Casting and loading 9mm

[Willie T]

I’m an experienced caster and loader. However I have never cast or loaded for 9mm. My wife and son just surprised me with a Springfield SA-35 for my 62nd birthday so that is about to change. Any advice shared from those with good results casting and loading 9mm would be appreciated. Things to work around I have identified are the 10 twist barrel and relatively high velocities. My current plan is to cast 147’s and load them down around 800 fps. Maybe try W-231 first? I am still accumulating brass and have not purchased a mold yet. I have a lube-a-matic sizer and chronograph. I can work fit and velocity out. Full disclosure: my OCD will kick in if I can’t come up with something that shoots reasonably tight without leading. Particularly curious what those who have been there and done that have to say about leading in a 10 twist 9mm and how they cast and load to eliminate it. Thanks in advance to any here generous enough with their time to respond.
Willie T

[marvelshooter]

Two words: Powder coat

[Soundguy]

I load and cast 9mm..115, 124, and 147 grain. 0 leading... Just size/lube and go. I use either sweetened range scrap or coww.

[schutzen-jager]

straight wheel weights, liquid alox, + red dot powder for last 5 decades in 9 different handguns + never even one instance of leading in over 950 to over 1000 fps loads -

[Winger Ed.]

I cast & load a Lee 120grain TC, and I'm real happy with it.
I cast with a relatively soft alloy, size & lube with whatever is in the sizer, and stay a little 1,000 fps.
I figure powder coating may just be a passing fad, like moly coat used to be, so I still use lube.:bigsmyl2:

It's a personal preference sort of deal. I've shot some 147s, but keep coming back to the 120s.

[Half Dog]

Avoid frustrations, send your barrel to DougGuy. After I did that everything else seemed to click.

[charlie b]

Yep, I'd check the chamber first and see if it has any throat at all. If not then Doug is the solution for shooting cast in it.

And, yes, I was shocked to find out my HK has no throat. It does shoot jacketed well but cast it doesn't like. I reserve my .45acp and .357 for most of my informal shooting so it's not a big deal for me.

[Dusty Bannister]

This link might be very helpful by answering questions that you have not even thought of yet. You may not need it if you already work with 380, 40, and 45 ACP. It will not be a waste of time to go through this rather lengthy thread. You will also find that there are some bullets that seem to be problematic and you may want to not work with them until later. Good luck and be safe.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?121607-Setting-up-for-boolits-in-a-new-9mm

[Willie T]

Thank all of you who responded. Clip on wheel weights are my intended casting material. They are what I have in my stock pile.. Barrel already slugged .3555. Plan is to size some at .356 and .357. Have to choose a mold first. Good news that it sounds like they are fine without gas checks. I find it interesting that most of y’all are casting in the 120’s. I figured the 147 would be easier to keep the velocity down and allow a broader range of powder charges seeking accuracy. Also thinking the longer bearing surface would have more bite in that fast 10 twist. Thank you all again.

Ed, times two on conventional size and lube. Ive got the bugs worked out and am good with the results.

Dusty, yes I already cast and load for 380, 40s&w, and 45acp. The 40 was picky, and my fingers are too big to enjoy loading .380. Thank you for posting that thread. It is solid.

Charlie, thank you. Hopefully I find satisfaction without the need to rechamber to shoot lead. That would be a first for me.

Willie T

[Hick]

I find it interesting that most of y’all are casting in the 120’s. I figured the 147 would be easier to keep the velocity down and allow a broader range of powder charges seeking accuracy. Also thinking the longer bearing surface would have more bite in that fast 10 twist. Thank you all again.


Willie T

Your 147 load idea sounds fine to me. I have several 9mm pistols. My German P38 and P1 don't care for the heavier bullets, but both my Baretta and Taurus do very well with 150 grainers. I fact, I have a 358-150 round nose that I use in my 38 cal guns, and just size down to 0.356 and powder coat-- the Taurus seems to like them a lot.

[Kosh75287]

I've been using 4.0/Unique/147 gr. FP in my Israeli-built P-35, with good results. Though I think the load develops over 800 f/s, it seems to work quite well and is very frame & slide friendly. Alliant lists 4.3/Unique/147 gr. as the maximum load, which developed ~950 f/s. Based on that, I suspect that the load I mention develops 900 f/s, give or take 25 f/s.
If I could cast any bullet for 9mm/.38 Super, it'd be the SAECO #383, 140 gr. LSWC. One would think that 7 gr. of lead would not make a difference in performance, but the 140 gr. can apparently be pushed significantly faster than the 147 gr. projectiles, before pressures become an issue.

