Lee 125 RF 38 in a 9mm?

[Redd508]

I'm planning to try a batch of these cast from coww in my 9mm. Has anyone tried this combination before? I will measure them after casting but I'm guessing they will need to be sized. Its my first attempt at 9mm so I'm seeking wisdom from the masters. Thanks in advance.

[theperfessor]

I use that bullet sized .357- .358 in my 9mm Hi Power over 6.8 - 7.0 Blue Dot. Don't have my data with me but I have to seat it with the crimp groove below the case neck a little.

[lwknight]

Its been good to my Ruger P95.
I cast em hard though.

[Silverboolit]

I use a Lee PTE die with the .38 S&W insert. It opens the brass up enough so the brass doesn't size the boolit down in the 9mm case. They feed fine and have no problems with FTF.

[Raven_Darkcloud]

Great boolit for 9mm. Runs good in glock 19, s&w sigma, and keltecs. Running 3.8gr of tite-group with a 60/40 wax-lla. size at .357

[newton]

I just worked up two loads in a friends LC9 today. I'm gonna post the results and such in the favorite loads forum, but needless to say this boolit is fantastic. I sized to .357, and tumble lubed them in the recluse formula.

OAL for both loads was 1.025". I tried it further out at first, but then settled on this length. Feed great. I used Unique for the regular load and Red Dot for the ligh load.

[Raven_Darkcloud]

Do you get any leading at the throat with that 1.025 oal? I had to go to just in line with bottom of crimp groove for my glock.

[newton]

No leading. I will take a picture and pozt it in that other forum, favorite loads, but I seat it till the the case rim is right in line with the crimp groove, covering the groove. If that makes sense.

I did not run a lot down the barrel, but I do cast them hard and they are .02" oversize than the groove depth which is .355".

[Redd508]

Thanks guys. I'm glad to see I'm on the right track. I drop them in water and it seems to make a pretty tough bullet. I have a 158 wfn mold and the bullets I've recovered are still in good shape after going thru plywood. I reckon its time to invest in a hardness tester. I have some soww and lead shot to experiment with too.

[Raven_Darkcloud]

Ok the alloy must be the difference. I use 20:1, I will try a harder alloy but I like how the 20:1 works on the target.

[newton]

Yea, I think that I need to add a hardness tester to my inventory. It would be handy for documentation. But normally I just cast harder than I think I'll need.

[alamogunr]

I used that boolet in a couple of Ruger P95's that I bought for my sons. Lubed with LLA/JPW and loaded as cast. Worked fine. I'm going to try it in a Sig P6 next.

[rintinglen]

+1 on using the Lee 38 S&W expander die. It greatly reduces the chance of the boolit being excessively sized during seating and the consequent risk of undersized boolits smearing lead down the barrel!

[Redd508]

I'm gonna cast some up this weekend and report back. I'm seeing more and more ppl say to let your boolits sit for a week or so. Do they get harder over time or is it a lube thing?

[newton]

I used a 38/357 expanding die. I cut a 30-30 case to fit between the expanding plug and the top cap to hold the expander all the way at the bottom. Otherwise the case is not long enough.

I was only able to get a FL sizing die and a taper crimp die for the 9mm. I use the 38/357 expanding die for expanding/powder charging and a 45 acp seating die to seat the boolits in the 9mm case. I tried the 38/357 but the outer dimensions of the 9mm case are larger than the 38/357.

Eventually I'll pick up a 9mm seating die, but this works just fine for now.

[Shiloh]

Modified, larger expander die. Sized at .358. 3.8-4.0 graind Unique. Had them up to 4.4 gr but much better accuracy at the lower charge.

SHiloh

[NSP64]

I size mine .358 out of WD COWW , lube with speed green, over 3.5gr 231(cleaner than unique) in my 3" PT111 G2 gets 980 controlable fps.61873
125gr bullet holes on left, 105gr swc holes on right.

