RotoMetals2Lee PrecisionInline FabricationMidSouth Shooters Supply
Titan ReloadingLoad DataWidenersRepackbox
Reloading Everything
Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast
Results 21 to 40 of 65

Thread: 9mm Luger cast sucess?

  1. #21
    Moderator
    Texas by God's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    14,335
    Great advice guys, thank you. I don't like endless experimentation so I will heed your advice. I'll start by sorting brass and buying some bullets to see what it likes. And I'll check the rifling depth, Taz.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

  2. #22
    Boolit Grand Master popper's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    10,572
    Accurate 130gr rnfp with 4gr WST, 357 for all the XDs I've tried. PCd and HT WW. 60 rnds in 9 ring at 10 yd single handed from XDs. Fast follow shots.
    Last edited by popper; 09-28-2018 at 10:09 PM.
    Whatever!

  3. #23
    Banned
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Central Virginia
    Posts
    7,439
    My biggest problem with cast bullets in 9mm is that my guns are all over the place. What works in one gun will not work in another.
    I can load for a particular pistol and get good results but I run into problems when I attempt to make a common cartridge for more than one gun.

  4. #24
    Boolit Grand Master tazman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    west central Illinois
    Posts
    7,699
    True.
    I have some of that going on. The differences between my Beretta barrels and my Springfield barrels is rather dramatic. Some of the ammunition that runs flawlessly through the Beretta barrels will not chamber or feed in my Range Officer. I have to be careful what I bring to the range.
    I haven't had any leading problems from the smaller diameter ammunition yet but I don't shoot a lot of it in the Beretta barrels.
    I am finding that .357 seems to work in both barrel sizes. .358 works great in the Beretta barrels but will not work in the Springfields.

  5. #25
    Boolit Master
    winelover's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    North Central Arkansas
    Posts
    2,403
    Been loading for 9mm for over forty years. Was the second caliber, I began reloading for. Never had any issues with cast. Currently, own five pistols from five different well respected manufactures plus a carbine. All of my reloaded ammo will feed and function interchangeably, in any of the six. Never had to have any barrels throated or replaced with aftermarkets.

    I size my all bullets to .358 diameter and have gone as high as .359 diameter, but the cases tend to begin to bulge. Never used a case gauge for 9mm.............just do the simple plunk test. I set my seating dies to mimic factory COAL's for each cast bullet that is comparable to the factory profile. Then, I make dummy rounds and manually cycle them through the action, checking for changes in COAL. As long as the length doesn't change, they are good to go. To date, never slugged a barrel.......never found the need.

    Don't own any Glocks. The closest thing, to a 1911 style pistol, is my Browning HP. All the others are DAO, polymer framed semi's.

    All I use is air cooled WW alloy or close proximity, there of. Gas checks will solve a lot of leading issues, especially when pushing your alloy. I found this to be the case when I get some minimal leading in the carbine. Lab Rader is showing that my slowest load is running in the neighborhood of 1450 fps, when using standard (115-125 grain) weight bullets. Slower, when I move up to 147 grainers.

    Winelover

  6. #26
    Boolit Buddy glockfan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Location
    partly VT,partly canada
    Posts
    481
    all i know is that, the first boolit i designed for my glocks and cz's(146 grs) ,is very,very accurate; resized to .357 over 3.5 grs of VV320 at 1.070 coal ,it's definitely on par,or better than the commercial jacketed zeros i was using. but here's the thing; since the ogive-meplat is fatter than the J-bullets ,i must load to a shorter coal( 1.070) than what i expected (normally 1.130 coal)
    .doesn't matter,accuracy is what count. then i designed another ,but lighter one , a 130grainer. this one has a slimer profile, then i can load to my regular coal. accuracy is also very good. both boolits are groovless for hi tek,and i'm very pleased with the results i'm getting, no leading at all.

    my molds are cut by tom at accurate molds. the 146 is 35-146M and the 130 grainer is 35-130M.i'm using 100% coww

  7. #27
    Boolit Master

    mattw's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    East Central Illinois
    Posts
    1,796
    Out of all the stuff I have loaded over 30 years, I have found 9mm to the a huge PITA! I have the Lee 105 working well in a couple of guns, 147's just work across the board but I do not like to shoot 147's for random range plinking and practice. I have the Arsenal 124-TC and it is working well in everything except my 1911's. This past weekend I scrubbed the lead out of the 1911's again and have them ready for another test. The diameter is correct at .358, my crimp is just enough to make a solid round and my alloy is 93/3/3 with 2700+ lube. The leading comes from the 105 and the 124. The 124 has a beautiful bearing surface and I did not expect to have issues with it, the 105 on the other hand I expected problems. I have been trying to use BE and I think I am going to slow the powder down, not sure what yet. I may do some PC, but I do not want to make PC the answer as it takes longer for me than conventional sizing. A member here sent me some Lee 124-TC conventional lube groove bullets that were PC'ed, they did shoot very well in the 9mm 1911's.

