Which Mold 9 mm?

A

Allay

Member
Rating - 100%
10   0   0
Ok , I’m just getting back into shooting and am having problems finding 9 mm Parabellum.
I live in a rural setting and in Ontario Canada, so distance and cost adds up, but the club range is 5 minutes away.
So I started looking at reloading but could find a source of bullets everything is back ordered.
AND I have 200 plus pounds of very clean diving lead casted into 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 lbs weights and doing the math at $0.10 per bullet… I’m in the money… I’m in the money… (singing in my head) I figure I’ll cast my own.
So here are my questions I have a electric pot that has a valve on the bottom so it would be nice to get a six bullet mold maybe a Lee but which one? ( for a Beretta 92FS target shooting)
Which Lee resizer do I use?
I checked the Lee web site but they don’t list 9 mm and why is that?
Where can I order from that will ship to Canada?
thx
Allay
 
Be careful with pure lead; if you can indent it with your fingernail, it is much too soft for 9mm use which requires a mix hard enough to withstand the high pressure 9mm generates. If you don't use a bullet design allowing gas checks, you may find leading of your barrel happens quite fast.
You might be better off with straight wheelweights or a mix of 9 pounds wheelweights with 1 pound of 50/50 solder.
Anyway you go, you'll need a little bit of tin in your metal to allow good filling of the molds.
Good luck.
PP.
 
First... you are going to have to check the hardness of your diving weights. Most weight type lead is pure or soft lead. Too soft for higher velocity bullets like 9mm.

Second... As for sizer size, you are going to have to slug your barrel. Most 9mm's are .356 but some will need to be sized at .357 or even .358 to reduce lead fouling.

Third... 9mm with lead is very tricky because of the pressure and velocity. You have to have all the factors just right... Load, Size, Lube, Alloy. While some softer alloys can be used in slower revolver and 45 bullets, it sometimes can't be used in 9mm.

Recommendations... since you are asking about Lee... use a conventional lube band bullet for 9mm and a good lube like Red Carnuba. Forget about using their Alox (Camel snot) for 9mm bullets unless you have the alloy/hardness and size and your load adjusted just right. They have a nice TC bullet and the .38 105gr LSWC works real good sized down to 9mm as well. You can also use one of their tumble lube bullets and run it through a conventional lube-sizer or pan lube them.

If you can get your hand on some wheel weights, they are much better than your diving weights, just because the alloy of your weights is unknown.
 
I just use plain old wheel weights in a lee "tumblelube" design mould, pan lube them with my kids broken/melted crayons.
Another reason for using the tumblelube bullet is they do not require sizing, they cast between 0.002 and 0.003 thou oversize. No barrel leading up to 1000 fps!
 
Thanks for the heads up on the dive weights.
I’ve order the toys on line they just have to arrive:(
With the leading up is it something you notice right away when cleaning after the range or do you need a bore light?
Once found how can you get rid of it or by that time it’s too late?
1000 fps thing causes me to ask this question:
I was thinking that I might just use low loads that cycle the action reliably because target shooting / plinking is where I’m at right now and safety is my main concern, that’s why I choose a pistol that came with training wheels. That said at 9 mm a close range with a low load might give an extra margin of safety shooting and when reloading. Either way it will help with nailing the fundamentals down. That’s my “A” plan anyway, but hey it might go the way of the dive weights too.
Thanks again
Allay
 
It is not that hard to cast and load effective 9mm bullets. Much of the stories about leading is just that, stories. I have loaded for 9mm for a number of years using a variety of lead from wheelweights to others, but never have I had to worry about using extra hard lead. The myth is that hard bullets are required to withstand the 'high' pressure of the 9mm. The myth started with some American gunwriters who that that they needed to use linotype to withstand the rough feeding of the bullets.
Use your diving weights, and if they are pure lead, you should try to mix them with some wheelweights and bit of tin to allow good casting. Use any good lube, including Lee Liquid Alox, and it doesn't have to be a hard lube. Alox Beeswax (standard 50-50) is fine.
In short, it is not that hard. You can start with lower velocity loads that cycle the action, all the way up to standard velocity load that are the same velocity as jacketed factory.
The only caveat, as I understand, is if you are using a Glock with factory barrel. There have been many reports of problems using lead bullets in the factory barrel. Do some research if that is what you are using.
 
