Which sizing die for 9mm?

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  • Last Post 08 January 2010
MOGWAR posted this 03 January 2010

I am very new at this and have so far only cast some bullets for my 30/30 which worked out well. Now I want to cast some bullets for a glock 9mm and of course I am again stumped on the bullet sizing die, I can only afford the Lee products, I will be using the 102gr. .356 dia. mold, but what sizing die should I use with it, the options are .356, .357, .358. Thanks in advance for any help.

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Ed Harris posted this 04 January 2010

Upset a throat slug and measure the diameter immediately ahead of the chamber. In most 9mm barrels this dimension will be .358-.359. In some it may be as large as .360. I have not seen a 9mm barrel with a throat smaller than .357. For most 9mm pistols a .358 bullet works fine, but the often recommended .355-.356 is a sure receipe for heavy bore leading.

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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MOGWAR posted this 04 January 2010

I think for now I will stick with what I know until I get more experiance. But I am wondering, can bullets not be made for general purpose for most firearms? For example, what if I had ten 9mm handguns of all different kinds, could I not create a bullet that would work in all of them or would I have to make a specific bullet for each gun?

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Duane Mellenbruch posted this 04 January 2010

That is why it is important to determine the measurements of the barrel as was already suggested.  Since there are a variety of fireams involved, you could expect a variety of sizes as well. 

While you may create a generic load that will go bang in all of them, some may shoot them better than others.  Given the price of componants you might prefer to produce loads that will shoot better in one group than another.  It is likely that you will find one bullet that will be adequate for the 38 and the 9mm, but you may need to size them to a different diameter for use in either caliber.  Duane

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Ed Harris posted this 04 January 2010

Back when I shot alot of 9mm I had best results for a general purpose recreational load using the H&G #7, 124-gr. truncated cone round nose, as-cast and unsized at .358", cast 50-50 wheelweights and linotype, tumbled in Lee Liquid Alox and using 3.5 grains of Bullseye and Federal 100 primers in Federal cases, taper crimped at 1.15” OAL. This load would average under 2 inches from a Ransom Rest at 25 yards for an average of five ten-shot groups from an FN-GP with Bar-Sto barrel. It would do about the same at 50 yards when fired semi-auto with scope from a fixed stock HK MP5SFA2 off bench rest.

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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jppr26 posted this 05 January 2010

im using a lee 124gr RN tumble lube un-sized that is .356 in my glock 19, slug your barrel first and then get a sizer die one or two thousants larger

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CB posted this 07 January 2010

My Kimber 9MM  5” 1911 llikes the Lee 124 gr TC tumble lube bullet sized .356 with Lee liquid alox and 4.3 gr of Win 231. As accurate as anything I've found so far. Never any leadiing.

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tturner53 posted this 07 January 2010

I think your best shot at an all purpose bullet is going to be going big, like .358 or .359 if they'll chamber ok. I've never had a .356 worth beans in my 9s. They lead up pretty quick.

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Duane Mellenbruch posted this 07 January 2010

tturner53 wrote:  I've never had a .356 worth beans in my 9s. They lead up pretty quick.

What alloy, A/C or HT/Quenched from the mold?  What lube?

Duane Mellenbruch

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tturner53 posted this 07 January 2010

WW, AC, LLA.Mild to mid range loads.

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Edubya posted this 07 January 2010

MOGWAR wrote: I am very new at this and have so far only cast some bullets for my 30/30 which worked out well. Now I want to cast some bullets for a glock 9mm and of course I am again stumped on the bullet sizing die, I can only afford the Lee products, I will be using the 102gr. .356 dia. mold, but what sizing die should I use with it, the options are .356, .357, .358. Thanks in advance for any help. You have asked for and received some very good advise here. You seem hesitant to accept some of it. Maybe that's because you don't understand what they are saying. Feel free to ask for further explanations, nobody is going to think less of you for doing so. I just read an article that might help to prevent a lot of frustration in your endeavor: http://www.shootingtimes.com/ammunition/STlowdownleadfoul201002/ Good luck and hang in there, EW

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CB posted this 08 January 2010

I would slug the barrel and see what diameter it is. The standard for 9mm ranges from .354 to .358 and in a makarov 9mm from .364 to .366.. If you hand push a soft lead slug through the barrel and mic it you should be able to tell which die to get. I would go .001 over the bore diameter and if using LLA do a double coat with ample drying in between coats.

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Duane Mellenbruch posted this 08 January 2010

Jeff Bowles wrote: I would slug the barrel and see what diameter it is.  I would go .001 over the bore diameter I think that Jeff means the GROOVE diameter not the bore diameter.  The bore is the hole drilled in the barrel,   The groove diameter is the measurement after the rifling is cut.  Bore (smaller)  Groove (larger)  Throat larger yet and many will use the throat diameter to select the proper size die.   Duane

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CB posted this 08 January 2010

Again you are right Duane.. Must of had my brain in backwards this morning. It is Groove Diameter.. .001 over that will work the best. Sorry about the misinformation.

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hunterspistol posted this 08 January 2010

  Short answer: Yes, you can pop out hundreds of bullets to fit any 9mm. They'll perform good in new tight barrels maybe, in a custom (like that TC), they'll perform generically- not good accuracy, just shoot at something. You could use the same bullet mold and size to each barrel. That will cost less than more than one bullet mold. Sizing dies are cheaper than bullet molds in cast iron equipment (know little about Lee).

 Hope that helps some,

   Ron

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MOGWAR posted this 08 January 2010

Just wanted to thank all of you for the help, this is cool stuff although a bit more complex than the usual handloading that I am used.

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