.358 cast bullet in 9mm ??

[Brownie]

Ok where are all the old school cast bullet shooters out there? I've been contemplating casting and loading for 9mm. Original thought was buy a new mould and go from there. After a little looking around on the internet it seems that there are more than a few people using the same bullets in 38special as in their 9mm. Some are just resizing them to .356 while others are running them at. 358. Obviously slug barrel start low on charge etc.etc. with safe loading practices. My real question here is have any of you ingoers ever tried this or have any experience with it?

 

[parson]

I load bullets cast from my Lee molds that drop about .358. I run the rounds through the Lee factory crimp die, and have no problem with them in my XD.

 

[Brownie]

Parson what weight/style bullet are you running in your xd. Also what is the cartridge oal.

 

[dak109]

I am in the process of figuring this one out From what I have found on castboolits .com and my own eperience: Stay away from Tumble lube bullets and Lee factory crimp die. I am still working on the TL 125 rn. When I pulled some bullets from loads I ran through the LFCD they measured .355. My barrel slugged .357, keyholing out the whazoo, and talk about leading. I have a 125gr rn mold for .357 that is not TL. Initial test rounds were ok, still a little leading. I think I can fix that with different lube.

Yes slug the bore. Go at least .001 bigger (I have read of those going +.002.
Run small quantities to test. Pulling bullets is no fun.
Start light and work from there. Aside from pressure also keep an eye leading.
Take a look at castboolits.com. Best help I have found, and could have saved some money in the process.
Most importantly... have fun and be safe!

 

[parson]

My mold is a Lee that was 158 gr flat point that I ground down to remove the gas check. It now drops at around 140 grains. I would have to check on the oal. I played around with the length until the rounds cycled well.

And, the Lee factory crimp die that I use is for .357/.38, so it doesn't undersize the bullets.I have the stem adjusted so it doesn't put a roll crimp in the case.

 

[indymadcaster]

I do this in glocks hk and any polygonal rifled barr
els

 

[Leadeye]

The Lee 358-125-RF is my basic 9mm and 38 ACP bullet sized to .358. OAL is a little shorter in some guns as the wide bullet shoulder engages the rifeling early. Adjusted to proper length for function and you are good to go.

 

[Brownie]

Thanks guys! Sounds like its definitely possible to do. A few more things for me tocheck out before I actually load any up. Anyone have a starting load approximation for a 150 gm keith bullet in a 9 mm?

 

[jtb]

Brownie,
In addition to the above advise, keep case capacity in mind and shy from the larger heavier bullets untill you get some experiance under your belt. Throat, spring rate of the gun, case OAL, case capacity from brand to brand all can be touchy in the different makes of 9mm.

I also have the best results with the Lee 358-125-RF in three different makes, all have different bore and chamber dimensions as the 9mm's are prone to have from make to make.

9mm isn't the easiest beast to tame to cast at times. Send me a PM and with the specifics of your gun and I'll send you some properly sized Lee droppings to try for the postage.

jim

 

[parson]

Good advise from jtb. The bullets that I mentioned above are used in light plinking loads. Always best to stick with published loads from reputable manuals.

 

[dak109]

Loaded up some 124gr. TL that I tl'ed only. Some that I dipped in alox, beeswax and carnuba. and some 125gr rf for my .357 sized to .358 dipped in the above goop.

Here is what I found. TL only, a little leading not real accurate.
TL dipped not much leading and not real accurate.
125gr rf dipped, half the group size very little if any leading.

All were loaded in an old lee turret press. over 5gr of Power Pistol. Were shot out of a Ruger SR9c.

Not willing to put up targets as it was wya to hot to be out very long and were shot off hand at 10 yards. Sweat was running in my eyes by the time I shot the second bunch.

Just thought I would share.