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Thread: 9x19 Lee 356-125-2R powder coated

  1. #41
    Boolit Bub
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    I'm using the 125 Lee boolet, powder coated, using Lee dies. I have to size after powder coating to get them to chamber with my sizing die. I have no keyholes, but group size is much larger than factory ammo. I'm going to try water dropped after PC to see if that improves things.

  2. #42
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by Crowkiller View Post
    I'm using the 125 Lee boolet, powder coated, using Lee dies. I have to size after powder coating to get them to chamber with my sizing die. I have no keyholes, but group size is much larger than factory ammo. I'm going to try water dropped after PC to see if that improves things.
    Another potential issue I have read out on the web is tipping them during seating. Been busy busy....we worked all easter weekend on shutdown projects at work so I have not gotten back to my list of projects.

    Bill
    Both ends WHAT a player

  3. #43
    Boolit Master

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    Alrighty I got an AR15 put together in 9mm. Friend gifted me a 3" Orion barrel which has 1:10 twist, have not slugged it yet. I put a 3X nikon P223 scope on it just to get an idea how the whole rig shoots. At 25 yards with Federal 115 grain it seems to group 2" or under. It is REALLY windy here today with some aggressive gusts . This shooting today is from as benchrest a position as you can get out of this rig. I'm using Mean Endomags which are a 9mm conversion assembly that fits inside a 5.56 MagPul Pmag. Not that it matters a whole lot but I have a Brownells branded bolt in there and a Brownells branded 9mm buffer.



    I backed up to 75 yards and shot a group with the Federal 115 grain that was not terrible, probably all on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, then I shot a 10 round group with the Lee 120 TC bullet that was PC with TIGER DRYLAQ Gentian Blue baked at 400F-405F for 25 minutes in convection Oster toaster oven.

    Load is 4.0 Alliant Sport Pistol, WW small Pistol Primer, taper crimped to remove flare only.


    10 shot group at 75 yards, 7-3/4" for 10 rounds 6" for the best 9 of ten .

    I'm pretty happy with that for first recipe out of the bag really, the 120 TC may not be the best feeding combination in this gun.
    Both ends WHAT a player

  4. #44
    Boolit Master

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    Nice round bullet holes, bullets were air cooled and sized .358. The target board was leaned back a bit against the backstop. I think on a nicer day and with some thinking on some kind of handguard it will do a little better than that even maybe.

    Bill
    Both ends WHAT a player

  5. #45
    Boolit Master

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    Got a Lee hardness tester, checked one of my bullets air cooled after PC (but filed a flat on it first) and got 14.3 brinell.

    Need to make a stand to hold the 20x measurement microscope included in the Lee kit
    Both ends WHAT a player

  6. #46
    Boolit Master JMax's Avatar
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    I use the Lee 120 gr TC bullet with excellent results. My 1911 prefers a bullet sized to .357 but my Ruger PCC loves bullets sized to .356, OAL is 1.090" for both diameters . I load on a Dillon 550 with Dillon 9mm dies using 3.8gr Tite Group with minimal taper crimp. My alloy is 50% hard shot 50% lead, I use "GASP" HF red and now "GASP" again HF yellow. The bullets are sized within a week of being powder coated. I am including test/zero groups fired out of my Ruger PCC at 50 yards, a Vortex Prism dot sight from a bench, paster are 1" square. The groups were 5-6 holes with one or two targets that had a 45-70 hole in them. I use the carbine to shoot clay pigeons to pieces at 50 yards and then shoot the little pieces for fun. If I hold over an inch of so pigeons are not safe at 100 yards.Attachment 241045Attachment 241046Attachment 241047Attachment 241048
    Last edited by JMax; 05-05-2019 at 01:02 PM.

  7. #47
    Boolit Master
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    14 BHN should be plenty enough especially with powder coating. After I started powder coating I found I could use 12 BHN and can actually size some boolits (the 102gr Lee) .356" and get very good results.

    I typically run the 125s through the .358" die. I actually use them in 38spl loads as well.

    I get good accuracy and never get key holes. This is with various pistols but no XDs.

    Motor

  8. #48
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    Well,
    I finally loaded the Lee 356-125-2R. Sized .356 and lubed with WLL BAC.
    My Old (35+yrs) C&H Taper Crimp die is adjusted to just kiss the case with a Taper Crimp.

    They feed and shoot just fine. 3" at 50ft, which is the best I can do. Worked well in both Glock/Wolf Guns, The Walther and my friends Sig.

