First time casting and powder coating *Pic heavy*

[gefiltephish]

For my 9mm guns and that bullet, I use oal of 1.060, except the LC9 which needs 1.090. Just use your barrel and do the "plunk" test. It will tell you exactly what the correct length needs to be. Yours may be different than anyone elses. Also, based on your first bullet photo, it looks like it could use a little better fill out, which may explain why you only get .356 after sizing...perhaps too small to begin with. What size do they drop at?

[EMC45]

I would seat till about 30 thou shows of the front band, size to .358 and crimp just enough to remove the "bell" from the case mouth. Crimp to where the case walls are straight all the way to the end. That's just me though.....

[jacobslagle018]

As far as powders go I only have HS-6 and Longshot right now. Supplies are still really tight where I live. Lyman 49th has a load for HS-6 but the OAL said it needed to be 1.110. Should I just use the min load it has listed as a start?

[sirAIG]

If it were me, I'd drop my starting load 1 or 2 tenths of a grain. But even at the min load, you should be okay

[popper]

You could go~ 0.01-0.015 longer without problem. I use 231, not HS6 but I would start at the low jacket load.

[xacex]

I just looked at my load data, and some I had loaded up from a couple of years ago. The COAL I have been using on those is 1.060". Fed in all the 1911's, glocks, ect. I have tried them in. I to noticed you may not be casting hot enough. The lower drive band on the one that was not coated is rounded. It should be sharp. Dont worry if they are a little frosty. It helps the powder coat stick.

[w0fms]

Have to concur with deeper.. and I was hinting at that yesterday.. probably what would be best is to just keep backing the die down in small increments until you get it smooth. ESPECIALLY in 9mm the largest OAL that will work (in all of your guns or) gun is the best bet for accuracy and pressure... But it still looks good.. should work well when you get it all figured out too....

[sirAIG]

Not to hijack this thread, but can you briefly explain why the longest OAL you can run is best for 9mm in all applications?

[xacex]

Not to hijack this thread, but can you briefly explain why the longest OAL you can run is best for 9mm in all applications?

Reducing the jump from throat to lands affects accuracy, but with semi auto pistols it is a balance between what guns you would be using the cartridge in, reliability, and accuracy. With rifles you want to be .001 to .005 off of the lands for best accuracy, but in a semi auto pistol that is not always possible. Reducing the jump reduces the chance that the bullet tips as it is released by the neck, and enters the rifling straight. For short range work, and plinking this kind of accuracy is completely unnecessary. Frankly, most of the time I don't worry about it and work at an OAL that will work in all of my guns reliably, but that means my accuracy drops to over 1" at 7 yards or 21 feet.

[Walter Laich]

FWIW: I load my non-coated TC bullets a bit deeper than the first pictures. I load at the lower (-est) end of the table just enough powder for plinking loads--getting too old and carpal tunnel took the hot load off the table.

[Bullwolf]

Judging by your pictures, that Lee TC bullet needs to be seated a tad lower until it will easily pass a plunk test in your pistol barrel.




I saw a great example of this interference fit from an Image on the CZ forums. I'm going to borrow and re-paste that image here.




I use a different TC bullet (Lyman 356402) for 9mm than the Lee one, and I can seat it out at 1.15 with no problems in my 9mm pistols.



However that Lyman design is a bit narrower than the Lee TC design. The Lee boolit often requires a somewhat deeper seating to function reliably as you are finding out.

You are learning that your pistol is the final judge of the correct loaded overall cartridge length, more so than a go or no go gauge.



- Bullwolf

[w0fms]

When I started to load 9mm, I noticed that using book OAL's would occasionally give me high pressure signs in one of my guns.. going to plunk test minus 0.001" or so fixed that issue. I have started to work up from max OAL that will chamber in all of my guns for every caliber now, and notice that the accuracy is a lot better and I've never seen "pressure signs". The odd thing is that I was nowhere near max.

My comment on 9mm.. and many more experienced might just say "newbie".. is that.. it's... well.. touchy compared to other calibers and when you see grains of powder vs. case size, etc.. that 9mm is .. a little more delicate than most other calibers.. the sizing OAL to the chamber in my experience (limited compared to many here).. seems to make the process that much more easy and scientific..

Your mileage might vary here... I also tend to use "fast" powders like W231 and Bullseye and I've been considering trying other types for my powder coated 9mm's once things warm up...

[OBXPilgrim]

Pulled my loading data notebook out to have a look. Lee 120gr TC is the only 9mm I could get to shoot accurately in a Glock 26. OAL was 1.055"

[flashhole]

In my opinion, reloading manuals are good for a baseline, but my ammo hardly ever meets the OAL specs. I ran into similar problems using the Lee 175TC mold for 40sw. I ended up seating my boolit deeper and the issues stopped. I'm not saying disregard the reloading manual, but I starting learning the most when I start venturing into he unknowns

Same issue, same bullet, same fix on my 40 S&W. The slight (~.012") protrusion of the shoulder above the case was causing feed problems. Seating it a bit deeper so the shoulder was flush to the case having only the cone above the case rim eliminated the problem.

[jacobslagle018]

I went to shoot a mag of these today. Im glad to report all appendages are still here. These were actually super accurate loads. I didnt think to keep the target but I will post one next time I shoot. Thanks agani for all of the help!

[sirAIG]

I'm glad everything worked well for you! Did you say at the minimum load data for that boolit?

[garym1a2]

I use 1.06 for this one also as longer does not work in some of my barrels.

[jacobslagle018]

I ended up going to 1.045 for my oal. Any longer didnt want to fit. I used 5.1 grains of longshot for the powder. This is an amazing load for me. Couldnt have done it without the help from everyone here!

[Mbedwell1971]

I am using that same mold and that is how deep I am seating mine. I have no problem with that depth in either of my Springfield 9mm(XD and XDs). Accuracy is still great for me at that depth.