9mm?

[LIMPINGJ]

I am wanting to slow the drain on my lead supply so I am looking to start casting for my 9s for just plinking ammo and slow down on the 45s. For those of you that cast for various 9mm pistols which weight boolits seem to give the best results in a variety of pistols? Light, standard or heavy weights which seem to work best?
Thanks

[crashguy]

I use tend to lean on the 124g designs ..with my alloy ( range scrape) they come in at around 130-133 , that is toward the heavier side for 9mm .. that way I keep the velocity around 1000 fps (to meet a power factor) and have no leading issues to speak of. When loaded under 1000 fps I still get function and accuracy and they do well for plinking..I just load to meet power factor as a goal. I have tumbled and pan lubed with good results , but have recently moved to powder coating and that is where I will stay. So for me ..heavy for caliber ... and under 1000fps with cast boolits

[Hickok]

I prefer the 125 gr boolit for 9mm, and Lee makes a dandy mold, the Lee 358-125-RF. It is made for .38 and .357 revolvers, but works great in 9mm pistols. Also has a nice flat meplat.

Which brand of 9mm pistol do you have? I am using a Berretta Model 92.

[pworley1]

The Lyman 358242 121g is a great all round plinking load for 380, 9mm, and 38.

[tazman]

For a light boolit, I use the Lee 356-95-rf. It drops just under .358 for me and works in both my 9mm pistols very well.
For a slightly heavier boolit I use the NOE 358-115-rf cast as a hollow point. It weighs 110 grains with my alloy and drops at .359 so it can be used in both 9mm and 38/357.
Next step up is the Lee 356-120-tc. This is a standard lube groove design which works really well in 9mm.
Also I second the Lee 358-125-rf that Hickok mentioned. It works well in both 9mm and 38/357.
My most accurate boolit in my 9mm is the NOE 358-135 rf. I shoot better groups with that boolit than anything else.
I recently picked up a Lyman 358246 mold that drops at 150grains. It shoots surprisingly well over a charge of AA7 at 5.5 grains.

[garym1a2]

Lee 120 TC mold, 6up.

[6bg6ga]

I use my 38/357 125gr RN and 160 gr RN molds. I size them to .357 and they work fine in my S&W 669.

[dragon813gt]

MP 359-125 is all I use anymore. 125 grains in hollowpoint but I shoot the 135 grain solid version the most.

[Ed_Shot]

I've had excellent results with 120-125 gr. boolits in 9MM. Fine examples already mentioned are the Lee 356-125-2R and 356-120-TC. I prefer Lymans 358242 (120 gr) or 356402. I have also had great success with the Lyman 356252 (90 gr) in 9MM. It's my .380 boolit but its a real accuate soft shooter in 9MM over Promo 3.7 gr @ 1200 fps. I size all 9MM to .358.

[Handloader109]

I have been using the same as Tazman, the Lee 95gr. Works well and does save lead.

[krag35]

[QUOTE=Hickok;2964412]I prefer the 125 gr boolit for 9mm, and Lee makes a dandy mold, the Lee 358-125-RF. It is made for .38 and .357 revolvers, but works great in 9mm pistols. Also has a nice flat meplat.

I have tried several 9mm molds, and this is the one I settled on. Loaded with Blue Dot to just work the action of my Keltec P-11 plus 1/10th grain. My Ruger P-89 likes it too.

[Petrol & Powder]

I like to keep 9mm bullets around 120 grains and the Lee 120TC seems to work well although the bullets generally drop a bit heavier than 120gr. That truncated cone design feeds well in most guns. I have an RCBS mold that is a round nose design but those bullets are not as accurate in some guns, I'm not sure why? My biggest problem with cast 9mm is the differences between guns; I have to size bullets for individual guns to avoid leading.

[scattershot]

I like a 124 grain truncated cone, although I have had good results with the 147 grain. If I were to choose just one, it would be the 124 grain TC over 4.0 Red Dot.

[Groo]

Groo here
What cost you more, lead or powder?
Heavy bullets with lighter charges, lighter bullets with heaver charges.
Fasted powder will hit the slide quick like bullseye in a 45.

[bangerjim]

Like Groo said.......there is a trade-off.

I shoot anything that drops in the 356-358 range, irregardless of the weight.

I find lead is far easier to find these days than pistol powder!

banger

[NavyVet1959]

A 0.360" round ball will be 69.2 gr. Some people run it through a resizer, some don't. Depending upon your firearm, this might feed well, or it might not. I haven't tried it in 9mm, but I've used them in .38/.357, but of course, I'm not worried about feeding or operating the slide with a revolver. Lee does make a 105 gr 6-cavity mold (358-105-SWC). I prefer the 6-cavity molds since it allows me to output a lot of bullets in a short period of time.

[Jupiter7]

Another vote for 124grn. I like the RN design of the 358242 and use it exclusively for 9mm. Feeds in older 9mm's that just won't feed flat/hP designs like the sig P6. I've got a NOE version that drops .359. Works good in the 38spl too.

[Garyshome]

Lee 358-125-RN!

[MtGun44]

This may help. 9mm can be a difficult one.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...s-in-a-new-9mm (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?121607-Setting-up-for-boolits-in-a-new-9mm)

I recommend the Lee 356 120 TC (truncated cone). use the conventional lube design.

I don't use the heavy boolits, and I think the truncated cone is the best choice.
IMO, most new 9mm folks make the mistake of going to a RN config boolit because they
see RN in the ball JACKETED ammo. Jacketed ammo is able to use significantly smaller
diameter boolits, and even most .355 and .356 groove diam 9mms usually work the best
with .357 or .358 diam boolits. These tend to fit better with a truncated cone boolit
because the TCs will usually fit the throats better and avoid issues with jamming the
boolit into the throat.

Bill

[tazman]

I don't use the heavy boolits, and I think the truncated cone is the best choice.
IMO, most new 9mm folks make the mistake of going to a RN config boolit because they
see RN in the ball JACKETED ammo. Jacketed ammo is able to use significantly smaller
diameter boolits, and even most .355 and .356 groove diam 9mms usually work the best
with .357 or .358 diam boolits. These tend to fit better with a truncated cone boolit
because the TCs will usually fit the throats better and avoid issues with jamming the
boolit into the throat.

Bill

The round nosed boolits I use are stepped slightly on the nose similar to a bore rider in a rifle. With the nose already being bore size or a tad smaller I don't have the problem you mention. When I used the Lee 356-125-2r I had to seat a little deeper than I wanted because of the exact problem you mention.
Design of the boolit is a big factor in feeding and accuracy.

[Bzcraig]

I whittled my 9mm molds to 2, Lee 95 & NOE 356135 that Tazman mentioned.

[tazman]

I have other molds that feed and shoot well, but those 2 are my most accurate boolits.
I get better accuracy with fast powders under the 95 grain.
Anything works under the 135 grain. It just shoots.

[Beerd]

Like Groo said.......there is a trade-off.

I shoot anything that drops in the 356-358 range, irregardless of the weight.

I find lead is far easier to find these days than pistol powder!

banger

and you can re-use your lead, try doing that with powder.
..

[tazman]

and you can re-use your lead, try doing that with powder.
..

Now that is funny!

[jwber]

I like 124-130 gr bullets in the 9.

I use the 358-125-RF in my XD 9. Drops about 130 gr's and I powder coat them. Load to a lil over 1000 fps for USPSA & IDPA.

The only thing I don't like is in the XD I have to seat the bullet extremely short for it to chamber 1.015" when powder coated or 1.02" conventional lubed (guess the PC makes the Ogive just a tad larger causing it to hang up).