I use wheelweights as well. 124 gr. bullets in my Berreta 92. I use 3.7 gr. Win. 231, just under 1000 fps. Good accuracy out to 25 meters. Some barrel leading but nothing serious. I will clean the barrel every 2-3000 rnds., or if i give the gun a through cleaning (2-3 times a year) The rest of the gun will need more frequent cleaning due to lube etc. I shoot 4-6000 rnds a year with these bullits.
 
As mentioned above 9mm can be prone to barrel leading, the worst pistol I had was a Sig P226, it would lead up in less than 50 rounds with loads that worked fine in all my other 9mm's. One thing that helped me was using heavy 9mm bullets so that the velocity was reduced and the pistol still functioned. I use 147 gr cast with WW and a bit of tin added, this mould works very well:http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/bullet-casting/mould-details.php?entryID=6
 
Allay... you're just going to have to give them a try and see. As others pointed out, 9mm will not lead but it has a higher potential to lead more than other calibers since the bullets are fast and the pressures are high as compared to a 45 or target revolver loads. For Lee stuff, order them from Higginson Powders (he's in Eastern Ontario).

As for the myth about 9mm leading being untrue and "just stories", that is false. I can lead my barrel in under 20 rounds if I size them to .356 like some commercially available cast bullets. I can also lead them if I do not add some antimony (in solder form) to my 9mm loads with range lead. I know because I've tested range lead at .356 to see if I had to up my solder to the alloy mix. My .45, .44M (target and HOT loads) and .357M (target and HOT) bullets don't require any special attention like the 9mm does. Those I even size at the recommended .452, .429 and .358 sizes. It's just the 9mm that I have to change the alloy mix and oversize at .357 instead of .356. Well, rifle bullets require special attention, too, but that's another story.

As for Lee's ALOX or Camel ***, about 1/2 the people I know love the stuff and had great results. The other 1/2 (myself included) can't stand the stuff. I find you get a lot of lube fouling and that starts the process of lead and powder residue building up to unacceptable levels during an extended range visit. Plus there are other factors to consider with ALOX, like buildup on your dies, etc. Plus it smokes a lot which can get irritating and annoying if you shoot a lot.

In short.... you may be fine with just tumble lubed bullets unsized as they come out of a Lee mold or you may not. It depends on your gun, too. Again, slug your barrel (just push a bullet through with a rod, mallet and block of wood) and at the very least, use that great little sizer Lee has for around $20.

With the Lee bullet designs... their TL 124 gr RN bullet has a small lip on it that sometimes catches on the feed ramp in my Springfield XD9 but feeds fine in the Beretta PX4 and AR 9mm. The conventional lube 1R design they have for 124gr RN is nice but requires a modified top punch and always weighs in at around 130 grains. The TC bullet works in all my guns as well as my buddy's guns (his mold) and seem to be the same profile in both TL and conventional lube designs. I cast a lot for me & my two friends with the .38 105gr LSWC design they have. It's short enough to use safely in 9mm and just requires sizing since it's a .38 (.358) bullet. Leaves nice clean holes and functions in all of our guns (XD9, AR, PX4, 1911-9mm, friends... GP K100, M&P9, Beretta 92, Glock 17, CZ75, Ruger P89 & SR9).

For lube, the best one I found for 9mm cast is Lars' Red Carnuba. He does ship to Canada and is an eBay only seller. (And we stick it to eBay's anti-gun policy every time we order shooting accessories). Search "White Label Lube" over there. He does sell a softer version, but I find you don't need to plug in the heater on my Lyman or under the RCBS sizers. Second choice would be Lyman's Orange stuff but needs to be heated.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom