About sizing and bullet molds

3

3006loader

New member
I've decided to start casting my own bullets because of how much I have been shooting lately. The two calibers I am going to be starting with are 9mm and .38 special. I figure if I can get free lead, and free cases, I could load for about 6-8 cents/round. I know I need a heating method and a pan to clean the lead with flux and a strainer, ingot molds to store the lead(i can make some), bullet molds, a bottom dripping furnace to fill the bullet molds, and sizing dies. But I do have one question. If I get one .357 mold and two sizing dies, one for .356 and one for .357, will I be able to size the .357 bullets down to .356 as needed? Does this cause excessive stress/wear/dirtying of the die?

Also, anything else I'm missing, equipment wise?
 
There is a good chance that your 9mm will shoot .357" or even .358" bullets quite well. There are a lot of somewhat oversize 9mm barrels out there.

But if you need to, yes, you can size them on down. A lot of commercial casters offer custom sizing.
 
It's possible to use the same mold for 9mm and .38 special. You'll probably want a .358 sizing die for .38 special. That might work for your 9mm also or maybe not...

It can be hard to size down larger bullets but it puts more strain on the press and your arm than the sizing die. Pretty much all molds drop bullets slightly larger than necessary and need to be sized down .001 to .003. It's when you start sizing down .005 or more where you really have to muscle it

I'm not sure what the strainer on your list is for. I use some old, rusty,heavy duty muffin pans for ingot molds. The Lee bottom pour pot is a great starter pot unless you want spend $200+ or use a ladle to pour the bullets. A good starter mold is the Lee 358-125 RF. I'd go with the 6 cavity even as a starter mold. You need to buy the handle seperatley but the Lee handles are compatible with many of the custom mold makers of today.

You will need a way to lube your bullets. I went the powder coat route after briefly trying the Lee Liquid Alox that comes with lee sizing dies. The castboolits website has lots of advice on this subject and everything casting related.

Even if you have to buy your lead your bullets will only cost a couple cents. A pound of lead should cost around $1. You'll get quite a few 125 grain bullets from the 7,000 grains in a pound. With that said if you have access to cheap or free lead stock up on as much as possible. I remember my first lead purchase for 45 lbs. Now I'm not interested unless I can get 100 lbs or more.
 
Sizing .357 to .356 is no problem at all.
But, between .380, 38spl, and 9mm we have about 18 and they all shoot .358 sized fine.
The Lee .358-125 RF is very good in 9mm and 38spl.
Ive never used the Lee alox stuff, but pan lubing with regular lube is easy.
 
If you want to use the alox that comes with the sizing kit, cut it 50/50 with some Johnson's Paste Wax then stir in about a teaspoon of unscented mineral spirits.

I use a vacuum seal bag to tumble my bullets in since they hold up really well. I put around 50 or so on a cookie sheet and warm them up with a hair drier then dump them in the bag. Toss in just a little of the lube, and roll them around, (if you see it globbing in the grooves or the bullets change to brown your prolley using too much).

After coating I pour them out on a piece of wax paper for about a half hour, then size and do it again. After they are dry the second time I load them up. It sounds a lot more than it really is.
 
FWIW, I regularly use one bullet in several calibers. The Lee 356-120 TC drops about .360" diameter, so I can use as is in .38 S&W and size accordingly for 9x17/19, .38 Special/.357 Magnum and even .35 Remington.
Same with the versatile Lyman 311410 (plain-base LRN); works in most .30 calibers and in .303 British, 7.62x38R/39/54R, 7.5 Swiss, 7.7 Jap and 765 Argentine. Tends to be my "go to" plinker bullet.
I've even resized coated bullets...
 
Thanks for the replies. I'll probably end up getting a .358" 125 grain mold and a .356 sizer for 9mm and a .358 sizer for .38 special
 
I load for 4 different 9mm.

Coincidence or not, I size bullets to 0.357" and all four guns shoot the bullets really well.

Load a dummy with one and then give it the plunk test.
 
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