9mm procrastinator

[Big Jake]

Hello all. I am new to cast boolits and reloading in general. I’ve found this website to be very helpful in learning, so I figured I’ll make a post. I’ve been researching reloading for over 10 years and I recently got all of grandpas old single stage reloading equipment out that hasn’t been used in going on 30 years. Long story short, when he passed away it all got stored and it’s been in the back of my mind ever since , my dad always talks about it and getting it all out and starting but time really flies, but now it’s time. He hasn’t reloaded since he was a kid. It’s pretty cool going through all of this old stuff, brings back memories of it all set up in his garage. I’ve got all the old vintage powder containers and stuff displayed on my shelf. So needless to say, I want to load my first rounds as they would have been loaded back then. I think I am on the right track so I’d like to confirm with the pro’s. I plan to start with 124g 9mm. I loaded some dummy rounds with a boolit sized to .357 ran through the old lube a matic to .357 and I found that it does not fully seat in my aftermarket Glock kkm, XDS or Shield barrels, though from what I’ve read, 1 or 2 thou bigger than jacketed is desired, I ordered a .356 sizer and I’ll experiment more. My plan is as follows:



Make my lead alloy with the vintage scrap and create ingots

Test BHN with the LEE kit, aiming for around 15

Cast boolits with RCBS 124g rn air cool

Dial in sizing to fit my current barrel chambers and lube with the lsstuff BAC red lube

Pick a recipe to start with from my new Lyman cast boolit book to work up from

Clean brass/case lube/resize/decap

Verify case length?

Flare cases enough so the boolit does not resize while seating

Add powder,seat, pull apart to check boolit size again

Shoot, inspect, repeat

[marlin39a]

You also need to taper crimp your seated round to make it plunk.

[Big Jake]

Yes thanks. My seating die also crimps. Rcbs instructions say to set it at 1/32 from shell holder for no crimp, and 1/16 clearance to crimp, so I have to dial that in. Seems like a pretty crucial adjustment

[John McCorkle]

Agreed with above, there are methods of "plunk" testing which is basically just ensuring the bullet will go "plunk" freely un incumbered by pressure and friction sliding into the chamber.

Best way I have found is to take the barrel completely out of the pistol... phone not the end of a dummy round with black sharpie and test...it it doesn't chamber completely without issue the sharpie will show you where it is rubbing...on the bullet (seat deeper or size better) or on the case (more taper crimp) there are threads here that detail it much better than what I just have

Sent from my Moto G Play using Tapatalk

[HangFireW8]

Welcome to the board, Big Jake.

Ideally loaded ammo will pass the plunk test, as you did, just drop in. However slight engaging force might be OK, depending on the handgun. You can load up some dummies and see if they fully chamber when you drop the slide. That might be good enough, even if they don't fully plunk under gravity.

9's and Glocks are a bit challenging for cast but are doable. Many get an aftermarket barrel with a tighter chamber for better brass life. But the stock barrel might give you instant plunk.

.001-.003" over bore is a rule of thumb that usually works very well... But it is not a hard and fast rule. If the alloy isn't too hard, the charge has enough pressure, and the lube is good, the boolit can obturate (deform), seal, and not lead up the barrel.

[Wheelguns 1961]

Good luck and welcome to the forum!

[mattw]

Might I add... If you are doing this all single stage... a good habit to get into is crimping as a process after seating. With semi-auto pistols I have found that this helps as much as anything else, especially with the 9mm. This process allows you to feel the crimp taking place, you can feel a long case, a short case or other issues involved with this stage.

Welcome to the entry of the rabbit hole!

[Big Jake]

It seems as though a roll crimp which is what I believe my die does is not advisable for 9mm, so after reading these comments I may pick up a separate taper crimp die.

[gwpercle]

Start with 1/32 inch but you will have to adjust die(s) in and out to get both depth and crimp dialed in.
I recommend adjusting the seating depth first , depth is more important than diameter when it comes to getting them to chamber. Once boolit depth is correct , readjust die to put a taper crimp on case/boolit . Not too much and not too little. Make a dummy round or two so the next time you can use them to set crimp and bullet seating stem.
Some just seat with one die and crimp with another die in a separate steps.
Always use the same shell holder with the dies you have adjusted. Using another shell holder might require you to readjust the dies...I discovered this when I used a different shell holder when loading some 9 mm's.
Welcome to the site.
Good luck , I will tell you cast boolit loads in the 9mm can be trying....to put it mildly .
Gary

[gwpercle]

It seems as though a roll crimp which is what I believe my die does is not advisable for 9mm, so after reading these comments I may pick up a separate taper crimp die.

If you have a set of 9mm Luger dies it will apply a taper crimp....keep screwing it down and the crimp might start to roll in. If the case mouth edge starts to roll in , back off just a little , you're crimping too much.
A taper crimp is standard on the semi-auto 9 mm and all standard dies will be furnished with one.
Gary

[mozeppa]

not to discourage...but...9mm is one of the toughest rounds to consistently get right.

i am so anal about 9mm it really is ridiculous! and yet....right now i'm in the middle of breaking down 900+ finished cartridges due to performance issues. (yeah...i know ....shoulda done more testing.)

they WILL be right or they won't ever see the gun!

