which 9MM 115, 125 ?

Want to reload for my Walther 99 and my Ruger lc9. Which 9 MM would be the most accurate one for putting holes in paper ? Got plenty of hp38 on hand...I see the 115, 125 cone, swc, rn etc...Wanting to get some from Missouri Bullets or ???

Cheers

Every caliber has it's sweet spot bullet and for the 9mm IMO it's the 124/125gr bullet. I like W231/HP-38 for the 9mm.

With a 124gr lead bullet I charge 4.0gr HP-38/W231 for a easy shooting practice load.

With a jacketed bullet of the same weight I charge between 4.4gr to 4.8gr HP-38/W231 which works well for me.

I agree with AA.

I would use a round nose in that gun.

I would use a round nose in that gun.

Both the LC9 and Walther ?

Want to reload for my Walther 99 and my Ruger lc9. Which 9 MM would be the most accurate one for putting holes in paper ?

I'm guessing the Walther P99 will be more accurate for putting holes in paper, but the LC9 has a better chance of fitting in a (big) pocket. :)

If you're just putting holes in paper the 115gr or 124gr FMJ will probably work about the same. Heavier bullets use less powder but probably not enough to offset their extra cost. I've put nothing but 115gr FMJ and JHP (XTP's) through my LC9 and they work fine. I have some 124gr XTP bullets but haven't loaded any of them up yet.

The only bullet I use for punching paper is the 115 gr. Berry's plated bullets. Shoot them in everything and they work fine, even Glocks. I've found the best accuracy in my pistols comes from using WSF.

Most 9mm don't shoot 115gn well.

Round will function easier. The LC9 will probably benefit the most.

Most 9mm don't shoot 115gn well.

Round will function easier. The LC9 will probably benefit the most

Round it is...I'll place and order for the 124grainers...

Both my 92C and my SR9C love 124gr RN. 115 aren't near as accurate in mine.

Anyone heard or used bullets from SNS casting or Penn Bullets ?? I am asking since MB is running 3 weeks behind in fulfilling their orders...

i have been using the 125 grain "smallball" from missouri bullet with excellent results.

p.s. dont worry about the wait time. i placed an order recently and had my bullets in about a week. even if it does take longer, you are buying quality bullets from a first rate company. its worth the wait IMHO.

I use both 115 gr. and 124 gr. jacketed bullets in all my 9mm's with super good accuracy and velocity. HS6 and Longshot are pretty much two of the best powders regarding performance characteristics in every respect. If reduced velocities or light loads are your goal, then you may do much better with faster burners such as HP38 in my 30+ yr. opinion.

GS

Another vote for heavier 125 gr bullets over 115 gr lead bullets.

Depending on the recoil spring rate of your pistol, you may need to push the 115 gr bullet faster/harder to reliably cycle the slide, which may contribute to leading issues.

I am asking since MB is running 3 weeks behind in fulfilling their orders
Powder Valley, Graf & Sons and other vendors sell MBC bullets (at comparable prices or lower than MBC's website) and they should be able to ship the bullets in stock.

As others posted, you can order the bullets from MBC but will take more time for them to ship.

Anyone heard or used bullets from SNS casting or Penn Bullets ?? I am asking since MB is running 3 weeks behind in fulfilling their orders...
Yes, have purchased from both. IMO just as good and maybe better than MBC for bullet quality. Penn also allows you to order oversized with no problem, MBC discourages you from doing so based on personal experience and telephone discussions with them. Just as with MBC, count on a wait time for receipt as most popular sizes may be out of stock. Pay close attention to the informaton on the Penn Bullets web site related to how and when they process orders and payment.

Even with my LEO discount with MBC I still got them just as cheap from PV & since I was ordering from PV anyhow I saved some more on shipping.

I using 124 gr Zero bullets in my LC9. Haven't tried HP-38/W231 yet but am having good results using 4.9 grs of Unique.

I get better accuracy using 124 Gr bullets in my 9mm.
I haven't really given the 115 a fair chance but after all the loads of 124 Gr, I think I will stick with them and try out the 115 none the less. These were all HP tho.

