SmithandCZ Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Hello, this is my first post on the forum. I have been lightly reloading for several years now and have referred to this form multiple times without ever commenting. I have a Smith 929 on order and currently load 9mm for my CZ 75 and like to use Eggleston Munitions polymer coated bullets. As others have pointed out in other threads, the barrel of the 929 is .355". Eggleston offers a selection of .356", .357", and ,358". Can anyone give me advice on what size I should order for my new 929? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 the best answer is to decide after you slug your barrel. most guy report that they use at least one thousand bigger diameter than the slugged measurement. I run softer bullets and I size them to .357 for my pistol that slugged at .355 miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmithandCZ Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 Thanks for the quick reply Miranda, I just did some research on how to slug my barrel and also found out that i need to slug the end of my cylinder. Looks like i need to size to 1 to 2 thousandths bigger than the end of my cylinder for lead bullets. I don't have any experience reloading jacketed bullets. Does the same rule apply for a copper jacketed bullet or should I buy bullets that measure .355" if my slug test confirms a .355" bore? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 copper is a lot harder than lead. I have read that jacketed you want .355. because lead is soft it can be gas cut and leak and lead the barrel .... oh the horror. to get a good seal the lead bullet is made a bit bigger. copper.... it is a lot harder to gas cut and so it won't copper the rifling. I like lead because it is cheaper... and it sure is a pain in the backside. miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firewood Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Welcome to the forum SmithandCZ I'm interested in the answer to this same question also. I purchased a 929 in January, haven't shot it yet and basically just trying to make some decisions on what to do with it. So finally I got active on it, right now the hardware is being made semi-competition ready. I'm having the action worked, the hammer bobbed, charge holes chamfered, ball detent installed and FO front sights. And anything else that needs to be done on it and I hope to have it back by next Thursday. I've culled out 2000 Federal 9mm cases from my collection and will order my moons from TK today or tomorrow. I have some Bayou 135g coated RN which are .356 This is where I'm starting and will load up some using titegroup around 3.4g OAL 1.140 So I will let you know how it goes if your interested. I'm new with revolvers so keep that in mind. The biggest question that I haven't really figured out and really don't have a clue where to begin is what grip to select. I think for now I'm going to grind off the finger grooves on the factory grips and maybe trim near the cyl latch. I do not have big hands and as I'm sure you know this is a big gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intel6 Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 I was loading .358" Bayou 160's for my S&W 627 when I picked up a 929. After reading some had loaded .358" bullets for the 929 and I already had some I decided to try it out. They loaded fine with N320 and shot well in my 929 with no issues so I continue to use them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firewood Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Not my thread but I have some .358 Bayou 135g RN also so I guess I will try them, see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmithandCZ Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 Firewood, I have handled the 929 at the local gun shop and it seemed to fit my hand just fine. I don't have the largest hands in the world but I can handle the Smith X frame OK. I feel like I will probably keep the Hogue rubber grips for now an then later buy some nicer wood ones. I love reloading 9mm and have my Dillon xl650 set up for 9mm so I can crank out some volume. I also have a Lee classic turret press where i have disks set up for multiple calibers as well as 9mm. I tend to do small batches of test loads on the Lee and then I set up my Dillon for the successful loads I want to mass produce. I am so excited about getting the 929 for a number of reasons. One of the big reasons is for reloading, I will be able to shoot 9mm and not hunt around my yard all day looking for brass. I love the fact that I can shoot 8 rounds and all 8 pieces of brass will be accounted for. I am the type of person that gets super bent out of shape if I loose a lot brass so the 929 will be right up my alley. Also since I am new on this forum and telling people about myself, I must confess, I enjoy reloading just as much (or even more) as I do shooting. This is the only "forum" i have ever posted on and it seems like I'm getting off topic but I also want to talk about the Lee U sizing die. I have a 5 gallon bucket full of 9mm once fired range brass and I have been reading about how Glocks (and probably other pistols) with unsupported chambers will bulge out the brass thereby making it hard to extract from the 929 if using these reloads. Everyone seems to swear by the Lee U die to correct this. For $20 I can purchase this die and put it in place of my Dillon sizing die. Is it necessary to do this or is the Dillon die okay to keep? I even thought of buying like 500 rounds of brand new brass and using them just for my 929 because of these extraction problems people are having. