what is a good mold for a short barrel 9mm
- Thread starter ChestnutLouie
- Start date
Dusty Bannister
Well-Known Member
356-120-TC conventional lube. Some cast large enough for use in 38/357 mag.
CZ93X62
Official forum enigma
Dittoes. GREAT bullets, the 9mm--40/10--and 45. Perhaps Lee's best bullet mould series. They are CERTAINLY my most-used Lee bullets.
I seat all 3 with .020" of front drive band--set a moderate taper crimp--and go play. They run in EVERYTHING--even my bro-in-law's unmodified Series 70 Gold Cup. Specific to the O/Ps pistol/caliber, that seating arrangement did good things in a friend's compact Kimber 9mm of an earlier iteration. It was a fussy feeder with both jacketed and cast bullets, but it ran perfectly fueled by 4.5 grains of WW231.
I seat all 3 with .020" of front drive band--set a moderate taper crimp--and go play. They run in EVERYTHING--even my bro-in-law's unmodified Series 70 Gold Cup. Specific to the O/Ps pistol/caliber, that seating arrangement did good things in a friend's compact Kimber 9mm of an earlier iteration. It was a fussy feeder with both jacketed and cast bullets, but it ran perfectly fueled by 4.5 grains of WW231.
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oscarflytyer
Well-Known Member
glad to see good things on the Lee .356-120-TC. Just got a six banger for my 38 Super. Same basic mold that Waters wrote was only design he used in the 38 Super.
Petrol & Powder
Well-Known Member
Yep, I think the jury is back and the verdict is the 120gr. TC.
For the OP, I wouldn't get hung up on the "short barrel" criteria. The 9mm is a high pressure cartridge and the barrel length isn't super critical.
The 120gr TC design seems to be the most "universal" bullet for 9mm. That profile will feed & function in most 9mm platforms. The weight is exactly where it needs to be and it is capable of decent accuracy.
It's all been said before but since we're here.......
The groove diameters of 9mm pistols are all over the map. So it's often beneficial to size your bullet for your gun. While that advice is always true, it is particularly applicable when we are talking about 9mm pistols. And, 9mm pistol barrels often run a bit on the large size. In theory, the groove diameter should be .355", in reality they are often closer to .356"-.357".
The 9mm Luger cartridge does its best work with bullets between 115-125 grains. Nuff said there.
I tend to run my 9mm cartridge overall length on the long side. The limiting factors are: Will it fit in the magazine?, Will it chamber?, And will it feed and function?
For just punching holes in paper and ringing steel, I have never found a powder that will work better than WSF.
If you're seeking the maximum velocity, there are some other choices but that's a whole different ballgame.
Good Luck
For the OP, I wouldn't get hung up on the "short barrel" criteria. The 9mm is a high pressure cartridge and the barrel length isn't super critical.
The 120gr TC design seems to be the most "universal" bullet for 9mm. That profile will feed & function in most 9mm platforms. The weight is exactly where it needs to be and it is capable of decent accuracy.
It's all been said before but since we're here.......
The groove diameters of 9mm pistols are all over the map. So it's often beneficial to size your bullet for your gun. While that advice is always true, it is particularly applicable when we are talking about 9mm pistols. And, 9mm pistol barrels often run a bit on the large size. In theory, the groove diameter should be .355", in reality they are often closer to .356"-.357".
The 9mm Luger cartridge does its best work with bullets between 115-125 grains. Nuff said there.
I tend to run my 9mm cartridge overall length on the long side. The limiting factors are: Will it fit in the magazine?, Will it chamber?, And will it feed and function?
For just punching holes in paper and ringing steel, I have never found a powder that will work better than WSF.
If you're seeking the maximum velocity, there are some other choices but that's a whole different ballgame.
Good Luck
CZ93X62
Official forum enigma
Extending P&P's text a bit further, the 9mm bore environment is more like that of a rifle than a handgun--like a levergun with an abrupt chamber leade, and like a javelin-hurler 223 Rem with an insanely-fast rifling twist as well. Add in P&P's factual info about fat groove specs, and the 9mm is a genuine PITA at times for the caster.
fiver
Well-Known Member
I remember when the T/L 125gr lee RN mold was the number one thread starter for almost 2 years over at Boolits.
I wouldn't use that one.
you'd think it'd work, the exact same design is awesome in the 45 acp.
guess it just shows that simply making a design bigger or smaller doesn't always pan out.
I wouldn't use that one.
you'd think it'd work, the exact same design is awesome in the 45 acp.
guess it just shows that simply making a design bigger or smaller doesn't always pan out.
Ian
Notorious member
And to add even further, the 9mm Parabellum operates at insanely high pressures for a handgun and has very hard brass to handle the pressure. In effect, the handloader would do well to treat it like a rifle for a multitude of reasons. Like rifle calibers, conventional loading dies prepare the cases far too small for cast bullets and tend to draw the driving bands of the bullets down several thousandths when seated, exacerbating the already potentially wonky groove dimensions. This undersized bullet/oversized polygonal rifling dimension mismatch is one way Glocks get blown up and generally frustrates the handloader with bore leading conditions.
RBHarter
West Central AR
I shot that one a lot with no issues , after I got crimp , seating and the gun straightened out . Standard grooves probably would have saved me a lot of trouble .
Did anyone mention the 358-125 RNFP ? It's pretty good with proper sizing and seating . In the 2 I load , that will feed WC , they run well . Better in the P95DC than the High Power clone which needs a little deeper seating .
Did anyone mention the 358-125 RNFP ? It's pretty good with proper sizing and seating . In the 2 I load , that will feed WC , they run well . Better in the P95DC than the High Power clone which needs a little deeper seating .
ChestnutLouie
Active Member
NOBODY has any Lee 9mm molds for sale!!!