Great day testing my first cast, handloaded 9mm rounds

[Glockadopoulos]

Haven't posted on here in a while, but gotta share what seems like a productive day. I cast some 147 gr lyman bullets out of wheel weights (actually about 154 gr), sized .356 and lubed with carnuaba red. Lonewolf barrel in my G19 slugs way small, .353 at the most. Made up several loads to test with Unique, Blue Dot, and Power Pistol. Extended OAL to 1.130, very mild taper crimp. Turns out that the best one of the day for me was 3.3 gr of Unique. At 20 yards I pulled a 3" five shot group. Kicks like a mouse fart but functions flawlessly For my first reloading experience with 9mm, I'm quite pleased

 

[jeffdt]

Awesome, I've wanted to try some casting myself.

 

[North Ga Hillbilly]

Looking forward to trying these out next time we shoot. Glad you got em going.

 

[RamRoddoc]

This is the one piece of the reloading puzzle I have yet to attempt. That's great news on your subsonic 9's.

 

[YOTESHOOTER]

Congrats, it is an empowering surge...

 

[Clarke123]

This is the one piece of the reloading puzzle I have yet to attempt. That's great news on your subsonic 9's.

Good Luck!

My experience with cast projectiles has been abysmal ... and this was with "store-bought" projectiles form "recognized" sources!
Couple that with the lack of specific load data, and (IMHO) you have the "perfect storm" formula for a waste of time and money.

Do get me wrong, I am most certainly happy for those who are successful with cast bullets ... and perhaps a little jealous!

 

[RiverBend]

3.3 unique is what I've used for many years and shoot competitions out of a G34 with those loads.

 

[rbstern]

Haven't posted on here in a while, but gotta share what seems like a productive day. I cast some 147 gr lyman bullets out of wheel weights (actually about 154 gr), sized .356 and lubed with carnuaba red. Lonewolf barrel in my G19 slugs way small, .353 at the most. Made up several loads to test with Unique, Blue Dot, and Power Pistol. Extended OAL to 1.130, very mild taper crimp. Turns out that the best one of the day for me was 3.3 gr of Unique. At 20 yards I pulled a 3" five shot group. Kicks like a mouse fart but functions flawlessly For my first reloading experience with 9mm, I'm quite pleased

Congrats! 9mm Luger is among the toughest pistol cartridges to cast for. Lots of loaders get frustrated with lead smearing and inaccuracy in 9mm because of the high pressure, high velocity and poor fit of the bullets (undersize). You've got a few things going for you that contributed to success: Carnauba Red (that stuff is magical), undersized barrel, oversized projectiles, and a soft load.

I use a Lee 125grain RNFP mold intended for 357/28 special, and size them at .358, with Carnauba Red, and load for velocities around 1050fps . Works extremely well in anything I shoot them in. Love shooting 9mm cast. Find them to be the most accurate 9mm loads.

 

[woodstock]

Congrats on the successful cast venture

 

[Glockadopoulos]

Congrats! 9mm Luger is among the toughest pistol cartridges to cast for. Lots of loaders get frustrated with lead smearing and inaccuracy in 9mm because of the high pressure, high velocity and poor fit of the bullets (undersize). You've got a few things going for you that contributed to success: Carnauba Red (that stuff is magical), undersized barrel, oversized projectiles, and a soft load.

I use a Lee 125grain RNFP mold intended for 357/28 special, and size them at .358, with Carnauba Red, and load for velocities around 1050fps . Works extremely well in anything I shoot them in. Love shooting 9mm cast. Find them to be the most accurate 9mm loads.

No doubt, I'm wondering if other LW barrels are undersized as well. I'd love a conversion for my G35. My mold won't even throw a bullet bigger than .357, and its more like .356 on one side (round once I size them though). Another factor going for me is the PID I put on my RCBS melting pot, its turned casting uniform, consistent bullets into something very easy compared to what it used to be.