New to lead

[119er]

Well sorta. I have loaded lead in 45 Colt, but never in any other caliber as I typically use jacketed or plated bullets. I am preparing to load MBC 9 Cone bullets for 9mm. I have access to lead loading data from Hodgdon and most of the manuals but obviously none include this bullet. These are 18 BHN bullets and I will be using HP-38 powder.

Does anyone have any tips about where to start for best results/no or little leading? I will be using lead in 38 SPL as well and I'm just trying to avoid rookie mistakes with lead. In the 45 Colt HP-38(not ideal) seemed to cause leading which Trailboss has cured.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Steve2md]

You'll need accurate measurements of the lands and grooves of the guns you plan to load for. Typically, this is done with a pure lead fishing weight or other pure lead sphere forced through the barrel. Size your lead projo .002 larger than the groove dia. Don't push boolits without gas checks too fast, or you will get leading. Too slow will do the same.

Check out the castboolits forum, there is a wealth of information there on the subject, then share your findings/results here

 

[GLOOB]

Look up data from hodgdon website or from a loading manual just like any load. There's no magic charge that prevents lead fouling. It is all about size. Too small is bad.

 

[GLOOB]

Look up data from hodgdon website or from a loading manual just like any load. There's no magic charge that prevents lead fouling. It is all about size. Too small is bad. And FYI, 9mm flaring dies are often total suck for softer cast bullets.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Since HP-38/W231 is a good powder for use with lead bullets I see no reason why the powder alone should cause leading. Proper bullet fit and correct hardness for the pressures being generated are the important factors.

The Hodgdon site will give you the pressures and proper powder charge weights for the bullet you're using.

 

[Steve C]

I have access to lead loading data from Hodgdon and most of the manuals but obviously none include this bullet. These are 18 BHN bullets and I will be using HP-38 powder.

You certainly do have data for your bullet on the Hodgdon website as it list data for a 125gr LCN (Lead Conical nose) bullet with HP-38. With the hard BNH18 bullet increase your load if you get leading at the start level. All lead bullets will usually leave a little lead in the the bore that is easily removed with a brass brush and a couple passes with Hoppes. If the leading is heavy and needs more work to remove then adjust your load to match the bullet hardness or slug your bore and order bullets of .001 greater in diameter than the bore size if the more is greater than .356".

 

[LiveLife]

MBC 9 Cone bullets for 9mm ... HP-38 powder.

Does anyone have any tips about where to start for best results/no or little leading?

You didn't post the pistol you will be using but as many posted, slugging the barrel to determine the groove diameter is a good idea.

Use the barrel drop test for max OAL and function check by feeding from the magazine to determine the working OAL. For my KKM/Lone Wolf barrels with .355"-.356" groove diameter barrels, I use 1.095" as the working OAL (see picture below). If you are using shorter than published OAL, I would use 3.8 gr as start charge.

 

[zxcvbob]

You didn't post the pistol you will be using but as many posted, slugging the barrel to determine the groove diameter is a good idea.

It's not a bad idea, but if he's buying the boolits already cast, sized, and lubed, what is he going to do with the information? IMHO it's an unnecessary step; diagnosing a problem before you know that there is one. First step should be load some w/ a starting load and some halfway between start and max; shoot 'em to see how they do.

 

[LiveLife]

I am preparing to load MBC 9 Cone bullets for 9mm ... any tips about where to start for best results/no or little leading?

zxcvbob, I would agree and thought the same before I posted (buy some bullets and try shooting some loads).

But since the OP did not indicate whether the bullets were already purchased and made specific comments about leading, I thought it would not hurt to check what pistol the OP was using and whether the barrel was oversized. Based on the rifling type/groove diameter of the barrel, we would be able to better provide tips on minimizing leading.

My first tip to reduce leading was to use the longest working OAL to minimize gas leakage.

 

[119er]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I have already purchased and I will be using these bullets in a range gun that happens to be an older small frame EAA Witness. I will probably plunk them in all the 9mm's I have to be safe.

BDS: thanks for that pic. I'm just going to load and shoot to see what happens. I was really just trying to avoid any dumb mistakes!

 

[119er]

Okay, new bullet is .356" and it comes out at 355.5" grooves/.349" lands. The barrel has visible machine marks but has shot fine with jacketed and plated. Maybe out of luck? Maybe a reason to buy that 5" M&P?

I'll have to try it and see but I question the forgiveness of lead in a less than pristine bore.