Need a load for 9mm

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  • Last Post 29 October 2022
amb1935 posted this 20 July 2009

I need a good load for my new Springfield XD 9mm bullet - Lee TL356-124-2R I really just want to shoot paper with this.  Should I use air cooled WW or water drop?  I would like to use red dot powder if at all possible.  Hopefully one of you geniuses can bless me with your wisdom.  Thanks!

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tturner53 posted this 21 July 2009

amb, I've been asking about loads for the 9 here, have a project with the TL bullet but it's been delayed(work picked up). One thing I've read is the softer bullets will lead less because they seal better. Even WW may be too hard according to some here who know what they're talking about. I'm not the genius, just the parrot. No doubt you'll find a load for Red Dot, apparently it works in almost everything. Congratulations on your new toy.

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jimkim posted this 21 July 2009

All of these are loaded with Red Dot.

The Lyman manual shows 3.0(919fps)-3.9gr(1140fps) under the Lyman 356242.

This is from Handloader 135.

Magma SKU-9-125 roundnose cast (sized .3560) 126gr
3.5gr, 936fps OAL 1.11", accurate

Magma SKU-9-125 roundnose cast (sized .3560) 126gr
3.8gr, 996fps OAL 1.11",

Magma SKU-9-125 roundnose cast (sized .3560) 126gr
4.3gr, 1084fps OAL 1.11", near max, Poor Accuracy

Ohaus Cast (Sized .3565 inch)130gr 3.6gr, 972fps OAL 1.13",

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amb1935 posted this 21 July 2009

Thank you both for your responses.

-tturner53 I got some pure lead from roof vents that I have yet to cut with anything else, can I use this? It is definitely much softer than my wheel weight stuff. Good thing I have it laying around I guess.

-jimkim Thanks for the info! I'm love reloading for my rifle, and I was hoping some people would have some good load info.

Anybody got any more info?

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runfiverun posted this 21 July 2009

look at your Bbls diameter it is probably 357 not 355. go with as big of a boolit as you can get away with.the 9 is kinda goofy some like soft and some like real hard but they all do better with ones sized properly. and my favorite line with the lee molds “try another lube".

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amb1935 posted this 21 July 2009

so you're saying I should get a .358 bullet? I don't plan on sizing, I want to shoot them as cast, but I want to stay away from danger. I guess I just want to make sure that the pressure build up isnt too high.

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tturner53 posted this 21 July 2009

amb, I think pure lead may be a little too soft, but like I said, I'm not the expert. Maybe the thing to do would be run some tests. I believe there's swaged bullets for sale from the big companies that are for 9mm, those are very soft and they must work for someone. If it was me I'd go about halfway. I've had good luck with half and half WW and lead. You're right, the point of the TL bullets is that you're not supposed to have to size them. If they need to be sized why not use a regular bullet?

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amb1935 posted this 22 July 2009

I think I will try half and half. I think I'm going to stick to the .356 mold, if that's what jacketed bullets come in, then why not cast? Especially with the tumble lube.

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jimkim posted this 22 July 2009

Try a Lyman 358242(121gr). It's suitable for 38 Special and 9mm Luger.

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Duane Mellenbruch posted this 22 July 2009

I would suggest the Lee 356-120-TC which is a bullet with a single lube groove.  You may tumble lube if you wish, but when you decide you want to start shooting more, you can step up the the lubesizer and get serious about it.  I have also lapped this mold out and use it for both the 9MM (sized down) and 38 special. 

If you care to read the cast bullet manuals you will see that they recommend the cast bullet be 1 to 2 thousandths over the groove diameter.  If you have not slugged the barrel, you have no way of knowing what will fit the barrel. 

I prefer to use the largest bullet that will chamber easily and still feed from the magazine.  Duane

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mtgrs737 posted this 22 July 2009

Duane is 100% right, his advice on sizing the lead bullet to ..001 to .002” over groove diameter is my practice also and I have very little to no leading in my barrels. Just check to make sure the loaded cartridges will chamber freely.

Rich

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runfiverun posted this 22 July 2009

these guy's covered it well. what i was saying though is that if the boolit don't fit you will most definately have leading. no matter what alloy you use. casting isn't just making stuff from whatever lead you have and shooting it how you feel. it is a whole different ball game and nose/body fit is the king here especially in the high pressure rounds. an boolit oversized .001 will raise your pressure about 300 psi however one .001 under will raise your blood pressure about 25 points.

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amb1935 posted this 24 July 2009

ok, so, first step, I need to slug my beautiful new bore. I know I need pure lead for the slug, is there any size fishing weight I can use that would be about (purely a guess) .358"? Is there anything else you guys suggest I use for a slug?

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Vassal posted this 25 July 2009

I use muzzle loader balls. they are soft and come in all sizes. If you get a size that is very close -ie easy to slug with- like .360, the measurement is harder to take but still accurate, a larger size will be slightly harder to push but with an XD you dont have far to go.

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crash87 posted this 25 July 2009

amb1935 wrote: I need a good load for my new Springfield XD 9mm bullet - Lee TL356-124-2R I really just want to shoot paper with this.  Should I use air cooled WW or water drop?  I would like to use red dot powder if at all possible.  Hopefully one of you geniuses can bless me with your wisdom.  Thanks! 1st and foremost you will need to know the dimensions of your barrel. Yes, I know I just repeated what others have said, That's why it's so important;). I just recently finished working a load up with my own XD-9. While I can't help you on a load with Red dot, I used Univ. Clays, I can maybe answer the question on hardness. I purchaced commercialy cast bullets, Saeco #377, unsized, not lubed, or as-cast. They have a hardness of 14bhn as tested on my LBT tester, and measured .358. My bore measures .355 exactly, but just a little rough. Not wanting to spend the time to lap and seeing as how I didn't need nor expected guilding accuracy, I went ahead and sized my bullets in a .356 sizer, final Dia. .3563.