[Bigslug]

We have a stickied thread for this in the handguns sub forum: https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?121607-Setting-up-for-boolits-in-a-new-9mm

I feel I gave a pretty good synopsis on page 5 with final results on 6, but you'll get a good education from the (currently) whole 6 pages.

[Quinnbrian]

One of the easiest loads I've done...well one out of only about 7 ...lol, it was my first to reload. W231 is good powder, I cast 147ish grain out of a lee 9mm , 4 hole mold( been a while) still have a bunch reloaded. Put through a Lee sizing die...and done...
Going to start reloading 357/38 , have the swaging machine for this, I haven't used it yet...well played alittle, but need to burn through about 1000 round first before I start reloading for it and I hate wasting ammo...Yep they are the same..but just a little different!
Enjoy your reloading! Come to think about it...I'm out of 12 gauge slugs...
THIS SITE HAS BEEN THE BEST! I LEARNED most of what I know about reloading from here!
Good people, with great knowledge!
Cheers and Thanks to everyone!
Brian

[fredj338]

I shoot mostly 147, some 135, very little 125 anymore. I cast with range scrap with clip ww 4-1 or pure mixed with lino 3-1. I size to 0.357”. I used to lube/size, no issues with leading 825-1000fps. Now i pc, barrel is cleaner than with jacketed.
Many powders work. Faster burners are economical, i dont use TG.

[Elpatoloco]

I use the lee 356-125-2r in a 6 gang mold. The only lee mould that I haven't thrown away. I powdercoat and load over WSF after sizing to .357.
Works in all my 9s with zero leading. I couldnt make the Lee TC bullet shoot groups and my 6 gang only had 5 good cavities. I recycled it.

[6622729]

Thank all of you who responded. Clip on wheel weights are my intended casting material. They are what I have in my stock pile.. Barrel already slugged .3555. Plan is to size some at .356 and .357. Have to choose a mold first. Good news that it sounds like they are fine without gas checks. I find it interesting that most of y’all are casting in the 120’s. I figured the 147 would be easier to keep the velocity down and allow a broader range of powder charges seeking accuracy. Also thinking the longer bearing surface would have more bite in that fast 10 twist. Thank you all again.

Ed, times two on conventional size and lube. Ive got the bugs worked out and am good with the results.

Dusty, yes I already cast and load for 380, 40s&w, and 45acp. The 40 was picky, and my fingers are too big to enjoy loading .380. Thank you for posting that thread. It is solid.

Charlie, thank you. Hopefully I find satisfaction without the need to rechamber to shoot lead. That would be a first for me.

Willie T

I have not found 9mm to be difficult to cast or load for and the accuracy has been great. No leading issues in Glock or KKM barrels. Try the Lee 125 gr round nose as a cheap entry into 9mm. You’ll be able to simply cast, lube and load. I was using 45/45/10 lube until I started powder coating. Alloy is Lyman #2 (90/5/5). Loads are enough to cycle the action to mid power. I’m not loading for high velocity to punch paper or hit steel at 15 yards. Talk about cheap entertainment!

[schutzen-jager]

jmho - i agree with Winger Ed about powder coating - quote [ I figure powder coating may just be a passing fad, like moly coat used to be, so I still use lube. ] - powder coating is in my opinion complicated , time consuming , + expensive process that does not perform any better than tumble lubing + other older lubing processes - tried it in various pistols with various different bore conditions + concluded that it showed absolutely zero advantage over liquid alox tumble lube - like 6622729 i use the Lee 125gr. rn. unsized + tumbled lubed + even when loaded past 1000fps for my lugers have never experienced any leading issues -

[Cast10]

Lee 120 TC 6 cavity; RCBS carbide dies; WSF powder; Standard die setup procedures.

I read lots of info/stickies on 9mm here. It truly helped.

Slug barrel; I use .357 sizer. Several Glock pistols.

Powder coat for sure. No leading. SOWW + Hardball for @ 11.3 BHN.

