125gr lead cast RN bullet

dearslayer

dearslayer

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Hello ... I'm new to the casting aspect but last week I managed to cast a bunch of 9mm 125gr ( they actually weigh around 130gr even though the Lee mold say 125gr ) boolits. Looking for advise/receipe load data for this. I loaded 10 rounds this past week to try which was 3.2gr of Titegroup with OAL of 1.092" on the advise of a fellow member and they seemed to shoot ok except a couple holes in the target looked a little ragged. I'd like to try Win 231 or HP38 but I'm not sure where to start with these. I did punch in some info on the Hodgdon site but I'm not sure it's correct because there was no option for a cast boolit so the image info below is just for reference. I wouldn't follow it without some advise from you more experience reloaders.
 

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Believe that the 3.2 load recommendation is perfectly suitable for the 147 grain bullet but too light for the LEE 125.
3.9-4.2 TiteGroup is a good load. If you want to try WW231 with the same cast bullet you gonna need 4.0 to start.

9mm loves fast burning powders. Not only are fast burning powders efficient, but they offer better value with lighter charges. Stick with what you have first & try the 3.9 - 4.2 charge of TiteGroup. It’s a very popular, winning powder.
 
If you want cast data for 231/HP-38, they have one listed on the Hodgdon site as 125gr. LCN. The "LCN" stands for lead conical nose. That's what I use for my Lee 125gr. Mold. They usually drop around 127gr. I found 4gr of 231 functioned great in mine.
 
Loyalist said:
If you want cast data for 231/HP-38, they have one listed on the Hodgdon site as 125gr. LCN. The "LCN" stands for lead conical nose. That's what I use for my Lee 125gr. Mold. They usually drop around 127gr. I found 4gr of 231 functioned great in mine.
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Mine seem be be around 130 gr for whatever reason. Composition I guess. I'm gonna try Titegroup at 3.9grs and I will also try your suggestion of 4gr of 231. What is your OAL? It seems that doing the plunk test for me the OAL has to be around 1.09? I used two different PC on mine ( tool blue and a mix of black and white) and I find the tool blue sticks a little in the case gauge whereby the black and white fall out easier. Maybe the tool blue is thicker??
 
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yomomma said:
You should really start at the low end and work your way up with powder. Just ssying
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I second this! I wasn't suggesting using my load, rather, suggesting that I found a good load while working up using that data from hodgdon. Considering we are talking about cast bullets and just a couple grains of powder, working up a load is awfully cheap and easy.
 
Loyalist said:
I second this! I wasn't suggesting using my load, rather, suggesting that I found a good load while working up using that data from hodgdon. Considering we are talking about cast bullets and just a couple grains of powder, working up a load is awfully cheap and easy.
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All good advise and I have no problem listening to the more experienced. I'm more than happy to simply learn.
 
RifleDude said:
I use 3.5 - 4 gr of W231 in my 9mm with 124gr cast bullets (LEE). In my pistol, an OAL of 1.125" seems to work just fine for me.
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Looking to finally try the Win 231 with this cast bullet. I've only cast a few batches of this style of bullet with this mold and powder coated them. Not sure why but it seems there is a difference in how far I have to seat the bullet with this latest batch of 9mm ( now have to seat them to 1.075 OAL ) in order to get them to drop from the barrel doing the plunk test in both my CZ pistols. The last batch I PC'ed I had to seat for an OAL of 1.092 to pass the plunk test??? Perhaps it could be a difference in the thickness of the PC that's causing them to hang up as well as the Ogive on this style of bullet. So to start with this time, I loaded 20 rounds each at 3.9gr and 4.1gr of Win 231 to try in the morning. My concern is that because I have to seat the bullet so much lower than what the Lee manual says for the 125gr cast bullet that there may be too much pressure. Should I be concerned about them having too much pressure with the OAL at 1.075? I think I may switch to a different mold such as the Lee 356-120-TC that has a different Ogive profile in hopes that I'll have less issues after PC'ing and seating the bullets so low. Is this making any sense?
 
I use 4gr of 231 and ?gr of 700X under my 125gr lee tumble lube bullet coated with blue PC. Been a while since I reloaded any. I love the smell of 700X!!
I think I used the oal of 125gr factory ammo to set my bullet seating depth. Mine is 1.14"(STI Trojan).
As for pressure see what the primer looks like and judge from there. Also how violent the pistol cycled.
All bullets reloaded in a Dillon XL650 with powder in case alarm.
 
Well both the 3.9 and the 4.1 cycled and shot fine in both pistols. Accuracy was good but was only shooting and 15 feet just to see how things would group. Now that I know they shoot fine I'll load some more for greater distances.
 
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