Beretta 92FS

[sgabel1]

I inherited a Beretta 92FS from my dad when he passed away in 1998. I shot it some but was never impressed with the accuracy. I am more a 1911 guy and cast 45ACP, 38, and 357. I went to the range the other day and took the 92 along and shot a box of FMJ. There was a gentleman that was somewhat new to reloading. He was into 1911's but in 9MM. He had a Kimber and Les Baer and a bunch of 120 gr hard cast commercial bullets that he reloaded. He threw a handful my way and I fired off about 15 rounds. The accuracy was worse than the FJS's.Everything seemed fine until I cleaned the gun and noticed the extreme leading. At the same time I just found a new set of RCBS carbide dies on EBAY cheap and bought them. My thought was maybe I would find a mould for the 92. After removing the lead I slugged the barrel and found out that Dia = .358. I guess that explains the leading. I set up the 9mm dies and goofed around making some dummy rounds using some cast 358477 38 SWC bullets sized to .359 to see if at that diameter they would chamber and they did. Problem is it sheared a bit of lead going in and I do not know if it swaged the diameter down. I thought a good bullet might be the old lyman 358242 121 gr. Is pushing a bullet sized to .359 into a 9MM case possible without swaging down the bullet diameter. Any suggestion or should I give up on the 92?

[Blammer]

sheared a bit of lead going in.

Loading the boolit into the brass I shall presume.

if you want to findout if it swaged the boolit, pull it out and measure it.

you should be able to get a .359 dia boolit in the case with out swaging it. you may need a larger neck sizer for your 9mm, since you state you have a 38 and you probably have a reloading dies for that you may want to see if that will help any. Use the larger neck sizer in that to open up the 9mm brass a tad.

What you'll need to do it flair the case mouth some so the boolit won't be sheared when seating it. you should have a neck sizing die in your 9mm one, just turn the seater/neck sizer pin down until you get some flair on it.

[Jack Stanley]

The ninety-two I used to load for took .359" diameter bullets and shot very well with no leading . Sounds like Blammer is on to some of the problems you had with the ammo . Get the bullet into the case without beating it up to much , moderate powder charge , decent alloy and lube ....... it might just surprise you .

Jack

[sgabel1]

Am I right to assume that a Lyman or Lee 356 series mold will not drop a bullet as large of diameter as .359-.360? Any mould suggestions?

[Blammer]

I'd guess that. I'd look for a 120gr or so 38 cal mould. Might suit you better.

[theperfessor]

I like the Lee 358-125 RNFP sized to .358 over 6.7 to 7.0 grs Blue Dot in my Hi-Power. No experience with a 92FS.

[helg]

I have Taurus PT92 (92FS clone) with .3572" bore. Until I started feeding it with .358" cast bullets, and brass, which is not completely sized in the sizing die, I had problems with leading and accuracy. Now my reloads shoot perfectly from the 92, though they do not fit into any other 9mm handgun.

.358" Lee sizer is of a standard stock (38/357 use the diameter). My Lee 125gr TL molds both (TC and RN) drop .358+ bullets from WWs.

[GabbyM]

Chance of a Lyman mould of 9mm caliber dropping .359" would be slim. Some of the old Ideal moulds are that big.

Second theperfessor's suggestion of Lee 358-125-RF. It's a known shooter in 9mm and will give you at least a .358". Lee 358-105-SWC is another good one.

I have two 9mm bullets from Magma moulds I ordered as 38 Super and they may make .359" bullets. Depending upon what day they are cast. Usually just a fat .358" so they size nice at .358 to .356". 124 RN and 147 FP. Plus the Magma 35 revolver bullet 125-TCFP that shoots in the auto cases.

Your throat may not pass a .359" bullet. Have you tried a 359 down the chamber to see if it goes into the throat? If the front of the chamber is sharp you may have shaved lead as your bullet entered the throat.

I like to load my 9mm with bullet entering the throat when I can. I use a bullet that will push all the way to the rifling or reach maximum magazine length of about 1.150”. Whichever comes first. I'm pretty sure they would chamber that barrel after they rifled it. Meaning your throat will be larger than your bore or else there would be rifling marks in it. But a .358" may fit better.

[chris in va]

That Lee 358-125-RF mold mentioned will drop at .362, at least mine does. I size it to .358 for my CZ. The throat is so shallow though that I have to load it at 1.01 for it to chamber properly.

[NuJudge]

I've been shooting the Lee 358-125-RF sized at .359", lubed with 50/50, over a light load of 231, with excellent results. Anything smaller gets terrible results. I did not notice the belling of my cases being more than usual.

Make sure such a bullet loaded into a case will fit in your chamber before you load a lot of them.

[HiVelocity]

Ditto on Blammers comments (and others).

The only thing I would add is you may want to use a factory crimp die on your final product. For me, at least, all my auto cartridges feed and shoot flawlessly.

Just my $.02 worth. Good Luck!

HV in SC:bigsmyl2:

[MtGun44]

I shoot the Lee 356-120 TC in all my 9mms with excellent results at .357 or .358 depending
on the gun. AC WWt is fine. Recommend the design. Avoid the TL type.

Bill

[riverwalker76]

I shoot the Lee 356-120 TC in all my 9mms with excellent results at .357 or .358 depending
on the gun. AC WWt is fine. Recommend the design. Avoid the TL type.

Bill


X2

I shoot my Beretta M9 a.k.a. Military style 92fs using both the Lee 356-120-TC and the Lee 356-125-2R with excellent results. Both of my molds drop between .359 & .360 depending on the WW mix I am using.

Beretta 92FS pistols love the 120 to 130 gr. range, and anything below or above that will show up on paper with lousy accuracy as the proof. If you need proof of the 92 accuracy ... get ahold of a few .356 dia. Hornady HAP 125 gr. jacketed bullets from someone and try them out. You will be surprised. When I use this combo in both my Beretta M9 & Smith & Wesson M&P Pro ..... the M9 wins hands down every time. My Smith prefers the 147 gr. Jackets, and shoots lead horribly no matter what I try.

Sorry I got on an accuracy rant .... I was just explaining why you might not be happy with the results. :-P

I would not try a .358 dia. / .38 special mold since most of them are heavier than what the Beretta prefers. I think you are having problems because of the weights of your bullets where accuracy is a question.

If you keep having accuracy problems with the Beretta ... PM me. I'm NOT a lead loading expert, but I am very proficient with the Beretta where accuracy is concerned. I might be able to help you accurize it a little if you keep having problems.

[Ole]

I have shot A LOT of the Lee 125 RNFP in my 9mm, sized to .357" with good results.