Ran into a series of issues casting 9mm bullets.

[Sonofagun1911]

Hello everyone, i'm new to casting and i ran into a wall. I'm using the Lee 124 .356 mold and the bullets came out to be 128gr with .357 to .3575 diameter. I lube them with the 45-45-10 method and the size went up to .3575 to .358. I seat them to OAL 1.125 with 5.2gr Power pistol they can't chamber. I seat them at OAL @ 1.10, they chambered and can be rotated freely.

i went to the range today and test fired them using HK USP 9mm compact.

Berry bullets 124gr 1.135 OAL, 5.2gr PP, grouping was 5 inches apart from 30 feet away.
Berry Bullets 124gr 1.10 OAL, 5.2gr Power pistol, grouping all landed inside the bullseye, also from 30 feet.

Lee cast bullets @ 128gr, 1.10 OAL, 5.2 Power Pistol shot 30 of them, all keyholding. So i stop testing them further.
I checked the brass cases for signs of over pressure and they seemed fine.

I used factory ammo, Fiocchi 115gr 9mm bullets which with OAL 1.25 which they can chamber and shoots pretty accurately. However, with my cast bullets 124gr .3575 diameter they wont chamber any length above 1.10 OAL. I posted the image below. OAL @ 1.10 is picture on the left, which they chamber but not accurate and keyholes. Do i need to seat the bullet deeper so the case covers the shoulder of the bullet and lower the power charge?

I've dig into it, some people resize their bullets to .356, i've slug my barrel it's exactly @.355

Some experience casters said they casted for 30 years and never resized their bullets.

Please if any of you have experience with the same issues please let me know and share with the community...

Thank you very much and Happy holidays.

[USSR]

Some experience casters said they casted for 30 years and never resized their bullets.

While I can't speak for those that have cast bullets for only 30 years, I have cast bullets for 40 years and have always used a Lyman Lubrisizer to make my bullets the proper size.

Don

[Chainsaw.]

People who shoot REVOLVERS usually dont need to size, because the revolver has a forcing cone, which is basically a bullet sizer built in. I do aize even my revolver bullets for the sake of regulating the size, shape/roundness, making loading them into the case more efficient.

Being you are loading for an auto loader, and being 9mm is very finicky about cast bullets you do need to sizeyour bullets. I would suggest to size some bullets then go back to the longer OAL and load one or two and “plunk” test them, as in drop em into the chamber and see if they seat easily.

On your load of 5.2 grain of power pistol, lead vs berrys. Are those berrys bullets lead or jacketed? Lead does NOT get loaded to the same powder charge as jacketed bullets.

Key holeing. This could be a factor of one of your issues or all of them combined, any of those issues could make bullets tumble on your gun. Walk through each of those problems, including making sure you aren’t over charging with powder and you should see improvement.

Try some changes and report back.

[Sonofagun1911]

Thanks for replying Chainsaw!
The berry 124gr were Round Nose FMJs, the reloading manual stated their Minimum OAL to be 1.116 and max PP @ 6.4 grains.

I'm reloading on dillon 650xl and do you recommend installing the sizer on my dillon or buy a lee single stage press just for resizing?
Lee .356 sizer for my 9mm? since the slug was reading at .3555
Thanks!

[Chainsaw.]

Yes. Definitely get a single stage press. They are always useful. And with a progressive you still make mistakes, just many rounds at a time! A single stage is better IMHO for experimentation like you are doing now. Less to think about.

So yeah, I like the Lee push through sizers. Simple, cheap, easy.

What size, argg, thats the worst part, you can use the old advise of .xxx thousands over bore size but your particular gun might not like say, a .356 but does like a .357 (just for example) so you may end up buying a second sizer after determining the first one didnt run well in THAT gun. Just one of the pit falls of cast sizing.

You mentioned you are libing, pan lubing? Tumble? The down side to the lee push throughs is they are messy with lube, but for $20 its not a big loss if later on you decide to get, say a lubrisizer. But on a positive note if you end up powder coating the lee push through sizer dies are the best IMHO.

The aforementioned Lyman book on casting is a fantastic read if you’re interested. Also, if you like me and prefer video, check out fortunecookie45lc on you tube, go back a ways and he touches on alot of the nuances of cast loading.

