RN or TC - advice needed

[NewGuy]

Looking to eventually cast and reload for a Argentine Hi-Power and a 1911. As my handle says, I am new at this whole reloading/casting thing. I am think ~124 grains for the Hi-Power and ~230 for the 1911. Which bullet style am I likely to have the best luck with? Round nose or truncated cone? Open to other options as well.

Thanks in advance!

[HeavyMetal]

First: welcome to the site! Lot of knowledge here as well as some differing opinions, which your question is about to show you.

For me 115 to 124 is just about right in a 9mm pistol. RN or TC doesn't matter but I went with a RN because it made the finished round the right length to feed correctly.

I use the Lee 6 banger mold for the 356 125-2r boolit.

For the 45 auto I dislike boolits that weigh more than 200 grain and find the 200 Grain copies of the old H&G 68 work as well as any and betteer than most. Once again Lee's 6 banger mold got the nod for this duty 452-200-SWC.

I dislike tumble lube and will suggest you try pan lubing before you go to a TL design or concept.

After you get a few cast and shot you can decide for yourself if you wish to continue pan lubing or move on to a sizer of some type.

I can't imagine I'll be the only advisor on this thread so I'll leave room for other to add thier 2 cents as well.

[shooterchris]

I prefer a 200 gr swc in my 1911s, and my 38 super likes the RN and the TC about the same. With the TC the bullet comes out of the magazine at a steep angle, and as it goes into the chamber it catches the edge of the flat point just a little and removes a small amount of lead. It does not affect the accuracy, but I don't have this problem with a round nose.

[blasternank]

Probably the easiest to feed into any gun is the round nose. Unless you need it for a specific reason I'd go with the Round Nose.

[bobthenailer]

have several 9mm's / 38 supers's / 45 acp's . i shoot rn /swc & tc nose profile from all with no problem but . IMO in 9mm & 38 super the best choice would be the TC nose profile they feed good and accuracy is usually better than a cast RN . In the 45 acp i would go with the H&G style 200 gr swc . almost every mould maker has there owen version.
I have also found in the 9mm & super i gotten better accuracy from bullets sized to 0.357 dia

[keyhole]

I use Lyman 356402 truncated cone in my S&W M39 9mm. It feeds them flawlessly. In .45 ACP Lyman 452374 ~230 gr. RN feeds fine in all my 45's. Accuracy of both bullet types is very acceptable. For me, "very acceptable" means staying in 3-4" circle offhand at 25 yds. if I do my part, which is not always the case.

[Cherokee]

I like the TC design for both. For 9 & 38 Super, I use Lyman 356402 and Lee 356120 TC, the Lee 356125 2R works fine too. For 45 ACP, I do use an NEI 210 gr SWC but primarily I use the Lee 452230 TC and an NEI 451233H TC. Any of these should work fine for your guns.

[NewGuy]

Thanks for all the replies. I am probably leaning toward RN especially for the 9mm. I will have to look into that H&G 68 style. It seems more than one shooter prefers the lighter boolit. Thanks again for the info.

[skeet1]

I have moulds for a Round Nose, a Truncated Cone and the lyman 452460 200 gr. SWC for my 1911. They all shoot very well but for just banging away like most of us do, I will shoot the 200 gr. SWC every time.

Ken

[bobthenailer]

IMO for the 9 mm or 38 super you should get better accuracy with the TC bullet design .
I have 4 moulds for the 9 & super and the rn is the least accurate of the 4 i have .
shot out of 3 - 9mms and 2 - 38 supers .

[CWME]

In the 45 I run the 200 gr SWC from Lee for most of my loads.

For 9MM I have both of the Lee offerings. The RN fits just fine in my Glock without sizing with a LW aftermarket barrel. However my Sig has a tight chamber and the TC fits unsized where the RN will not chamber. I haven't really tried firing for groups with either. Using the 9mm for defensive pistol practice and they are more than accurate enough for that purpose.