9mm .355 and .356 bullets

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tgwillard

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I have several caliber classic Lee Loaders (.45 acp, .223 Remington, and 9mm Luger) and have a question concerning the 9mm. While I have reloaded both the .45 acp and the .223 Remington and fired them, I have not yet reloaded any 9mm. Can you use both .355 and .356 bullets? Will the .355 bullets be too loose to function in my 6906? I already have a couple of boxes of .355 bullets and the selection seems a lot greater for .355 as opposed to .356. I suppose I could just reload a .355 bullet without primer or powder and see how it holds up in feeding and extracting the round from my 6906. Anyone with experience with this?

Was at the range last week and some .223 Remington rounds I fired through my Ruger Mini 14 (.224 bullets) functioned perfectly.

Another question regarding case length for the 9mm. I have some fired once brass and all are about .700 in length. The Lee reloading manual lists the length for the 9mm case at .500. Is .500 a minimum? Measured an unfired round and the case also measured .700.
 
I relooked at the data sheet and saw that I misread the nominal length. Good to know you use the .355 diameter bullets.
 
In the 9mm with jacketed its .355" and usually .356" with hard cast lead. My 5906 actually prefers lead in the .355" diameter but most casters don't produce them in that diameter.
 
The .355 diameter bullet is standard for jacketed bullets, while the .356 is common for cast and swaged lead bullets. I have used both for many years with no problems.

In my S&W 9mm pistols I have found that chamber dimensions require that the cartridge, with bullet seated, be within prettly close tolerances. In my Browning Hi-Power pistols, however, I have loaded .357" jacketed bullets and fired them with no problems.

For my cast bullets, I utilize the same .357" lubricator-sizer die that I use for .38/.357 cast bullets, and I have no difficulties.

Every reloading task requires that we establish a loading that will reliably function in the firearm for which it is intended.
 
As with any semi auto pistol ammo the the bullet
seats on the case mouth. I follow my reloading guide
and measure the case mouth till I get it right. To double
check I take the barrel out of the gun and put a loaded
round in and press hard with my thumb. If the case
sticks the taper crimp is to tight. you can also buy a
case gage. Don
 
I have a box of 115 grain and 100 grain round nose bullets (.355 diameter), which will be used for my first reloading efforts in 9mm. My concern was that the .355 diameter would hold tight enough to allow the round to be chambered without pushing the bullet into the case and affecting pressure. I checked the cases with the micrometer and found to be the correct length and not in need of triming. My efforts with .223 Remington proved successful and my reloaded rounds fed through my Mini 14 with no problem and just with neck sizing and not full length sizing. Up until now the last reloading I did was for my 1911A1. Fired some of the reloads in January that were 40 years old and they fired with no problems. All three calibers reloaded with my Lee Classic Reloaders. Work fine for the volume of reloads that I do.
 
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