9mm Cast - Sizing

[mr surveyor]

for any of you shooting cast bullets in your Kahr pistols, what seems to be the best sizing (standard rifling - not polygonal). I don't shoot much 9mm anymore, nor does my son, but we both decided to add 9mm dies to the stack and stock up on cast bullets. Just not sure what would be the best fit for the CW9 and CM9 barrels. I figure that since Kahr tolerances are generally very close, we shouldn't need to slug the two barrels to get a decent go by number.

Anyone have a 9mm sizing preference for their Kahr?


Thanks

JD

[mr surveyor]

I think I'll just go with the .356 on the test batch

[Tilos]

.356 is what is commonly sold, and that's what I used.
I do push them thru a Lee sizing die so they are uniform though
It only takes me 10 minutes to size a 1000 bullets.

I have .357 and .358 Lee sizing dies too.
Bought soon after I purchased 20k unlubed cast bullets that came with a lube/sizing press.
After one session with that thing, I switched to Lee alox tumble lube and pushing them thru a Lee sizing die.
That wiped the lube off of the sized diameter into the lube grooves

[mr surveyor]

Thanks. I wasn't sure if the Kahr barrels preferred the standard .356 or if .357 worked better. I ordered three 100 round sample packs from Bayou this morning for myself, my son and a shooting buddy to try .... before we order in the thousands. I'm sure the Bayou bullets are consistent and don't need any additional sizing help, although a whole lot of the local bubba cast bullets do.

Guess I need to go ahead and order another set of dies, although I probably won't load a whole lot of wonder nines.

JD

[Tilos]

Thanks. I wasn't sure if the Kahr barrels preferred the standard .356 or if .357 worked better. I ordered three 100 round sample packs from Bayou this morning for myself, my son and a shooting buddy to try .... before we order in the thousands. I'm sure the Bayou bullets are consistent and don't need any additional sizing help, although a whole lot of the local bubba cast bullets do.

Guess I need to go ahead and order another set of dies, although I probably won't load a whole lot of wonder nines.

JD

Because I have these die "kits", I buy the biggest and can re-size them to whatever.
I wish I could find a use for the lube that comes in the kits though.
from what I read, if you push the coated bullets too fast, they will not follow the rifling (strip) and tumble.

I have even loaded/shot some 90gr 380 cast bullets thru some 9mm guns.
Puff loads can get you back on target faster in gun games without any power requirements, like steel challenge.

I have not loaded or shot any coated bullets as yet, and plan to use the same powder and charge as I did with lead.
Be sure and post your results,
Ken

[mr surveyor]

I shoot a lot of Bayou Bullets in revolvers/carbine. I "lightly" push the 158 gr swc's to around 1150 fps in my 3" SP101 with absolutely no issues. I don't have the latest chorny data for my son's 6" GP, but I do know we were pushing the 158 gr Bayou Bullet 1300+ with no problems. In the Rossi 20" carbine, I've pushed the .44 mag 240 gr swc (Bayou) to 1600 fps.

Those things are so smooth and clean, you can push your hand all the way to the bottom of a box full .... about like pushing your hand into a big pile of clean pea gravel. Easy to load, very much reduced smoke.

There are certainly better bullets, and generally more accurate bullets depending on the particular requirements, but for general range exercise the BB's more than fit my needs.

JD

[Tilos]

Thanks for info

[jg rider]

I cast my own w.w.124/ RCBS CN bullets. I've sized them from .355" for a .357 revolver to .357" and the .356" is the best for me. Very little to no leading at about 1050 fps.
Our 4 polygonal barrels slug out at .355", and so do rifled barrels I've tested.

[muggsy]

Here we go again. That age old question. Does size really matter? Well, in my experience cast lead bullets obturate to seal the bore when fired. Were only talking about a difference of .001". The bullet should swage if it is a bit oversize. While it could raise chamber pressures slightly I don't think that it would be a major concern. Since the standard for 9mm is .356 I'd go with that. I doubt that you would see any real measurable difference in accuracy. Jacketed bullets are another story.

[mr surveyor]

absolutely had shut down the week's work early this afternoon to make a run to the gunshop since my son was running low on small pistol primers. Since our test batch of 124 gr Bayou Bullets didn't come in today, and there was this nice little box of 250 Nosler 124 gr jhp's on the shelf (sure glad he didn't have the Weaver Scout Scope in the scope case), we added a bit to the purchase. I'll probably load up fifty of the Noslers in the morning while waiting on the snail mail delivery of the Bayou's. I've got the brass prepped and primed for the Noslers, but wasn't going to prime and flair the brass for the Bayou's until I had the .356 cast bullet in my hand to check for proper flair fit. I'm betting I'll have to crank the expander die down another 1/4-1/2 turn to keep from shaving lead on the .356 cast. Tomorrow will be a bit of AA#5 (maybe some #7 too) and a bit of Unique. My previous experience loading 9mm with the "Classic Loader" was great (for the most part) when using Hornady XTP's, but the basic cast rn's were difficult due to the inability to properly flair the brass for the slightly larger cast bullets. Also, the "Classic Loader" doesn't size all the way down, and pick-up brass with the "glock bulge" doesn't get ironed out. I was experiencing about a 5% fail to battery due to the glock bulge so I hung up the 9mm loading ... wasn't really a cost saver at the time anyway since I wasn't (and still not) a home caster.

I'm really kinda looking forward to trying Mr Donnie's 124 gr cast bullets now, even though it is "just 9mm"


JD