9mm 1 ROUND FOR 2 GUNS ?s

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

i got my 356-120TC with standard lube groove mold friday

cast up a bunch saturday they drop at .360 to .361

slugged 2 9mm barrels

older S&W 39-2 is .354 x .346

new ruger lc9 is .357 x .348

no i didn't use a micrometer my dial calipers will just have to do for now.

how do i load one round that will shoot in both

the ruger will chamber a unsized boolit just fine with a OAL of 1.100 that is just enough to cover the hole lube groove just barley and it doesn't seem like it is holding the bullet the way it should at that length, book calls for an even longer OAL

the s&w 39-2 however needs a oal of 1.050 to feed at all

seating to 1.030 gets the ogive to the rim



the only way to know if i am going to get leading is to try , but i pulled some boolits and they were .357 where they were sized into the case with any part not in the case at .360



the book puts a charge of 6.0gr starting for a 125gr bullet in power pistol but it puts min oal much longer

i am thinking that the weight distribution design of the TC can get by with a much shorter OAL


a little searching here and i find reference to 5.0gr of power pistol with a seating depth of 1.030

what do you all seat them to?

any other power pistol users ?

time and trying will tell if i can find one load that will work for both
so far the S&W seems to be questionable with the truncated cone shape it goes in at a fairy steep angle and i can see where some times the nose catches on the lip where the brass is supposed to rest against

i did fins a use for the factory crimp die , it squeezes them down to a .356 and helps the feeding issue in the S&W 39-2

it seems S&W made the 39-2 to the .355 spec when no one else did


i made up some 1.030 rounds with 5gr power pistol , and the LC9 chews right thru them , one magazine isn't going to tell me if i have leading for sure but so far it looks promising

no accuracy testing yet , these were fired into the test backstop in the basement.

[MtGun44]

Power pistol seems like about the right speed, should work well. The Lee FC die squeezing
down the rounds is often a serious problem.

I leave about 1/16" of full diam out of the case with the Lee 356-120 TC.

Are you taper crimping? This is a critical step in semiauto ammo. Seems like your expander
is so small as to have your .360 boolits sized to .357 by seating in the brass, then you size
this down even further with the silly FC die. If you get these diameters of delivered boolits
to work, more power to you. Sounds like potential problems with accy and leading may
be in your future, but you will not know until you try.

Good luck.

Have you read the sticky on "Setting up for a New 9mm" ? It is in the stickies in the front
of this section.

Bill

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

i don't use the factory crimp die, i tried it on a few rounds that wouldn't chamber in the s&w

but mostly i don't use it , on most of my turrets i take it out and put it back in the box

i don't have a taper crimp die yet , my 40 works fine without it , on the .40 i run sizing die , universal expander , powder thru , then seating die , the seating die straitens out the bell on the 40

on the 9mm the seating die doesn't seem to always get the last lip of the bell , i did back off on the powder thru expander a bit and think i may have found the sweet spot , just enough bell that it doesn't shave but not so much that it leaves a lip i made up 16 rounds last night that had the nice kerplunk in the s&w barrel i need to test them for actual function yet.

i have read the the "setting up for a new 9mm" actually if i search for 356-120 or 358-125 i have read every post they come up in

they stay in the case till the 4th good whack with an impact

loading for either gun is no problem , loading 1 round for both guns is a bit more of a challenge

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

i think if i sized to .356 or .357 the smith would be very happy

sizing to .358 might very well make them both happy

taper crimping might also make 39-2 completely happy

does any one make custom plugs for the lee universal expander , it seems like it would be very easy to make , if i still had access to a lathe i could turn one out in little time

it may come down to making a round for each gun , that isn't so bad

either way i used up my budget for this month already buying molds so i will see what i can do and order a sizer, m die and taper crimp die later



?on the taper crimp die , i assume it is a post seating die, and can't be used as the seating die , i am also trying to figure out what steps i NEED to take to make this work , the fewer the unnecessary steps the less i need to spend to make it work , my budget is small.


i an certain from reading the "setting up for a 9mm" that if i ran size , then m-die to expand , then powder then seat and finish with a taper crimp , but then i have to figure out what to do with the 5th die

i think i saw a powder thru M die , i will have to look for that again

[Char-Gar]

I have a 120 grain NEI mold that works like a champ in every 9mm pistol I have tried it in. The pistols have groove diameters than run .354 to .357.

