Lee 105 swc for 9mm defense load?

[glw]

I have a very light Kel-Tec Pf9 for self defense purposes. I would like to develop a low-end cast boolit load for it, to keep the recoil lower. (I has a strong recoil with top-end loads.) I'm thinking around 950-1000 fps. I have the Lee 105 swc boolit mold, and wonder if you think that would be appropriate for this purpose. I am thinking that if I cast it out of soft lead that it should get some expansion, as well.

What do you think? Does anyone have experience with this boolit in a hunting situation, or has done any penetration/expansion testing on it?

Thanks!
Glenn

[ubetcha]

My brother uses that bullet for his Beretta 92f and works perfect. Many years ago we were shooting at an old 5gal bucket of hardened roofing tar and that bullet would penetrate the complete bucket. Alloy was just ww,but don't remember the powder or charge

[rexherring]

Should work as long as they feed properly in your gun. I've been shooting them in my Bersa Thunder .380 and they feed and shoot well. Cast with 50/50 WW Pb with no leading. 4 grains of Bullseye or HP38 should get you there in the 9mm

[MtGun44]

A bit light for social purposes, but do what you need to do to avoid
violating Rule One. Nobody likes getting holes punched in them.

Bill

[glw]

Thanks for the feedback, folks.

I wouldn't expect a boolit to penetrate a 5 gal bucket of tar!

Would a boolit cast out of cable lead be too soft at 1000 fps for defensive purposes? I do want it to penetrate enough.

Anyone else having anything else to add?

Thanks!
Glenn

[gray wolf]

A 5 gallon bucket of hardened roofing tar ??
I would choose a heavier bullet for serious social work, especially in the winter with heavy clothing. Soft lead may create a leading problem, I say may.
Also I would be a little more concerned with penetration than mushrooming.
You have got to reach the vital organs.
Self defense situations don't always present the most ideal shooting scenario.
My choice would be a heavier bullet, practice with the lighter one and mix in the heavies until your used to the recoil, in a high stress critical defense situation you wont notice the recoil unless you are just plain sensitive to it and can't overcome it. Naturally anything is better than nothing, but if you have to defend your life in a ballistic situation you want to defeat the threat like
right now. I carry a full size 1911 45 ACP, but that's my choice and simply my view point. If that's all you have then run with it.
Me ? I would be gunning up a little.

[glw]

I understand your apprehension. I usually carry a full-size 357 magnum with the Kel-Tec is a backup. The PF9 is much harder for me to shoot. I did some checking, and it seems that the 105 (actually drops at 110 grains) in the 9mm will be harder hitting than a 380. I prefer heavier boolits myself (I use the Lee 358-158 RF in my 357), but I need to trim the recoil a bit, at least until I can work up to heavier loads.

My concern is with this particular boolit design and the specific alloy that I should use. Is this boolit design sufficient, or is the meplat too small? And will a soft alloy such as this expand too quickly and fail, or will penetration be sufficient? I have no place to do such testing, so I have to rely upon the wisdom on this forum.

Most talks concerning meplat and alloy on this forum are for hunting purposes, but it seems that no one talks about lead boolits for defense, unless they are in 45 Colt or ACP. I seriously doubt that 9mm only functions for defense if it has a jacketed hollowpoint bullet, but no one talks about it. If no one on this forum knows, then I expect that no one knows.

Thank you all again for our info. I learn much from this forum.

Glenn

[emorris]

I have a 9mm pistol that I just cannot get this boolit to feed 100% out of (Kahr), but my glock and ruger p95 likes them. If you are inclined to try it, cast some out of your regular alloy to test function. If they function good then play with the alloy to get your desired results. You can get some plain base gas checks on this site to give you some more wiggle roomand a tad bit more weight.