Anybody hand load 9mm Luger ?

[dragon813gt]

It's already been said but it needs said again, SLUG THAT BARREL! I've yet to see a 9mm barrel that actually measures .355

My Walther PPS is .3550
I use the same powders for cast as I do jacketed. W231/HP-38 for everything except 147grain. For that I use Universal. There are plenty of loads in the manuals and on the powder manufacturer's websites. Use that data instead of data posted by strangers on the Internet.



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[Ed in North Texas]

PS Paul,

You might try HS-6. It's slower than Unique or Green Dot. A medium load is very pleasant in the Parabellum.

I'm another one who appreciates that info. I've recently had to load for a P-08 and once more I unlearned things I learned a long time ago. I clearly remembered that back in my youth TC boolits were "the" boolit for the P-08. I don't load for my other 9mm pistols, but 147 gr HPs aren't exactly standard fare for the P-08, so I set forth to load for the Luger. Needless to say the TC was not what it wanted and feeding problems followed. Switched to Lee RN and it likes those. I'll give HS-6 a try as soon as I can get some.

Ed

[UBER7MM]

I'm another one who appreciates that info. I've recently had to load for a P-08 and once more I unlearned things I learned a long time ago. I clearly remembered that back in my youth TC boolits were "the" boolit for the P-08. I don't load for my other 9mm pistols, but 147 gr HPs aren't exactly standard fare for the P-08, so I set forth to load for the Luger. Needless to say the TC was not what it wanted and feeding problems followed. Switched to Lee RN and it likes those. I'll give HS-6 a try as soon as I can get some.

Ed

Funny that you'd mention that about feeding problems in the P-08. The angle of the magazine, grip and ramp tend to be incompatible with TC boolits. An expensive lesson in Lyman 356402 molds.

IMHO, for a cast target load, starting with published data, work HS-6 loads down in experimental batches until the load won't cycle the action. Then back up again a grain or two. IIRC, the end result was more than the published minimum in the test pistol, but not by much. Your results may vary.

Real pleasant and accurate combos, and the spent cases all land together. (Assuming you stay in the same place.)

Good shooting,

[oldreloader]

I load 125 and 147gr lead from Missouri Bullet Co,Friendswood Bullets, and ZCazt. I've loaded RN,TC,and SWC styles in 125 gr and FP in 147gr. Midrange loads with AA #5 & 7,Bullseye,and HP38 all work great.

[Shiloh]

9mm was the hardest caliber for me to get running. My experience is that most 9mm molds drop undersize. I have two that work, and they work very well.

I size to .358.
I use the LEE 125 gr. 2R and the LEE 125 gr. RF. Both give superb results.
The 125 gr RF works equally well in .38 and .357.

Shiloh

[Ed in North Texas]

Funny that you'd mention that about feeding problems in the P-08. The angle of the magazine, grip and ramp tend to be incompatible with TC boolits. An expensive lesson in Lyman 356402 molds.

IMHO, for a cast target load, starting with published data, work HS-6 loads down in experimental batches until the load won't cycle the action. Then back up again a grain or two. IIRC, the end result was more than the published minimum in the test pistol, but not by much. Your results may vary.

Real pleasant and accurate combos, and the spent cases all land together. (Assuming you stay in the same place.)

Good shooting,

Thanks for the added info. I guess my recollection (re: TC boolits) from 5+ decades ago wasn't so good. Speaking of good, good picture of the Grable shot for your Avatar, but isn't it reversed?. That particular M-65 resides on "Artillery Walk" at the Ft. Sill Museum.

Ed

[trapper9260]

I load and cast my own that is from lyman that are 120 and 125HP and 147 that I can also use in my 38spl and 357 .I have no problem with them I mix my own alloy .They are also PB .I use Unique

[bob208]

i have a rcbs 124 gr. tc bullet that i cast and use in my luger and browning hipower. also use that bullet in 9mm largo in a star and an astra. also feed them to a distoyer carbine.

[UBER7MM]

Ed,

You are correct. My avatar is the M-65 280mm cannon, "Atomic Annie" in the Nevada desert, May 25, 1953. 15 Kton blast. You are correct about the photo too, it's reversed.

It's my backup piece. Hard to conseal, though.....

[canyon-ghost]

I loaded 9mm with the Lyman Devastator, 125 grain bevel base and 3.2 grains of Bullseye. That's a light load because when fired in my TC Contender with a 1 in 12 twist it had about the same recoil as factory.

In the S&W 5906 with it's 1 in 18.35 twist, it's a very soft load. It didn't lead either.
A hollowpoint is almost worthless unless you go to pure lead, with wheelweight it doesnt expand.

