38 boolits work for 9mm?

[brewer12345]

I know some people use the lee 38 125 grain boolit in 9mms. Is there a way to figure out if a particular 38 mold will work?

[cwlongshot]

A boolit dosent know from what its fired...

Size it correctly.

Choose a Profile such that it can feed.

Try it.


I shoot the LEE358-125 in my 357sig. I see no reason most 9mm wouldnt shoot it as well.

CW

[Finster101]

The Lee 358-105 SWC works very well in 9mm. You can do a search on this boolit and find lots of info. It has fed fine in every pistol I've tried it in once I got the OAL figured out.

[tazman]

I know some people use the lee 38 125 grain boolit in 9mms. Is there a way to figure out if a particular 38 mold will work?

It all depends on the shape of the nose on the boolit and your particular firearm. Some people have success with boolits designed for 38 special/357 mag and some don't.
Try some and see what will work in your gun.

[6bg6ga]

Only problem I have found is in getting the round to feed in the 9mm. Example... a 158 SWC in a 9mm case won't feed in any 9mm that I have tried it in. I would stick to a more rounded nose. A 160gr round nose works great in the 9mm case and is a pleasant and fun round to shoot. I don't resize from 38 to 9mm I simply load and shoot. No leading, no tumbling, they just work.

[John McCorkle]

Yes,

Used the Lee 358-125rf in 9mm and 38 SPC for years...it works surprisingly well in both.

Fit is King and slug you 9mm barrel...I have to size mine pretty large to fit the bore of mine. Then load and put the crimp that let's you plunk test and doesn't resize the bullet under the brass...

Good luck to you!!! Enjoy

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[trapper9260]

I use 38 boolits in my 9mm . As long they cycle ok I use them. I did slug my 9mm to see what size will work in it and go from there. When I get mold I try to have it work in both my 38slp/357 mag and see if it will work also in my 9mm's.

[farmerjim]

I have been using the Lee 358-125 RF sized .357 in 9 mm for years. It works good in .38 and .357 sized .359. Some even load it in the .380.

[RED BEAR]

Any 38 bullet will work in 9mm if sized correctly. Well maybe not the heavier ones i don't think i would try a 200 gr bullet. The limiting factor is will they feed in your gun. I use a variety of 38 bullets in my 9 mm with no problems at all . I would think anything under 150 grain would be a candidate. I aslo use 9 mm in my 38 sometimes need a little heat tape to get them up to size.

[Sig556r]

I shoot the heavies subsonic, .356/.357/.358/.359 from 140 to 165 grain thru trial & error...some pass the plunk test but shoots miserably while some just shoots flawless depending on the gun. But my objective (clears suppressor) maybe different than yours.
That's what's fun about this hobby, you can experiment outside the norm to find out what'll uniquely work for you.
Have fun

[GhostHawk]

Last time I loaded 9mm I loaded 100 of the Lee 125 gr .358 which actually cast closer to .359, .3595, or .360.

Totally cured my keyholing problems in 2 9mm's I had, one pistol, one single shot handi rifle. Groups tightened up amazingly. I loaded those unsized but over moderate loads of Red Dot. Alloy was 50% COWW and 50% range scrap with maybe 1% of tin added.

They shoot great. No chambering problems. The rounder nose profile makes for good feeding. And the Meplat means its going to punch a hole.

I also like the Lee .358 158 gr round nose but burn them mostly in a carbine.

[John McCorkle]

Last time I loaded 9mm I loaded 100 of the Lee 125 gr .358 which actually cast closer to .359, .3595, or .360.

Totally cured my keyholing problems in 2 9mm's I had, one pistol, one single shot handi rifle. Groups tightened up amazingly. I loaded those unsized but over moderate loads of Red Dot. Alloy was 50% COWW and 50% range scrap with maybe 1% of tin added.

They shoot great. No chambering problems. The rounder nose profile makes for good feeding. And the Meplat means its going to punch a hole.

I also like the Lee .358 158 gr round nose but burn them mostly in a carbine.I really want to try the 158 too...any suggestions on powders? I got into pcc lately and I bet those heavies would be magic

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[Kraschenbirn]

The Lee 358-150 RN (148 gr. from my alloy) works just great for duplicating the old 'standard' 147 gr subsonic and feeds flawlessly in my S&W M39 and a friend's SIG.

Bill

[brewer12345]

Sounds promising. I have a bunch of the lee 105s and a stack of a rnfp boolit that weighs 133 grains that might fit the bill.

Next question, and I know this is a dumb one: I hear varying things about cast in a polygonal barrel. Is there consensus? Planning to figure out powder coating, so that will be an option.

[John McCorkle]

Sounds promising. I have a bunch of the lee 105s and a stack of a rnfp boolit that weighs 133 grains that might fit the bill.

Next question, and I know this is a dumb one: I hear varying things about cast in a polygonal barrel. Is there consensus? Planning to figure out powder coating, so that will be an option.No bad questions except those left unasked.

