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Thread: 9mm diameter question

  1. #1
    Boolit Man Apple Man's Avatar
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    9mm diameter question

    I am after a 9mm mold. After just getting a MP brass mold I am sold on this company.

    The one I desire is the MP 8 cavity 135 gr. flat base but it is out of stock in .357 diameter (will be sized to ..356) . It is available in .358


    So I have two questions:
    1. Is .002" too much to size down for 9mm use.
    2. Would this be also useable in 38 special which I normally size to .358. The sizer wouldn't do anything but would lube the bullet.

    A final thing, any idea how long it is before MP replenishes their inventory?

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    A mold sold as 0.358" may cast 0.002" over 0358".

    For many 9mm guns, 0.358" is just right as a sized diameter.

    Sizing even 0.360" down to 0.356" should be no problem.

    Use in a 38 Sp looks to be a "no brainer".

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    Important to cast chamber and origin of rifling and to also slug barrel. All three of my Beretta 9mm pistols are .357-.358 groove, but chambers run tight so that it is absolutely necessary to select brass and plunk test rounds.
    The ENEMY is listening.
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  4. #4
    Boolit Man Apple Man's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Outpost75 View Post
    Important to cast chamber and origin of rifling and to also slug barrel. All three of my Beretta 9mm pistols are .357-.358 groove, but chambers run tight so that it is absolutely necessary to select brass and plunk test rounds.
    I understand the importance of slugging barrels. But loading 9mm is new to me and these will be used in a Rock Island Pro Ultra Match, Browning Hi Power, a Hi power knock off and a Glock 17. ( my cast boolits have worked just fine in Glocks in 40 S&W and 45ACP with no barrel leading or kaboom yet.) Slugging all of these barrels seems like a lot of effort.

  5. #5
    Boolit Man Apple Man's Avatar
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    BTW, I have loaded 38 special and 357 mags for decades and size to .358.

    Would you get a .357 sizer for the 9mm?

  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Apple Man View Post
    I understand the importance of slugging barrels. But loading 9mm is new to me and these will be used in a Rock Island Pro Ultra Match, Browning Hi Power, a Hi power knock off and a Glock 17. ( my cast boolits have worked just fine in Glocks in 40 S&W and 45ACP with no barrel leading or kaboom yet.) Slugging all of these barrels seems like a lot of effort.
    Outpost75 is indicating that since 9mm is a tapered case, if you size to .358, the thickness of the case wall is very important. If you choose thickwalled brass, it will not chamber. So, if you do need to go to .358, make sure to find a brand of brass and use it. I know for me, I only use Blazer for 9mm since I also size to .358.

    45ACP is a breeze compared to 9mm for cast. (IMHO)

    There is a long thread on this site about loading 9mm and things to watch for...but I can't find it at the moment.
    My straightshooter posts: https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...raight-shooter
    https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...RAIGHT-SHOOTER
    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...raight-shooter

    Some people have reached out to me directly to put specific brass packages together regarding specific headstamps. Feel free to ask.

  7. #7
    Boolit Man Apple Man's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ddeck22 View Post
    Outpost75 is indicating that since 9mm is a tapered case, if you size to .358, the thickness of the case wall is very important. If you choose thickwalled brass, it will not chamber. So, if you do need to go to .358, make sure to find a brand of brass and use it. I know for me, I only use Blazer for 9mm since I also size to .358.

    45ACP is a breeze compared to 9mm for cast. (IMHO)

    There is a long thread on this site about loading 9mm and things to watch for...but I can't find it at the moment.
    Thanks, that is the type of thing I need to know. Was not aware it was tapered.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    This is probably the sticky that is being suggested.

    https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...s-in-a-new-9mm

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    You need to slug your barrel to see what da is best for your bullets to sized to.

    I have a Walther PPQ SF which slugs at .357" so I size to .359" and adjust the OAL to pass the plunk test and make sure your loading dies are not swagging the bullet to be undersize after loading.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master LAH's Avatar
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    I simply size the bullet as large as I can & still chamber, thus the plunk test. My S&W MPs will chamber nothing larger than .357 while the CZ75 has no problem with .358.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master Half Dog's Avatar
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    I size my bullets 0.358” That caused a chambering issue but I sent the barrel to a member and he opened the chamber to accept the rounds.
    The sooner I fall behind...the more time I have to catch up with

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Apple Man View Post
    I understand the importance of slugging barrels. But loading 9mm is new to me and these will be used in a Rock Island Pro Ultra Match, Browning Hi Power, a Hi power knock off and a Glock 17. ( my cast boolits have worked just fine in Glocks in 40 S&W and 45ACP with no barrel leading or kaboom yet.) Slugging all of these barrels seems like a lot of effort.
    Quote Originally Posted by Apple Man View Post
    BTW, I have loaded 38 special and 357 mags for decades and size to .358.
    Would you get a .357 sizer for the 9mm?
    My experience/opinion addresses both of these comments.
    I size all my 9mm boolits with a .357 lubesize die. I've had several 9mm guns over the years and .357 always works...EXCEPT...
    Many years ago, I borrowed my buddy's 1980s vintage Browning Hi Power (9mm). It had a tight chamber and wouldn't accept my handloaded ammo with .357 sized boolits. But worked fine with .356 size.
    I don't start investigating (slugging and such) until I have a issue...But I do make dummy rounds for plunk test anytime a new gun or new boolit mold is used.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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  13. #13
    Boolit Man Apple Man's Avatar
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    Wow, this has been enlightening. Sure glad the mold I was going to order was not in stock as it most likely would have been too small.

