Loading .357 in 9mm

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jetinteriorguy

New member
I’m going to try loading 125gr Hitec coated .357 bullets in 9mm. I found them pretty reasonable and order a couple thousand. I’m thinking the Lee FCD would size them down enough to work or possibly getting a Lee Bullet sizing die and trying that prior to loading. Anybody tried this? Worst case I wind up using them in my revolvers or lever so nothing to lose.
 
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nhyrum

New member
Get a sizing die for the bullets. They'll load and shoot way smother sized properly

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tangolima

New member
Coated 0.357 bullet usually run 0.358" in diameter. Slug your 9mm barrel to find out the exact groove diameter. Most European guns tend to larger groove diameter. It is ok to have cast bullet oversized by up to 0.003".

One possible issue is the gun chamber's neck and leade diameters. Loaded cartridge with oversized bullet may not be able to chamber.

-TL

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7

74A95

New member
You might not have to do anything at all. Load a couple and see how they fit in your chamber. If they fit okay in your chamber, then they won't need to be sized.

Folks shoot .357 jacketed in their 9mm pistols pretty commonly. And .358 lead, too.
 
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gwpercle

New member
I size all my home cast 9mm Luger lead bullets to .357 . Coated Hi-Tek .357" size should work just as well . Smaller cast/coated lead bullets do not work as well as smaller jacketed bullets . Flare the case mouth so the bullet starts into the case easily , make sure the bullets enter straight , seat in one step and taper crimp in a seperate step .
This method works fine in the four different 9mm Luger pistols I have reloaded for .
Seating depth will be determined by the pistol and will have to be adjusted .
Try loading a few ...it should work out .
Gary
 
R

rc

New member
I loaded 158 SWC bullets in 9mm cases for my S&W 915 and they worked ok. I just used very low charges of 231. If the chamber accepts them loaded, you can shoot them as is. Just work up the charge and the bore will swage them down for you.
 
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jetinteriorguy

New member
I’m going to load up half a dozen dummies and see how it goes first. Bullets should be here later this week so I’ll report how they do. If they seem to function fine I’ll pull them down and inspect the coating for adherence. If there aren’t any apparent issues I’ll load up a box and shoot them through my CZ since it has the tightest chambers of all my 9mm pistols. Thanks all.
 
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Hammerhead

New member
Both of my 9mms (Glock, Kimber) chamber .357" bullets without issue and shoot great with them.
Don't crush them with the FCD unless you have to.
I use standard 9mm dies, no FCD.
The only issue I've had with revolver bullets in 9mm is the nose shape can be quite blunt, requiring a short OAL to chamber properly.
I use Meister .357/130 plain lead, Blue Bullets coated .357/125 RN, Rainier plated .357/125 and Speer .357/125 TMJ in my 9mms without an FCD or resizing the bullets or making any load adjustments from .356 or .355 bullets.
 
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stagpanther

New member
Coated 0.357 bullet usually run 0.358" in diameter. Slug your 9mm barrel to find out the exact groove diameter. Most European guns tend to larger groove diameter. It is ok to have cast bullet oversized by up to 0.003".
Click to expand...
^^wisdom.
 
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JKP

New member
An online vendor sent 125 gr .357 lead (.358) once when I ordered 125 gr 9mm (.356) I worked up a load and they fired fine in my ruger Sr9c, but wouldn't chamber in my Sig Ultra 9. I kept the rest of that box and used in my S&W model 19 and the vendor sent me a check that more than covered the shipping to return the unused boxes.
 
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jetinteriorguy

New member
So now that I’ve ordered these bullets the order I placed with Bear Creek Bullets a while back was filled. Looks like I’ll be well supplied for both 9mm and 357 for a while now.
 
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T. O'Heir

New member
.357 bullets in 9mm in using bullets that are too big. Really only matters with jacketed. Cast bullets will stretch the case a wee bit though.
 
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chris in va

New member
I’ve loaded thousands of powdercoated 358’s for my CZ P01. Trick is making sure they pass the plunk test with the short leade CZ uses.
 
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jetinteriorguy

New member
I loaded up a couple of dummies this morning and as long as I loaded them seated so the whole bearing surface was in the case they functioned fine in all my pistols except my Star BM wouldn’t feed good. But I’ve picked up a couple thousand Bear Creek bullets so for now not going to use these. But, nice to know for future use. Thanks everyone for your contributions.
 
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tangolima

New member
Sounds like your pistols have groove diameters smaller than 0.357". The star has tighter chamber than the other. The .357" bullet may work but not ideal. Save it for the last resort perhaps.

-TL

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