Hammbone Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 (edited) I've been reloading for about 3yrs now. I've played around with various bullets. Mostly plated and epoxy coated (i.e., Bayou's). I have exclusively been shooting the epoxy coated leads for the past 2yrs. More specifically, I've been shooting 135gr ø .356" epoxy coated lead with a Brinell Hardness of 17. My bullet supplier has oversized bullets available and says some guys are getting better accuracy out of ø .357" or even ø .358" in the 9mm semi-autos. I have an EAA/Tanfoglio Witness Elite Match. I'm curious if any of you reload 9mm for a Witness and if so, do oversized 1) work? 2) improve accuracy? Edited December 16, 2014 by Hammbone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertbank Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 I size all my cast boolits in 9MM .357. I have for years. No leading and great accuracy in a variety of 9MM guns. I would go .357 with the 9MM and I would not be surprised if you find accuracy improves. Take Care Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Only way is to try and see. Every barrel is different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CZ85Combat Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 The only way to know what size is to slug your barrel, .001-.002 larger then your barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guncheese Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 (edited) normally .357" for mebut if it will chamber ill use .358"but you really have to watch your expander plug to make sure its getting deep enoughi have a range bud of mine who works at a hard chrome shop do some expander plugs for meI picked up .001- .002" and got a very smooth expansionthat will last my lifetime even on steel casesthe darn things are so smooth you can hardly pick them up Edited December 18, 2014 by guncheese Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammbone Posted December 19, 2014 Author Share Posted December 19, 2014 Okay, I have to admit ignorance here. I've been actively shooting and reloading for only about 3 yrs and this concept of an expander plug is a new one for me. How exactly does it work? I assume you basically "swage" the chamber larger to accept a larger diameter cartridge, due to using a larger diameter bullet as per allowed by barrel based on measurements taken after slugging the barrel? (Assuming the diameter bullet required by slugging doesn't chamber?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guncheese Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 no the plug is used to expand the case to a size and depth and shape to allow the proper seating of the bullet but one must be careful to make sure your barrel will chamber a fatter case its a juggling act to get the right balance of big/deep/fat/small Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasref Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 I reload 9mm and 45ACP. Bullets need to be oversized a little so they can fill the barrel. To that end my 9mm are sized to 0.357". The 45 ACP is sized to 0.451". (this is because I'm lazy and that doesn't shave the coating. Plus they shoot great). For most about 0.002" over will be about right. The one thing that will not work well is a perfectly sized bullet to barrel. The reason is you will get gas blow-by and the velocity will fall off. Tried it and failed to meet any velocity requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scootertheshooter Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 (edited) I reload 9mm and 45ACP. Bullets need to be oversized a little so they can fill the barrel. To that end my 9mm are sized to 0.357". The 45 ACP is sized to 0.451". (this is because I'm lazy and that doesn't shave the coating. Plus they shoot great). For most about 0.002" over will be about right. The one thing that will not work well is a perfectly sized bullet to barrel. The reason is you will get gas blow-by and the velocity will fall off. Tried it and failed to meet any velocity requirements. How do get blow by if the bullet is exact diameter to the barrel ? Some barrels are different I thought. A nine barrel can be .357 in actuality. So if you sized a 9 to .357 that's the same size as the barrel Edited December 21, 2014 by Scootertheshooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammbone Posted December 22, 2014 Author Share Posted December 22, 2014 Thanks for all the help guys. I just acquired a Ruger Blackhawk .357/9mm convertible... with plans to shoot 9mm with it. The only beef some people have is that they're not as accurate with 9mm as they are .357. The guys who reload have no problems as long as they use .358 9mm bullets. I'd "like" use the same bullets in the Blackhawk and Witness. I just slugged my Witness tonight and it measures right at .356". Chamber measures .384". Looks like .358" bullets may work just fine. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tylenol9999 Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Where do you guys buy the items needed to slugs barrel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOGRIDER Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Where do you guys buy the items needed to slugs barrel? Do a YouTube search for "Barrel slugging made easy" by stclairstclair. Part 1 & 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tylenol9999 Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 (edited) Where do you guys buy the items needed to slugs barrel? Do a YouTube search for "Barrel slugging made easy" by stclairstclair. Part 1 & 2 Thank you Edited December 23, 2014 by tylenol9999 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammbone Posted December 23, 2014 Author Share Posted December 23, 2014 Yep. That's exactly what I did. Worked beautifully! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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