[vtech26]

Originally Posted by Sonofagun1911

Hello everyone, i'm new to casting and i ran into a wall. I'm using the Lee 124 .356 mold and the bullets came out to be 128gr with .357 to .3575 diameter. I lube them with the 45-45-10 method and the size went up to .3575 to .358. I seat them to OAL 1.125 with 5.2gr Power pistol they can't chamber. I seat them at OAL @ 1.10, they chambered and can be rotated freely.

i went to the range today and test fired them using HK USP 9mm compact.

Berry bullets 124gr 1.135 OAL, 5.2gr PP, grouping was 5 inches apart from 30 feet away.
Berry Bullets 124gr 1.10 OAL, 5.2gr Power pistol, grouping all landed inside the bullseye, also from 30 feet.

Lee cast bullets @ 128gr, 1.10 OAL, 5.2 Power Pistol shot 30 of them, all keyholding. So i stop testing them further.
I checked the brass cases for signs of over pressure and they seemed fine.

I used factory ammo, Fiocchi 115gr 9mm bullets which with OAL 1.25 which they can chamber and shoots pretty accurately. However, with my cast bullets 124gr .3575 diameter they wont chamber any length above 1.10 OAL. I posted the image below. OAL @ 1.10 is picture on the left, which they chamber but not accurate and keyholes. Do i need to seat the bullet deeper so the case covers the shoulder of the bullet and lower the power charge?

I've dig into it, some people resize their bullets to .356, i've slug my barrel it's exactly @.355

Some experience casters said they casted for 30 years and never resized their bullets.

Please if any of you have experience with the same issues please let me know and share with the community...

Thank you very much and Happy holidays.

I've recently been down this road before. You will most likely fix your chambering issue by resizing your bullets to .356, especially since your barrel slugged at .355. Assuming your OAL and crimp is good, this will most likely solve your chambering issue.

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[reddog81]

I size all my 9mm bullets to .357 and it works well. If you're going to take the time to cast your own bullets and load your own rounds you might as well take the time to size the bullets. The key to accurate reloading is finding something that works and then consistently reproducing those results. If you bullets are different sizes it's not conducive to consistency.

I've never had 9mm keyhole, however 9mm can be more difficult than your average round to get good accuracy. Is there any lead in the bore after those 30 rounds? The small high pressure cartridge can be temperamental to small changes. I'd try a different powder. Power Pistol is good for hot 9mm loads, but I'd suggest starting with powder better suited for low pressured starting loads. Unique, HP-38, N320, WSF would probably be better choices of powder.

[Guggmeister]

I size 9mm to .358”, less than that and they keyhole. Soft lead, powder coat.


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[sundog]

Just yesterday I shot two baseball sized 10-round groups with a 92FS at 12 yards, offhand. POI was POA. Load is a RD 130 (cast from range scrap), GC and PC, 0.358, dressed weight is 135, over 4.0/Universal. Very good load.

[dahermit]

Lee cast bullets @ 128gr, 1.10 OAL, 5.2 Power Pistol shot 30 of them, all keyholding.

You did not mention the alloy you are using.

[reddog81]

Originally Posted by dahermit

You did not mention the alloy you are using.

He has another post where he mentions casting with wheel weights. Of course there can be soft stick on ww's and the harder clip on ww's. Hopefully for 9mm he's using some of the harder ones.

[pete2]

I started casting bullets about 50 years ago. Cast bullets were sized and lubed with a Lyman lubrisizer. .001" larger than the bore. Lee came along later and I never got into it. I see no reason it won't work with out sizing the bullet IF it comes out of the mold the right diameter. Good luck. ( I also sized some to bore diameter and they worked fine also) but don't tell anybody..

[Grey_Lion]

I have to say those 3 9mm casings in your picture all look differently deformed - the left projectile looks like the round is over sized and the case looks creased by it. The center round has an distinct profile in that the center of the case looks evenly compressed inward and the right case shows signs of a weird over-crimp. Are you flaring your brass enough for the rounds to go in easy would be my question. By the looks of this you are using different brass and not flaring it and the seating and / or crimping operation is compressing and deforming the brass. That's my first impression.

[armoredman]

Been using the Lee tumble lube 124 grain bullet for years. Sized to .356 with a Lee push through sizer and powder coated, they work great in every pistol I own.