9mm and 38 lead loads

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9mm and 38 lead loads

Post by Loading »

Popped off my test rounds today.
These are my very first lead reloads.
First was the 38 in a Charter 1 7/8" barrel
First 5 were 3.0 Bullseye 1.455 OAL 158gr SWC Lead
Just a tad bit of lead after 5
Next 4 were 3.2 bullseye 1.455 OAL 158gr SWC lead
These I stopped shooting after 4 because it looked like too much lead to shoot safely.

Next up are my 9mm reloads
125gr LRN 3.5gr Bullseye 1.10 OAL
Glock 17 with Lone Wolf barrel.
I tested 1 at a time for the first 5 looked down the barrel and looked ok
Then popped off the last 5 at a fair speed.
Pulled the barrel and looked pretty bad.
I know I should have loaded up a few other charges but didn't have time.

What are your loads for 9mm and 38 SPL using Bullseye and lead bullets?
Thanks for any help!
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Re: 9mm and 38 lead loads

Post by Loading »

The 38 SPL 3.0gr Bullseye felt just a little lite on the recoil
The 3.2 felt like normal factory loads on recoil.

9mm felt like any other factory load.
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Re: 9mm and 38 lead loads

Post by Sevens »

Loading cast lead to good effect with minimal (or acceptably minimal) leading seems to be much, much more about the bullet itself than it is about the powder type or charge weight. Experiences vary, of course.

Notice how many published jacketed loads you can find easily?
Also notice in comparison how few cast lead loads you can find with the same effort and same search?

This is because a cast lead bullet is wildly different depending on it's sized diameter and construction (alloy, make-up, hardness). If the load data publishers KNEW that their readers had the EXACT same cast bullet source that they had, they would be far more likely to work up and publish data for them.

I haven't worked all too hard on cast lead slugs in .38 Special, so my experience won't help much. However, I'm absolutely stoked with my 9mm load and I've run many thousands of them through a number of 9mm pistols to great effect.

I use the Dardas 125gr LRN and I send it with 4.5 grains of Hodgdon Universal. I don't have my chrono results and COAL handy.

The Dardas bullet is not the cheapest on the market and it's definitely not the most famous or biggest seller, but the way it has performed for me has me simply MARRIED to it. Because of how it works for me, it's the only 9mm cast lead bullet that I have any desire to buy. I usually buy them 3,000 at a time.

You needn't use -my- bullet to see success with your cast lead loads, but you will need a bullet of the proper diameter for the gun you wish to run it in, and having the proper hardness for the job will likely play a large part in your success also.
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evan price
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Re: 9mm and 38 lead loads

Post by evan price »

What was the source of your bullets?
Seems like unacceptable leading to me.
I find that many commercial lead bullets are too hard of alloy, undersized, with hard crayon lube.
This is so that they will travel in boxes without getting messy, fit the most tight chambered gun, and meet an advertised hardness perceived to be better.
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Re: 9mm and 38 lead loads

Post by Loading »

IBC
Lymans #2 alloy
Hardness of 18
Thompson's blue angle lube 1 ring
Bevel base
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Re: 9mm and 38 lead loads

Post by jmr600 »

What are you sizing you're 9mm's to , l size mine to. 355

My 38's are. 357 My leading is very minimum to none. I use mostly wheel weights for casting.
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Re: 9mm and 38 lead loads

Post by BobK »

jmr600 wrote:What are you sizing you're 9mm's to , l size mine to. 355

My 38's are. 357 My leading is very minimum to none. I use mostly wheel weights for casting.
I size to .356 for 9mm.
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Re: 9mm and 38 lead loads

Post by Loading »

Sorry forgot that, they are .356 for 9mm
And .358 for the 38
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Re: 9mm and 38 lead loads

Post by evan price »

Loading wrote:IBC
Lymans #2 alloy
Hardness of 18
Thompson's blue angle lube 1 ring
Bevel base

There's your problem. That's the three cardinal problems with commercial cast lead bullets-
Too hard of alloy (Meeting an advertised hardness for a market that thinks harder = better, also buys only one alloy and uses it for everything)
too hard of lube (Won't melt or slough out during shipping and get the bullets sticky)
bevel base (for easier seating).

Add in undersized and you would hit ALL the bullet points, but your sizes (if they match as shipped to advertised nominal diameter) are probably OK.

That's hard enough for centerfire rifle.
On top of being bevel base which lets gas get to the edge of the rifling.
IMHO BHN 8-10 for 38 special is all you need, maybe 12 max for higher velocity 9mm.
My rule of thumb (but then again I am not anybody of note) is 1 BHN per hundred FPS...Velocity of 1000 fps is 10 BHN, properly sized and lubed.
Blue Angel is one of the hard crayon lubes, requires heat to apply properly.

Too hard of lead + hard lube + bevel base = leading
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Re: 9mm and 38 lead loads

Post by Loading »

So really the only thing to do with these is melt them down and add more lead?
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Re: 9mm and 38 lead loads

Post by mreising »

Loading wrote:So really the only thing to do with these is melt them down and add more lead?
No, just scoop the case into a pile of Bullseye until it is full. I'm sure some of the pieces will be going at least 1800 fps. :wink: And now a disclaimer: I am just kidding, don't try this at home, work up to maximum loads, etc.
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Re: 9mm and 38 lead loads

Post by Loading »

It might just be a cheap Charter, but my hand ain't cheap
I'm sure bullet and gun parts will do 1800 FPS or more.
LOL
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Re: 9mm and 38 lead loads

Post by walnut red »

My standard cast bullet loads for 38 Special, 9x19, and 9x18 are 3.5 gns of Bullseye. For 38 Special I use either a 158gn SWC sized to .358 or a 126gn SWC sized to .358. For 9x19 I use that same 126gn SWC sized to .358. My lead mix is 3 parts WW to one part soft lead and I the the lube I use is stiff enough to require a mild heater to work well. I firmly believe that most people try and shoot lead bullets that are too small and/or too hard in 9x19 and so get leading.
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Re: 9mm and 38 lead loads

Post by sethmcdonald »

Next up are my 9mm reloads
125gr LRN 3.5gr Bullseye 1.10 OAL
Is anyone else concerned about this OAL? I think this seems too short. Wouldn't it result in a high pressure round? I tend to keep mine on the longer end so long as they'll feed reliably. I think 1.13 is the min I go for that size bullet.
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Re: 9mm and 38 lead loads

Post by Sevens »

Without seeing the shape of that bullet, I'm not sure we can make much of a judgement. Also, considering what the published max of Bullseye is in 9mm under a 125gr lead bullet, I'm even more convinced that I'm not concerned about it.
sethmcdonald wrote:Wouldn't it result in a high pressure round?
Not to be some kind of grammar or word-choice police, but it makes sense to point out that you may have meant to say "over pressure round". I bother bringing this up simply because 9mm is already absolutely a high pressure round, in any way we'd measure it. That's important because as you have noted, small changes in COAL are magnified in high pressure rounds like 9mm, and much less so in moderate ones like .38 and .45.
I like to swap brass... and I'm looking for .32 H&R Mag, .327 Fed Mag, .380 Auto and 10mm. If you have some and would like to swap for something else, send me a note!
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