Walther P-38
DWM P-08
Browning High Power
Smith and Wesson 59
Sig P239

I load the bullet with just enough bullet body/shoulder exposed to get a good taper crimp on the round. With my bullet that comes to s LOA of 1.070. The bullet is sized .358. The charge is 5.7/AA5. It gives 100% function in all pistols with very good accuracy.

I don't find loading the round to be a problem. I size and expand the case mouth with RCBS dies. I then seat with the RCBS seating die, making certain the round is not crimped. I then taper crimp in a separate operation with an RCBS Taper Crimp die. No fuss..no muss.

[bobthenailer]

Ive had good results with Power Pistol in the 9mm with the Saeco # 377- 122 gr tc bullet.
Im using 4.5 gr of PP , with the bullet seated to a COL of 1.055 and a light taper crimp.
I use .357 dia cast bullets in all of my 9mm's & 38 supers even if the bore measures .355 to .355.5
dia as that is the most accurate dia cast bullet in my guns , ive tried .356 / .357 / .358 dia bullets

[Larry Gibson]

I've been sizing that very bullet to .358 (lube with BAC or Javeliana) and using it over 4 gr of Bullseye in 9mm for quite a few years now. I have used it in numerous handguns of all makes including Glocks and several subguns without a single problem with leading or accuracy.

Larry Gibson

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

i found my answer , the lee bullet seating die can be used to add a crimp , basicaly a taper crimp
reading page 76 of the Lee second edition explains it but , the my 9mm dies had come used already mounted in a turret , but they were set up for bullets , not boolits , i was less than a turn away from removing the lip at the top of the brass , i pulled a boolit , still big enough to keep the ruger from leading , but with the flare completely removed small enough to chamber in the s&w i was only about a half a turn a way

i had noticed my 40 S&W set up didn't leave that lip , the 40 s&w dies i purchased new and mounted them in the turret myself , the previous owner of th e9mm dies had never flared a case with the powder thru expander either , i had lowered that earlier to get a flare , but nothing like the way i open 40S&W up with the universal expander , yet my 40 would not have any flare left when the boolit was seated

[garym1a2]

I am just wondering if anyone tried super light loads of Bullseye in the 9mm Glock types with 120TC boolit. I am thinking in the 3gr or less range. Just a plinker to use with a light recoil spring in the gun.


I've been sizing that very bullet to .358 (lube with BAC or Javeliana) and using it over 4 gr of Bullseye in 9mm for quite a few years now. I have used it in numerous handguns of all makes including Glocks and several subguns without a single problem with leading or accuracy.

Larry Gibson

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I made up some light loads with 3.2gr of power pistol . that was as small as my auto disk will drop , it cycles the action on both guns and locks open

i actually tried 3.2gr power pistol in a 40s&w with a 170 gr tc it also cycled the action , very little recoil just the slide moving back and forth if you had to do a timed shoot it would be great you can rap off rounds very fast with no recoil to recover from.

[Radkins]

I am just wondering if anyone tried super light loads of Bullseye in the 9mm Glock types with 120TC boolit. I am thinking in the 3gr or less range. Just a plinker to use with a light recoil spring in the gun.

I use 3.2gr off Bullseye in my 9mm Taurus PT111. I tried 3gr but it would not cycle.

Ricky

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

i got out to properly test my load , the 3.2 gr power pistol worked in both guns , but the s&w had a few failure to feed 3 in 25 rounds so needs more work , the ruger had 1 and it was a bad spot on the rim

the light load is very comfortable to shoot even in the small gun , point of impact is a bit lower , just had to move from a 6 oclock hold to dissecting the target and then it was right there , actual good enough i felt i could probably shoot bunnies at 10-15 yards with no problem from the 3 inch barreled sub compact , i suppose it good for the bunnies in my garden that they are just inside the city limits

i also had some with 5 gr of powder , they also shot well , but i didn't have as many of them made up. so i didn't pay as good of attention but very close to the lighter load

no leading