    I had no idea the 9mm was a "problem child" as far as getting to work with cast bullets.

    I just found this article regarding shape of boolits from most of the mold makers. It turns out many have copied the dimensions of jacketed boolits and that does not translate into a workable design for cast.

    https://castbulletassoc.org/blog/art...-the-9mm-luger

  14. #14
    Boolit Man Apple Man's Avatar
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    So in reality, the dimensions of conventional 38 special boolits and sizers, (.358) aren't too far from what is needed?

    Looks like the barrel of one of the guns could be slugged with a 38 boolit which I have LOTS Click image for larger version. 

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    Last edited by Apple Man; 04-12-2024 at 10:59 AM. Reason: Wrong pic

  15. #15
    Boolit Master 243winxb's Avatar
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    9mm Luger diameter.

    Bullet as cast diameter changes with the alloy used. More antimony, larger, lighter bullets. For 9mm, i size to .356" + https://www.thehighroad.org/index.ph...ger.317/page-2

    This bullet can be used in 9mm & 38,357 when sized correctly.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Apple Man View Post
    I am after a 9mm mold. After just getting a MP brass mold I am sold on this company.

    The one I desire is the MP 8 cavity 135 gr. flat base but it is out of stock in .357 diameter (will be sized to ..356) . It is available in .358


    So I have two questions:
    1. Is .002" too much to size down for 9mm use.
    2. Would this be also useable in 38 special which I normally size to .358. The sizer wouldn't do anything but would lube the bullet.

    A final thing, any idea how long it is before MP replenishes their inventory?
    Good question.
    I shoot/load both 9mm and 38/357.
    I don't cast but buy coated bullets, all at 0.358" diameter and use Lee push thru sizing dies when needed.
    The plunk test will quickly identify a tight chambered 9mm barrel and thick-walled cases that will require further bullet sizing.
    Using the same head-stamped cases/same wall thickness will make loading go quick without plunking every round.
    The plunk test saves a lot of measuring case wall thickness, barrel slugging, is simple to do.

    Stocking just one diameter bullet of different weights and shapes that I can size to suit has greatly reduced my on-hand inventory.

    I also use a 38 S&W expander when loading 9mm, so the bullets don't get swaged down by the case while seating.
    Some may question my methods, but the target is the ultimate answer for me.
    jmo,
    .
    Last edited by Kenstone; 04-12-2024 at 07:43 PM.
    Size/Prime a few cases when starting off with a progressive and put them aside. You can plug them back into the process when a bad/odd case screws up in the priming station and continue loading.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by ddeck22 View Post
    Outpost75 is indicating that since 9mm is a tapered case, if you size to .358, the thickness of the case wall is very important. If you choose thickwalled brass, it will not chamber. So, if you do need to go to .358, make sure to find a brand of brass and use it. I know for me, I only use Blazer for 9mm since I also size to .358.

    45ACP is a breeze compared to 9mm for cast. (IMHO)

    There is a long thread on this site about loading 9mm and things to watch for...but I can't find it at the moment.
    I can second this. I size 9mm bullets to .357". To ensure that these chamber in all the 9mm guns I load for, I sort for FC, Speer, and Blazer headstamps. They are thin. RP and CBC are on the other end of the spectrum in 9mm.
    Last edited by Taterhead; 04-12-2024 at 06:08 PM. Reason: Corrected typo in bullet diameter.
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  18. #18
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    JonB_in_Glencoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Apple Man View Post
    Wow, this has been enlightening. Sure glad the mold I was going to order was not in stock as it most likely would have been too small.
    I had no idea the 9mm was a "problem child" as far as getting to work with cast bullets.

    >>>SNIP
    If you happen to have been thinking of Lee's 356-120-TC like the one in 243winxb's photo, which is a favorite one of mine for 9mm, you'll learn that not only some 9mm guns are a problem child, but also some Lee molds are problem child. My first 356-120-TC mold was a two cavity and the mold would drop boolits that measure .358 and my guns really liked it. So I ordered a 6 cavity mold of same design, and it dropped boolits that measured small (.355") I was not happy, nor were my guns. A year later, I ordered another Lee 356-120-TC 6 cavity mold, and it drops boolits that measure .360" and I like it alot.

    I hope this info gives you a little perspective.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

  19. #19
    Boolit Man Apple Man's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JonB_in_Glencoe View Post
    If you happen to have been thinking of Lee's 356-120-TC like the one in 243winxb's photo, which is a favorite one of mine for 9mm, you'll learn that not only some 9mm guns are a problem child, but also some Lee molds are problem child. My first 356-120-TC mold was a two cavity and the mold would drop boolits that measure .358 and my guns really liked it. So I ordered a 6 cavity mold of same design, and it dropped boolits that measured small (.355") I was not happy, nor were my guns. A year later, I ordered another Lee 356-120-TC 6 cavity mold, and it drops boolits that measure .360" and I like it alot.

    I hope this info gives you a little perspective.
    After getting one brass mold from MP, it is pretty hard to look at Lee again although they work and are cheap.

    Future molds for me will be from MP.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master 243winxb's Avatar
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    The question to ask mold makers is........

    "What alloy is used to regulate the molds?

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