Penn Bullets makes good bullets, they are the only ones I buy when I don't cast my own. My experience has been the 120 TC bullet I cast (Lee mould) is more accurate in 9mm and 38 Super than the 125 RN bullet I cast (Lee).

My LC9 & PM9 has less of a snappy recoil with 124 and 147 FMJ handloads, so thats what I use. Accuracy is the same between the two, but I'm not pushing this thing out 50 yards.

My favorite bullets for 9MM are 125 gr MBC 9 Cone, SWC, and the 380 super CFN that works good in 9MM. I also like the 147 gr FP.

I am using 124 gr. plated out of a Sig 226 and a Kahr PM9. 5.0 gr. of Unique has been the best for me.

Win 115 fmj hollow base. There may be a reason Win q4172 is so accurate in so many 9mm's.

What diam crimp y'all use on the cast bullets? Someone told me NOT to use the Lee Factory Die with cast. He"s a real fan of the Lyman M die for neck sizing and he swears by it.
Anyone use the Lyman M dies for handgun calibers ?

Area51,

IIRC, You want your cast bullet to be .001 oversize. Example = Jacketed 9mm is .355, Cast should be .356. And yes, Do not use the Lee FCD because it will post size your cast and swage down your cast bullet.

Sorry no experience with the Lyman M Die.

May be even larger or smaller. My 9mm is actually a .357". You need to slug your barrel to know what size you actually need. Then add 0.001" to that.

What diam crimp y'all use on the cast bullets? Someone told me NOT to use the Lee Factory Die with cast. He"s a real fan of the Lyman M die for neck sizing and he swears by it.
Anyone use the Lyman M dies for handgun calibers ?
I'll bet you've been talking to Matt Dardas of Dardas Cast Bullets about the M die. He does indeed swear by it, and convinced me to get them for cast bullet loading, especially since the barrel of my Ruger SR9 measured 0.356" and I needed to buy 0.357" cast bullets. For cast bullets, I like, and highly recommend the M die, it provides a constant diameter of the inside of the casing where the bullet sits, which prevents the potential for post sizing by the case. Another thing to consider if you're not doing it already is to separate the seating and crimping operation into separate dies, and as been mentioned, not use the FCD to apply the taper crimp. A dedicated TC die should be used to remove only the bell applied. It's worth making a dummy round to ensure you're not leaving a ring in your cast bullet as a result of the crimp.

I prefer 124gr LR or plated. Just not a fan of the light bullets in any caliber.

'll bet you've been talking to Matt Dardas of Dardas Cast Bullets about the M die.

Funny you mention that. Matt knows his stuff :D. The man spent a good 20 minutes minutes on the phone educating me on cast bullets. I enjoyed talking to him and I will become a customer.

My CZ 75B / SP-01 Phantom and S.A. XD9 really benefit more in accuracy shooting the 124gr Berry's HBRN bullets.

My 124gr rn MB order arrived. :D

just made a couple of dummy rounds to check the head space in my p99 and the lc9... On the p99 I am getting a measurement of 1.064 :confused: ( cutting it 2 close I think )
On another note, the lc 9 is happy with 1.148. - Anyone here load for p99 and can chime in with their oal ?

That question would probably get better answers in a new thread with a better topic line.

Each firearm will vary as to its preference. 124gr is a good weight to start with because most 9mm's are factory zeroed for that weight, especially the service style pistols (Beretta, Sig, Glock, etc). Like I said, it can vary though. My Glock 17 has shown a preference for a fast 115gr bullet.

If you are leaning toward cast bullets, it would be wise to slug your bore to get your groove diameter. Then you will know what diameter bullet you will need. Like stated, you will need a bullet 0.001" to 0.002" over your groove diameter. 9mm groove diameters can run from 0.355" all the way to 0.359". Older Browning Hi Powers are notorious for their wild variation of groove diameters.
Getting a good bullet to bore fit is crucial to the successful use of cast bullets.

