Advice for a beginner.

[Dusty Bannister]

From Hodgdon reloading web site.

"In conclusion, bullets with similar shapes and construction materials will utilize the same data. And, above all else, work up your loads by starting with the beginning load and increase charges in small increments, at all times watching for case head pressure signs and stiff extraction."

What some folks do at their bench is up to them. But please, do not recommend unsafe reloading practices with people new to the hobby. The lack of experience might result in not noticing a problem until after it is too late. I have no doubt you intended well, but apparently there is significant disagreement with other members. Please be safe in the future. Dusty

[Silverboolit]

Maybe your PC is getting in the way? Did you try a 'plunk' test with just the cast, uncoated boolits? Sometimes it helps to find someone in your area who loads cast boolits that would help you with your issues in a personal way. A mentor is not just a teacher, but can be a shooting partner for many years. 9mm is a great round, but can be picky about how it is loaded.

[Jniedbalski]

The lee 125 rf is .358 plus as it comes out of the mold. It is made for the 38s and 357’s but will work good in the nines. It has to be seated deaper in the case because of the diameter and the nose shape. If your gun is throated all is well but most 9’s won’t take this bullet seated out to normal oal. Powder coated bullets make it worse. My Star BM and Bretta 92fs shoot this bullet great. My high point hangs up sometimes with this bullet. Have to push the slide sometimes slightly forward to get it to chamber, last reloads I did. The new loads I did I adjusted the oal slightly shorter and all was fine in the high point. I also started .3 gr lighter than starting loads with the shorter oal load. I also used bullseye instead of a slower burning powder.

[Hobbsy]

Thanks for all the replies ! There's a lot to digest. I've been reloading for 5 years but had no idea 9mm casting would be so finicky. Thinking of trying the 358 105gr SWC. Then at least i wont get the chambering problem. Bye the way, i resize all boolits to 357.

[Jniedbalski]

He did say that he worked up his loads. I found out that bullet needs to be seated really deep because of the diameter and nose shape. There was a few posts on this bullet a yesr or so ago. Every body found out thst they had to also seat really deep. I used bullseye and started .4 or .3 gr below starting load. I wish I remembered how far I seated them

[Jniedbalski]

Don’t know what happened to my last post but it just disappeared

[toallmy]

Pull one of the rounds you have loaded and measure it's base , there is a pretty good chance during loading the boollits are getting squeezed down under .357 .

[Kraschenbirn]

IMHO, the OP needs to return to Square One: slug the bore, do a 'pound cast' of the chamber, determine the 'as cast' diameter' of both boolit designs (all measurements with a real, honest-to-God micrometer!), then use that information to obtain a proper 'fit'. Also, in my experience, with the 9mm it's best to begin with something that duplicates the configuration of the milspec round...i.e. a 124 gr. RN seated to 1.60 COL. I'd put, literally, thousands of those through a milsurp Canadian HiPower before I learned that the 9x19 is supposed to be a 'difficult' cartridge to reload.

Bill

[ShooterAZ]

Yep, some guns are more of a stinker than others. Iv'e had the best luck with a Beretta 92FS. That thing will gobble just about anything I put through it. I think one of the biggest things to watch for is the boolit diameter getting squeezed down during seating. That can cause keyholing for sure.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Hobbsy,
welcome to the forum.
I can't offer much advice, due to you using PC on your boolits.
I have only had failures when shooting PC boolits. If PC and casting are both new to you, I'd suggest not using PC on your boolits, and just lube them, then see if you have success with your boolits.
Good Luck

[Gtek]

9mm is too cheap and a bunch comes in one package for me to venture down yet another path, I have seen and read the frustration of others for years though. Have you fired factory that shoots well? Take a few of them and run a micrometer all over it and compare it to your rounds, pop barrel out of piece and plunk, feel and look comparing factory to yours. As stated above I think slugging bore is first step for size, then throat (COAL) and what profile you will need and seat depth and paying attention to rim and barrel hood. Make it run well then worry about having started low and going up on powder to make them hang out together on paper.
Welcome to the madness!