[Tbird]

shoot it in hi power...3.7 gr titegroup..no problems

[runfiverun]

air cooled take about 7-10 day's to get close to their final hardness.
water dropped picks up hardness initially then slows down to taking about a month to get near their final bhn.
they'll bounce around a bit for a while then settle down.

[Redd508]

I didnt know that. Do they change size as they harden? Should i wait to resize? If i load before they fully harden and fire after the 10 days will it be enough to affect pressure or cause leading? If its been hashed out on the boards already i can search it out. I dont need a long answer in this thread.

[rintinglen]

I didnt know that. Do they change size as they harden? Should i wait to resize? If i load before they fully harden and fire after the 10 days will it be enough to affect pressure or cause leading? If its been hashed out on the boards already i can search it out. I dont need a long answer in this thread.
Quick answer: No. They don't change size
No, size them swiftly, before they harden up to make the job easier and save wear on your equipment.
Not enough to matter. 10 days on the shelf or 10 days in the case makes no difference that I have been able to discern

[Redd508]

Is 10 days after cast so much harder that it would wear out my sizer?

[alamogunr]

No! Your arm. Seriously, the increased wear is probably negligible, IMHO. Depending on how much you are sizing, wear could become an issue. I don't like to do heavy sizing on my Lyman 450. The linkage is the weak point.

[Redd508]

Good point. I've been loading wd coww. I may try the air cooled and see if i have lead issues. So far its been good in all barrels. All lead free an havent bought a gc yet.

[Shiloh]

Is 10 days after cast so much harder that it would wear out my sizer?



No! Your arm. Seriously, the increased wear is probably negligible, IMHO. Depending on how much you are sizing, wear could become an issue. I don't like to do heavy sizing on my Lyman 450. The linkage is the weak point.

LOL. Yep, your arm. No way on the sizer.
The original linkage broke on my Lyman 450. Lyman no longer makes the original, but offers a replacement linkage.
it looks like this. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?39309-Lyman-450-Parts-Diagram&p=427123&viewfull=1#post427123

Shiloh

[azrednek]

I've seen this same question asked a few times here and it appears there are many using it both in 9MM and 38 Spec. I've used it with good results in 9MM, 38 Spec and some mild 357's. Originally I was sizing .356 for 9MM and .358 for 38/357. My last batch I sized them all at .357 and run them in 9MM and 38 Spec. I didn't see any significant changes on paper, barrel leading or reliability in 9MM except in a Sig.

I traded away the Sig P-6 before determining the problem but my best guess the Sig's chamber is a tad smaller than the other 9's I used it in. One or two per mag the Sig's slide needed a bit of help to completely close. A problem I don't recall having when I had previously used the the same cast Boolit sized 356 and 355 or jacketed, both factory and handloaded.

I'm now using the Lee 125 RF sized .357 in both 9MM and 38 Spec with a fairly mild load of Bullseye or Unique as a plinking load. An accurate plinker, I might add in either caliber. I haven't hot-rodded it yet sized 357 in a 357 mag load but I assume it would work if necessary but likely I would have to deal with some barrel leading. I have an affection for the Lyman 38156 in hot 357 loads.

I don't recall the mix in the last batch of 125RF's but I believe it was a 50/50 mix of stickys and clip-ons all water dropped. I can't say for sure as I don't recall if I added any tin. Normally if I get a good flow and fill out I wont use any tin. If I did add any tin, it was just enough to get a good flow. My guess if you're using straight clip-ons, crank the heat up you wont need any tin.

I have to give credit where credit is due. I was fooling around with various 9MM and 357 molds. Board member JiminPhx gave me a batch of the 125RF suggesting I use them in 9MM. I had such a positive result I immediately ordered a 2-cavity mold. After being so delighted with it, didn't take me long to up grade to a 6-cavity.

[Redd508]

So far I've been satisfied with water dropped coww. I get good mold fill out and no leading problems yet. I'm eager to get some casting done this weekend if the rain passes.