I use a Lyman M Die with my 9mm cast bullets. I use a modified 38spl plug in mine with great success. I size my cast bullets to 0.358" and use them in 38spl as well as 9mm. Just keep an eye on case swaging. It caused me a lot of head ache til I got it fixed.

Good Luck. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. 9mm is not the easiest to use cast in.

My Walther's eat 124gr LRN all day at 1.12 COL. Never tried the MBC small ball though.

With HP-38 I use 4.1gr under a 124gr LRN. Very accurate in my guns.

Check out this recent thread on the MBC small ball + shortened COL

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=654206

If you are using shorter OAL with Missouri 125 gr RN (SmallBall) with longer bearing surface/bullet base, another thing to consider is the bullet seat depth, powder and charge selection that will fit inside the reduced case volume without being compressed.

W231/HP-38 is a dense powder and even the max charge (1999 Winchester load data (http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=159609&stc=1&d=1329800605) lists Start 3.3 gr - Max 4.0 gr for 9mm 124 gr Lead bullet) will have plenty of head room below the bottom of the bullet. Due to this reason, when I did load development for the MBC 125 gr SWC bullet with even longer bearing surface/bullet base, dense W231/HP-38 was the obvious powder choice to not result in a compressed load.

If you are using bulkier/less dense powders, reduced case volume and powder compression may become an issue when using short OAL and more precise measurement of bullet seat depth and powder fill may need to be made. When I did load development with bulky and large flake Promo powder, case fill and powder compression was a concern. 2004 Alliant load data (glarp.atk.com/2004/2004Catalogs/2004AlliantPowderSM.pdf) lists 4.5 gr as max charge for 9mm 125 gr lead bullet at 1.150" OAL (as indicated by Alliant, I used Red Dot load data for Promo by weight) and based on my calculations, 4.4 gr charge of Promo will fit under the 125 gr SmallBall bullet without compression even when 1.100" OAL was used. BTW, 3.8-4.0 gr charges produce accurate shot groups for me using even shorter 1.080" OAL without compressing the powder charge.

Here's the math I used to calculate the bullet seat depth with Promo - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=7679116#post7679116

OAL - 1.100"
Length of resized case - 0.750"
Bullet length - 0.565"

That means 0.565" - (1.100"-0.750") = 0.215" of bullet base gets seated inside the case neck. The picture below of 4.0 gr of Promo inside the case shows the powder is 0.260" below top (and 4.4 gr is 0.220" below top). So, 4.0-4.4 gr of Promo should be fine with 1.100" OAL using MBC 125 gr RN (SmallBall) to not compress the powder.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=151536&stc=1&d=1319526474

If you are using shorter OAL with Missouri 125 gr RN (SmallBall) with longer bearing surface/bullet base, another thing to consider is the bullet seat depth, powder and charge selection that will fit inside the reduced case volume without being compressed.

W231/HP-38 is a dense powder and even the max charge (1999 Winchester load data lists Start 3.3 gr - Max 4.0 gr for 9mm 124 gr Lead bullet) will have plenty of head room below the bottom of the bullet. Due to this reason, when I did load development for the MBC 125 gr SWC bullet with even longer bearing surface/bullet base, dense W231/HP-38 was the obvious powder choice to not result in a compressed load.

If you are using bulkier/less dense powders, reduced case volume and powder compression may become an issue when using short OAL and more precise measurement of bullet seat depth and powder fill may need to be made. When I did load development with bulky and large flake Promo powder, case fill and powder compression was a concern. 2004 Alliant load data lists 4.5 gr as max charge for 9mm 125 gr lead bullet at 1.150" OAL (as indicated by Alliant, I used Red Dot load data for Promo by weight) and based on my calculations, 4.4 gr charge of Promo will fit under the 125 gr SmallBall bullet without compression even when 1.100" OAL was used. BTW, 3.8-4.0 gr charges produce accurate shot groups for me using even shorter 1.080" OAL without compressing the powder charge.

Here's the math I used to calculate the bullet seat depth with Promo - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthrea...16#post7679116


Great info. Thanks again !