Want to start casting 9mm.

[Prophet]

I have the bug and want to start casting 9mm. The pistol being used would be a sig p226. After the barrel was slugged, I found that the bore diameter was .3562".
One of the question that I have is: Should I get a sizing dies .357" or should I stick with .356" I measured the bullets that I generally use (Bear Creek 135gr RN) and found the diameter to be .356". That being said (typed), I have never struggled in the area of accuracy with the .356" dia bullet. I would be using a RCBS Lube a Matic for the size and lube process. Can I also use Lyman sizer die in the RCBS or do I have to buy RCBS sizer die?

The Mold that I am looking to get was the Lyman 147gr FPBB.
Does any one have any trigger time with these bullets? Is there any feeding issue? The molds are a bit pricey so, I can only buy one right now. I was also looking at the the Lee 6 cavity mold-Does anyone have experience with these molds.

I thank you all for your time and assistance. I am still learning the process and am open to any thoughts you may have.

-Prophet

[XDRoX]

For a .3562" barrel I'd shoot .357 lead bullets.

Size won't effect accuracy as much leading. If any gases escape past the projectile as it travels down the barrel leading will occur. So usually bigger is better.

With the right size bullet and the right hardness zero leading will occur.

Lee makes great molds for the price. They work fine but are not as nice as the more expensive ones. But you're looking at hundreds of dollars for a non-Lee 6 cav mold.

[Bill Steele]

With the bore dimension I think I would go for the .357". I would do it more as a guard against leading than anything else.

On the dimension and accuracy, at least with 9mm, I have found no correlation between bullet fit and accuracy. I had a Beretta 92FS that slugged at .357". It shot .355" bullets as accurately as any 9mm gun I have ever owned. I got leading with .356" bullets but the accuracy was always pretty good.

oops, XDRoX beat me to it, I have to type faster...

Good luck, have fun.

[gunboat]

To get started I suggest -
Lee two cavity mould
Lee sizer --
Depending on mould and lead composition you may not even need to size, just lube.
my ha-penny

[longhairchris]

I suggest a 2-cav Lee mold. Good prices, and the 2 cav heats up faster than a 6, plus it's less tiring to handle. Holding a six cav mold gets tiresome after a while, and the sprues are harder to cut vs a 2 cav.

[J-cat]

You need to figure out the throat diameter, prolly .358", cuz that's what will cause gas blow by and leading.

[CGT80]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forum.php

Cast Boolits is the place to go.

I have heard that 9mm can be a PITA to get dialed in. I cast 38 spl, 45 acp, 45 colt/460 magnum, and 308.

Bigger is better, generally. Some molds throw small boolits. I have heard others comment on lee molds being undersize. Alloy and temp can also have an effect on size. The amount of tin will effect the melt temperature and fill out of the boolits.

A PID temperature control is very useful to control pot temperature. I just built one.

MP molds are generally made of brass, and are a very nice custom mold. I use an MP 45 270 SAA hollow point. The lee 2 banger molds are iffy on quality, but I have used them. The 6 cavity molds are supposed to be better, but I don't have any of those.

Read Cast Boolits and ask questions there. Your head will explode from all the info, but they will get you on the right track. There are some outstanding people on that forum. I have read it for a couple years and just started posting a year ago.

I thought about casting for 9mm, but I am not sure it is worth while. I can get bear creek 9mm 125 bullets for $57 per thousand. I can go through a thousand a month easily.

The rifle boolits and bigger pistol bullets give more savings. Low volume stuff if also good to cast for. If you have a good source for lead, then it might pay to cast 9mm.

[Abenaki]

Do not get into casting!!!!!
You will get lead poisoning.....lead up you gun....get badly burned!!!
And lead is getting harder to find every year!!!! And that means less lead for me!!!! O.K.....Just having fun with ya!

If you start casting....you will never get stuck in another ammo shortage!
If you stock up on supplies, that is.

Go to castboolits. And read every sticky that you can find!

If you get a Lee die to size you boolits.....slug the die. you may have to lap it a few thousands of an inch. Easy to do.

99.999% of all boolits that I shoot are lead!
Abenaki

[Solus]

I suggest a 2-cav Lee mold. Good prices, and the 2 cav heats up faster than a 6, plus it's less tiring to handle. Holding a six cav mold gets tiresome after a while, and the sprues are harder to cut vs a 2 cav.

your wrong here bud. As someone who uses both lee 2 cavity and 6 cavity molds the 6 cavity mold heats up faster and turns out better boolits. The only reason the sprue is harder to cut is because you are letting it sit for too long. I found that the faster I casted the easier it got and the better quality boolits I got. But then I would run out of lead faster and had to wait until a new pot melted and had to reheat my mold again. If you get a 6-cavity mold get a BIG pot I have a ten pound casting pot and wish I had bought a bigger one. I would start with a lee 2 cavity mold because they are about $23 and come with handles the 6-cavity mold does not come with handles and they are a lot harder to find right now. Heres a few pictures



lee 6-cavity .401 mold

lee production pot IV

lee 2-cavity .358 mold

[koehn,jim]

Go to the castboolits sight and read the stickys. Every time you change your alloy mix your bullets will be slightly different. If you water quench they are different than air cooled. The Lyman 4th edition Cast Handbook has a lot of great info in it.