9mm reloading question

Let me begin by saying thank you guys for making such a great forum. I've had the chance to look through it and I'll definitely be spending some time here learning. I purchased the Lee anniversary kit for reloading, purchased some extras, and I believe I have covered all my bases to get started.

My question...I purchased 125 gr 0.356 round nose bullets made by Sutter's Choice. I picked up 500 of these and they look like cast bullets with a blue waxy stripe around'em. I have the following powder HS-6 and Winchester WSF. I am unsure which loading data to use for it as I am unsure which bullet type it is. Is it a 125 gr LCN type bullet?

FYI they look like this
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...24/Picture.jpg

Thank you kindly

Welcome to the Guide Sartorious.

Don't forget that you will still need a manual or two in addition to the one that came with the kit, Modern Reloading. Think of them as the best value in life insurance you can buy. Not every source will have every powder or bullet weight listed, and you need to be able to compare them before starting on a cartridge new to you. One source is just not enough. As a beginner, they're all new to you, so the more info you have at hand, the safer you will be. I think three current manuals is the minimum to have on hand. Lyman, Sierra, Hodgedon, Hornady, Lee, Nosler, Speer.....

Use any 125gr data for the 9mm. With handguns there's not much difference between loading cast and jacketed. The cast will give you slightly higher velocity and slightly lower chamber pressure. I have no idea what "LCN" means, but those are lead round nosed plain base (LRNPB) bullets lubed with some kind of hard lube (the blue stuff). You will have to play with the OAL as it differs with every bullet. As long as they feed and function you'll be fine. Work your loads up from the starting level and increase by 5% increments if all you have is a START and a MAX to go by.

Cast pistol bullets don't need to be hard, but they do need to be large enough in diameter to fit the barrel. For best results, FIRST slug the bore and measure with a mic (not a caliper) to get your groove diameter. Then make sure you have bullets .002-.003" above groove diameter and you're good to go. Many (it used to be most) commercially cast bullets are too hard and two small, the best recipe for lead fouling there is. Hard bullets don't obturate as well, so if they are undersized, you will get gas cutting and fouling. The beveled base doesn't help, either. OTOH, a soft bullet that is slightly undersized will still obturate into the grooves and seal properly. If they're properly sized though, it really doesn't matter how hard they are.

If those bullets are really .356", (despite what it says on the box, they could run anywhere between .354 and .359, so mic several of them) keep the charges light or you will be mining lead out of the barrel. Rigg makes a good lead solvent, and Brownells sells Lewis tools if it gets really bad. I size 9mm and .380ACP bullets to a minimum of .358", but there can be a LOT of variation in the actual sizes of barrels, so it pays to slug first and know for sure. Trial and error usually means a lot of time wasted brushing lead out of your grooves unless you're really lucky. Slugging a pistol barrel takes ten minutes, cleaning a badly fouled one can take several hours. Just because I had to learn it the hard way doesn't mean you need to. :wink:

those are the same 2/6 alloy, magma engineering mold, that the world uses.
i got it too..
just start low and work up. remember the 9 is a small case and seating depth, changes pressures a lot.
the powders you have, may work, but may be on the slow side.
check out the hodgdons website for loads with those powders.

Thank you both for your responses. I have two reloading books in addition to the Modern Reloading pamphlet that came with the Lee anniversary kit. I also double check with the hodgdon website information so I am using three sources. I have a few questions as I am new and can't figure out everything you guys mentioned.

Can you please explain these:

1. "You will have to play with the OAL as it differs with every bullet. "

2. "FIRST slug the bore and measure with a mic (not a caliper) to get your groove diameter." How do I do that and what is a mic?

3. "OTOH, a soft bullet that is slightly undersized will still obturate into the grooves and seal properly."

Thank you

Every bullet has a slightly different shape. For jacketed bullets, the bullet makers publish suggested OAL's for feeding, function, and pressure. With cast, the best OAL has to be determined by the loader. If you have a factory round with a similar profile, that is a good OAL to start with.

Slugging the bore tells you the barrel's esact groove diameter. Grease an oversized soft lead slug (like an oval fishing weight), oil the barrel, and drive it through with a dowel or well wrapped length of drill rod. Measure the high points with a micrometer (a caliper just isn't accurate enough, even the fancy new electronic ones that read in four decimal places -they are really only accurate to +/- .005" whereas a micrometer is accurate to +/- .0005" you need an accurate measurement of thousandths to choose the correct sizer for your bullets or know what size to buy).

The chamber pressure will push the base of an undersized softer bullet and upset it into the grooves (obturate) to seal much more effectively than with a harder bullet. An undersized harder bullet will allow some propellant gasses to escape around its base, vaporizing some of the alloy (gas cutting) causing lead fouling in the barrel, and leaving the base shape irregular so that when it exits the barrel the bullet will not have the same force applied circumferentially and will not stabilize (may wobble or tumble). If the bullet is properly sized, this will not happen regardless of the alloy's hardness.

OAL is the over-all length of a "finished round". Overall length should be list in your re-loading manual, if it's not I would recommend you buy one that lists this information. Different weight bullets, (and makes), are different lengths. If you seat a bullet too deep you may create a round that will create excessive pressure. Excessive pressure can literally blow a gun apart in your hands. (OAL is sometimes referred to as C.O.L.) A round that is too long or too short usually causes magazine feed problems, (jams). I would recommed using the listed OAL until you gain some experience reloading.
Mic is short for micrometer, they do not even look similar to a venier caliper. If your not sure what they are you may have trouble getting, using, or reading one. I would suggest you get some help the first time you slug your barrel. A good source for both jacketed and hard cast bullets is http://www.primereloading.com/