  8. #28
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Surrounded in Central California
    Posts
    140
    I've used the old Lyman 356402 for years, and never had much luck with it. Currently I'm using the Saeco 383(PB & one groove), which is heavier and longer. Accurate 35-135Q would be a very close match(BB & two grooves). Sized .357 for 1911 9mms & 38 Supers, and .358 for the HP.
    Informal accuracy testing seems to have it doing better than the Lyman bullet. At this point I've been doing more function testing than accuracy testing, since it is a long bullet.

    Has anyone tried the H&G 275 style bullet in their 9mms? That's basically the H&G 068 45 acp bullet shrunk down to 9mm size. NOE is having a sale on their 35 caliber molds, and their version of that one is on sale.
    Last edited by Sailormilan2; 09-26-2018 at 12:34 PM.

  9. #29
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Posts
    2,435
    I have the same Star BM, you have to mod the feed ramp for anything other than FMJ. Shoot cast in mine, the Lee 124gr, AFTER it was leemented to actually spit out .356 bullets. The lyman 147gr works well in everything. And I size down a 158gr NOE for 9mm.

    One thing you need is proper expanders. I got garbage results at first, NOE expanders fixed them. Pistol dies are set up for jacketed. The case will swage them down seating, then they shoot like garbage. And no factory crimp dies.

  10. #30
    Boolit Master

    mattw's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    East Central Illinois
    Posts
    1,796
    I expand with an M die then seat and finally crimp in a third step. This has served me well for years with 45acp, 40S&W, 10mm. I really do not like the little tapered 9mm round, I will figure out my issue but will not enjoy the process.

  11. #31
    Boolit Buddy pacomdiver's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    eastern PA
    Posts
    375
    Ed shot,
    i am trying the 125g lee in a 6 cavity mold and they are dropping fat (.360 at base and .356 almost all the way up to the nose),i sized them to .355 before powder coating and them .357 after PC and i cant seat them deep enough to chamber in my glock 17 (with aftermarket barrel) due to the fat nose, i tried the 124g TL in some of my other 9s and they shot like ****, has anyone else had the same problem? im thinking of trying the 120 TC

  12. #32
    Boolit Master
    Ed_Shot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    North Texas
    Posts
    1,116
    Quote Originally Posted by pacomdiver View Post
    Ed shot,
    i am trying the 125g lee in a 6 cavity mold and they are dropping fat (.360 at base and .356 almost all the way up to the nose),i sized them to .355 before powder coating and them .357 after PC and i cant seat them deep enough to chamber in my glock 17 (with aftermarket barrel) due to the fat nose, i tried the 124g TL in some of my other 9s and they shot like ****, has anyone else had the same problem? im thinking of trying the 120 TC
    When you say "can't load them deep enough", what is your load and what is your COAL with the 356-125-2R?

  13. #33
    Boolit Grand Master tazman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    west central Illinois
    Posts
    7,699
    I have had the same issue with the 125 RF from Lee. It is just too fat at the nose to chamber easily in most guns. If I load it short, it won't feed properly.
    The 124 TL has a reputation for shooting poorly in 9mm for a lot of people. Not everyone but enough to make it a boolit I don't care to try.
    The 120 tc is nearly universally claimed as a great boolit by everyone. It works well for me in all my pistols. I prefer a different boolit though.
    My favorite is the NOE 358-135-FN. I shoot it as a plain base flat nose or as a 129 grain hollow point. It feeds in every 9mm pistol I own(9 currently), and gives great accuracy.
    This boolit works tumble lubed or sized in a lube-sizer equally well.
    It drops at .358 from my mold using range scrap. In some pistols(Beretta) I shoot it unsized. In others, I size to .357 and it feeds fine. The slightly undersized nose area helps with this. The nose will enter the throat even if it is tight. There is enough solid driving bands on the boolit to grip rifling well. I load it so the front driving band is slightly exposed(about a thick fingernail) and have no trouble with it.

