Casting for a 92fs, 9mm or 357 mold?

[TheFirst]

Im still pretty new to cast bullets and have a question. I slugged my beretta 92fs and it came to .357 / .349 so I was wondering if a regular lee 9mm mold will be too small? Should I go with a 357 mold and size it to 358? Basically I just want to know what size mold I should get and what size of a sizer I should get for it. I have been powder coating my rifle bullets but I probably wont be doing that for these since they dont go at high enough velocities. I also have a Kahr cm9 that I havent slugged yet.

If anyone else has experience with lee molds (im a pretty poor college student, I cant afford them fancy expensive molds :P ) in a 92fs, what did you have luck with?

[Outpost75]

Good info here:

http://www.grantcunningham.com/blog_..._cast_9mm.html

[500MAG]

I had a 92f many years ago. I used the Lee Tl356-124 mold with COWW's. Never bothered to size them. Tumble lubed with LLA and had no leading issues. That 92f ate them up.

[DeanWinchester]

I had a 92G that was UNUSUALLY large. I tried as cast .358's and still got hints of leading.
They are great guns but can be a little tricky to cast for.

Try running what you have, as cast an tumble lubed. You'll know by looking if it's gonna work or not, after just a few rounds. It's worth trying.

[dubber123]

I would be inclined to try LEEs 358 125 RF. It should cast large enough, (I would try .358" first, and go bigger if necessary). Of my 3 9mm's, 2 take .358" and 1 takes .359".

[TheFirst]

Wow, fast responses guys! Thankt a lot! Ill probably pick up the 358 125 RF and a 358 sizer. I currently have a 358 158 rf mould from when I had my s&w 686+, I now wish I hadnt gotten such a high weight... Just a tad too heavy for the 9mm.

[krallstar]

I would be inclined to try LEEs 358 125 RF. It should cast large enough, (I would try .358" first, and go bigger if necessary). Of my 3 9mm's, 2 take .358" and 1 takes .359".

This will be my next mold. Beretta 92. Right now i use a lee 356 125 RN i had to beaggle it to get them to .359. Pan lube and load as is. works great

[Beesdad]

Lee 356 125 R2 .... 75% WW's 25% lead ... Lubed with Alox..

This combo has performed well in my Beretta, Glock and S&W.

PC is much more forgiving...

Good luck..

[tazman]

Most of my Lee 356-etc molds drop at .357 to .358. I lube and shoot unsized now. I used to size everything to .357 but found my chamber is loose enough to accept .358 without a quibble so I don't bother anymore. Never got leading with either size, but I find my accuracy is slightly better with the larger boolit size.
I have used the 358-125-rf and it shoots and feeds fine. I also used the 356-125-2r and it shoots fine as well. The 356-120-TC shoots even better for me.

[Scharfschuetze]

.358" diameter has proven to be "just right" in my Beretta Model 92. I personally like the RCBS 125 grain boolit over Unique powder for a good all around load weather for plinking or the weekend steel matches at the local range.

[TheFirst]

I wish 9mm could take 158 gr boolits... Either that or I wish I could just trade my 158gr for a lighter casting mold. The hardships of being poor...

It seems almost an even split between people that use the 356 and 357 molds... This is gonna be a hard choice.. Since Im gonna use it in my cm9 also, I guess I really SHOULD go for the 356. I guess I could PC the boolits I want to use in the 92fs for a couple thousandths extra if I find I need it.

[historicfirearms]

My beretta 92 would feed almost any shape boolit. One day I was bored and loaded up some full wadcutter bullets. My gun would run almost a full magazine of them before it choked. Sized to .3585" and no leading with any reasonable load. One problem you may have is with the variability in 9mm brass, I get best results with same headstamp brass.

[tazman]

I wish 9mm could take 158 gr boolits... Either that or I wish I could just trade my 158gr for a lighter casting mold. The hardships of being poor...

It seems almost an even split between people that use the 356 and 357 molds... This is gonna be a hard choice.. Since Im gonna use it in my cm9 also, I guess I really SHOULD go for the 356. I guess I could PC the boolits I want to use in the 92fs for a couple thousandths extra if I find I need it.

Will the chamber on your cm9 accept a larger diameter booli? If so you could still use the larger diameter in both pistols.
Actually you can use the 158 grain rf in a 9mm but there are issues to deal with. The biggest problem is how deeply you need to seat the bullet in order to chamber in your pistol. Usually you need to back way down on your powder charge because there is so much boolit inside the case. Also you can end up swaging down the back end of the boolit so it is undersize and this causes problems as well.
Better to acquire a mold designed for use in 9mm or at least the same weight as 9mm boolits.

[nighthunter]

I use Miha's 359-125 HP and size .358. Never had a problem with accuracy or function. I shoot them cast and lubed and cast and powder coated.

Nighthunter

[Harter66]

My 356-124TLTC drops at a ''soft'' 360 ,the brand new,358 125 RNFP drops at 361. In fact I think all of my pistol moulds drop fat and heavy. Just lucky I guess.
The 358-125 actually drops 1-20 for a 38 S&W at 133gr.

[MtGun44]

Strongly recommend the Lee 356 120 TC sized to .357 or .358. RN 9m boolits very often have
problems due to tight throating. Truncated cone boolits avoid this problem, on the overall are
more reliable feeders, and were the original shape for 9mm jbullets.

Check the sticky on setting up a new 9mm for boolits, may save some grief and time.

Bill

[sigep1764]

Whichever mold you choose, watch the OAL with the Kahr. Mine has a short chamber. Do the plunk test! It also accepts 358 boolits, no problem.

[runfiverun]

the 158 ain't too heavy for the 9mm my Taurus copy wouldn't shoot worth well anything until I went to a 158 swc sized to 358.
I finally had enough of a gun that changed poi every time I pulled the trigger.
so i upped the titegroup load until the grips bulged out and the shiny nickel colored frame turned a beautiful color of green, I felt much better about the gun after that.
I didn't feel too good about picking the brass out of my fingers though.

[TheFirst]

the 158 ain't too heavy for the 9mm my Taurus copy wouldn't shoot worth well anything until I went to a 158 swc sized to 358.
I finally had enough of a gun that changed poi every time I pulled the trigger.
so i upped the titegroup load until the grips bulged out and the shiny nickel colored frame turned a beautiful color of green, I felt much better about the gun after that.
I didn't feel too good about picking the brass out of my fingers though.

Are you trying to tell me it blew your gun up? lol

[silverado]

I am using the lee 356-120-tc powder coated and sized to 358, more accurate than me. I had a smith and wesson 9mm that did not chamber that boolit at all.... sold the smith to simplify my casting. YMMV