what 9mm mold?

[speedracer81]

hey guys, I'm looking to get a 6 cavity lee bullet mold in 9mm. I will be shooting these cast bullets out of a springfield xd9 tactical. I'll be shooting idpa so they will be full strenght loads. I can't find the twist rate of the barrel and I know there is a correlation between bullet head shape and twist rate. does anybody know which bullet mold would be right for my situation? thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[nambu1]

Lee 6-Cavity Bullet Mold 356-125-2R (356 Diameter) 125 Grain 2 Ogive Radius.

 

[speedracer81]

thanks nambu, is there any reason to get a sizer/luber? or can I just hand lube out of that mold?

 

[jim147]

Or 356-120-TC.

 

[scrat]

+1 on that mold awesome.
356-125-2R (356 Diameter) 125 Grain 2 Ogive Radius.

just make sure you let the bullets cool down a little before you open the sprue. They will crack around the end if they dont get to cool down a bit. This is also your first sign the molds getting a little hot.

 

[rcmodel]

The bullets will very likely need to be sized regardless of how you go about lubing them.
Different alloy mixes will cast different size bullets out of the same mold.

You can size & lube in one operation if you get a conventional grease-groove mold, using a Lyman or RCBS Lubrisizer and stick lube.

Or, you can get a Lee tumble lube mold which has no conventional grease groves, and tumble lube them with Lee Liquid Alox.

Then after they dry, size them in a Lee push-through sizer die.

The advantage to that is it is cheap.
The disadvantage is the finished bullets have sticky lube all over them and are pretty messy.

rcmodel

 

[scrat]

but they still shoot. and shoot good.

 

[lordgroom]

An old lubrisizer such as a Lyman 45 can be found for $40-45. It will lube and size in the same operation. New Lyman or RCBS sizing dies will fit.

I have very little experience with tumble lube but it the TC molds are designed to be shot as cast with little to no sizing. I have heard others using tumble lube Lee Alox on non tumble lube bullets.

I bought an old Lyman 45. I knew I would be sizing rifle bullets so I would need something more than tumble lubing. I did try some Lee Alox on .358 bullets and it was very sticky. I didn't like it.

 

[speedracer81]

thanks guys, sounds like I'll be getting that lee. anybody got a favorite online store that sells them for a deal?

 

[NuJudge]

Words of caution

A lot of 9mm barrels' groove diameter are a bit on the large side. Groove diameters of .356" and .357" are not unusual. It would be good to slug your barrel to find out what yours is. I size 9mm bullets .001" over groove diameter.

Before you size a lot of bullets, and before you load a lot of ammo, load up some dummy rounds with a variety of bullet diameters. Too big a bullet in a case may result in the cartridge not chambering. Too small a bullet for the groove diameter will result in lots of Lead being cut off the sides of the bullet and deposited in the bore.

I really like the Lee 6-cavity molds, but occasionally they throw a bullet that is larger in diameter, usually through something getting in between the mold block halves. I run all of their bullets through a sizer die at bullet diameter or .001" larger. I actually do not want to touch the bullet with the sizer, as working Lead softens it usually.

The Lee Tumble Lube system is neat, but I get build up in Seater dies, which eventually causes bullets to get seated deeper, causing higher pressures. Cleaning normal Seating dies causes some loss of adjustment, which is why I really like Dillon Seating dies.

CDD

 

[Walkalong]

Rooster Jacket is another product that can be used and is less messy than the Lee Liquid Alox.

I have shot Lee 208 Gr WC's I cast myself, unsized and lubed with Alox or Rooster Jacket, and although they shot well, they shot a bit better when run through my lubrisizer. So did the .45's I cast from my Saeco mold.

The 9MM bullets I cast from my RCBS mold seemed to shoot about the same either way.

NuJudge may have hit on the reason.

 

[snuffy]

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=340779

I have this one for my 357 sig. I don't have a 9mm right now, so I can't say it would work without sizing. But it does work for my KKM 357 sig barrel for my M-22 glock. I load them tumble lubed, UNSIZED. I suppose they would shoot a bit better if I were to slug that barrel and size to .001 over that. But 2.5-3" groups at 25 yards is fine with me. The sights on a glock are not conducive to fine accuracy.(Especially with my old eyes.)

 

[MMCSRET]

i use the Lee Alox on Lyman 358311 and 358429 cast of wheel weights . just tumble lube, let dry 24 hrs., turn them all over and let dry 48 hrs. then dust them with powdered mica. Shazam; no more sticky and I use the bullets in full power 357 mag as well as 35 Whalen to 1900 and 35 Remington at 1700. Fun and games!!!!

 

[pistolero6869]

casting

Man I give you credit! Thats a lot of work to cast your own bullets and buy equipment and supplys. I find that local caster that cast a great bullet and its hard i can push them fast if i want to, Plated bullet are ery nice good quality clean. I find that some times I can work atrade with the local casters and save some cash. Please be awar of the danger of lead lead fumes and not to eat or smoke when casting. just too much work for me! Go for it!