LEE 358-125-RF for 38spl & 9mm

[rp85]

hello;

not looking for speed, just accuracy and reduced recoil.

anyone use the lee 358-125rf for their 38 special???? good, bad, indifferent????

anyone use the lee 358-125rf for their 9mm???? good, bad, indifferent???? any feeding or ejection issues????

thanks for any input.

rp

[dsol]

I have just started asking myself the same question, looking at one for .38 spl plinking and feeding a couple of 9mm carbines. I hope some good info comes rolling in.

[Jimmy]

I used it for 9mm and 38 special. It worked pretty good for 9mm - better than others I've tried. I had to do pretty light loads in order to not get leading. Don't know why. For 38 special it works great though.

[Carolina Cast Bullets]

I cant say as to how it might work in 9MM but its an excellent "go to" bullet for the Cowboy Action Shooters. I sell quite a lot of them to CAS users. Most of them order it "as cast", tumble lubed and ready to go. No complaints heard other than some leading but do not know what firearms were used and how bad it is.

CAS shooting uses "mouse fart" loads in pistols to reduce fragments coming back to the line from the metal targets used in that game.

IMHO, it might work nicely in a 9MM sized at .356"

Jerry
Carolina Cast Bullets

[latesvak]

yeah i use the lee 358-125rf for my 9mm and i really love it. just fyi i lube 45-45-10. shoots great.


latesvak

[thehouseproduct]

I shoot this in my 38 special and several 9mm guns. I cast from 50/50 wheel weights and pure lead. Water dropped sized 0.358".

[6.5 mike]

In a 38 I load them as cast 0.360 lube & shoot in a vaquero. For the 9 m/m I wq & size & lube to fit my bbl. No leading with either so far. Both 50/50 ww & soft.

[lwknight]

I guess the cherry was brand new when my mold was cut because it drops out at .360 so the bullets can be sized wherever I want.
I really like them in 38spl.
They are great in some 9mm but some will not chamber if the forcing cone is tight.

[sig2009]

I bought one to try with 9mm but it will not work. You have to load them too short in order to cover the crimp groove and because of that they will not chamber. The only way to get them to chamber is to load them longer so the crimp groove is exposed and they don't look right.

[Thumbcocker]

Works great in my Blackhawk with 9mm cylinder and autos. Also good in BHP.

[lwknight]

I bought one to try with 9mm but it will not work. You have to load them too short in order to cover the crimp groove and because of that they will not chamber. The only way to get them to chamber is to load them longer so the crimp groove is exposed and they don't look right.

I have 2 pistols that cannot shoot them but my P-95 eats anything and shoots great as well.
Its pot luck since no 2 barrels are just alike.

[crabo]

I use it in 38 Special, 357 Mag, and 38 Super. My favorite plinking boolit. It would make a good small game boolit.

[kir_kenix]

This is a great boolit! I use it mainly in j-frame .38's for practice, but it has served me well in a variety of .357's and 9mm's as well. Mine throws .359-.360 depending on whats in the pot.

I have also found that some 9mm's will not chamber this boolit, but I can't remember offhand (without digging up notes) which guns refused to digest them.

[Bula]

I cast these and they shoot fine so far in a newer prod Browning HiPower. Need to try them in some plinkers for the .38's. Both sized to .358

[Tim357]

A buddy of mine has a Browning HP. These boolits are too big to chamber fully. Another friend has a Glock M19 that eats these for breakfast, lunch, and supper. They work very well in .357 using 6-7.5 gr Unique, as well as .38 sp+P using 6.7 gr Power Pistol.

[Ben]

I realize that most of this discussion is centered around revolver and auto pistol applications of the Lee 125 Rf, but......this bullet is a shooter out of my Marlin 1894 , 38 Spec., CBC lever action rifle.

5.5 grs. Russian Unique, W-W cases, W-W small pistol primers .
That's 7 rounds in about 3/4 of an inch.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/880-1.jpg

[Spud]

I bought ths mold a couple of months ago, mainly for 9mm use and have had no functioning probs whatever in a Ruger SR9c. I seat this boolit even with the crimp groove which results in a very short OAL with a VERY mild load of Bullseye. Very light recoil. Not chrono'd yet, but guessing 900 +/- fps. Seems to be accurate enough for my purposes (plinking) in 38 Spec and 9mm.

Alloy is some unidentifiable stuff given to me that produces heavy boolits (@130 gr. or so, lubed). Minimal, if any, leading in both 9mm & 38 Spec. at above mentioned velocity.

[sig2009]

I bought ths mold a couple of months ago, mainly for 9mm use and have had no functioning probs whatever in a Ruger SR9c. I seat this boolit even with the crimp groove which results in a very short OAL with a VERY mild load of Bullseye. Very light recoil. Not chrono'd yet, but guessing 900 +/- fps. Seems to be accurate enough for my purposes (plinking) in 38 Spec and 9mm.

Alloy is some unidentifiable stuff given to me that produces heavy boolits (@130 gr. or so, lubed). Minimal, if any, leading in both 9mm & 38 Spec. at above mentioned velocity.

Got a pic of a loaded or dummy round? I woul like to see exactly where you seated it.

[FergusonTO35]

I have used .38 Special bullets in my Ruger P95 and SR9c with no problems at all. I think the extra diameter actually helps cut down on leading, especially if you roll 'em in liquid alox. I seat mine so that the case mouth is roughly at the beginning of the ogive so that it won't hang up on the end of the chamber.

[hardy]

Hi all,need some insight as to 2 cavity mold or 6? My understanding is that the boolit profile is different,same applies to "new" versus "older" molds.Anyone???I,m confused,Mike.....

[Shiloh]

Just started working with this boolit last week in the 9mm's.
5.4 gr AA #5 left unburnt powder in the bore. Seated to the middle of the lube grove wit my next 50 and will try again tomorrow. 50 rnds sized at .357 and 40 sized at .358.

Shiloh

[dsol]

I was sent a quantity of boolits from the Lee 358-125 RF from another fantastic member here to try out. They were even lubed and sized .358. I loaded a few dummy rounds seated just past the crimp groove and they would chamber in my Glock and Hi-Point Carbine, but not my KelTec Sub2k carbine. It has a very tight chamber... I seated a couple a little deeper and they would chamber but just didnt appear right. I resized a few to .357 in a simple Lee push through sizer and seated back at the crimp groove, chambered perfectly.

I loaded up 25 with 4.2 grains W231 and 25 with 4.5 grains W231. As soon as the weather breaks from the 100+ temps here, I will give them a try and see if one shoots a little better than the other, then fire up the Dillon. I just bought a Lee 6 cavity 358-125 and will make me bunches sized for my 9mm carbines and then a bunch more unsized for my .357 pistols and carbine. I think this will be a nice inexpensive plinker/practice round. I need to tune me a nice .38spl load next, probably still using W231 since I have a new 4lb container to go through.

Been handloading ever since I was a kid learning from my dad, but just started casting. It has become addicting!

[Rick N Bama]

I bought one to try with 9mm but it will not work. You have to load them too short in order to cover the crimp groove and because of that they will not chamber. The only way to get them to chamber is to load them longer so the crimp groove is exposed and they don't look right.

Loading them to cover the crimping groove is not a problem in my Beretta, in fact, that's the boolit it prefers.

Rick

[mdi]

Good thread so far and I don't want to hijack it but a pic of the loaded 9mm round would be nice or the OAL. I'm just getting back to my 9mms (just bought a new plastic 9) after 25 years perfecting (?) my 5, .44 Magnums...

[sbeatty1983]

you might also want to try the lee .356 125 RN. I use it for 38 super and light 38 special loads. It drops 358-.359

[Shiloh]

you might also want to try the lee .356 125 RN. I use it for 38 super and light 38 special loads. It drops 358-.359

This is another good boolit. Mine drops at just over .358. works great!!

Shiloh

[FergusonTO35]

Those of you who use this boolit in the nine, what are you sizing them to?

[flipajig]

I just started casting it for my 9mm after reading about it on this forum and I'm sizeing them at 357.

[Jkallen83]

i bought the lee 125gr mold for my wifes 38spl, it shoots EXCELLENT. reason i got the smaller grain is so i could resize and use them for 9mm also if wanted/needed to,...i have a 124gr 9mm mold tho, hadnt tried to shoot the 38 cast in the 9mm yet, but they are great and accurate.

[1Shirt]

Great blt for 38S, particularly w/6 cav mold, as you can empty a 20 lb pot quick, have a whoop of blts, and save a bunch of lead in comparision to 150-158-170 grainers. Shoots great ove most of the fast powders. Have shot it with Bullseye, Unique, Clays, and Tightgroup, and all shot well, with an accuracy edge with Bulleye in my Blackhawk
1Shirt!

[292]

Not having any luck with this boolit in my M&P Shield. Ran it through a Lee .357 sizer, came out .358. I think it is too tight for my gun.