    Also tested the same bullet PC'd with Smoke's Red. Had to size .357 to get PC'd bullets to go down to .3565. Readjusted the old RCBS EXP. die a bit deeper.

    Learned to soap up the PC'd bullets to size in a Lee size die. To keep from scrapping off the PC in the rough internal finished Lee Bullet Size die.

    I put 50 bullets in a small Tupperware bowl, squirt a bit of Dawn dish soap & put on the cover. Shake hard 30seconds. Then they flow through the Lee bullet sizer die.

    I'm in the process of polishing all my Lee bullet Sizer dies. Shoulda been done at the factory. But Lee is just to cheap to do the job right.
    If I'd known how much work to polish Lee Dies to get them to size clean and smooth. I'd have bought N.O.E. bullet sizers. Woulda been cheaper.

    The sized soapy bullets are rinsed off in a strainer in the sink with the hottest tap water. Dry in pre-heated oven 200degrees for 5 minutes.

    I think too many folk use cheap dies that size too far down, expand too much and then Taper Crimp way too much.

    Get a quality made set of dies, and use brass you buy in one lot and keep it together.
    Range brass is a crapshoot.

    9mmLuger needs a bit more attention then other cases.
    The Tapered case needs somewhat different......Care.
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  9. #49
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by Motor View Post
    14 BHN should be plenty enough especially with powder coating. After I started powder coating I found I could use 12 BHN and can actually size some boolits (the 102gr Lee) .356" and get very good results.

    I typically run the 125s through the .358" die. I actually use them in 38spl loads as well.

    I get good accuracy and never get key holes. This is with various pistols but no XDs.

    Motor
    There is an LASC test where they had a variety of users use a hardness tester then compared the results. Maybe in Industry they call that an "R&R test or some such ?? Different users use the same tool and measure the same test parts, then they compare the results. Most users could get a consistent number (decent ES) but not all users got the same average value. 14.3 seems a little high for COWW/Indoor range scrap 50:50.

    But as the article points out as out if I find that 14.3 works for an application then blend another batch and it measures 14.3 as far as toughness goes it should work for me too.

    http://www.lasc.us/Shay-BHN-Tester-Experiment.htm

    These are not laboratory grade pieces of equipment; no one should think they are, no one could afford them if they were. What is important with these testers is consistency. It doesn't really matter if a lab tested piece of lead is 20 BHN and your tester says it's 18 BHN and someone else’s says 22. What is important for your handloads is that your tester ALWAYS says 18 BHN plus or minus about 1 BHN and the other guys always says 22 plus/minus 1. That's close enough for you to keep accurate notes and use it to assemble very consistent ammo from batch to batch.
    The 9x19 pistol I am working with is a CCW gun, doubtful that I put an optic on it BUT if I am still kicking in 10 years and optics get better and smaller as they probably will, we will see .

    Looks like the PCC shoots pretty decent .

    I have a batch of the 356-125-2R cast and PC, need sized, loaded, and tested...they were cooked at 400-405 for 30 minutes.

    Bill
    Both ends WHAT a player

  10. #50
    Boolit Buddy M.A.D's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Willbird View Post
    Alrighty I got an AR15 put together in 9mm. Friend gifted me a 3" Orion barrel which has 1:10 twist, have not slugged it yet. I put a 3X nikon P223 scope on it just to get an idea how the whole rig shoots. At 25 yards with Federal 115 grain it seems to group 2" or under. It is REALLY windy here today with some aggressive gusts . This shooting today is from as benchrest a position as you can get out of this rig. I'm using Mean Endomags which are a 9mm conversion assembly that fits inside a 5.56 MagPul Pmag. Not that it matters a whole lot but I have a Brownells branded bolt in there and a Brownells branded 9mm buffer.



    I backed up to 75 yards and shot a group with the Federal 115 grain that was not terrible, probably all on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, then I shot a 10 round group with the Lee 120 TC bullet that was PC with TIGER DRYLAQ Gentian Blue baked at 400F-405F for 25 minutes in convection Oster toaster oven.

    Load is 4.0 Alliant Sport Pistol, WW small Pistol Primer, taper crimped to remove flare only.


    10 shot group at 75 yards, 7-3/4" for 10 rounds 6" for the best 9 of ten .

    I'm pretty happy with that for first recipe out of the bag really, the 120 TC may not be the best feeding combination in this gun.
    What magazines does that baby take?

