But cast loads in 9mm are going to be nearly impossible to find in factory ammo. Until you get into reloading you'll likely be stuck with jacketed.
I can't argue with this, but just pointing out that when he does get into reloading, plated bullets like Berry's, CamPro, etc are a good compromise between the two. Certainly cheaper than jacketed, and no leading issues.
I loaded a lot of Berry's thanks to the price point and how nicely they do. But the batch of lead ammo I did was still better for group size when shot slow and deliberate for accuracy. FWIW the lead bullets I used were 124gn from Bullet Barn who are out here on the west coast so I can get them without shipping charges involved.
Never any sign of leading either. But then I wasn't pushing them overly fast. Just up to around the sort of charge to get up around a 130PF velocity. So just a hair over 1000 fps.
$49/1K is a DARN good price. But if it's not the right alloy to avoid the blowby issues due to not obturating to form tight to the bore walls then it's money poorly spent.
Good explanation, thanks for that. I got the $49/1000 from the Bullet Barn website, for their 124grRN, so it should work, right? In any case, there's no hurry, as I just bought 2000 of the Berry's, and that'll keep going for a while. But I'm always looking to trim costs, so down the road, going with lead could make a lot of sense.




