[David2011]

One thing that makes 9mm crimping easier, if that's possible, is to measure the diameter of the cartridge just behind the mouth. The spec is 9.65mm/0.378". The reason I measure just behind the mouth is to avoid a false measurement if there is a burr at the mouth. Adjust the taper crimp die to get that size on your cartridges and they will feed reliably.

[fredj338]

Yes thanks. My seating die also crimps. Rcbs instructions say to set it at 1/32 from shell holder for no crimp, and 1/16 clearance to crimp, so I have to dial that in. Seems like a pretty crucial adjustment

Read that again. The closer the bottom of the die is to the shell holder the MORE crimp. As noted, you want a taper crimp, BUT, you can get an acceptable crimp with a roll crimp if that is what you have. Either taper or roll, You want to just straighten out the flare, NOT roll the case mouth into the bullet.
Lead bullets in a modern 9mm are not that difficult. I size all mine to 0.357" & they fit all of my 9mm barrels, including a couple of tight match barrels. What you have to pay attention to is the OAL & where the bullet hits the barrel throat. That may have to be adjusted for various pistols but I get great results with 0.357" sizing. No I never trim pistol brass, ever.

[popper]

Crimp in a separate step, feel the die just taper crimp, rcbs is taper. Should just have a shiny ring on the mouth. Plunk test every round! 9 is a taper wall case and seating the heavy will often run in to a thick case bulge.

[gwpercle]

not to discourage...but...9mm is one of the toughest rounds to consistently get right.

i am so anal about 9mm it really is ridiculous! and yet....right now i'm in the middle of breaking down 900+ finished cartridges due to performance issues. (yeah...i know ....shoulda done more testing.)

they WILL be right or they won't ever see the gun!

After five decades of reloading handgun ammo my Dad recently gave me my first 9 mm , a WWII Walther P38 , had to shoot it of course . I had two sets of dies , CH and LEE , two boolit moulds and while working up loads for the P38 was given two other newer 9 mm pistols and bought two more moulds .

With all this equipment and 50 years experience there was a couple times ,when I kept running into these pesky little glitches , That I actually cussed out the nasty little 9mm and considered throwing everything in the Mississippi River. I would stop , think about things , go back, regroup and try again. I finally got it all sorted out, but it wasn't easy. I actually use dies from both sets of CH and Lee dies to get rounds that work in all the guns ! The P38 is the easiest to load for because it has a generous chamber and long throat. The newer 9mm's with tight chambers and little or no throats were Buggers ( substitute the word used for a female dog).
My best advice is make darn sure you load works before loading a big batch of 9's they like to mess with you.
Gary

[gpidaho]

Big Jake: One of my nines has a tight chamber and not much if any throat. This works just fine with jacketed bullets but can be trying with cast. Several bullet profiles need to be seated deeper than I would like to function so be careful of your bullet choice. There is so little space available in the 9mm case that pressures can skyrocket if the bullet is seated deeper than the data calls for. Welcome along and good luck. I'm sure you will enjoy using Grandpa's equipment. Gp

[jmort]

I use CH4D sizing die as it is tapered from what I read. Special ordered a couple, not carbide. I do not believe any other 9mm sizing die is tapered to match factory/SAAMI spec. Any further info on this would be great, but the CH4D sizes right down to the base and preserves the exact case taper.

[mdi]

Your post sound like a good start. I also would "warn" you that the 9mm is a bit more difficult to get just right for cast bullets (I had been shooting cast bullets in 5 different calibers and when I started casting for a 9mm, I was "challenged"!). But it can be done. It'll take the right alloy, bullet diameter, a good lube and the right powder/powder charge. Don't get discouraged by barrel leading, it's not permanent... I settled on a Lee 125 gr. RNFP of Lyman #2 (my mix) over a charge of Universal to be pretty accurate and leading free in my 3, 9mm pistols.

Learn to use the "Plunk Test" for determining OAL for each bullet you reload, and I'd suggest this test over any cartridge gauge. I use a separate taper crimp die, in a second step, to remove any flare, just enough to pass the plunk test 100%. As a new reloader you'll prolly get suggestions to use a Lee FCD for handguns, but I would highly suggest you learn proper die adjustment and you won't need to resize your finished handloads.

Go slow. Double check everything. And most important, have fun...

[toallmy]

Something worth mentioning / pull a round to make sure your not sizing your cast boolits smaller when your loading them .

[rintinglen]

Load a magazine or two BEFORE you start converting that bucket o' brass into ammo. I had to break down 500 rounds some years back because I neglected to try before I bought. They plunked just fine, but were a scosh too long for the magazine. Attempting to seat the boolits deeper raised a ring of lead, so it was wasted weekend with me and my trusting Quinetics want-a-bee banging away.
In fact, I'd load no more than twenty rounds on my first go round and then test fire them to make sure everything works OK.

Only then would I shift to production mode.