  11. #51
    Boolit Master

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    https://www.meanarms.com/products/detail/endomag-9mm

    These ones here......I like that one can use them in a 5.56 lower without any messing around really. They do have a few features unique to them...the ejector is part of the magazine so to unload there is a specific way to do it. CMMG makes an upper that has an ejector included and Mean will make endomag to work with it.

    Bill
    Last edited by Willbird; 05-04-2019 at 10:15 AM.
    Both ends WHAT a player

  12. #52
    Boolit Master

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    Loaded and fired 30 rounds each of the 356-125-2R PC and sized .358. 30 were Tiger Drylac Gentian Blue and 30 were Smoke Bacon Grease. All 60 hit point forward at 25 yards. The barrel had aprox 120 rounds fired by that time, was picking up just a little lead in the throat...the prior rounds had been the Lee 120 TC bullets.

    Need to try sizing to .357 too. I'm getting materials around to make a barrel nut based machine rest for the AR15 9mm pistol. The fixture will replace the barrel nut and hold the gun into a steel angle plate sled. Will use a rifle scope mounted on the sled and free recoil....sled will be pretty heavy.

    Bill
    Both ends WHAT a player

  13. #53
    Boolit Buddy Tmaloy's Avatar
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    I have great success using the NOE expanders. I deprime, clean, and then size on my RCII. I use the NOE expanders in station one of my Dillon 550 set them and load as normal. Minimal bell on the brass using the powder station. I use the Lee 120 TC Lee 160 RN and Mihec 125 RN boolits all powder coated. I use sorted once fired brass for case consistency. Final check with EGW ammo checker.

    Sometimes I size at .356 but my usual is .357 using my old Star sizer with NOE adapter and size dies.

    Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

  14. #54
    Boolit Master

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    I need to go back and double check that I’m expanding deep enough for the 2R bullet, it seats deeper than the TC bullet.

    Bill
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  15. #55
    Boolit Buddy Tmaloy's Avatar
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    I have a Colt style AR9 build. Been flawless since I fired it day one. I found the lighter weight boolits would be snappy. When I used the Lee 150 PC bullets, it feels like a BB gun.

  16. #56
    Boolit Master rsrocket1's Avatar
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    Interesting. I shoot the TL version of the bullet and it has never given me a problem in any of my guns.
    92fs, Shield 9, XD9, M&P 9 and the barrels are quite different. The 92fs is 0.356", and the Smith's are 0.3545"
    I use the Lee powder through expansion die to just barely bell the case mouth so that the bullet will sit straight in the case without any help.
    Then I use a taper crimp die to just barely kiss the top of the case to bring it vertical or just barely inward.



    My results are dependent on how I'm shooting that day and not the gun. Here are some targets shot standing with 2 hands emptying out a mag in about 20 seconds apiece.



    I also cast, PC and shoot the Lee 356-120-TC and it performs just as well. There's no reason I needed both molds, just bored I guess.

  17. #57
    Boolit Grand Master fredj338's Avatar
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    I hear all this doom & glom about 9mm but I just don't have any issues. I load on an old set of RCBS dies with MBF powder funnel in my 650. My best loads will do 2" @ 25y all day from a couple of diff guns, lubed lead, PC or HT. Most of my alloy is range scrap sweetened with some clip ww alloy & water dropped out of the PC/HT oven. I size to 0.357" for all my stock guns. FWIW, never found that particular lee mold very accurate.
    BTW, when posting target info, without the distance, groups size doesn't mean much.
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  18. #58
    Boolit Buddy
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    For anybody else using a Dillon but don't have the resources to make your own replacement powder funnel, a member here, Lathesmith, can make you a replacement Dillon powder funnel to your specs.

    I had him make up a powder funnel with an M die style step for my 9mm setup and it works beautifully. I size my 9s to .358 and I get no swaging in seating and good neck tension. I liked them so much I had him make me a powder funnel for 38, 45acp and 300 blackout

  19. #59
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by asmith80 View Post
    For anybody else using a Dillon but don't have the resources to make your own replacement powder funnel, a member here, Lathesmith, can make you a replacement Dillon powder funnel to your specs.

    I had him make up a powder funnel with an M die style step for my 9mm setup and it works beautifully. I size my 9s to .358 and I get no swaging in seating and good neck tension. I liked them so much I had him make me a powder funnel for 38, 45acp and 300 blackout
    Definitely worth it .....A quick check of my other calibers showed the same kind of "hey lets expand the case neck with the bullets" school of design going on .

    Bill
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  20. #60
    Boolit Master nueces5's Avatar
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    I've been using the Lathesmith expander for a month and I have no complaints, now my 9mm works.

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BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
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