Question for the Reload Guru's

kokanee king

kokanee king

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Howdy fellow reloaders. I am getting back into reloading after at least a 25yr hiatus from doing it. I am finding that im blasting my 9mm's like there is no tomorrow and, well ammo aint cheap after awhile. Im in the fledgling stages of getting bullets for gathered to feed my 9mm (.355), 38 super(.355) and .45 (.451). My questions are as follows.

For my 9mm and 38 Super im planning on shooting the .355 124gr FMJ RN bullet. The.45 will be the 230gr FMJ RN bullet.
I have a friend who said that he would build me a mold for my 9mm, he is a machinist. I am wondering if he will be able to build one using the .355 diameter or does he have to make it slightly larger? Like .356? I know I can buy a mold, but if he can build me a bigger one for less then i'll go that route.

Your expert opinions and thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Darin
 
I'd have him build it a bit larger.. say .357\8 and then size them down to .356. When I sized 9mm to .355 they stripped thru the barrel and tumbled (got some really nice side profile holes...) What weight and shapre are you considering??
 
I was going to go with 124gr round nose. Both my 9mm's enjoy those quite nicely. Not sure on how much powder to put behind them though, but do know my minimum/ maximum that i can use.
Good call on making them slightly bigger as I wouldnt have thought of that. Im unfamiliar with bullet sizers as to how much they shave off to make the bullets uniform in size and weight. Maybe i'll go with a .357 size?
 
From what I gathered on another forum, 9mm lead cast bullets (factory) are usually .356.

Powder: start with lower number and work it up if need be, all you need is the gun to cycle and see if accuracy differs too.

Seating depth: every gun is different, even same make and model. Take barrel out, seat bullet a little long and drop it in to the barrel to see where you are at. The idea is to adjust seating depth so that bullet doesn't go into barrels' grooves when fed and isn't short either.
 
Okay, now I gotta ask.. why not buy RCBS 09-124-RN-TG 9mm mold? If your machinist friend is that kind with his time.. make two.. :)
 
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CeeZer said:
From what I gathered on another forum, 9mm lead cast bullets (factory) are usually .356.

Powder: start with lower number and work it up if need be, all you need is the gun to cycle and see if accuracy differs too.

Seating depth: every gun is different, even same make and model. Take barrel out, seat bullet a little long and drop it in to the barrel to see where you are at. The idea is to adjust seating depth so that bullet doesn't go into barrels' grooves when fed and isn't short either.
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Powder charge i was going to load about 10rds at minimum, 10 rds at the next number, etc etc etc....then work my way thru the powder scale until i found something that would cycle both my 9mm's efficiently.

Seating depth is another thing i never thought would be an issue. I shoot a Taurus 24/7 pro and a ruger p89 and they both eat the 124gr american eagle and the 124gr winchester white box without a hiccup on either. I was actually just going to take a micrometer and measure the total length of a factory load and then adjust the bullet seater accordingly. Somehow im thinking that is a no-no amongst fellow reloaders? Glad I posted my questions before i blew my hand/head off :eek:
 
Rod B said:
Slug the barrel on your 9mm & measure. Go .001 or .002 over the groove size.
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Slug the barrel? Ive heard the term before and is that where you take a bullet and jam it into the barrel and pound it thru the other end using a 10lb sledge hammer and a big steel pin :D ;)
Kidding.....just want to confirm that is where one does take the bullet and insert it into the chamber end of the barrel and "push" it thru using a dowel that is almost the same diameter of the barrel and hammer and you tap it all the way thru to get the lands and grooves to make their mark on the bullet?
 
kokanee king said:
I was going to go with 124gr round nose. Both my 9mm's enjoy those quite nicely. Not sure on how much powder to put behind them though, but do know my minimum/ maximum that i can use.
Good call on making them slightly bigger as I wouldnt have thought of that. Im unfamiliar with bullet sizers as to how much they shave off to make the bullets uniform in size and weight. Maybe i'll go with a .357 size?
Click to expand...

From the Lee manual for 9mm 124gr Lead bullets (neither jacketed nor plated)

powder min load do not exceed load
WIN540 5.0gr 5.7gr
Vitavhuori 3N37 5.5gr 6.0gr
Vitavhuori N340 4.8gr 5.3gr
Vitavhuori N320 3.8gr 4.2gr
 
As far as OAL/COL goes, consult your reloading manual as well in addition to testing YOUR gun's barrel. Diff bullets have different shapes thus some may hit the rifling before the round is properly headspaced.

In some guns if not most, OAL also means reliable or not feed of rounds in their magazines and/or over barrel's ramp.

One more, I'd suggest using Win 231 for 9mm rounds as cheaper but very good alternative to more expensive Viht. N320 or N340 behind 124gr or over. If using lighter bullets, you can go for slower burning powder like Hodgdon Universal. Win 231 is ball powder and measures very consistently and burns pretty clean being ball and single based as well as produces accurate shots.
 
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