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmithandCZ Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 I found this video on youtube that really helped me understand the causes of barrel leading and choosing appropriately sized bullets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzShooter Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 I too use Eggleston bullets. I like the .358s the most. Added speed from the thicker bullets. I'm shooting 147s now but I also use 125s. I'm very happy with their service, prices and the accuracy I'm getting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmithandCZ Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 AzShooter, is that a Smith 986 in your pic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firewood Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Well SmithandCZ you will probably want to buy some additional moon clips (I think it comes with 2 or 3). The moons come in different thicknesses and quality. You may not get the best results with mixed brass. As I said I'm going to order TKs in .040 for Federal Brass. These are expensive, about $75.00 for 10 moons. I, like you, have buckets of 9mm range brass but I spent hours culling out Federals, I think it will be worth it in the long run. You may not see this as a problem unless you intend to compete with you 929. The Glocks with unsupported chambers are early 40 S&Ws not 9mm. Not to say that a U-die might not be helpful. In my case I'm going to try using my regular 9mm sizing dies and see what happens. I have Dillon, Lee and RCBS dies. As far as the grips go I can grip it OK but when I try to draw at speed I tend to fumble to get it just right. So I think it will make for a better and faster first shot with a skinnier smooth grip with no finger grooves. But that is just me, we are all a bit different. Now that you are a member here I hope you stay active. Take care Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmella Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 If you search 929 and look through you'll see all kinds of responses on what size bullets are being used out of the 929's. I'm testing some .358 blue bullets in a few days. Didn't get the accuracy I wanted from .355 coated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmithandCZ Posted March 17, 2016 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 Firewood, I talked to a guy at TK today and he said that if you are not doing competition there is no reason not to get the standard blue moon clips. The regular blue ones are apparently the same kind the gun includes and are $40 for 10 instead of $75. Both say they are good for Federal and Winchester cases. I want to go ahead and get the loading tool and removal tool when i place an order for my moon clips. Do you think 10 will be enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWPBeretta Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 I own this gun and will point out a couple of things. I ordered the SS moon clips from TK and tools to use with moon clips. The gun cam e with 3 blue clips. The center hole on the blue is smaller than the stainless steel. When I spoke to TK they acknowledged this and agreed it would be easier for me to enlarge the center hole on the blue to use with their tool rather than buy an additional hub. Also he told me that starling brass does not work well with their moon clips unless you order specifically for them. Also he said that Winchester brass worked best. Additionally there is different moon clip for Remington. I bought the gun as I was tired of chasing brass and using this gun for load development. I have loaded 9mm hard cast lead bullets and they work great. I use the PC Bullets from Kings shooters supply, I also suggest that you buy a tool to both load clip and demoon clip. It makes life so much easier. Enjoy the gun as I do, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBeavers Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 I use 160gr Black Bullets sized to .358 in my 929 - same in my 627. I load 3.0gr ETR7 1.200 OAL w/ range brass (except R-P and Tula) in .035 Revolver Supply blue moon clips. Makes 133 pf consistently. I made a de-mooner out of an old golf club and use a mooner tool from Revolver Supply ( a BMT mooner for my 627 w/ starline short colt brass) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzShooter Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 (edited) AzShooter, is that a Smith 986 in your pic? No, it's a 929 and I love it. Edited March 17, 2016 by AzShooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firewood Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 If you are not going to use the 929 for competition then 10 moons should do it. That's 80 rounds ready plus the 24 you can load on the 3 that come with the gun 104 total. I'm going to use my in competition at some point so I'm ordering 20 moons and not sure that will be enough. I'm lucky in that the club I belong to has a number of accomplished revolver shooters to kind of guide me in this adventure (and spend money). I'm going with the SS because of the bigger hole mentioned I don't want problems with the tool and using a belt holder. By the time I get this gun back from having it set up I will have another $500.00 or $600.00 in it so a couple hundred for moons is nothing. BWPBeretta, which Kings PC bullets do you use? I purchased my 929 from King, they are semi-local to me, about 50 miles away. I was going to get some of their PC bullets next time I go there. I know shooters that use them and love them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrd Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 There's a thread about the 929 on a Swedish forum that I frequent. Posters there claim that the chambers are actually 9x21 mm, not 9x19 as in the Luger caliber. According to that thread, it is bit of a PITA to get good accuracy in the 929 using certain brands of 9mm luger brass. Also, the chamber throats are supposedly .358 while the barrel is .355, making smaller diameter bullets travel virtually unsupported until they hit the barrel cone - hopefully straight on, if not accuracy will suffer... Might be worth to check out if you're hunting that last accuracy. Hopefully, the 929 in the US is 9x19 for real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmithandCZ Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 That's very interesting, I guess I will have to wait and find out. The 929 seems so finicky from all I've read about it. Hopefully mine will be good. Lots of people seem to have to send theirs back to smith and wesson for repairs immediately after getting the gun. I ordered mine the other day and I still haven't got a shipping confirmation... they sent me something along the lines of "high volume of orders so expect delay" Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzShooter Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 I've got 50 moons, enough that I can shoot the 8 stages of the Steel Challenge and even do a reload or two without having to reload my moons. Two Plano boxes full of moons and I'm all set for the match. One Plano box will get me through most ICORE or USPSA matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9146gt Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 S&W spec for the cylinder throat is .3575" + or - .0005" if that helps your choice of projectiles. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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