[Willie T]

Thank you all who took the time to respond and share your experiences casting and loading 9mm. Treating myself to a new mold and set of handles tomorrow.
Willie

P.S.-Quinnbrian, yes this site is great. I discovered it back in March.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

SNIP>>>

thank all of you who responded. Clip on wheel weights are my intended casting material. They are what I have in my stock pile.. Barrel already slugged .3555. Plan is to size some at .356 and .357. Have to choose a mold first. Good news that it sounds like they are fine without gas checks. I find it interesting that most of y’all are casting in the 120’s. I figured the 147 would be easier to keep the velocity down and allow a broader range of powder charges seeking accuracy. Also thinking the longer bearing surface would have more bite in that fast 10 twist. Thank you all again.

Willie T
I prefer using 9mm molds in the 120s, I have a 120 and 124 and 128.
My experience has told me, "in General", middle of the road weight boolits just seem to have potentially less problems...that goes to any caliber.

Now, we all know that you can make almost anything work, if you jump through some hoops...but your original question seemed to point to least problems possible.

Lastly, I size to .357 to cover an assortment of pistols. I use WLL Carnuba Red lube. Generally, I use Unique and find it adequate for middle of the road weight boolits and loads.
Good Luck.

[Willie T]

I prefer using 9mm molds in the 120s, I have a 120 and 124 and 128.
My experience has told me, "in General", middle of the road weight boolits just seem to have potentially less problems...that goes to any caliber.

Now, we all know that you can make almost anything work, if you jump through some hoops...but your original question seemed to point to least problems possible.

Lastly, I size to .357 to cover an assortment of pistols. I use WLL Carnuba Red lube. Generally, I use Unique and find it adequate for middle of the road weight boolits and loads.
Good Luck.

Yes sir. Your understanding of my post is exactly why I posted. Thank you for your insight.
Willie

[Texas by God]

If you have the Lee 358 105 swc mould, be sure to try it. I use it over 4.8grs of Bullseye unsized and powder coated- has worked great in four different 9mm pistols here.

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[Targa]

This MP mold has been outstanding.

[fredj338]

I use the lee 356-125-2r in a 6 gang mold. The only lee mould that I haven't thrown away. I powdercoat and load over WSF after sizing to .357.
Works in all my 9s with zero leading. I couldnt make the Lee TC bullet shoot groups and my 6 gang only had 5 good cavities. I recycled it.

I have that mold, cant get it to cast good bullets. Some day i’ll try reventing it but its a pita. I have a newer lee 40/180, cast beautiful bullets from the start.

[waco]

My two cents. Size to fit the throat. Of the six 9mm's I have cast for they all work best with .358" bullets.
I'll second the powder coating.

[Willie T]

As I indicated in the first post of this thread. These 9’s will be sized and conventionally lubed in one pass with an old first gen Lube-A-Matic. Nothing at all against you all that prefer to powder coat but I am going to use the gear I already own. I have the sizers, stems, and lube for this project. Hopefully a mold and set of handles will be my only capital outlay beyond what I already have at my bench.
Thank you all again for sharing your experience casting and loading 9mm Luger.
The SA-35 is pretty sweet!
Willie

[gwpercle]

NOE 358 - 124 - TC - GC ... size to .357 and install the gas check .
With bhn 8 alloy (50-50 COWW / lead) and driven to + 1000 fps velocities
It's a hard hitter and will mushroom like a J-word soft point .
The gas check is the secrete ... also protects the base in loading (bullet seating) and when shooting at +1000 fps velocities .
Lithi-Bee lube no powder coating ( I don't powder coat either ).
Would love to have one of those SA-35's ... they are just drop dead gorgeous ... my 9mm is an old WWII Walther P-38 ... it's OK but not as good looking as a SA-35 !
Gary

[243winxb]

10 twist Taurus https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?media/albums/taurus-g3c-9mm-luger.317/

No harder then any other cartridge, for an experienced* caster, reloader. 5 different Speer starting loads, worked just fine. Bullet diameter .3562" RCBS dies size brass with a taper. Comes with M type expander. 2 seat plugs.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?media/rcbs-expander-m-type-9mm-strange-black-coating.3604/full

RCBS Pistol Lube or other 50/50 Alox/Bees wax.

[michael.birdsley]

I think this is a instance where powder coating is your best bet. I actually came up with a pretty good 9mm cast load. I’m at work at the moment so I won’t have access to my data untill after 6 am this morning. I know for a fact I was only using wheel weights for them and a Lee 6 banger mold for the bullets.


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[Finster101]

Lee 358-105 over 4 grains of Red Dot or Promo.

[Willie T]

GWPercle,
I will eventually gas check some soft alloy Bullets and tip the powder can for velocity and expansion. Thank you sir. First thing I’m going to work out though is something easy shooting that is accurate with very little recoil and fun to shoot. I am still undecided if I’m going to cast 147’s with straight clip on wheel weights or make some Lyman no 2 and buy the 6 cavity Lee 125 grain round nose.

