9mm Cast Bullet shooting

[Luke Duke]

Whats your favorite mold, and sized cast bullets are you guys shooting out of your 9mm's? I have a S&W 915 which I feel wants to be accurate. Factory .355 stuff shoots poorly. I loaded up some Hornady .356 124gr HAP on 4.0 gr of Bullseye and accuracy started coming around. I'm thinking the bore may be oversized. Never shot cast out of a 9. 100's of pounds out of .38&.357, .41 Mag. Not looking for +P rounds. My 915 is like new and I don't want to beat it up at all. At first I thought that I just couldn't shoot it well. then I benched it and it shot the same as free hand.
Thanks for any input,
Luke

 

[Nevada Ed]

You might go to a coated bullet company and get the sample 50 pack of three dia. bullets in 115 or 125grs.

I think 150 cost me $17 total.........

Good luck.

 

[rockquarry]

I don't know what a 915 is, but most 9mms shoot cast bullets poorly unless bullet diameter is at least .357"; .358 is usually better, and some shoot best with a .359". Rule of thumb is forget bore diameter and shoot the largest diameter bullet that will easily chamber in a loaded cartridge. This "fit" will generally lead to the most accurate load and will minimize or negate leading provided the alloy is right for the velocity / pressure.

9mm is a frustrating cartridge to load lead bullets in until all is right. I've tried many cast designs since the late '80s. The very best I've found is the one I currently use cast from the obsolete Lyman #358212 mould, a 150 grain (wheelweight alloy) .38 Special design, sized to .358".

The above bullet feeds reliably and is accurate in a Walther, a Beretta, and a Sig. H&Ks and Glocks can be tempermental with cast loads; don't know about S&W 9mms.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I had a 39-2 in the early 80's. I ran Lee's 2 cavity 115 grain RN standard 9mm sized .356" through it and a 9mm MAC-10 full auto. Shot about 5000 round in each gun and they worked just fine, and were more accurate than I was! I mostly used straight wheel weight alloy.

Ivan

 

[rwsmith]

I don't cast....

My favorite is the coated semi wadcutters, 124 or 147 grains. Missouri seems to do the best job of coating.

I have other bullets, like coated RN and plated RN, but those are not my favorites at all.

I also have JHPs but don't shoot those routinely. I shoot similar loads with cheaper bullets.

 

[mikld]

I have 3, 9mms. One old school Tokerev, and 2, plastic striker fired guns. The groove diameter is different on all three so I size my bullets to fit each gun (.357"-.359"). I really like Lee's 125 gr. RNFP bullet. I cast it from my "mystery metal" of 15-17 BHN, load with moderate levels with Universal and use C-Red lube. I don't get much leading and these are fairly accurate. I also use this bullet in my 38 Specials and .357 Magnums...

 

[Harkrader]

I've used Lasercast lead bullets in just about every caliber for decades. Seat them over a bees wax wad and there is little or no leading.

I used to shoot thousands of Lasercast .45ACP (with bees wax wads) through my Thompson every year. It's the best way to save the barrel.

The only bullets I cast myself were for black powder muzzle stuffers. I have no idea what brand the mold was. I just don't see the benefit to casting my own 9mm or other bullets that I shoot by the hundreds. Takes more time than I want to spend, and I really got tired of sniffing lead.

 

[glenwolde]

In lead bullets, my 9mm 1911 seems to prefer 147gr RNFP sized .357. I've used both lead (Dardas) and coated (SNS) with equal results. WST or W231 seem to give the best results. Can't seem to get anything lighter to shoot better than mediocre.

In jacketed bullets it shoots many things well. But with lead it likes fatter, heavier bullets. Maybe it's the increased bearing surface of the bullet, or the lower velocities, or both, I don't know.

There's a million possibilities here, I'm going to try some .358 bullets intended for the .38/.357 next.

 

[patrickd]

Can't say it's my favorite because it's the only 9mm mold I own but the Lee Tumble Lube 124 gr RN shoots as good as anything I've tried.

 

[fredj338]

I must have 5 diff 9mm molds. My fav is a Saeco 147gr RN for competition & general light target work. For full speed stuff, I have a Saeco 124gr TC. There is also a great 135gr SWC mold From Accurate for paper punching. It has a long nose, feeds in just about anything, even my finicky 1911.
Accurate Molds: Custom Bullet Molds

 

[mtgianni]

i have gone away from the 358242 rn 122 gr to the NOE 135 rfn. I also shoot the 356402 with no appreciable accuracy loss.

 

[GBertolet]

I found that in the 9mm, cast bullets @ .357 or larger shoot best. Many 9mm's will take .358 bullets, and still chamber. Depending on the brass wall thickness, I prefer to use the .358 diameter bullets when I can get away with it. Some thick walled brass, especially military brass, will bulge to the pint of not chambering with these larger than standard diameters.

One thing to take into consideration, most 9mm expander balls are in the .352- .353 range, designed for .354-.355 jacketed bullets. A .358 cast bullet, unless very hard, will be somewhat swaged during the bullet seating process. Adapting a 38 special expander ball, or making your own, will fix this issue.

 

[LostintheOzone]

I use RN Bayou coated 124's (.356) and American Select Powder.

9mm 124 Gr. RN - 500 Ct. - Bayou Bullets

PM if you want my load. I would be happy to give it to you.

 

[M29since14]

I completely agree with using the largest diameter cast bullet your chamber allows. 0.357" and 0.358" have worked well for me and I wouldn't be afraid to try 0.359". I have a friend who uses 0.359" in his 3913.

I use the ~124 gr. Lee TC design and 4.0 grs. Win 231 for indoor target shooting and am always amazed at how well the combo works, compared to the luck I was having with the same load but with bullets sized to 0.356". A thousandth or two can make a lot of difference!

 

[Nevada Ed]

A jacket/plated 9mm bullet should be .355" in dia.

I ordered coated lead bullets in .356, ,357 and .358" dia. for my test.

In "My" pistol the .356 was the most accurate with six powders.
The .357" was pretty good but it did have a slight bulge in the case.

I tried the .358" at a OAL of 1.06, 1.10, and 1.16".
This bullet would not chamber or work in my pistol, for what ever reason, with Federal cases.

 

[fredj338]

A jacket/plated 9mm bullet should be .355" in dia.

I ordered coated lead bullets in .356, ,357 and .358" dia. for my test.

In "My" pistol the .356 was the most accurate with six powders.
The .357" was pretty good but it did have a slight bulge in the case.

I tried the .358" at a OAL of 1.06, 1.10, and 1.16".
This bullet would not chamber or work in my pistol, for what ever reason, with Federal cases.

I have a tight match chambered 1911. It will not accept 0.358" bullet, 0.357" bullets will only run in certain brands of brass but they tend to be the most accurate, though 0.356" work fine if cast harder & coated.

 

[rockquarry]

I don't recall a problem with oversize cast bullets in any brand of 9mm brass, but I've used far more Winchester than anything else for many years.

 

[bluetopper]

Coated bullets are fine if you are not shooting for group size. I like a good 124gr cast bullet with 4gr of Green Dot. It puts a smile on my face every time.

 

[novalty]

I use a Mihec 130gr RNFN mold, which weigh in around 135gr with my alloy. I size them to .358" and use TAC1 lube.

 

[joeintexas]

Loaded a small batch of .357 dia swc's for 9mm. Ran pretty good in the Baretta 92fs but would not chamber in the S&W 6945. Ran fine also in the 5603. Maybe it just didn't like the shorter barrel.