what mould for 9mm shooting steel targets?

M

max it

New member
WEELL, I have slugged my barrel at .356
and I have a Lee 124gr two cavity alum mould
But I find that I dont do so well with alum {wrinkles and stuff} as I do with my steel mould (.45)
My quandry is which steel mould? If I look at Lyman they will need my sizer and new dies for it. But I have just found that micro grooves and Liquid Alox works fine.

What mould?

much obliged,

Max
 
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Try turning up the temp on your melting pot a bit before you order a new mould. I had the same issue until I turned the pot temp up a bit.
 
Since you barrel slugged at .356, you may want to look at light .358 mold. I would sized to .357 or .358 for best results. My Sig slugs at .3565" and I size at .358 with great results. I personally shoot the Lee 358-158 RF out of my Sig. It is heavy for 9mm, but it is extremely accurate. I would not shoot a .356 lead bullet out of a barrel slugging at .356". The key is to use a bullet 1-2 thousandths over groove diameter. Good luck!
 
HI Coyote Guy,

I got you on the leading of the barrel.
I have to look at what die you use on a 9mm. {btw, I have never shot a gun more accurate than your Sig, it was 226C or something like that}Mine is a XD-9, not bad but no Sig.
I already have a TL358-158SWC Lee mould for my 357 magnum. I wonder if that would be good. It has multiple grooves and I could Liquid Alox but if I sized it down a bit in my Ideal no. 45 sizer I would lose the grooves. Hmmm?

Much obliged,

Max
 
HI Coyote Guy,

I got you on the leading of the barrel.
I have to look at what die you use on a 9mm. {btw, I have never shot a gun more accurate than your Sig, it was 226C or something like that}Mine is a XD-9, not bad but no Sig.
I already have a TL358-158SWC Lee mould for my 357 magnum. I wonder if that would be good. It has multiple grooves and I could Liquid Alox but if I sized it down a bit in my Ideal no. 45 sizer I would lose the grooves. Hmmm?

Much obliged,

Max
Click to expand...

I've done that. I have the same mold, TL358-158 SWC, They drop at .360 out of that mold, I sized a bunch in my .358 Lee sizing die and it strips a lot of the lube grooves off. If you tried to size it even smaller for the 9mm, you'd have nothing left on the side to hold lube.
 
I would size that swc to .358 and try it out. Watch your seating depth, though. DO NOT seat it too deep. Good idea to take the barrel off and find a seating depth that allows the bullet to just touch the lands and still function OK. Uncle Nick has posted several times the picture of proper seating depth with the barrel removed. If we are lucky enough, he may just post it here for you to see. Good luck!
 
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