I want to get into casting 9mm and have a couple of questions. For those that cast 9mm bullets, what cast size do you use. And what size do you size to if you do. With or without a gas check. Right now I'm using .355 FMJ bullets in a Glock 17 Gen4.
Cast 9mm sizing?
- Thread starter fralic76
- Start date
Red Herring
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Victopia BC
1. If you plan to use your Glock, you might need an after market barrel for cast boolits. Glock specifically states not to use cast boolits in their guns because of how their barrels are designed. Might want to look into that a little more.
2. Slug your barrel, then pick your boolit size accordingly. My SR9 is .354, and I size my boolits to .356. You might find your barrel is .355, or .356. Only one way to know for sure.
3. No need for gas checks at 9mm velocities.
2. Slug your barrel, then pick your boolit size accordingly. My SR9 is .354, and I size my boolits to .356. You might find your barrel is .355, or .356. Only one way to know for sure.
3. No need for gas checks at 9mm velocities.
I shoot nothing but cast pullets out of my Glocks. After each shooting session I brush the bore a few strokes with a stainless steel brush (Brownells). This takes the lead out, if any.
I do the same to all my other handguns and have not noticed that the Glock leads any more or less than the others.
I gather that if you shoot a thousand rounds without cleaning, the Glock will lead up too much. I find about 4 strokes of the right brush cleans all lead out of all handguns. No need for a special barrel if you clean.
My lead bullets are .356
I do the same to all my other handguns and have not noticed that the Glock leads any more or less than the others.
I gather that if you shoot a thousand rounds without cleaning, the Glock will lead up too much. I find about 4 strokes of the right brush cleans all lead out of all handguns. No need for a special barrel if you clean.
My lead bullets are .356
Do you size them? Or are they the cast size?
I size all my cast bullets. I had an issue with the 9mm bullets making the neck of the case too big, causing the cases to NOT chamber in my semi-auto. Big pain to pull all the bullets & start over ;-). I use the Lee sizer that mounts in my press. It doesn't take long to size a bunch of bullets.
The general rule is to size lead bullets one thou over bore diameter but you can safely go two thou over if that diameter is more accurate. Lead bullets can be safely used in Glocks as long as you clean the barrel regularly.
I cast my own bullets and also size all my bullets with the Lee sizing dies. As cast bullets do not have consistent diameters so I always size just to be sure I don't end up with anything oversize.
Have you ever had problems with scratches in the barrel? Everything I have ever read says to avoid stainless steel brushes like the plague because of possible barrel damage. The only exception might be the SS tornado brushes which don't have sharp bristles. I find that a good scrub with a bronze bristle brush & Hoppes takes care of any lead residue very quickly.
northern ranger
Member
- Location
- Ottawa, ON
Slug your barrel first. It's the only way to know for sure.
I have shot many thousands of cast bullets in my 9mm and I have settled on 1 thou over the size of the slugged barrel. I have shot many that were 2 thou over with no problems , but I have found 1 thou over to be the most accurate. My Barrel slugged to .355 and I size my cast bullets to .356.
I size mine to .358. I figure that a larger size will not hurt especially with lead boolits. The only time I ever got leading was when I was trying a really hot load of 5.3 Grs of TrueBlue. That load was waay too hot...I could feel it in the recoil! The condition of the barrel after the shoot confirmed it. Too hot!
I don't know about the larger size bulging the case, as, looking at mine, I don't see a significant bulge at all. I use a CZ75B though, and it might be different for a Glock. For the CZ, what I've found to be more significant is the Cartridge Overall Length. I have had the gun jam (seriously jam) from having commercially reloaded rounds that were too LONG. The gun has never jammed from my own reloads using cast. I set my COL at 1.033 inches. The ones that jammed were measured at 1.630!!
The rounds look scary short, but they fire perfectly fine, and feed perfectly every single time too.
I don't know about the larger size bulging the case, as, looking at mine, I don't see a significant bulge at all. I use a CZ75B though, and it might be different for a Glock. For the CZ, what I've found to be more significant is the Cartridge Overall Length. I have had the gun jam (seriously jam) from having commercially reloaded rounds that were too LONG. The gun has never jammed from my own reloads using cast. I set my COL at 1.033 inches. The ones that jammed were measured at 1.630!!
The rounds look scary short, but they fire perfectly fine, and feed perfectly every single time too.
I shoot about 60,000 rounds of cast bullets a year in various handguns. I am very much involved with routines for everything. Each gun gets a squirt of solvent as it comes out of the cases and then 4 strokes of brush. When preparing for a range date, I run clean patch through the barrel to take the gunge out.
Yes, i have read the warning about barrel damage. I am 70. Only look forward to another 20 years or so of shooting. If, at worst, I have to replace a barrel in the next 20 years, big whoop.
I used to shoot Target rifle, where we had to replace barrels every second year because they would only last 2500 rounds (blue) or 5,0000 (stainless).
I have yet had to replace a pistol barrel.
NShunter1254
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia Canada
I size all my 9mm cast bullets to .356
So i guess that your cast size is .356?
As some have already suggested, slug your barrel first, then get the appropriate sizing die .001" greater than the barrel diameter. The writer in that book also notes that even some barrels for the same gun can vary as much as .005". Someone else on this forum may be running a bullet size just fine in his 9mm, but in yours, it may need to run a different size to get proper accuracy and reduce leading. He noted that in a pistol of his, he was getting bad accuracy and found that the bullet was key holing the targets. Discovered after slugging that he was running .002" under sized of barrel diameter, so he resized to .001" over and problems were resolved.
I will note however that in the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook 4th Edition, they don't show any bullet molds for 9mm that supports a gas check, so this shouldn't really even be a question.
