Schwing said:
You may want to consider casting your own as well.
How will that help the OP with the leading problem from the particular bullet in use? That's like saying the solution to a car problem is to consider building yourself a new car - More practical solution would be to fix the car.
grogetr said:
Ruger sr9 full size ... standard bullet co. (115 gr 356" RN) 4.3 gr w231 to oal of 1.100"... Lee 4 hole CTP with the FCD.
(4.3 gr) - They cycled fine and worked ok but noticed the brass didn't eject with much force and would hit you.
4.6 gr - they ejected much better but didn't shoot enough to see if that made a difference in how dirty the barrel got.
Doug, I suggest the following:
- Pull some loaded rounds and measure the diameter of the bullet base. If you measure any decrease (amount may vary depending on the varying thickness of case wall), the FCD is post-sizing the bullet and I would remove the FCD from the turret and seat/taper crimp with the third die. If you do not measure any decrease, you may be OK.
- Measure the diameter of the loaded case around the bullet base and if it is less than .377", I would reduce the amount of taper crimp. I usually add .021"-0.22" to the diameter of the lead bullet (so .356" + .021" = .377") to just return the flare back to flat on the bullet and use .377"-.378" as the taper crimp. Also, do not overly flare the case, just flare enough to set the bullet and seat without shaving the bullet side.
- Try to use the longest OAL/COL that will pass the barrel drop test (fall in freely into the chamber and spin without hitting the rifling) and reliably feed/chamber from the magazine which is your "working OAL/COL". If your working OAL/COL is longer than 1.100", it will reduce the amount of high pressure gas leakage around the bullet and decrease gas cutting/leading.
- 4.3 gr is the start charge Hodgdon lists for W231 and depending on the hardness of the bullet, may not be sufficiently expanding the bullet base when powder ignites to seal the bullet with the barrel to reduce high pressure gas leakage -
http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp
115 gr Lead RN W231 .356" OAL 1.100" Start 4.3 gr (1079 fps) 28,400 CUP - Max 4.8 gr (1135 fps) 32,000 CUP
Since you already tested 4.6 gr, I would clean the leading from the barrel (many use copper scrubber strands tested with magnet wrapped around old bore brush to remove leading) and range test 4.6 gr load using the "working OAL/COL" without the use of FCD (especially if you measured any post-sizing) to see if the leading problem improves.
I loaded 150 with the more powder I can shoot if you think that changes anything.
When I am doing powder work up/load development, I usually load 10 rounds at each powder charge to test for leading/reliability/accuracy. When testing for leading, I take a mini gun cleaning kit to the range and clean the barrel between powder charges to start with clean barrel/rifling to check for leading.
I have 500 of these bullets so will go ahead and use them up but want to know what I can do before I buy more bullets. There is a gun show this weekend I was thinking about going to to see what they have.
I would first verify the true groove diameter of your SR9 barrel and buy bullets that are sized .001" over.
Also, you may want to consider using heavier 124/125 gr lead RN bullets over the 115 gr RN as they have longer bullet base than 115 gr bullets and tend to produce less leading and greater accuracy. The longer bullet base also seats deeper in the case neck to produce more consistent chamber pressures and expand the bullet base too.