It's said that the little case size causes 9mm to build pressure rapidly, this is a common caution in Speer #13. So, work up slowly and don't seat bullets too deeply.

Never had a problem with it.

Good Luck,
Ron

[FergusonTO35]

Sizing is everything in the 9. I find 357 works best in my Sig and two Rugers. Also, I've had the best luck with boolits having conventional lube grooves rather than tumble or surface lube. I use 5.6 grains Accurate #5 under a 125 grain flat point with excellent accuracy.

[Wally]

Sizing is everything in the 9. I find 357 works best in my Sig and two Rugers. Also, I've had the best luck with boolits having conventional lube grooves rather than tumble or surface lube. I use 5.6 grains Accurate #5 under a 125 grain flat point with excellent accuracy.

I tried an experiment in my Taurus 99AF that leads up very badly using cast bullets. The barrel slugs to .355" I've tried bullets sized top .357/.358/.359" at 1,000-1,100 FPS and it still leads up on me. I have used soft and hard alloy..makes no difference. Tried six different bullet types..makes no difference. Thankfully it is not difficult to clean out--using a brush coated with Chore Boy..a few passes and it is clean again. Lubes---used the 50/50 NRA Alox-Beeswax and others..makes no difference. Powders---Unique/HP-38/W-231/Red Dot/Bullseye..makes no difference. Bullets used are conventional lubed bullets. I also shoot the .45 ACP and found that TL bullets don't lead up any more than conventional ones.

Of course I shoot my 9mm anyway---after a few clip-fulls I push the brush/choreboy through it and all is well. I ahve also tried another barrel--made no difference.

[Hogokansatsukan]

Here was a test I did a couple of years back in regards to the 9mm and cast.

A comparative analysis of velocity of cast 9mm ammo from M9 and CX4.

I loaded up 50 rounds of each of these cartridges.



I decided to use the same alloy, same powder, same lube, etc. for the test. The rounds were loaded to pistol specs.

All rounds were cast from a special lead alloy mix, similar to wheel weight lead.
All rounds were sized to .356 and lubed with Thompsons Blue Angel Lube.
Lead hardness was around 14 bhn.
Starline brass, Winchester small pistol primers, and Power Pistol powder was used.
10 round strings were used for each load in both M9 and CX4.
Accuracy test to come later.


This load data proved safe in my guns. Don’t try this at home. I’m a professional. Here… hold my beer and watch this…

Lyman 2-Cavity Bullet Mold #356242 9mm (356 Diameter) 90 Grain Round Nose (92 grain actual)
7.8 grains Power Pistol
COL 1.050
M9 1325 fps standard dev 37 359 ft/lbs
CX4 1675 fps standard dev 42 573 ft/lbs
Gain of 350fps and 214 ft/lbs

Lee Bullet Mold TL358-100-RF (Ranch Dog Outdoors Custom) 102 grain actual
7.0 grains Power Pistol
COL 1.010
M9 1316 fps standard dev 17 392 ft/lbs
CX4 1647 fps standard dev 13 614 ft/lbs
Gain of 331fps and 222 ft/lbs

Lee Bullet Mold TL356-124-2R 9mm Luger (124 grain actual)
6.6 grains Power Pistol
COL 1.095
M9 1240 fps standard dev 17 423 ft/lbs
CX4 1483 fps standard dev 22 606 ft/lbs
Gain of 243fps and 183 ft/lbs

Lee Bullet Mold 356-125-2R 9mm Luger (128 grain actual)
6.4 grains Power Pistol
COL 1.169
M9 1244 fps standard dev 30 440 ft/lbs
CX4 1484 fps standard dev 9 626 ft/lbs
Gain of 240fps and 186 ft/lbs

Lyman 1-Cavity Bullet Mold #356637 9mm (356 Diameter) 124 Grain Devastator Hollow Point Bevel Base(132 grain actual)
6.0 grains Power Pistol
COL 1.09
M9 1167 fps standard dev 20 399 ft/lbs
CX4 1402 fps standard dev 21 576 ft/lbs
Gain of 235fps and 177 ft/lbs

Lyman 2-Cavity Bullet Mold #356637 9mm (356 Diameter) 147 Grain Flat Nose Bevel Base (154 grain actual)
5.2 grains Power Pistol
COL 1.150
M9 1023 fps standard dev 31 358 ft/lbs
CX4 1214 fps standard dev 18 504 ft/lbs
Gain of 191fps and 146 ft/lbs

After this testing, I had Accurate Molds make me this:





They drop at 125.6 grains. Then to add some fun to the mix, I checked them with Pat Marlins Checkmaker:



If you are not familiar with the checkmaker, it makes aluminum checks out of soda cans.



The total bullet weight with check and lube was 126.5 grains. The hardness of the lead was around 10 bhn, which is pretty soft for a 9mm and would normally lead a barrel badly, especially in the CX4 carbine.

I loaded 300 to test and hit the desert with my chrono, CX4, and PX4 SC.

I fired 50 rounds through the PX4. Accuracy was very good and the barrel had no lead in it at all. This pistol usually leaded badly even with hard lead as the barrel was never worn in with jacket nor was if fire lapped.

Now, the CX4, which with hard lead, got very little leading unless one was rapid firing and heating the barrel up good, got the other 250 rounds. The first 50 were a test of the bullets accuracy. They were some of the most accurate I have shot. The next 150 could only be considered a gross waste of ammunitions, as they were fired with 35 round magazines of which I have 6. They were rapid fire, and it only took a couple of minutes to spray the hill down, heating up the CX4 barrel to a good egg-cooking temp. The next 50 were then fired for accuracy. Accuracy had not changed. I field stripped and cleaned the CX4 and there was no lead in the barrel. These checks worked like a charm.

The chrono results were as follows:

CX4:
1455 fps 597 ft/lbs
Standard deviation was 18

PX4 SC
1076 fps 327 ft/lbs
Standard deviation was 7

I'm guessing they should run about 1225 fps out of a 5 inch M9.

Not being content to just let things go as they were, I had to fix what was not broken. I figured that the Freechex III would make checks a lot faster, so that involved yet another mold from Accurate Molds: 35-125s, which has a very large meplat for a 9mm of .28. This mold was for a .357 sig. I make the checks for this bullet out of litho plate, and it is fast.

The feed just fine through my M9, CX4, P89, but my 9mm Taurus PT1911 has some issues feeding them one in awhile.

This load is 6.4 Power Pistol, Win SPM primer, and assorted brass.
velocity:
M9 1247 fps
CS4 1493 fps

[superior]

My wife out-shot everyone in her CHL class, shooting the rounds I made for her. They were Lee TL124's over a moderate charge of Bullseye. After a classmate complained, the lady instructor made her finish the course with factory 147's. She had never seen Lee liquid alox on a boolit and thought they may not have been "safe" lol. The factory stuff was nowhere near as accurate. I've put several thousand cast rounds through my wife's pistolwith teriffic results. The Mrs. has since placed an order for more ammo and I'm looking forward to filling it.

The pistol is a Glock19.

[GaCop]

I get good results with 5 grains of Unique pushing a 125 gr lead RN. Velocity is averaging 1065fps on my chronograph.

[bruce drake]

Mixed cases with CCI SP primers loaded with 4.4gr of Unique and with a 126gr Lead RN (LEE RN Mold sized to 0.356) gave me 1102fps out of my FEG Hi-Power pistol with no leading.

[smkummer]

3.9-4.2 grains 700X with Lee's 125 TL RN bullet sized .356 in both my B92F and Colt All American. If my Lee power measure would accurately meter the charge I could rely on the 3.9 charge but it doesn't so I have to use the disk that says it drops 4.2 gains. Very little leading but some smoke with the Lee liquid lube. Wheel weight bullets are water dropped. My buddies glock shot them fine also with no leading at all.

I feel most 9mm handguns are easy ( I have never loaded for a Luger though) compaired to open bolt 9mm submachineguns. Now thats a challenge if you don't want leading.

[wcp4570]

I've loaded a very large number of the Lee 120tc sized .356 this year to ring steel at steel challenge and IDPA. Cast from ww and water dropped over 4.0gr Bullseye and 3.8gr titegroup. Both loads yield just under 1100fps. I did have leading at first until I got the size correct. the Dillon 650 wears the 9mm setup more than any other.

wcp

[jburris2001]

im gettin ready to load my first 9mm's. I have 124gn rn tumble lube. what would be a good powder to start with. Im thinking of going with 231/hp38. am going to pick some powder up tomorrow. whats everyones input

[ROGER4314]

I load cast bullets in 9x19, 9x18 Makarov and .380ACP and use Bullseye in all of them. There's nothing special about loading for any of the cartridges except that the Makarov uses a different bullet diameter. It's about .010" or so larger in diameter. I use the middle point of the Lyman reloading manual loads. The Lyman manual is the most conservative of the 19 or so manuals that I own.

I use 115 grain bullets in the 9x19.

Bullseye is a fast powder and smokes a bit more than it used to but when your loads require just 3-4 grains of powder, it lasts forever!

Flash