9mm reloading
- Thread starter raymond3080
- Start date
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
Aim bullets with power pistol and cci primers I'm around 14-15 cents a round.
I picked them up at Russell's in Calgary, now sadly out of business. The pail they came in is labeled, "Plains Ammunition Supply," if that helps. They're coated in a thick lube which is a pain because it clogs the dies too soon, but the price was right. When I run out of those, I may start making my own.
The Plains cast bullets haven't been $54.99/1000 for quite some time. The last time I bought some from Russell's, they were about $80.00/1000. They're the same price at Wholesale, if they ever get any in stock.
Right now, they have a whole bunch of 180 grain .40 bullets and not much else. If this continues, I'm going to have to pick up something in .40!
Right now, they have a whole bunch of 180 grain .40 bullets and not much else. If this continues, I'm going to have to pick up something in .40!
i bought my hard cast bullets from wholesale sports for:
9mm 147grn - $82/1000
45acp 230 grn - $98/1000
i'm sticking to lead, there's really no other way to go. it's fine to shoot and cheaper, unless i start to compete, i'll buy lead only. just clean that gun well
9mm 147grn - $82/1000
45acp 230 grn - $98/1000
i'm sticking to lead, there's really no other way to go. it's fine to shoot and cheaper, unless i start to compete, i'll buy lead only. just clean that gun well
My current loads cost .25 per round. The 115gr fmj rn bullets were high since I bought them locally. the only ones in town at the time.
I talked to another local supplier at the gunshow on the weekend and can get 1000 124gr bullets for the same price as 500 115s from the other seller dropping the cost to .16 per round. Much better.
Cactus
I talked to another local supplier at the gunshow on the weekend and can get 1000 124gr bullets for the same price as 500 115s from the other seller dropping the cost to .16 per round. Much better.
Cactus
^^^^^^^^^ not bad for 25 yards!
i just shot my first batch of 9mm lead cast bullets and i did something wrong, my bullets were hitting the target sideways half the time using my walther p99, but had no problems with the XDM9! is it because of the barrel being longer on the XDM? i think i loaded them too hot. i had load data but only for FMJ's and 124grain, so i kinda guestimated, need to lower the charge for sure.
i just shot my first batch of 9mm lead cast bullets and i did something wrong, my bullets were hitting the target sideways half the time using my walther p99, but had no problems with the XDM9! is it because of the barrel being longer on the XDM? i think i loaded them too hot. i had load data but only for FMJ's and 124grain, so i kinda guestimated, need to lower the charge for sure.
So, I'm not the only one that has had problems with keyholing with the 147 grain Plains bullets! I finally got them to fly straight with 3.2 grains of Unique, which is the starting load in the Lyman manual. Anything else caused about 30% of the bullets to go through the target sideways. I'm not sure why driving them faster would cause keyholing; a higher rotational speed should make them more stable, if anything. These bullets also seem to lead more than the 124 grain ones I've used.
Out of curiosity, I also tried them in .38 Special and they shot OK, despite being slightly undersize for that calibre.
The 124 grain bullets are just fine, though.
i was using unique powder as well at 4.7 grains!... i need to get a few more loading manuals, more the better! lesson learned.
tjhaile, how many grains of powder were you using when you noticed the bullets hitting sideways? just curious
tjhaile, how many grains of powder were you using when you noticed the bullets hitting sideways? just curious
9mm is be a more difficult cartridge to cast for. Barrels can be 355 cal or 359 cal depending on manufacturer and how they felt that day everyone though is marked 9mm. To have good results with cast your bullet has to be atleast a couple thousandths over the bore diameter or your bullets will not stabilize. Also psi for a 9mm is in the 30,000 range. Where untreated wheelweights can stand about 15,000 psi. So heat treating is necessay. No of these problems are difficult to overcome. The bullets just have to be big enough for the barrel and hard enough for the pressure or results will be dissappointing.
everyone though is marked 9mm. To have good results with cast your bullet has to be atleast a couple thousandths over the bore diameter or your bullets will not stabilize. Also psi for a 9mm is in the 30,000 range. Where untreated wheelweights can stand about 15,000 psi. So heat treating is necessay. No of these problems are difficult to overcome. The bullets just have to be big enough for the barrel and hard enough for the pressure or results will be dissappointing.You should slug your bore and measure it. If the bullet doesn't have enough diameter to fully engage the rifling, you'll get bullets key-holing. As well, the alloy may be softer, which could also cause the leading.
I started with 3.5 grains of Bullseye and then tried 3.8 and 4.0 grains, all of which keyholed. At the time, I was thinking that I perhaps wasn't driving the bullets fast enough to be stable.
After that, I tried 3.2, 3.5, and 3.8 grains of Unique. I was able to get the bullets to shoot straight with the 3.2 grain load only. My guess is that these bullets seem to work best with low velocities. Perhaps a lighter charge of Bullseye than I started with would also shoot straight.
Interestingly, the 124 grain bullets from Plains that I have used in the past were also sized .355", just like the 147 grain ones.
