9mm & 158 gr. swc

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floydster

New member
In the old Lyman #44 reloading handbook they list an accuracy load of 3 gr. Bullseye pushing a 158 gr. cast RN.
I cast a Lee LT 158 gr. SWC, and was wondering if I could size this down to .357 and load for one of my 9mm pistols.
The new Lyman handbook doesn't even list a load for the cast 158 gr. bullet.
Do you think there would be a pressure issue with this bullet.
I listed this over at Cast Boolets, got 88 hits and no answer.
Thanks for any input.
Floydster
 
I must have the same book. I wonder if you used 3 gr. of unique to give you some leeway *get It?* and if the shooter doesn't blow up you could go to the starting load of 3.5 grs of unique which is a full grain less than their top load of 4.5. Of course some of these loads aren't listed anymore for a reason.
 
158gr seems like it's gonna need to seat pretty deep in a 9mm case to chamber--keep the small case capacity in mind where pressures are concerned. That being said, I use a 94gr RN in 32 Auto (normal would be around 70gr--so a bit longer and heavier than what is "supposed" to be used) that has the same issue (deep seating) and it runs like a champ.
 
160 grain RN

I use a 160 grain RN. No blow ups - whatever that is suppose to mean?

Use commercial brass. Be careful on depth as case expansion due to seating depth can be a problem.
 
Thanks guys fir the reply's, I think I'll start out with 2.8 grs. Bullseye and make sure I don't compress the powder charge and hope it will cycle the action on my CZ's.:)
Floydster
 
Interesting.

I was going to post this very question, but Google brought up this relatively recent thread.

I see this, from handloads.com. One load is reported to be from Lyman's 45th edition. 2 people report using 3 grains of Bullseye, for ~950fps.

I also see that 158 grain 9mm is commercially loaded.

158gr seems like it's gonna need to seat pretty deep in a 9mm case to chamber--keep the small case capacity in mind where pressures are concerned.
Click to expand...

The Lee .38 158grain SWC bullet measures out to .641 inches. The Lee 120 grain 9mm SCW bullet measures .558 inches. But, the 120 when loaded makes for a fairly short OAL.

Thanks guys fir the reply's, I think I'll start out with 2.8 grs. Bullseye and make sure I don't compress the powder charge and hope it will cycle the action on my CZ's.
Click to expand...

How well did that work?
 
In the old Lyman #44 reloading handbook they list an accuracy load of 3 gr. Bullseye pushing a 158 gr. cast RN.
I cast a Lee LT 158 gr. SWC, and was wondering if I could size this down to .357 and load for one of my 9mm pistols.
The new Lyman handbook doesn't even list a load for the cast 158 gr. bullet.
Do you think there would be a pressure issue with this bullet.
I listed this over at Cast Boolets, got 88 hits and no answer.
Thanks for any input.
Floydster
Click to expand...
I do not see any good reason to try that load. The original military load used about a 117 grain bullet. With the Lee molds being so cheap, and you being a caster, it would seem to make more sense to buy a Lee mold that would feed better and be withing the weights that are listed in modern hand loading manuals. Why try to force a square peg into a round hole?
 
I've shot the 358311 (158 RN) in 9mm in a Luger, a Ruger, and a 92FS, loaded with Unique. Worked fine. A little care and no 'hot rodding', it'll do fine.
 
I've shot the 358311 (158 RN) in 9mm in a Luger, a Ruger, and a 92FS, loaded with Unique. Worked fine. A little care and no 'hot rodding', it'll do fine.
Click to expand...
But, Why? Why? Why? Too poor to buy a 125 grain Lee mold that is intended for the 9mm? Just for the "heck" of it? Because you think that shooting a 158 grain bullet in a 9mm is "better"? But remember, his bullet is a 158 grain semiwadcutter.
 
I don't use a 158 Grn SWC but I do use the 150 grn (Lyman 358477).

I loaded bullseye, don't remember how much, but 3 grns seems close. I didn't have any problems sizing it to 356/

I didn't have any pressure problems, just feeding problems in semis. At the time I had a Smith 547 and it worked great in the revolver.

I don't have a RN mold so I can't comment. Seems like it would feed better. I did try one Lee RN bullet but got a screwed up mold which cast about 380, and I can't get it sized down. (saved that mold for my 375 cal 36 Cap and Ball Pistol).

Now I mentioned Feeding. At the time I didn't have the Beretta 92. I had all sorts of problems with cast bullets in 9mm semis regarding feeding. Not so with the Beretta, it likes cast bullets.

Guess I'll have to try my 150 grn SWC in the Beretta and see what happens.
 
I can tell you with total confidence that if you take and cast a 158 grain bullet.. you can size it for 9mm and put 3 to 3.3 grains of Bullseye powder behind it. I made this load to shoot IDPA at the advice of some more experienced users. They were right. The recoil is perfect, allowing my front sights to drop right back on picture with little effort. The accuracy is amazing for a reload and it is very safe. I have shot thousands of rounds of 158 gr, sized in a lubrisizer, homemade lube, reloaded with Federal primers and 3.0 grains Bullseye. I've tried 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, but the 3.0 seems to work best. It is an ideal round for competition shooting where any edge you can get is helpful. Having a manageable recoil and deadly accurate loads did just that for me in my IDPA shooting.
 
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