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Old November 8, 2012, 05:18 PM   #1
Nomadicone
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Sizing 9mm Bullets

I have a Lyman #358242 mold for 121gr bullet a current manufactured barrel for 9mm. The only sizer I have is .358 and I'd rather not spend more money on another sizer. I realize slugging the bore would give exact diameter but I really would rather not. Can anyone give me some thoughts on what I may encounter if I load and shoot some of these? Will .358 be too fat?
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Old November 8, 2012, 05:50 PM   #2
YARDDOG(1)
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Slug your bore ; )

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Old November 9, 2012, 10:19 AM   #3
sidewindr
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Load up a couple and see if they chamber,(after running them through the .358 sizer,I would be surprized if they are even that big). most of my 9's need .358 anyways due to oversized barrels.
You should slug your bore, if not your likely to be the next guy asking how to get rid of the leading in my 9mm.
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Old November 9, 2012, 10:04 PM   #4
Super Sneaky Steve
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Dude, $18.99. These lee dies work great.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/343...t-356-diameter

Buy one less case of beer this month and get the die.
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Old November 9, 2012, 11:13 PM   #5
Gerry
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#358242 is a nice bullet. 2 lube grooves and drops at .359" to .360". You can make a snappy load with the right alloy.

I size all my 9s to .358 (when they need sizing) and they chamber fine in all my 9mm guns including Ruger SR9, CZ Shadow, and CZ 75B. They even work great in my Norinco 9mm TT-33 Tokarev copy. Cast just a few first, size them, then chamber check in what you know to be your smallest chambered barrel (off your gun) with some dummy rounds. If they fit, shoot away!

Do watch for leading though. It would be an uncommon barrel to lead with a .358, but I've know folks with barrels that have actually measured that! Just keep an eye on things.
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Old November 10, 2012, 12:38 AM   #6
armoredman
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I just get the push through sizer in .356, works like a charm. of course, I'm cheap, and use Lee molds almost exclusively, too. I only have one Lyman, a single cavity 124 grain conical I never use.
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Old November 10, 2012, 12:23 PM   #7
Nomadicone
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Thanks for the responses. However, since I already have a Lyman 450 and the sizer for it sells through Midway or Midsouth (can't remember which) for a bit over $21 if I decide to buy a new sizer I'll go that way. However, I first think I will try what Gerry says works for him.
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Old November 10, 2012, 05:29 PM   #8
Gerry
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I actually have a Lee push through sizer in .356 but it sits unused somewhere in one of my drawers. It's not the system that was at fault, but the .356" size is too small.

I know all the websites and reloading manuals say to size your 9mm boolits to .356" so that they're 1/1000 oversize from the standard .355". But following this convention, I got serious leading after shooting just a few hundred rounds in my barrels that even slugged as small as .355".

Don't laugh, but back when I first started casting I thought that if I sized bigger, like 2 or 3 thousands oversize, that my gun might kaboom due to increased pressure by plugging the barrel with a huge lead boolit!

Just because you shoot lead doesn't mean you have to clean lead from your barrel. If you do, there's something wrong. Some people freak right out at the fact that I rarely clean my barrels unless I'm putting them away for some time. But I figure if you're shooting and the bullet is obturating like is should, each shoot cleans the barrel of the residue left behind from the shot before I shoot literally thousands upon thousands of rounds without doing a "proper" barrel cleaning. When you can do that, and there's no keyholing and accuracy is better than you, than you're doing ok.
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Old November 11, 2012, 09:15 AM   #9
Nomadicone
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I haven't gotten around to loading one round to see if it chambers much less a few to fire but I will. I do have a friend who has been a gunsmith for 30 + years who shoots "fat" bullets and swears by them. I have an email in to him but he is a busy guy and usually take a couple weeks to respond.

Gerry, actually your thoughts on barrel cleaning are what Schuemann barrels recomends on stainless barrels. The link below should get you to where you can click on a PDF for Barrel Cleaning. At the end he states what he does. It would be hard to argue with one of the worlds best barrel manufactuers. http://www.schuemann.com/Information...7/Default.aspx
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Old November 14, 2012, 03:33 PM   #10
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Just to update and thank everyone for the responses.

I heard back from my friend who is a big bullet caster and gunsmith. He says he typically shoots .358 sized bullets in his 9mms. Not suggesting it is right for anyone else but I loaded up about 30 with a mid range load and they shot very well. Accurate and no barrel leading.
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