Potential newbie caster

I keep wondering why people say 9mm is so hard to cast for - I do it, use the Lee 124 tumble lube RN and the Lee 125 grain single lube groove mold, both tumble lubed. Might be getting a hardlubing setup tomorrow, though. :)
Cast works JUST fine in my 9mm handguns. :cool:
 
I think 9mm is "hard" to cast for because most of the available molds for 9mm are alot of the time not big enough (as in diameter). My Sig 9mm slugs at .3565". If I were to buy a 9mm mold at .356" I would have a leading nightmare.

The high pressures also have a lot to do with the trickiness.

For 9mm, it is IMPERATIVE to slug your bore, as you should do with any other firearms you intend to shoot cast from. Also, go at least .001" over your groove diameter. I go .0015 over. Myt 9mm boolits are sized at .358" Good quality lube is important too. I prefer Carnuba Red. And lastly, your alloy must not be too hard. Harder is not always better. I use air cooled wheelweights.

Good luck!
 
Odd. My Lee tumble lube mold drops at .360, the single lube groove at .358, and the new Lyman 356402 conical drops at .362. I use the first one for 9mm and 38 Special, going to size the Lyman's to .358 for 38 special use as well.
I also use air/towel dropped wheelweight metal, BHN is probably around 9 or so. They work, lube with lee Liquid Alox.
 
This is great guys, I appreciate all of your responses. I'm almost definitely going to get my feet wet casting for the .38 before I move on to the 9mm. I've read a lot about how finicky/tricky it can be to cast for in this forum alone. I was thinking about using water quenched wheel weight alloy for the 9mm, and air cooled for the lower velocity .38 Special. The more I read, the more I'm thinking this is the perfect hobby for me. I've got some basic gear on the way now, and I'm building a special bench in my storage building to make a reloading/casting/gunsmithing setup. I'll see what I can do about posting pics when I get it all done. Thanks again for all your help guys!:D
 
Water dropping your bullets is fine if you choose. Just be careful with any water around molten lead. It can cause the hot lead to explode if any water gets in your lead pot and you don't want that. If you smelt your own wheel weights also make sure they are dry as well. Have some fun with it.:)

Cary
 
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