[Larry Gibson]

I haven't any idea why everyone has a problem with cast in 9mm. I've been casting for it with several different molds and loading 9mm's since '69. I've shot my loads (thousands of them) out of many different 9mm handguns, subguns and a couple carbines. I have never had leading or inaccuracy.

I suggest to the OP if he doesn't have a lubrasizer to get a Lee sizer kit in .357. To cast his 120 gr TC bullets of COWW + 2% tin or other suitable ternary alloy with the antimony/tin in balance. Let them air cool and age for 7 - 10 days before doing anything with them. Follow Lee's directions and lightly coat the bullets with the LLA. Let it dry thoroughly. Push the lubed bullets through the .357 sizer and then apply another light coat of LLA and again let dry thoroughly.

If the OP has a lubrasizer then size the AC'd and aged 120 TCs in a .357 H&I die and lube with a soft NRA 50/50 lube or BAC.

Load them over 4 gr of Bullseye. Seat the bullets so the loaded cartridges pass the "plunk test" in your barrels chamber. Go shooting.

[popper]

OP didn't state what alloy he's using either. Agree he needs to provide some pulled boolit and mic's sized to expect any proper comments. I use a RNFP 135gr. which works in mine but sometimes gets tumbling in another pistol.

[Hossfly]

Hobby’s i know my boolits ain’t same as yours but if these pics come thru it may help. My CZ75 BD slugs at .3555 and my painted measure .3558 and col set at 1.0705 all run with no problems.Attachment 231791



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[Hossfly]

Hobby here is boolit dia.
I think your coal is too long, I would cut down on length a few thou till you get them to fit with proper free bore and watch for pressure signs.


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[Tom W.]

I do know that my CZ 75 has difficulty with .358 sized bullets, and I am using the same design that you pictured.
I don't PC them, but lube them with Carnauba Red and don't have any trouble if I size them to .357. If I try .358 sized boolits they may chamber one or two without jamming, and the jam is caused by a tiny ring of lead. I can scrape that ring off of the round and it will chamber fine.

This is my experience. My Ruger LC9s Pro and the Glocks that I had would shoot the .358 sized boolits all day long.

[MT Gianni]

While I don't PC I would start with a velocity of near 1000 fps. I get there with AA2 but any similar speed should work. Try to get and accurate group @ 15 yards. Move up to 1100 fps in 2 increments. See what happens to your groups. If they are staying close try shooting where you can recover bullets and analyse them. See if you're stripping, wearing coating or experiencing failures you can visually see.

[John McCorkle]

Many have stated different pieces of this thought above...but to recap

9mm is more difficult than say a 38 spc to cast and reload for. Not that it is particularly hard but more complex because the stacking of tolerances happen fast...and what may make a small difference in 38 spc would make a big one in 9mm because of the higher pressure and smaller package (like taking what you sing and turning up the microphone to lvl 9, you hear the things much clearer)

Don't get frustrated with it just remember there are alot of parallel factors all going on at the same time...any number of which will effect your load and it's accuracy

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[Hobbsy]

So... i pulled a boolit from a case and its as suspected. They are being squeezed down to .352" (S&B brass). No wonder they are keyholing ! I obviously need to reset my dies.

[Oily]

#1 Don't get frustrated. 9MM can be finicky depending on your firearm.#2 disassemble your weapon and get the barrel out so you can plunk test your rounds to check for fit/ headspace. 9 MM headspaces on the case mouth. Do not roll crimp 9mm. Taper crimp is advised for this round. Use the largest diameter boolit that will chamber in your barrel with the plunk system. For first timers the plunk system is to take a loaded cartridge and drop it into the raw barrel and it should fall into the barrel and plunk. It should not have to be forced or rotated to fall into the chamber of the barrel. I don't load 9mm anymore but I plunck test every 45 acp round I load and I have no failure to fire or failure to eject problems ever. Yes I am anal with my loading