243winxb.
Thank you for making mention of the 10 twist in your Taurus sir. Ive never used a mandrel expander loading pistol ammunition. Cast or jacketed. Run out or the brass swaging my cast Bullets has not been problematic for me. The only place I use a mandel expander is with jacketed Bullets in bottle neck rifle cartridges loading precision long range ammunition. Uniform neck tension with little to no runout and velocity spreads lower than matters at the ranges I shoot my cast ammunition is what I’m after when I process brass with a mandrel expander. Kudos to you sir for your attention to detail. No such thing as producing ammunition that is too good!

Michael birdsley,
Which mold? The local reloading shop stocks a very good selection of molds. I plan to pick one up tomorrow. I already have two particular molds in mind. If the misty fog we have had all day clears out, I hope to be shooting a load work up by Sunday afternoon…
Thank you all for responding.
Willie

[Quinnbrian]

Has anyone ever tried the black Graphite spray booms, as a lube...won't be as good as PC but would it work?

[Dave W.]

I use a 125 grain truncated boolit, from my Master Caster, I would assume Lee or others have have similar shapes. They are sized to .358. Generally load with fast powders, D032, 231, AA#2. I use a medium lube, not too fussy about brand, several will work. Have had good luck with White Label Lubes BAC. If they want to lead, try using Lyman Super Moly, it is messy but works.

At the velocities you are using it should not be too difficult get a load you like.

Almost forgot, I use clip on wheel weighs cut 50% with soft lead, either from stick on wheel weights or lead melted out of jacketed bullets.

Enjoy the ride!

[pworley1]

You have been given much very good advice. I switched from the 147 to the 120 bullets because it makes my lead go further and the paper can't tell the difference.

[wv109323]

The 9mm has been the most frustrating caliber I have ever loaded for. The various size of the bores between a CZ and a Canik have made the use of a single sized bullet impossible between the two pistols. The chambers have essentially no leade in them and boolits haxe to be loaded extremely short in oal. Also a cast boolit that is sized for the bore will scrape off lead or powder coating and quickly accumulate at the end of the chamber. This will not allow the slide to go into full battery because the round is not seating on the case mouth. I have had to resort to jacketed bullets.

[littlejack]

I bought some commercial 125 grain cn, polymer coated to try in my Glock 48. Slugged bore is .3554 - .3558 depending on where is measured. This is with digital calipers, not with a micrometer. Boolits marked at .356, measure .3558 +/-. They leaded very bad. I bumped them up, and then ran them through a .357 sizer. Now the measure .3572. Yes, they are short. Boolit length is .500. Meplat is .280. Distance from front of the bore riding section, to the meplat is .200. Coal is .975. So far, there's been no failure to feed at all. Leading has dropped off considerably. Still doing some fine tuning. Probably getting some different boolits after these are gone.
Is there currently any commercial manufacturers casting .357 - .358 9mm cast bullets around 125 - 130 grain?
Good loading to all.
Regards

[justindad]

NOE 358 - 124 - TC - GC ... size to .357…
Gary

That’s what I do, except no gas check. The COAL didn’t line up well with my load data, so I had some figuring to do.

[243winxb]

Should add- my alloy is scrap or WW, plus 2" of Rotometals Linotype from a bar. No idea of BHN. Don't ever check, other then a thumb nail. https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?media/albums/casting-bullets.310/


https://www.speer.com/reloading/handgun-data.html

RCBS Pistol Lube or other 50/50 Alox/Bees wax.

[popper]

Most important is a proper case expander - 38P works. I like 135gr PB RNFP mold. Using WST for compacts.

[Willie T]

Update. Purchased Lee 6 cavity 356-125-2R this morning. For casting alloy I used 10 pounds of clip on wheel weight ingots and one pound of 50/50 solder. Once the mold gets up to temp it drops very nice air cooled bullets at .358-.359. Didn’t take long to work 2/3 through the Pot. Sized enough at .357 and lubed with Carnuba Red to do a work up with W-231. No leading after 10 separate 5 shot groups. 4.1 grains is a little smokey but appeared to shoot the best. All loads cycled the pistol reliably and locked the slide back. Loaded 5 more at 4.1 and shot another 5 shot group from a rest at 25 yards for confirmation. Have not measured group size but it will do. Gonna have to drift the rear sight over a bit but my range load is done. Thanks to all of y’all that took the time to share. The SA-35 appears to be a shooter.
W-231-4.1 grains
CCI SPP
Win cases
Lee 356-125-2R. Lyman no 2 Sized at .357
COAL-1.1
Hornady taper crimp die set. Seated and crimped in one pass.
307573
Thanks to all
Willie

[243winxb]

Nice workup. Great accuracy.

