Have an issue with 124 gr lead cast bullets keyholing in three different guns one Smith two Xd's loading bullseye 4.5 grains per Alliant specs right around max loads.My thoughts are its to hot of a load to stabilize the bullet.I was curious if anyone else on here has had a similar problem.I may need to switch powders to something a little slower.Factory loads shoot ok just the cast is the problem.cast bullets weigh out very close 124.8 to 125.1 just looking for some ideas before I start switching things around.
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9mm cast bullet tumble
- Thread starter Kingpin
- Start date
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What is the final diameter of the bullets? If they are undersized that may be a problem, especially if your lead alloy is soft. Lead bullets like to go slow. I do not have data for the Bullseye powder. I use Hodgdon's TiteGroup and the Manual shows almost a full grain less powder when using lead bullets vs Jacketed.
I just looked up your load on the Alliant website. The recommended charge you are using is for a jacketed bullet. Give 3.6 grains a try, you will probably be right in there. Maybe someone has an older book that lists a lead bullet load. 9mm traditionally is not a favorite caliber for lead bullets because it is a higher velocity round. Good Luck
Just curious. Are you using the Lee Factory Crimp Die (FCD)? I cast some tumble lube 9mm and loaded them then ran them through the FCD. I pulled the bullets and found that they had squeezed down from .358 to .356. My barrel slugged out at .357. Keyhole big time
. There is a lot written about it at castboolits.com.
Good luck. I am still trying to get the time to finish developing a cast load for my 9mm.
. There is a lot written about it at castboolits.com.Good luck. I am still trying to get the time to finish developing a cast load for my 9mm.
If it's happening in (3) different guns, I would try simply reducing the charge first.
I wouldn't switch powders just because you want slower velocities ( Bullseye is a fast burning powder already)... If you want a cleaner burning, or a powder that might flow thru your measure better, then thats fine. For the meantime, I would use your same powder and just reduce the charge and see it that totally eliminates your issue.
Speer lists 3.5 as starting and 3.8 as max for Bullseye using a 125 gr L-RN.
Lyman lists 3.3 to 3.9 using the same powder and weight bullet.
I wouldn't switch powders just because you want slower velocities ( Bullseye is a fast burning powder already)... If you want a cleaner burning, or a powder that might flow thru your measure better, then thats fine. For the meantime, I would use your same powder and just reduce the charge and see it that totally eliminates your issue.
Speer lists 3.5 as starting and 3.8 as max for Bullseye using a 125 gr L-RN.
Lyman lists 3.3 to 3.9 using the same powder and weight bullet.
I have had no problem using cast bullets in any of my 9mm's. I use 124 gr and 147 gr on the low side usually. Last batch I was running was key holeing like a mother. The last load I was using for some reason was about .5 grains lower then the minimum load so I wouldn't go to low for this reason.
