Cast 9MM keyholing

[tazman]

That small dimension you found on the base of the boolit will be you problem almost certainly. I hope the new expander takes care of your problem.

[whisler]

I think you will do better with 38 S&W rather than 38 Special expander. At least that is what I had success with.

[toallmy]

I think you will do better with 38 S&W rather than 38 Special expander. At least that is what I had success with.

Definitely the ' 38 Smith & Wesson expander ' not the 38 Special .
I believe you mentioned you are using the lee 9 mm powder through expander die now if so all you need to order is the 38 SMITH & WESSON powder through expander insert to replace the one in the die now .
The part is available at Titan Reloading a vendor sponsor at the top of the page # SE 1699 .

[fredj338]

Hi guys so tomorrow I will cast about 50 bullets, I will check the size without powder coat and then after powder coat. I may do a second powder coat to see if I can get the bullet to .358. I will load some light loads starting at 3.6 then to 3.8. Also will pull a bullet before to see if the brass is sizing down my bullet.

Just curious why you are so intent on using the TL design? It isn't the best for PC, a single groove or no groove bullet will give better results. My time is worth something to me so for the cost of the Lee mold, just move on.

[Victor N TN]

There's a LOT of good information in this thread. First I would size the bullets 0.0015" to 0.002" over size. Then ad just a bit more powder. But read all the rest of the thread first.

[ivanfern]

So I have great news, received my expander plug and it expands a lot deeper into the 9mm case and it leaves the inside of the case at .355 to .358. I seated a cast bullet and pulled it and the bullet base was still holding .356 and .357. Going to load up 15 rounds each with the lowest charge, 15 round mid-charge and then 15 rounds full charge. Hopefully this fixes this issue.

[Buck Butcher]

I’m sure you don’t want to hear this, but the 38 special expander is not what you want.

Call lee again, and get the .38 Smith and Wesson expander stem.

You may or may not be able to keep from swaging your boolit with the 38 special expander. I’m thinking you will be happier with the 38s&w expander in the long run. What’s a few more days?

You’re getting closer each time. Keep after it.

B B

[ivanfern]

I ordered the .38 smith and Wesson expander stem. Its a bit longer than the .38 special.

[ivanfern]

Went to the range and I am still receiving a lot of keyholes bullets. The diameter of the bullet is staying true after I load it into the case. Tried several powder charges and made no difference, I am thinking that I need a different mold. Any suggestions? I am desperate at this point to find a bullet that works

[Outpost75]

Have you assembled any dummys with .358" bullets to see if they would chamber?

Many wartime 9mm barrels are oversized. Load the largest bullet diameter which chambers without resistance.

[tazman]

Went to the range and I am still receiving a lot of keyholes bullets. The diameter of the bullet is staying true after I load it into the case. Tried several powder charges and made no difference, I am thinking that I need a different mold. Any suggestions? I am desperate at this point to find a bullet that works

The Lee 356-120-tc standard lube groove , the Lee 356-125-rn standard lube groove, Lyman 356402, any of the NOE 120-135 grain standard lube groove boolits for 9mm. I have had excellent results from all the molds I mentioned. I don't have any experience with other brands.

[toallmy]

At this point I would try a different cast boolit , just so I could enjoy shooting again . I wholeheartedly believe you could probably get that boolit to shoot , but life is to short to stress over it , unless you're just enjoying the challenge .

[waksupi]

If a bullet is keyholing, it is undersize.

[Valornor]

Psh, some companies spend lots of R&D to produce rifles that keyhole, and call it a “Reformation”

You might onto something here


Check out my website www.theballisticassistant.com

[fredj338]

I have heard far oo many stories of the TL designs not being very accurate in certain calibers. I would go with a conventional lube groove bullet. If you like Lee molds, their 120gr TC is very good. If you want a Rn, the 125gr should work too. For whatever reason Lee has chosen to ignore the 147gr/9mm guys out there, but their 150gr 38 RN will work.

[Finn45Colt]

My CZ p10c likes 50/50 pure lead/ WW .357 PCed NOE 135 FP , Geko shells expanded with NOE .358 expander, Win SP primers VV N310 2,6 gr. Load is mildest that do works feeding ammo. Velocity is well under 800fps, have to chrono it next time. Next plan is test how fast it can be pushed.
Shoots fine and it is my very FIRST 9MM Load
Been reading all info here at CastBoolits and followed them trough casting and loading process.
Thanks to all members

[ivanfern]

So I have some great news finally. I used Wheel weight lead and casted 50 bullets with the lee 124gn mold. I powder coated them and they were around .358. I loaded them a lot softer charge this time and it made a huge difference. Previously I was loading 3.8gn to 4.1 gns. I read a lyman manual that called for 3.3gn of titegroup for cast so I did just that. I loaded 15 rounds of 3.3gns, 3.5 gns and 3.8 gns. The 3.8 keyholed most of the time. the 3.5 and 3.3 gave me no keyholes at all. I was pushing these bullets too fast. I grouped them off the bench and at 7 yards I had a 3inch group even with my shaky hands. All 3 of my 9mm guns cycled it perfectly with no problems and all shot straight. I will now begin to work a load with the lighter charges but I am very happy about the outcome.

[Valornor]

Interesting, I never would have guessed that to be the culprit. Thanks for sharing the results.


Check out my website www.theballisticassistant.com

[tazman]

You might try water quenching them from the oven after powder coating in order to harden them. That should help them withstand the higher powder charges. It might give the boolit enough strength to withstand the extra push.
That particular boolit doesn't have the surface area on the drive bands that a standard lube groove boolit does. At higher pressures, it tends to shear off lead where the rifling should grip.
In lower pressured cartridges, such as 38 special and 45ACP, that style of boolit works fine.

[toallmy]

Good job