[littlejack]

That's nice!

[BJung]

Here is my limited experience with 9mm. I started with the Lee 6 cavity 122gr TC using range scrap. Molten lead was poured into the cavity, opened the sprue plate, and dropped my bullets. If I took a break, I set the mold under the lead pot. My bullet weights varied. Months past and I had a MP 2 cavity 125gr brass mold using .22lr lead, Molten lead was poured onto my sprue plate and spiraled into the cavity, opened the sprue plate, and dropped my bullets. If I took a break, I set the mold on a hot plate. The weights were almost all the same.

[fredj338]

Has anyone ever tried the black Graphite spray booms, as a lube...won't be as good as PC but would it work?

It might work in low pressure/vel loads but I would just go lubed then. Alox is pretty simple to apply.

[jdgabbard]

There has never been a round that frustrated me with cast as much as the 9mm. Of course, I find a lot of things frustrating about the 9mm. Such as the good old 4.0-4.5gr Red Dot over a 115gr FMJ filling the case to the point that it's technically a slightly compressed load. I have to load them beyond OAL just to keep pressures down - which is surprisingly the most accurate FMJ load I have. However, I also see the same thing with 4.0gr of Unique and the 120gr 358402 - which is below the starting load for the Lyman Manual. I'm not sure if powder has just gotten fluffier over the years, or the powder is fluffy enough that tamping it down with the boolits makes little difference in the load. Either way, it always makes me nervous when I see that. Though it does specify Winchester Brass - which actually has a lower volume than the Federal brass I typically use.

I've worked up loads before with the MP-125 HP, as well as the 358402, Lee 105gr SWC, and the 358242. I'd say for everyday plinking the 358402 is probably my go-to, as I don't have to change anything other than the Auto-Disk plate for switching between 115gr FMJ for my AR9s and the 120gr 358402 for my pistols. As the resulting OAL is exactly where it needs to be without fiddling with dies. However, to my distress, I have always experienced leading with anything in the 9mm. Just switching over to PC my boolits, so we'll see how that goes.

In short, I'd take any win I could get with the 9mm and cast. I've never shot the 125-2R, but that group certainly looks like a win to me. If it works well, I'd take it!

[littlejack]

Jd:
Do you have a chronograph to check the velocities of your loads? That will tell you if your loads are above safe pressures.

[jdgabbard]

Jd:
Do you have a chronograph to check the velocities of your loads? That will tell you if your loads are above safe pressures.

No, I do not. Though I’ve considered buying one for years. I’ve always relied on published data, observations while loading and shooting, as well as anecdotal information such as felt recoil. So far so good. But I’ve always had concerns over Red Dot and Unique loadings at given OALs. Loading a bit long works for pistols, and at published OAL for PCCs since since my longer OALs are too long and engage the rifling upon chambering.

[michael.birdsley]

GWPercle,
I will eventually gas check some soft alloy Bullets and tip the powder can for velocity and expansion. Thank you sir. First thing I’m going to work out though is something easy shooting that is accurate with very little recoil and fun to shoot. I am still undecided if I’m going to cast 147’s with straight clip on wheel weights or make some Lyman no 2 and buy the 6 cavity Lee 125 grain round nose.

243winxb.
Thank you for making mention of the 10 twist in your Taurus sir. Ive never used a mandrel expander loading pistol ammunition. Cast or jacketed. Run out or the brass swaging my cast Bullets has not been problematic for me. The only place I use a mandel expander is with jacketed Bullets in bottle neck rifle cartridges loading precision long range ammunition. Uniform neck tension with little to no runout and velocity spreads lower than matters at the ranges I shoot my cast ammunition is what I’m after when I process brass with a mandrel expander. Kudos to you sir for your attention to detail. No such thing as producing ammunition that is too good!

Michael birdsley,
Which mold? The local reloading shop stocks a very good selection of molds. I plan to pick one up tomorrow. I already have two particular molds in mind. If the misty fog we have had all day clears out, I hope to be shooting a load work up by Sunday afternoon…
Thank you all for responding.
Willie

So the mold I was using was a Lee 356-120-TC with tumble lube grooves. It appears Lee does not catalog that mold any more. They have replaced it with a 356-120-tc with regular lube grooves

I believe it’s designed for the .38 special. Not really knowing what I was doing at the time ordered it. However, I was able to get it to work well with powder coating. I could not get it to work well with out leading while tumble lubing. I was working up loads with bullseye and unique. I’m at the hospital at the moment so I can’t comment what the charge weight was.

I believe I made a thread about it here on cast boolits

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[dogdoc]

Excellent groups! I have not cast much for nine either but have purchased cast bullets and achieved ok accuracy . I have had the best accuracy with 145 grain bullets. I have not done a lot of load development but got some good loads with sport pistol powder in my smith 929 revolver. I have some glocks, springfields, and 1 cz I need to work with and may try some 231 as it always seems to produce decent groups

[Mandoair]

Just starting to cast for 9mm got a brand new 130 gr 8 cavity RP no lube grove aluminum mold from MP.
Any one know what the boolit jump distance is that works good for the 9 ❓ thanks.

[smokeater]

I cast 9mm for 4 Glocks and never have had any problems. I cast 120gr that Erik hollowpointed for me and a 125gr RN. Both molds are LEE molds. Maybe I'm lucky but never had any problems with cast in a 9mm. I size .356 diameter.

[Willie T]

Just starting to cast for 9mm got a brand new 130 gr 8 cavity RP no lube grove aluminum mold from MP.
Any one know what the boolit jump distance is that works good for the 9 ❓ thanks.

Every firearm is a rule unto it’s self. 9mm is pressure sensitive to seating depth. When you start comparing published data you will find data sets using the same components with a published starting load in one data set listed as a maximum load in another data set with the bullet seated deep. With a minimal powder charge, work out the OAL your pistol is agreeable with. Once you settle on an OAL, re-visit published data and you will have a better idea of what may be close to what you are doing.
I know that didn’t answer your question but it is all I’ve got.
Willie

[243winxb]

Just starting to cast for 9mm got a brand new 130 gr 8 cavity RP no lube grove aluminum mold from MP.
Any one know what the boolit jump distance is that works good for the 9 ❓ thanks.

Place bullet ogives just a tiny amount above the case mouth. Very little .355" or .356" diameter exposed. Reload left, factory on right. https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?media/9mm-luger-maximum-diameters-of-loaded-rounds-saami-standard.4098/full

[Mandoair]

Thanks for the feedback on 9mm seating depths. I have done the math and know the “0” clearance col for my given bullet rmr p fn 147 gr It is 1.130 ~ which is where I inadvertently started my tests. My next batch of tests are at col 1.100 1.110 1.115 still only > around.020. Seems tight but better than an interference fit on -.??? Thanks. Reed

[243winxb]

Thanks for the feedback on 9mm seating depths. I have done the math and know the “0” clearance col for my given bullet rmr p fn 147 gr It is 1.130 ~ which is where I inadvertently started my tests. My next batch of tests are at col 1.100 1.110 1.115 still only > around.020. Seems tight but better than an interference fit on -.??? Thanks. Reed

This proves that not all chambers are the same. I knew this. My Tarus G3C has very little room to play with COL.
Some reloaders, presses have a variation of COL, as much as +/- .005" I have to watch for bullet lube build up in the seating plug.

[Mandoair]

This proves that not all chambers are the same. I knew this. My Tarus G3C has very little room to play with COL.
Some reloaders, presses have a variation of COL, as much as +/- .005" I have to watch for bullet lube build up in the seating plug.
I only see variations when I don’t keep all the cases the same length per batch. I noticed in western load data some 147gr 9mm are as long as 1.167. I pushed one in to the ogive and got 1.036 col seems short and a long way in at least the powder wouldn’t be shaking around in there.

[sigep1764]

Folks, this is all just math and observation. What is the bore/groove diameter? How long is the boolit? This leads to how deep and wide the expander needs to go into the case. Does the chamber support these measurements? If it fits in the chamber, it works, with good lube and proper powder load. Start at the bottom of load data and move up to functioning first, then accuracy. If it requires short loading, then it requires short powder.

[Charlie Horse]

My vote goes with powder coating.

I wish I could get the Lee 105 swc to feed, but neither my G26 or Taurus 92 will do that. And I've tried and tried.

I've relegated that boolit to revolver loads and my Rossi lever gun.