Help a newbie pick a Lee 9mm mold

[wilit]

Total casting newb here. I've finally slugged both of my 9mm barrels and both come out at exactly .355. Now that I've finally got the slugging accomplished, I'm ready to buy a mold or two. I don't own a lubrisizer, and at this point I'm not sure it's in the budget for a while. For sizing, I will most likely go with a Lee sizer if it's needed.

So, of the 4 120gr-125gr molds Lee offers, what's a good one to start with?

[odfairfaxsub]

i really love my 124 gr tumble lube truncated cone sooo much. it shot a 15 shot group yesterday off hand the size of hand off hand at 25 yards. i was wondering why the group was so large as im used to it being the palm of my hand my dad was like uh roger your standing at 25 not 15. i was like damn right on!!! i even used em in my 38 special too. worked just fine. i size the 9mms to 357 and the 38 specials no size at all.

[Bullet Caster]

Howdy wilit and welcome to Cast Boolits.
I ordered the Lee 124 grain TL that drops 'em at .356. I do not size them and they work in my 9mm Hi-Point. After dropping them from the mould, I usually wait for a couple of weeks before I load 'em up and shoot 'em. This is a double cavity mould and makes really nice "pills" to shoot out of the 9mm. Hope this helps. BC

[MtGun44]

I have had excellent results with the Lee 356-120TC sized at .357 or .358 and lubed with
NRA 50-50 lube. Some have succeeded with tumble lube designs, but we have had many
come here asking for help after failure with tumble lubing in 9mm Para. TL seems to be a
marginal lube system that is not at it's best in the 9mm Para, which has proven to be a
demanding cartridge for boolits.
TL is attractive because you don't need a lubrisizer. Search on pan lubing and you will see
that this is also inexpensive and IME, a nicer process, and I believe, more likely to succeed
with fewer false starts.

Have you read this sticky? I may be helpful.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=121607

Bill

[MT Gianni]

I had a 9mm Lee tltc120 when i owned a Ruger P-89. I tried every recipe I could read of, and the best day I had with it was when I shipped it to an E-bay buyer. I could only group @ 5" @ 25 yards. I shoot OK with two Lyman molds 358242 and 356402. A 124 gr rn and a tc. I believe that you will be better served with their Lee copies than the TL IME.

[MtGun44]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=161&pictureid=2344

That's about as good as my P225/P6s can do with any ammo, including factory J-bullet
ammo.

My Browning HP, Beretta 92 and Walther P1(P38) shoot it very well indeed at .357 or .358
diameter. If you undersize the boolits, I doubt you will get any of them to shoot well in
most 9mm pistols.

Bill

[Shiloh]

The LEE 125 gr. RN is the only one that drops large enough to shoot.
The others I have tried are the LEE 124 gr. RNTL and the LEE 120 gr. TCTL.

They drop too small.

Shiloh

[Fishman]

I also use the Lee 125 gr RN and have only ever used tumble lube on them. They drop at .357 from my mould and have always worked fine in every gun I've tried them in. The round nose isn't that impressive to look at, but it feeds well and casts easy. I've shot them sized and unsized. With your groove diameter, you could probably skip the sizing.

I think the 125 rn may be more resistant to being sized down by the case when it is seated as compared to the tumble lube design. The tumble lube grooves are pretty small and logic would say that they would be easier to displace than solid lead and a single deep lube groove. Now, I haven't used a tumble lube version in the 9mm, and the tumble lube boolits I use in my .357 work great, but it is something to consider. As Mtgun44 pointed out earlier, the 9mm is kind of a pain to work with, especially if you are using mixed brass.

[Beerd]

Another option is the Lee 358-105 SWC.
Nice little bullet & cuts round holes in targets.
Pan lube & run thru a Lee sizer.
..

[thehouseproduct]

358-125-RF
http://www.titanreloading.com/image/cache/data/Products/90306-600x600.jpg
Big enough to size to what you need, plain base for easy lubing, works in 38 Special, feeds well in all my 9mm. I cast and size a huge batch and it works for lots of my guns.

[Forrest r]

Another vote for the Lee 125g rn bullet. I bought this mold years ago & have never looked back.

[Boolseye]

Well, I went with the TL356-124TC too, and I got it to work. At this point I like it quite a lot, but it took some doing to get the right load worked up (Accurate #5 and #7). I suppose this is a recommendation with the caveat that the 9mm is more challenging, in my experience, than other calibers with cast bullets.

The little 356-102 2R is a great little bullet for 9mm or .380. Buy two if it's going to be your only 9mm mold, and use them in series.

good luck, and be patient with the 9mm. You'll have success if you're methodical about it, hopefully.

Another option is the Lee 358-105 SWC.
Nice little bullet & cuts round holes in targets.
Pan lube & run thru a Lee sizer.
my next mold. I've heard naught but good on it.

[Shiloh]

Another option is the Lee 358-105 SWC.
Nice little bullet & cuts round holes in targets.
Pan lube & run thru a Lee sizer.
..

They don't feed well I have to smack the back of the slide. A stronger recoil spring may drive them home.

Shiloh

[runfiverun]

read posts number 4 and number 6 again.
i use a 125 rnfp [thats way more round and flatter than the one pictured] in my 9mm's sized to 358
it carries more lube than my 9mm boolit [magma] and pours big enough for me to size to 358.
i had no joy in the 9mm till i started using it.

[wilit]

Thanks for the advice everyone. It's been very helpful. My shipment should be delivered on Thursday. Can't wait to get started.