the 9mm saga continues

[emorris]

I Have spent the last week playing with my 9mm developing a load that shot good and left little to no leading in the barrel. The leadding part is what I am having trouble with. Im using lee 120gn tc mold regular lube grove sized to .358 on top of 3.7gn of titegroup with clip on ww alloy water droped. The barrel starts leading halfway down, so I think that the LLA lube is not enough. I can't back down on powder bc my ruger willnot cycle 100%. I also have bullseye powder. I would be very thankful of any powder suggestions. I think that it may be best to pan lube these boolits. Here comes my question which is what would be the best lube. I do not plan to buy stick lube to melt down, but i would like to make my own. I have checked the sticky on bullet lube, but i am now more confused on which to use (way toooo many choises). Also I have aquired a lee 150gn flat point mold for my win 30-30. Is it a good mold? Rifle casting is new to me and besides the 9mm I have only casted for 38 special for pistol. What would be a good home brew lube for the 30-30? I plan to gas check and size as needed with the lee push through.
Thanks for everyones help:drinks:

[fredj338]

Try not water dropping. At those vel a harder bullet isn't helping. I am also not a fan of uberfast, hot powders like TG fo rlead bullets, even BE can cause leading issues w/ the wrong lube. You might try something in the medium burn range, like WSF or Unique. FWIW, 3.7gr ot TG is not a starting load. Lyman #49 says you are maxed out.

[Edubya]

Alox is not the recommended lube! 357's lube seems to be a fairly simple one that should work. Felix's lube is the one that many have tried and filed good to great reports on. You could also contact http://www.lsstuff.com/index.html and see what they would recommend.

Best of luck to ya,

EW

[GabbyM]

I don't use a powder faster than WW231 for 9mm or 40 S&W.
WW231 works well as does the rest up to AA#5. I've uses 231, Unique, Power Pistol, HS-6 back when it was WW540, AA#5 and blue dot. They all worked. WSF is popular in 9mm but I've never tried it. AA#5 worked very well and I should have stayed with it but am one of those who just can't leave well enough alone. Power Pistol meters well having smaller grain (flake) size than Unique. Both being flake powder by Alliant. I tried bullseye back in the seventies with 90 grain J bullets and didn't like it much in a 9mm. To shoot listed max charge loads it flattened my case heads hard and would stamp out the lettering after a few loads. With lead it has a short pressure curve and could well be kicking the bullet hard enough to squeeze out your lube. Not very technical terms but I'm no engineer.

They say it helps to allow LLA to dry for up to two weeks before loading and shooting.

[HeavyMetal]

Your lube is failing at the half way point in the barrel.

The number three reason I'm not a fan of this stuff.

I will suggest that you try to pan lube a small batch with something like Carnuba Red and try a lube change.

Javilina lube and the NRA 50-50 lube are nothing more than LLA in solid form you can try them but I don't think they will change your problem but they might depending on the size of your lube groove.

[MtGun44]

Use a greater quantity of a better lube. Like almost any normal lube in the lube groove.
Lee mule snot is marginal at best and 9mm is often (perhaps usually) out of the range
of this easy but fundamentally very limited capability lube. Many swear by it, I would
guess that more swear at it.

Try 50/50 NRA formula or one of the normal old fashioned soft lubes. Keep the large diam
and stop water dropping unless you get to no leading and poor accy, which could conceivably
be due to a too soft alloy not gripping the often extremely shallow rifling in many 9mms.

I have never observed this rifling failure issue in several different brand 9mms. Doesn't mean
it can't happen, just that it hasn't happened in these particular guns. Each gun is always
a thing unto itself.

You did not list the groove diam. Have you slugged the barrel? If not, you should.

Bill

[deltaenterprizes]

What gun are you shooting?

[Recluse]

All your combinations are wrong:

--traditional lube grooves, but using only LLA in them

--too hot of a powder

--maxed out load

--overly hard boolit

This is a perfect example of returning to Square One.

I have never had much luck tumble-lubing 9mm boolits that have traditional lube grooves. Those always get run through the lubesizer.

Likewise, I've had zero luck with the hotter/faster powders--especially with lead boolits. AA#5 and Unique work the best for me in 9mm loads (lead or jacketed). If you don't have a lubesizer, then pan lube those boolits. If leading is your only concern, contact White Label lubes and get a few sticks of Carnauba Red, melt 'em down and pan lube the boolits.

:coffee:

[shooting on a shoestring]

emorris...looks like everyone has jumped on your 9mm question. Now as to the second 30/30 question. Yes. I have that 150 grain Lee FP and I also have the 170 Lee. Both work very well in my old Winchester 94. I highly recomend you cook up a batch of Felix lube for them. Even if you smear the lube on with your fingers, you will get good results. You will need at least a Lee push through sizer to seat the gas checks on them. I size run mine through a .312" even though my bore is .310". They chamber and shoot decent...meaning 4 to 6" groups at 100 yds with my bifocals and iron sights.

I also can reach any velocity advertised for 30/30 150 grain and don't have any leading. I shoot water dropped boolits that are roughly 50/50 pure lead/wheel weights.

Good luck.