LEE 356-147-TC mold

[DaleT]

Hi All, I'm looking to get a 147 grain mold for my 9MM carbine and was curious if anyone has experience with Lee's 356-147-TC mold.
Thank you ,Dale

[Kosh75287]

I had to "google" the mold # to get it to come up. The version of the catalog that I keep pulling up does not have a .356" 147 gr. TC mold listed.
I have no experience with that particular mold, so I don't know how well it casts. I would THINK that it is fairly trouble-free. Typically, as I cast projectiles of increasing bullet weight for a particular caliber, they seem to be less troublesome.
If bullets that you cast from the Lee mold act like other 147 gr. TC bullets, you should be fairly pleased. MY experience with pistol-caliber carbines suggests that greatest velocity gain will be obtained with lighter projectiles, especially in blowback-operated ones. I tried loading them with very slow-burning (for 9mm) pistol propellants (Blue Dot, AA#7), and did not get as much velocity increase as when I used "medium rate" propellants like Unique, Herco, or AA#5.
Depending on the PCC of interest, a load that launches a 147 gr. projectile at 950 f/s from a 4" barreled 9mm pistol will gain ~100 f/s from a carbine. Not as stellar a velocity increase as the .357 Mag. gets from a lever-gun, but an extra 100 f/s is nothing to sneeze at.

[kevin c]

What is your intended use for the load?

Kosh points out that lighter is faster. It also has, among other things, a different recoil impulse, POI and terminal ballistics.

In the action pistol games, where Pistol Caliber Carbine is a fairly new but very popular division, competitors started out using the same 147 grain weight loads as their pistols, but in recent years have moved to lighter bullets and powder charges tailored to the longer barrels with the aim towards lighter felt recoil and faster sight recovery for follow up shots. Pertinent terminal ballistics consist of reliably punching the 6”x11” cardboard target at 30 yards. The end result is a load that may not function at all in a pistol.

[DaleT]

The intended purpose is for use with a suppressor. Currently I have some 147 grain Berry's FMJ. I load them with 3.4 grns of unique and they clock around 1030+- from a 16" barrel with moderate accuracy (4-5" group) at 50 yards.

[Barry54]

That mold works as well as any other Lee mold.

[Kosh75287]

Your 3.4/Unique/147 gr. FMJ load is chronographing at just about 100 f/s under the speed of sound (if I converted it from m/s to f/s correctly). Do you have a slightly faster-burning propellant you can use, like Red Dot, 700X or W231? Ordinarily, I do not like using propellants as fast as these with 147s in a 9mm.
It sounds, however, as if the margin between keeping the rounds "inaudible" vs. ensuring their reliable function is quite narrow. The propellant for the chore must be "energetic" enough to push the bolt back reliably, yet burn completely in the first half (or so) of the barrel so the bullet does not further accelerate from continued combustion down the latter half of the barrel.

[cwlongshot]

Its a nice bullet.

https://rumble.com/v2n9pem-the-new-lee-356-147tl-bullet-mold.html

[DaleT]

I tested 20 rounds with the 3.4 and they clocked at around 1030 fps . Because I was at the public range I had to have ear pro but from what I could discern they were definitely subsonic. I suspect with a powder coated bullets they may be a little faster ( that's what happened when I went from FMJ to powder coated with my 300 bulk out anyways),so I may need to adjust the powder type/ load a little.

[porthos]

what size does this bullet drop at??

[Loudenboomer]

700X has been working well with the 147 suppressed. Only complaint is the way it meters threw my Dillon.

[porthos]

can anyone that uses this mold tell me what size it drops the bullet?

[DaleT]

Hey folks, I wanted to post an update on what I said earlier. I had said I used 3.4 grains of Unique on my test loads. That was incorrect, I had used 3.4 grains of Bullseye. My apologies for any confusion that may have thrown anyone off.

[fredj338]

I am currently running this bullet in my various 9mm. I like the profile, shoots well with a couple diff powders.
Size will vary with alloy & casting temp. I use range scrap sweetened with a bit of lino. They cast 147-149, i PC & size to 0.357”. The bullets are 0.358-0.359 after coating.

[fredj338]

Hey folks, I wanted to post an update on what I said earlier. I had said I used 3.4 grains of Unique on my test loads. That was incorrect, I had used 3.4 grains of Bullseye. My apologies for any confusion that may have thrown anyone off.
Yeah that sounded pretty light.

[Petander]

Dale,

this is not the exact bullet in your question but I have used this in two suppressed 9mm carbines, a Beretta Storm and B&T APC9. Long and fat,it was a bit tricky to load. I do not have those carbines any more ... but I came up with an easy loading 153 grain subsonic bullet for a 9mm suppressed pistol sort of by accident:

I ordered a Mihec (a group buy here) 135 grain bullet as a NLG and voila', it drops 153 AND has bevel base. So for subsonics, as you PC you can get a NLG mold for more weight with the same length. My mold still reads 135 on it, I was pleasantly surprised when I heard a mild report only.

I load that Mihec on a standard Dillon Square Deal, no special expanders or anything. PC and size .356. Mine is 8 cav aluminum. Other makers carry NLG these days,too.

Just food for thought. I may order even a tad heavier 9 mm bb mold.

https://i.postimg.cc/D036ysxj/IMG-20231128-200607-005.jpg

[Doughty]

Petander, I used that bullet in my wife's Glock 19. It shot good and loaded okay in most 9mm brass, but, the new 147 grain TC six cavity casts so easy, loads easy and shoots really good. It's in the standard load now.

I wish I could figure out how to rotate the pictures when posting? 320476

I learned how. Thanks George.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

Just food for thought. I may order even a tad heavier 9 mm bb mold.

https://i.postimg.cc/D036ysxj/IMG-20231128-200607-005.jpg

I'm sure some people might be able to get that 158gr Lee boolit to work in 9mm but my Lyman #356637 147gr boolit is better shaped for 9mm. It has a more tapered base and the nose is smaller than .356 making it fit well into barrels with no throat. When I cast with scrap they weigh 157gr on my scale.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010245557?pid=241746

[Gobeyond]

Do you size it?