Advice for a beginner.

[asmith80]

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.

Fixing that will probably solve most of your issues. I was having ridiculous leading when I first started loading 9mm cast until I figured I was sizing down my boolits accidentally. Figuring out COL is the next big step, especially for the CZs. I'm loading for 3 different CZs, amongst other things, and it seems that a COL I can use successfully in the CZ will chamber just fine in every other 9mm I have.

[sureYnot]

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.

I tested a few different brass with my alloy to see what I could get away with. S&B was the only one that swaged the bullets down. Others I tested were PPU, WIN and I don't remember the others. If you have other brass, you might get away with using it in your current process.

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

[Thumbcocker]

I load .358 boolits in my 75bd but the barrel was throated by Doug Guy.

[Jniedbalski]

There is a lot of difference between case thickness between brands. I have noticed this on my 38 special brass. I use noe’s expander in my lee universal expander and no longer have the bullets being sized down. I have also used the lee universal flaring tool and then use the noe’s flaring tool. The lee tool just flares the mouth. Noe’s flairs the the mouth and the case. Some times I want a slightly bigger flair on the case mouth. That’s why i flair the mouth with the lee and then the side of the case with the NOE’s tool

[whisler]

A Lee 38 S&W expander plug helped me with my 9mm CZ loading. It expands the brass to a deeper level and stopped my swaging of cast bullets to reduced diameter. Cheap too, if you are using Lee dies.

[Texas by God]

Starting your casting career with 9mm? That's like skipping arithmetic and going straight to calculus

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Taterhead]

Of the service calibers, I find 9mm to be the trickiest to load cast bullets. Federal cases are your friend. They are thinner walled so more liky to kerplunk. R-P 45 auto cases are similarly thin, but conversely quite thick in 9mm. As are many of the Euro headstamps.

For me, I look for Federal cases. Win/WCC cases are ok too.

Gotta work the COL down to fit the chamber. In my experience, the Lee RF has to be seated SHORT. That's ok, just start low and work up the charges. Yes, one grain ladders are WAY too big for 9mm. 2 tenths is better.

Bullets sized 1k over groove diameter, at least. The next issue with accuracy is that a properly sized buller might get swaged into a smaller diameter when seated. The expander in die sets are typically sized for jacketed bullets. Too narrow for cast. Seat a few bullets and pull them. If diameter shrinks, a different expander is needed. NOE has the solution with their expander plugs.

Next steps: slug the barrel to find groove diameter. Size bullets appropriately.

Look for Federal cases.

Seat deep enough to reliably kerplunk.

Crimp sufficiently so that the case mouth doesn't cause interference.

I load both the Lee bullets mentioned in the OP with success. Sized .358 for a couple old guns.

[toallmy]

A Lee 38 S&W expander plug helped me with my 9mm CZ loading. It expands the brass to a deeper level and stopped my swaging of cast bullets to reduced diameter. Cheap too, if you are using Lee dies.

Yep it fixed my problem also with the 9mm .

[osteodoc08]

A few questions for the OP:
1. What PC are you using and does it pass the “smash test?
2. What are you sizing them to or are you running them as cast and as PC?
3. Are you familiar with the plunk test?
4. What powder are you using?

Some pointers:
1. Only flare the case enough to get the bullet barely started. You don’t need a huge trumpet. The flare should just be barely noticeable to sight and touch. Measure a sized case at the mouth and and Flared case and report back.
2. When taper crimping, it doesn’t need much effort. Try to measure a crimp on a factory round to give you an idea of what it should measure. You basically want to just get rid of the slight bell you created earlier.
3. Adjust your OAL until the round “plunks” your barrel.
4. A middle of the road powder charge should get you functionality and some semblance of accuracy. I’d focus on functionality at this stage right now.
5. If having issues with seating and crimping in one stage, set the die high so it doesn’t crimp as it seats and then crimp in a second step (depending on which die set you have)

[Hobbsy]

[QUOTE=osteodoc08;4523282]A few questions for the OP:
1. What PC are you using and does it pass the “smash test?
2. What are you sizing them to or are you running them as cast and as PC?
3. Are you familiar with the plunk test?
4. What powder are you using?

The powder coating is of an unknown manufacturer (ebay). I purchased 10 different colours in 250g packets. I've only tried the red so far and seems ok to me. It passes the "smash test" at least.
Only tested PC boolits so far, sized to .357. The TC plunk nicely, the RF do not. I use Lovex DO32 powder (similar to accurate #2).

[JoeJames]

One idea here; you might seat first, and then crimp, in two stages. I would crimp very lightly; a taper crimp not a full roll crimp. One note, I recently read that seating the bullet a tad too deep can cause a major pressure jump. I would read up on that also.

[gwpercle]

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.

I had been reloading cast boolits for 45 years when I was given a WWII Walther P38 , my first 9mm ,
It is the hardest round I have ever encountered to get cast boolits to function with....If this would have been my first ....it would have been my last. 9mm Luger is a ***** to get everything right...and everything seems to matter.
I do use the Lee boolit you use, the 120 TC , run through a .357 sizing die , it's a good one .
The boolit that really made a difference is one similar to the Lee...It's an NOE- 124 grain TC with a gas check....the Gas Check keeps the case from sizing the soft boolit down... That turned out to be my secrete boolit for successful 9mm cast boolit loads !
Gary

[Hobbsy]

I've obviously learned the hard way that 9mm isn't the easiest caliber to start with. I also own a .45 1911 and a 357mag revolver. Why would these calibers be any different ? Why don't the problems i've encountered so for not exist for 357mag or .45acp also ?

[Taterhead]

The 9mm has a small tapered case. It also must fit and feed reliably. So narrower ranges of tolerances in the dimensions. The 38 doesn't need to feed from a magazine. Small dimensional variances in 45 are a smaller percentage of the overall size, so I find it easier to work with, generally.

EDITED to add. For two 9mm guns I load for, one has no throat. The other has some throat but will not tolerate short COL. It wants a longer COL to facilitate tip in angle. Stuff like that adds complication.

[toallmy]

They do in ways , but they are easier to overcome .

[GregLaROCHE]

Just an idea that might narrow things down. By a box of high quality cast boolits to load. Make up some of your loads and see what you get. It might give you an idea of where to start looking first.
Good luck