General purpose to me means a bullet that feeds with reasonable reliability and accuracy, leaves clean cuts in paper, and loaded with some vigor would serve in hunting or SD roles.

To be clear, when choosing a defensive bullet, I use proven, commercially loaded amunition from one of the big outfits. Cast lead in that role would only be chosen if commercially loaded HP rounds were not available.

While I'm primarily a 1911 kinda guy, for the past couple of years I have been working with the CZ-75 and SIG P229 as well, just because I like the guns. And as Clint says, what makes you think you will fight with your own gun?

Hard cast 200 grain LSWC bullets have worked very well for me in 45 persuasion as a general purpose bullet, and I wonder if a similar bullet might work wll in 9mm.

What do you like, and why?

I'm a 45 kinda guy as well, but have owned a bunch of nines over the years, just because I figured I needed one of those too. Also, because a P08 and a P38 are must haves.

In the beginning, reliability with a nine was hard to achieve. I ended up casting and loading rounds specific to each gun. That made me PO'd so I searched for a "std" formula.

My current goto is a Lee 124 RN Tumble Lube bullet behind Bullseye. It runs 100% in all my Nines. Certainly good for target, but I wouldn't have a clue for hunting or SD because a Nine is not my preferred caliber for either one.

I used a Lee two cavity 124gr (355-124-2R) sized .356". I used that bullet in a 39-2, 2 Star BK's , and a BKM, and about 350 in a RPB MAC-10 full auto The only time I had any failures was when playing beyond loading data (too fast or too slow).

I have been a WW231 fan since I started loading, and that is what I pushed all of my 9mm with, with the exception of Subsonic ammo for the MAC's silencer (AA#5 for that).

I loaded in the range of 50,000 of these, and sold another 125,000 back when I did gun shows.

I bought this mold in the early 1980's for $12 new and still have it.

Ivan

I cast the Lyman 356402. Weighs about 121 grains depending on your alloy. I use wheel weights and it is pretty close. The long nose allows it to feed in all my 9mm pistols. The sharp shoulder cuts nice round holes in the target like a wadcutter. I don’t load it very warm. I like those cases falling close to my right foot so I don’t have to hunt for them. Never had a leading problem with this bullet.

I carry either a 9mm or a .45. 124-grain and 230-grain LRNs from MBC suit me fine for whatever purpose. Wouldn't hesitate a second to defend myself with either.

Who is Clint?

I'm not a gunfighter, so won't look at things from that perspective.

However, in .45 ACP (and for revolvers chambered in Auto Rim) the SAECO #069, a 200 grain SWC is my favorite. It's a copy of the H&G #68. I've tried them both and they will generally outshoot the bullets cast from all my other .45 ACP moulds. You can shoot these fast or slow and get good accuracy either way. And they function well in unmodified guns.

As for 9mm, I've tried many, many cast bullets over the last thirty or more years in a variety of pistols. The best and most accurate bullet I've found is cast from an obsolete Lyman #358212 .38 Special mould. It makes a plain base round nose bullet of about 150 grains in wheelweight alloy. I size bullet to .358" which may need to be altered for some guns.

I'm not much of a 9mm fan but do have three pistols. My newest is a Sig P226 that I bought new in the late 1980s. The other two are a Walther P4 and a Beretta 92 (something). The 150 grain round nose is accurate and functions flawlessly in all three guns. I suppose I should sell the other 9mm moulds as I never use them.

I have yet to have a hiccup with the Lee 95 grain flat nose bullet, but I just don't think I could trust it enough for serious social purposes. I've shot hundreds of them through my one and only 9mm - a Taurus 92. It really likes them. I'm able to shoot them unsized and tumble lubed with 45-45-10.

Mihec 359-125 mold
It cast a .359" 125gr hp


I size them .358" and pc them to use in a 1911 chambered in 9mm


My target load with this bullet. 5.0gr of wst/1150fps a 10-shot group @ 50ft


@ 1150fps that bullet easily doubles as a sd bullet

NOE mould #358-124-TC-GC ... solid point or hollow point .

This is a 124 grain cast bullet , truncated cone with a gas check .
The gas check allows you to drive it fast .
Size .357 for 9mm Luger . Size .358 for 38 special +P and fast 357 Magnum .
The gas check prevents leaing even with an alloy of 50/50 COWW and soft lead - air cooled .
You can drive all three rounds over 1,000 fps , have no leading and good expansion with a hollow point pin in the mould .
The bullets drop from the mould right at .358 . Sizing to .357 is easy and at .358 is even easier .
Gary

__________________
Certified Cajun
NRA Member

Rockquarry: I was referencing Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch, Attended a class there in 2011.

My first thought was Clint Eastwood ... "Make My Day "

Gary

__________________
Certified Cajun
NRA Member

Way before I got a 9mm, I cast for my 38 Specials and 357 Magnums, and one of my favorite all around bullets was the Lee 358-125 RF. I slugged the barrel of my 9mm and sized the Lee bullet accordingly (.357") and now use it in 4, 9mm pistols. Feeds good in my Ruger, FMK, Masada, and old Tokerev...

This is a good bullet design and an accurate bullet. I once loaded 2,000 rounds with this bullet thirty years ago when I was shooting 9mm a lot. However, I found that this bullet, loaded to a moderate velocity of 1050-1100 fps muzzle velocity, impacted 4" to 6" low on the target consistently at 25 yards with a Beretta and a Sig. I think my Walther also shot low but don't really remember for sure. Loaded max. would have brought up the point of impact some but probably with a decrease in accuracy.

Many other light bullets also shot low. The 150 grain round nose I've been using for years now shoots to point of impact at 25 yards and is even more accurate than the Lee-designed 125 gr. RN bullet. I've pretty much lost interest in the 9mm these days and seldom shoot it, but I learned a lot about cast bullets loading and experimenting using various 9mm pistols over many years.

The Lee TL356-124-TC has been perfect in every 9mm I have tried it in and also works perfect in the .357 sig. I powder coat mine also. Never tried with lube. I have pushed them over 1300fps in the sig and worked fine.

Rosewood

I like the Lyman 345402, a copy of the original truncated cone bullet for paper and plinking. I rarely carry a 9 for sd purposes but have a NOE 135 fn with a hollow point option [RG4] I do cast and shoot some of.

__________________
Front sight and squeeze

Those HPs are purty.

Yes, they are............

__________________
dd884
JMHO-YMMV

I have lhp molds but if I just wanted paper punching gen purp bullet, a 135gr swc from 975-1150fps pretty much handles it all. The right bullet feeds 100% in my 1911 & glocks.

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO