9mm LSWC?

Fishslayer

Fishslayer

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Friend of mine gave me a bag of powder coated 158 LSWC boolits for my .357 Magnum.

OOPS! He called later & told me he'd run them through his .356 sizer by mistake.:o

Option 1: Dump 'em in the pot next session & recycle.

Option 2: It occurred to me that a dollop of Blue Dot or 2400 under a 158gr LSWC might make a thumpin' 9mm target load.:rolleyes:

What say ye? :D
 
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2400 is out of the question. Back in the day, WW 540 was supposed to be the powder to use to try to make major with 9mm. My records showed I started with 4.0 gr and chickened out/got sensible before I reached major.

I can't find a burning rate chart that features 540. A WAG suggests HS6 might be a reasonable substitute but I have no way to affirm that. Blue Dot might not be that bad an idea. HOWEVER: You're on your own, and I'm certainly not suggesting anyone try that powder or any other.

OTOH, you might give a few a try in your .357. Depending upon the groove diameter of your barrel, you might be surprised.
 
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I had trouble getting a 9mm 125 SWC to seat short enough to clear the rifling in my 9mm 1911. That 158 could end up being seated very deeply depending on your gun. I had to cut my load back to compensate for the deep seating.
 
WR Moore said:
I can't find a burning rate chart that features 540. A WAG suggests HS6 might be a reasonable substitute but I have no way to affirm that.
Click to expand...

I used 540 for years to make major in 38 super and got out of Shooting for twenty years. Last year when I started shooting again I couldn't find 540 so I started researching. I found info that HS6 is the exact equivalent of 540. I don't load anywhere near major now but use HS6 with great results.

If in doubt, and it's a good idea anyway, call the manufacturer and ask.
 
Now that you've stimulated my memory, I recall hearing that. Possibly the mind recalled that at a deep level and that's why I checked data and cited HS6. That also explains some notes in my old shotshell loading manual. Hogdon data did show some slight differences in charge weights for shotshells, but that could have had multiple reasons.
 
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LSWCs work very well in 9mm.
I have loaded Bayou 150 grain:
150_Gold__96049.1401113491.1280.1280.png

Chronographed:
LSWC 150gr VV N320 3.3gr LO:952 HI:988 AVG:969 ES:37 SD:10.86 LOA:1.118"
 
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I see no reason not to give them a try in the 9mm but like the others I would go with a slightly faster powder. I would use HS-6, AA#5, True Blue, maybe the fairly new W572 or the like.

Please let us know the powder you choose and the results.
 
Feeding might be your biggest problem. i would try them before melting them, and I would put a micrometer on them. Not all labelled dies size what they are stamped.
 
Some of us have loaded 160 +/- gr bullets in the 9mm........

however you do need to use the correct OAL for your weapon
to produce a good feed and ejection with these long bullets.

I never loaded a SWC tip design in my 9mm pistols, good luck with that.

For target loads I like the faster powders with Unique and HS-6
being able to get the higher fps in my loads.
Blue Dot worked but did not give me good accuracy.
You might try some BE-86 if you have some and Acc #7 would
be my choice for top fps but.................

With a 158 gr bullet......
make sure you have a GOOD source for the amount of powder
and chamber pressures that you will be getting into.

Stay safe and good loading.
 
158-160gr make great 9mm minor loads @ about 800fps, easily done with any fast burner. The question is does your 9mm feed LSWC?? Many will, my Glocks feed swc just fine, my 1911, so-so.
 
I have 9x19 guns from 1930's P-08s, WWII P-38s, CZs, S&W, BHPs, and others and they ALL feed L-SWCs perfectly. First, you make a couple of inert (no powder or primer) rounds at a COL of about 1.175" or so. You can then see if they fit the magazine. Reduce the COL until they fit the magazine with our friction. Then, try to feed and chamber. Keep reducing COL until they feed and chamber. That is your COL. From there, you can try and reduce the COL a little to adjust for differences in the cast bullets.
In my case, if it weill feed in my '70 era BHP, it will feed in ALL the others. 115gn SWC is great for the 25 yd line, with 115gn Zero JHP for long line. 121-125gn SWCs can be used for 9mm Major.
I like my gun to snap back in position fast, so I am happy shooting 115gn or 124gn bullets for those sports needing fast follow-up shots.
For 148gn bullets, I find LFPRN bullets work OK.
For seating SWCs, I have custom seater stems that only touch the bullet shoulder. This help to align the bullet for seating and it also means that once adjusted for a SWC, it works for all other SWCs, as the shoulder is the first thing to impact the lede/rifling.
 
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First thought: Not all 9mm pistols will cycle reliably with SWC bullets. My Browning Hi-Power does well, but several other have been problematic.

Second thought: Get out your calipers or micrometer (or borrow one) and measure the diameter as sized. Depending on the hardness of the lead alloy used in casting the sized diameter may not be .356" as expected. I shoot a lot of home-made bullets in .38 and .357 revolvers made of pretty hard alloy, and after running through a .357" sizing die the finished diameter is .3584" pretty consistently. Not all sizing dies are exact in finished diameter, and every lead alloy will show varying degrees of "spring-back" after sizing. Variation from standard is the norm; standard is actually unusual.
 
LoboGunLeather said:
First thought: Not all 9mm pistols will cycle reliably with SWC bullets. My Browning Hi-Power does well, but several other have been problematic.

Second thought: Get out your calipers or micrometer (or borrow one) and measure the diameter as sized. Depending on the hardness of the lead alloy used in casting the sized diameter may not be .356" as expected. I shoot a lot of home-made bullets in .38 and .357 revolvers made of pretty hard alloy, and after running through a .357" sizing die the finished diameter is .3584" pretty consistently. Not all sizing dies are exact in finished diameter, and every lead alloy will show varying degrees of "spring-back" after sizing.

Very true. Cast SWC bullets can be accurate and feed reliably, but this all takes a good bit of experimentation. There is little need to "slug" a bore unless you want to. I've found shooting the largest diameter bullet that will allow easy chambering works best in all semi-automatic handguns.

Some brass may be tighter than others and size a bullet smaller when the bullet is seated. Mixed brass often works okay, but I wouldn't recommend it if you have an interest in accuracy. I've had good results with older Winchester brass that I've used for a long time.

There's not a lot of 9mm load data for 150 - 160 gr. cast SWCs and one can easily get in trouble with powder charges and seating depth. While such bullets can be used, I've seen this as more of a "what can be done" stunt rather than something of practical value, but that's only an opinion based on my perspective.

The best cast 9mm bullet I've found to date has not been a SWC but an obsolete Lyman .38 Special design, #358212, a roundnose 150 grain.
Click to expand...
 
Back in the 1970's I loaded and cast bullets for a 38/357 Blackhawk .
Just to see I loaded some 158 gr. SWC's (Lyman #358156) into some 9mm Luger cases , no powder , no primer and they would hand cycle through my Dad's WWII era Walther P-38 . Generous throat and wartime chamber size allowed for it . A modest load of Unique was tried and it worked .
I'm not going to say feeding was 100% but it did pretty good for a pistol not designed to feed SWC's .

Today's new 9mm seem to be cut with tight chambers and little or no throat... that will be the fly in the ointment .

But...if your 9mm is a revolver...then all bets are off !
Gary
 
As for 9mm chamber dimensions, I've found my thirty-year old Beretta 92F, a Sig P226 about the same age, and a Walther P4 from the mid-'70s will feed virtually any bullet style reliably. Generous chamber dimensions don't mean inaccuracy. All these guns are quite accurate as long as the bullet diameter is right.

I've tried oversized bullets in a borrowed H&K and a Glock. Neither worked well.
 
Would really like to know how they feed in your weapon.....

I have lots of 38 158 Lswc that I could slim down.......
since I am shooting more 9mm lately.
 
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