  14. #34
    Boolit Master
    Ed_Shot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    North Texas
    Posts
    1,116
    Quote Originally Posted by pacomdiver View Post
    Ed shot,
    i am trying the 125g lee in a 6 cavity mold and they are dropping fat (.360 at base and .356 almost all the way up to the nose),i sized them to .355 before powder coating and them .357 after PC and i cant seat them deep enough to chamber in my glock 17 (with aftermarket barrel) due to the fat nose, i tried the 124g TL in some of my other 9s and they shot like ****, has anyone else had the same problem? im thinking of trying the 120 TC
    Just so we are on the same page.... which Lee 125 gr. boolit are we talking about here?

  15. #35
    Boolit Master Moleman-'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    SW Michigan next to a corn field
    Posts
    1,291
    I've had good luck with a 6-cavity Lee 124gr RN-TL in S&W 5946, Beretta 92, numerous 9mm carbines. I use alox and dust them with mica with a starting load charge of unique. Most of the time I don't run them though the sizer.

    If you pull a bullet out of a loaded round what does it measure v/s your bore measurement. Not all 9mm's are .355" which is another issue.

  16. #36
    Moderator Emeritus


    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    SW Montana
    Posts
    12,452
    Dump the Lee TL molds, get a Lyman 356242 or 356402 and use a good conventional lube. Try for 1000 fps and go up from there until groups suffer. NOE 135 gr works too.
    If you really want accuracy from a 9, segregate brass by headstamp and weight, and trim to the same length. you would do it for a 45, why is a 9 worse?
    [The Montana Gianni] Front sight and squeeze

  17. #37
    Boolit Master
    Ed_Shot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    North Texas
    Posts
    1,116
    Quote Originally Posted by MT Gianni View Post
    Dump the Lee TL molds, get a Lyman 356242 or 356402 and use a good conventional lube. Try for 1000 fps and go up from there until groups suffer. NOE 135 gr works too.
    If you really want accuracy from a 9, segregate brass by headstamp and weight, and trim to the same length. you would do it for a 45, why is a 9 worse?
    +1.... all I use any more is the NOE 359242 (120 gr) his clone of Lyman's 356242. I segregate 9MM brass by headstamp but I gave up on trimming. I do measure every 9MM case and discard (maybe 30%) those .748" or shorter and .752" or longer. I do not know folks work with 9MM brass that varies form .756" to .740". in length. Among myself, brothers and sons-in-law I load for a CZ 75B, BHP, Sig P320, Ruger LC9s, 3 Glocks with LW 9MM barrels, a HP 995TS, and Blackhawk convertable and they all work perfectly with boolits sized .358" with COAL's spec'd in the Lyman 4th Ed. For me that means I seat a 120~125 gr 9MM boolit to a depth of .260"~.265" inside the case. I've found that if my CZ likes a load it works great in all others. Totally agree with working up from 1000 fps. I commonly find the sweet spot @ 1075 fps depending on the components.

  18. #38
    Boolit Buddy pacomdiver's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    eastern PA
    Posts
    375
    Ed Shot,
    the 356-125-2R

  19. #39
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Wilmington NC
    Posts
    1,441
    9 mm can be very frustrating. Do not let that put you off. The solution is simple. There 10 easy steps to the 9mm.


    Step 1: Try what you have and what you think might work. Take notes. You might get lucky.

    Step 2: If step 1 did not work, tell us exactly what you did.

    Step 3: Sort through the 50 suggestions, pick one.

    Step 4: Try it and hope you get lucky.

    Step 5: If it did not work, tell us exactly what you did and what happened.

    Step 6: Sort through the 40 suggestions. Pick a new suggestion.

    Step 7: Try it and hope you get lucky.

    Step 8: If it did not work, go back to step 5.

    Step 9: After you get something that works, assume you are an expert and provide suggestions when some else shares their problems.

    Step 10: After a bunch of newbies ignore your suggestions, come to understand that the 9mm is too finicky to ever be simple and work the same way for anybody else.

  20. #40
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Louisiana
    Posts
    216
    I use the NOE 124gr. tcgchp for everything these days from all glock 9mm and carbines. Whrn seated over 4.7gr.CFE Pistol it is a screamer or 5.2gr.BA-7.5 for a plesent shooter. I love this mold because you get three different style boolits from one mold.

Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

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