Not sure if there consensus, but I have several thousand cast bullets through my factory Glock barrel prior to powder coating...when I was still figuring out sizing/lube/load so many of those rounds leaded the barrel pretty bad. Never had an issue other than the need to scrub it well after each session.

Now that I powder coat...no issues at all. And many many more thousands of cast powder coated rounds later still clipping along...

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[Outpost75]

Important consideration in loading 9mm is seating depth. Deep seating bullets so that their bases intrude more deeply into the powder space than factory ammo can spike pressure dangerously. Ordinary M882 Ball seated only 0.030" deeper increase pressure of service loads to over proof pressure. Speer warns about this in their loading manual. Do not load cartridges to a shorter OAL than is listed for the same weight bullet in a manual such as Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook, 4th Edition, (2010) on p. 248.

Most European 9mm pistols have larger diameter chamber throats and more gradual forcing cone angle and will shot better with .358" diameter cast bullets. However, American 9mms having a tight, SAAMI chamber with short throat often will not pass a "plunk" test unless the bullet has a reduced diameter forepart and bullet profile which fits the tighter chamber.

Accurate has several designs for 9mm which are suited to SAAMI chambers with short throats.

Designs which I have used successfully are:

239712239713239714

[brewer12345]

Talking about a glock barrel, so that means European?

[Outpost75]

Talking about a glock barrel, so that means European?

Yes, but there are supposedly other issues shooting cast in a Glock...Glock is very clear in their literature, do NOT shoot lead bullets, doesn't say only hard cast, it says NO LEAD Bullets.

Glock barrel does not support the case well, and fired brass is often bulged. When people FL size the brass to iron out the bulge it work hardens the case, and often leaves an incipient crack which is setting you up for a KaBoom in subsequent reloads.

Many people shoot lead in Glocks and insist there is no problem. I don't own or shoot Glocks, don't like them and don't have a dog in this fight. I'm just advising you so that you can do your own research and decide. I wouldn't if it was me.

[T_McD]

As others have stated, feeding is the issue.

[brewer12345]

Thanks, outpost. I can pick up a replacement barrel from a US manufacturer inexpensively.

[mvozz]

Great post! I am casting some of the Lee boolets right now for 357 plinkers. Looks like I will have to adjust a bit!!

[Bigslug]

Anybody got a copy of Sixguns by Keith handy?

It's been a couple years since I read a borrowed copy, but I pretty clearly remember Elmer talking about his chronies sizing down the HOLLOWPOINT version of his 358429 and running it to about 900 fps, which when you put 2 and 2 together, is pretty much exactly the 158 grain .38 "FBI Load". I would tend to think, with it's long nose moving the weight outside the case, that might not be a bad combo. Hopefully, someone has the particulars of the charge handy.

[BigAlofPa.]

I have done the opposite. I shot some of the blue bullets 9mm in my 357 and they were accurate.

[tazman]

I have done the opposite. I shot some of the blue bullets 9mm in my 357 and they were accurate.

I have a couple of 38 sp/357 mag S&W revolvers that have tight enough barrels that 9mm boolits should work quite well.

[samari46]

Have a Beretta 92FS and could not get any decent accuracy. Slugged the barrel and instead of .355-.356 I got .357. Bought some Rem 357 magnum .357 125 grain JHP's and started low and worked up to about 1100 fps. Shot great. So no 9mm's or 38-357 are created equal. Frank

[tazman]

Have a Beretta 92FS and could not get any decent accuracy. Slugged the barrel and instead of .355-.356 I got .357. Bought some Rem 357 magnum .357 125 grain JHP's and started low and worked up to about 1100 fps. Shot great. So no 9mm's or 38-357 are created equal. Frank

That is typical of the Beretta barrels. I believe they did that on purpose to help prevent failures to feed. They also have a very generous chamber and throat.
I typically size boolits to .358-.359 for the Beretta.

[yeahbub]

It's instructive to do a chambering test with various diameter boolits to see what your chamber will accept without resistance. Boolit nose profile/OAL vs. the barrel throat could also be an issue. Slug the bore for groove dimension and try a dummy round loaded with a boolit .001 larger. Some years back, a fellow range member showed up with a Taurus PT-99 which turned out to be .357 in the grooves, like a lot of European 9mm's are as well. The chamber readily accepted rounds loaded with .358 boolits and it exhibited excellent accuracy, probably partly because the case was .003 larger and better centered in the chamber as well as the boolit being a better fit in the bore. We shot the Lee 358-158 RF as well as 358-105 SWC, but it's good the 158's were bevel-based because they were getting into the thicker brass walls toward the back. The OAL was still within what the magazine would hold and they chambered freely. It shot okay with factory .355's, but it was like a bullseye pistol with .358's. A young fellow with good eyes, I saw him turn in raggedy one-hole groups at 25 yards. Those 158's worked great in falling plate matches.