannies.” Aristotle
I don't have a hardness tester. They are just hard enough that I can't scratch them with my fingernail after about three days. I always expected they would be around 12-14 BHN. I really don't have any idea except that they work for me.
got a rcbs 9-115 mold to try,
cast a few with 12 BHN alloy, sized them to 356 then powder coated them and resized them to 357 and loaded them with 5.5 gr unique and tried them in 2 of my pistols, a tanfoglio p90 and a glock 17, neither of the pistols liked them, they didnt group very good at 10 yards but the AR 9mm rifle with open sights liked them and even hit the 50 yard steel 12" target every time. has anyone had good results with this mold?
im also getting a lee 120 TC and gonna try that since ive seen guys have had good luck with it
Make it three other posters now.
I shoot Lee 158 RF, sized 357 and as you can see, the stock Lee 9mm powder through expander is too short for that long bullet. Vihtavuori 3N37,slightly compressed, 950 fps.
Expanders are very important. I use many,they make life easier.
Attachment 231098
Why not make it 4.
I fought leading of PC coated boolits for a while.
Eventually I got my self some tooling and made myself up some custom expanders. After several tries, I got one that would expand big enough and deep enough. At the fact I realized that the force required to seat boolits for my 9's had gone from "much more than typical" to "about the same as a 38 Special".
This was the single change that I feel finished off my struggles.
The other changes that I think made a difference were:
- Getting my "as sized" boolits bigger (now 0.359")
- Sorting brass (I now only load Fed, Blazer and Speer).
- Seating and flare removal as separate steps
Last edited by P Flados; 11-28-2018 at 12:19 AM.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7
If you still have that p89 pm me I have loads that work well in mine they are powerful though with a 158gr gc semi wadcutter and blue dot I’ll give you more details in a pm if you want my dad developed this load for Silhouette shooting and has proven very effective even on large targets
I've never understood the problem folks have loading for 9mm Luger.
I've been casting and loading for it since I was 8yrs old (1962).
Used the LYMAN #356402 or #356242 cast of straight Linotype and sized .356 over 4.2grs of BULLSEYE.
That's now listed as a MAX load.
Can't take credit for that LOAD with those 2 bullets. My DAD worked them out about the time I was born.
He ran one load or the other in more different WAR Surplus Pistols then I could count. If one load didn't work, then the other would.
Guess I'm luckier then most. All the testing was done before I started loading the 9.
They even work in guns not available to my DAD; H&K USP, GLOCK, RUGER P85/9 And Various Sigs.
And that #356402 in a Red 9, He could bounce an empty soda can out past 75yrds.
I HATE auto-correct
Happiness is a Warm GUN & more ammo to shoot in it.
My Experience and My Opinion, are just that, Mine.
SASS #375 Life
I don't understand it either. Apparently I must have appeased the reloading gods or something because I never had the problems most complain about with the 9mm.
The fun part is, I am not doing anything special to get my success. I use the same techniques that give me success in 38 special and 45acp.
No, I didn't get all the luck. I've spent 2yrs trying to find a light load with the #375248 with some powder other then the discontinued SR4759.
I HATE auto-correct
Happiness is a Warm GUN & more ammo to shoot in it.
My Experience and My Opinion, are just that, Mine.
SASS #375 Life
For me it is a Dardas 124 gr LRN at .356" loaded over 5.5 gr of A #5. Accurate in a HiPoint carbine, Walther P99, Ruger P85, my brother's Glock, you name it.
Life was good for me when it came to 9mm loads. Then the clouds rolled in. I got word that Mr. Dardas is out of business. And yesterday I loaded up the last 120 bullets from my last Dardas box.
It never stops I guess.
Steve in N CA
NOE 358-128 (H&G) style casts about 131gr with my mixture. About 12.5BHN then water dropped. Tried .358, but had a couple guns that did not like it so I settled on .357+ with a sizer I opened up just a little bit. I use AA #5 in the 5.0gr range with sorted brass and have good accuracy from most of my guns and little leading. Use my load with caution!
NRA Benefactor Member
I also have a Star model BM that I load for and have been using the Lee 356-125 2R. This is their round nose with regular lube groove. I chose this bullet as it simulates the regular ball type bullet and feeds in almost everything. I have been loading this bullet sized to .357" and powered by 3.5 gr. of the relatively new IMR Target powder. This seems to shoot good in the three 9MM handguns that I own.
Ken
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |