I have a Hi Power that is leading the barrel with Lyman 120 gr,truncated cone bullets. I am running them thru a .358 sizer but usually it just touches the high spots. My S&w 9mm's lead very little if at all with this bullet. I havent slugged the bores yet but am thinking the S&W's may have a smaller bore.Anyway does anybody have an idea what the current production hi powers groove diameter run?
Groove diameters on service pistols run about .357-.358. Or more. I've seen them as big as .360". A tight fitting, .001" oversized bullet is mandatory.
+1 to SuperMag's text. The 9mm and 40 S&W are more "rifle" calibers than "handgun" chamberings in the context of cast boolit usage. High pressures and fast twist rates require STRICT adherence to dimensional integrity between throat and boolit, and often a harder alloy than air-cooled wheelweights. My 9mm's and 40s get 92/6/2 alloy, while WW metal runs great in my 45 ACPs.
Once you establish your barrel's throat diameter, and size your boolits to match--DON'T spoil everything by using 9mm expander spuds to prep your brass for loading. Most 9mm spuds run .352"-.353", and if you seat a 92/6/2 alloy bullet sized at .357" into a case mouth sized that small it WILL REDUCE THE BOOLIT'S DIAMETER. So too will taper crimping--taper crimp dies are an invention of the devil, as far as cast boolits are concerned. JUST STRAIGHTEN THE FLARE OUT, DON'T CRANK A "CRIMP" DOWN--or you'll reduce boolit diameter for sure.
Once the pistol and its ammo are on the same dimensional sheet of music, the 9mm can be a surprisingly accurate and enjoyable cast boolit platform to play with. Neither 9mm or 40 S&W are forgiving "beginner calibers", like a 38 Special--but once you get a grip on their quirks, they are a ton of fun, and CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP TO RUN.
I don't paint bullets. I like Black Rifle Coffee. Sacred cows are always fair game. California is to the United States what Syria is to Russia and North Korea is to China/South Korea/Japan--a Hermit Kingdom detached from the real world and led by delusional maniacs, an economic and social basket case sustained by "foreign" aid so as to not lose military bases.
I size .358-.359 for my Smith 6906.
I have an oversized Lee 6 cavity if you are interested.
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8 in the 10 ring, then I get a PING. Love my Garand.
My sized boolits run .3575 to .359 thru my .358 sizer.I think I will have to cast up some pure lead and slug the Hi Power barrel.Also have to check the expander on my dies as mentioned.
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