            I worked up tp 4.0 gr of U.C.. Velocity was under what I could get but accuracy suit me just fine. I also ran a little test to see how ind. weighed charges compared to thrown charges from my Redding measure.

4.0 U.C. weighed ave for 10/ ex.sp. 078/ ave.1058/ 10 shot group@ 25yds 2 1/2"

4.0 U.C. thrown ave. for 10/ ex.sp. 064/ ave. 1071/ 10shot group@ 25yds 3 1/2"

As you can see it was probably the shooter, (did I just say that?), that opened the group on the thrown charges, as 9 shots went into 2 3/4". Needless to say I'd rather throw charges than weigh them.

I would consider these bullets equal to air cooled W.W. and as you can see they shot pretty good. So in this pistol I would not have to go any harder, i.e. waterdropped. The slightly rough bore had really know effect on adequate accuracy and while it is probably there leading is a non issue.

    Also, right after I bought my XD, but before I shot it I read a few posts on how innaccurate these pistols are. Well, I usually take all these kinds of remarks and shelve them, until I get a chance to see for myself. How some of these "experts” can take an example and judge the whole lineup on it, or two is beyond me. I also by the way, owned, past tense, a Ruger, P- series, Sold it to by a XD. Yet ruger is of the Gods to some, find a bad one it's only “that one". If your finding problems with your pistol, keep an open mind and try other things, powder, primers, even bullets, each ind. pistol is a case of it's own. It will tell you what it likes, but you have to find it.  Crash87

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hunterspistol posted this 25 July 2009

  I've gotten 3.2 grains of Bullseye to work on the 124 grain Lyman Devastator hollowpoint.  The load starts out in one of my 10” TC barrels and is for a S&W 5906.  The next 9mm load is going to be the TGRN from RCBS and N340.  I'll post it when I get there, the 3.2 grains of Bullseye simulates WinClean ammo fairly good, it's wide for accuracy at 100 meters though.  You may not shoot a 9 that far but, that's what I use the TCs for.  I got it on paper at 50 meters and I think that's farther that most self defense applications.

  Winchester cases and primers, sized to .355 with White Label lube.  Bullets were cast of wheelweight, could be softer. The hollowpoint needs something pretty solid to strike for expansion at 50 meters.  Against the canyon wall, they were expanded to dime size, not bad for cheap.

  Anyway, there's my contribution to a good train of thought.

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ClydeF posted this 23 October 2022

Amb,

           I have always had great results using 5 grains of Unique abs any 120-130 grain cast bullet.

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BJung posted this 25 October 2022

You need to slug your bareel to determine its bore; otherwise you experience leading and accuracy issues. To do so, the least expensive and simplest way is to find a drill bit that is slightly larger than your bore. Drill a shallow hole into a 2x4. Then, find some split shot fishing sinkers and melt than into a folded piece of metal or spoon you plan to discard and then pour that pure lead into the hole. Take a knife and dig out the lead and grease it. Using a wooden down, hammer this small piece of lead through your bore and then measure its diameter with a micromenter. Your resized PC bullet should be .001-.002" over this. I don't water drop my bullets anymore. I air cool my cast bullets and PC bullets. Then, I let the bullets sit and age for awhile because the hardness will change as the molecules stabilize. I will do a test to compare water to air cool to aged bullets in the future. My best load testing Lee 9-122-124gr TC bullets using Bullseye, Red Dot, and Blue Dot was 3.6gr Bullseye with an OAL of 1.050" and with a 10 shot group of about 3" at 18 yards. If I remove the flyers, I have a 2" group with 8/10 shots, all clustered around a 1/2" dot. I used Winchester brass and Remington primers. My handgun is a BHP. 

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BJung posted this 25 October 2022

I forgot to add, bullet hardness is important too. I use range lead for my TC target bullets. After I make my ingots and let them sit for a month or more, I use a pencil to scrape the surface to get a general idea how hard that lead is. I use the softest lead for my 38 wadcutters and .45 SWC loads. The harder or midrange lead ingots I melt together can cast my 9mm bullets. Some are saying that 17-18 bhn is good. 

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Wineman posted this 28 October 2022

Second the 5 grains of Unique. Also, seat the bullet to kiss the lands without sticking in them. Longer is always better up to "I can't rack the slide".

Dave C

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Little Debbie posted this 28 October 2022

Air cooled wheel weights will work fine.   So will 4.0 grains of RedDot if it will cycle the pistol. I’m guessing it will.

I’ve found that most nines do fine with “as cast” bullets as long as long as they’ll chamber.  I am guessing they will as most service grade 9x19 chambers are generous in size.

This means a coat or two of some form of tumble lube is all you need. 45/45/10 works as does Ben’s TL which dries quicker and harder.

Several types of cast bullets in 9mm have always shot as well or better than most 9mm ball in my pistols and carbines. So did the soft swaged 9mm bullets that I shot by the thousands in the seventies.  Speer and Hornady swaged RN 9mm bullets were readily available back then, more so than jacketed.  Then the 9mm revolution hit and 9mm jacketed bullets became available in bulk, frequently cheaper than the swaged lead.

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