.355 or .356 for coated?

[ChemistShooter]

I shoot an XDM 9mm 3.8 full-size. I started out with 3000 Hornady 115 gr FMJ (,355'). Very nice bullets but I'm down to my last 200 and I want to experiment with coated bullets to reduce costs. (I am about to burn some Amazon points and get a Caldwell Premium chronograph basically for shipping.)

I set my calipers to .355' and they would just barely go into the end of my barrel. .356' would NOT go in. Springfield says my barrel is a "Match-Grade" barrel but does not specify what that means.

Hmm, I am using Titegroup. 4.1 gr TG with Hornady 115 gr FMJ set to 1.151 OAL, to be precise. (I have read TG has a tendency to produce smoke with lead bullets. Coated should not have this problem. I think.)

I note coated bullet manufacturers seem to mostly sell .356' but .355' is available upon request. This seems a tad strange.

I'm thinking either Bayou Bullets or BBI. (Not Blue, from what I've read here.)

I'm not really sure what size I should buy and confess to not understanding the .356 option at all.

Opinions?

Edited April 29, 2016 by ChemistShooter

[BritinUSA]

I run .356 Berry's plated 147's through my XDM 5.25

For jacketed bullets, use .355

For lead, plated or coated you should run .35

Plated, coated and lead are softer so the larger diameter works better. Jacketed bullets are much harder so .355 is the correct size for those.

Edited April 29, 2016 by BritinUSA

[noylj]

I run 0.356-0.357" jacketed and 0.356-0.358" lead bullets. Coated is still lead, so the bullet must still be at least 0.001" over actual groove diameter.

[thompsoncustom]

The only way to known what size you really need it to slug your bore.

[toothguy]

http://www.bayoubullets.net/38-357-115-gr-rn-1000-ct/

Many 9 mm barrels are cut slightly larger than .355. For better accuracy the .357 dia works well, bell the case mouth just a little more so the coating doesn't scrape off the sides when loading.

[bwikel]

As already said you should use lead (both coated and uncoated) .001 over bore size. Look at Eggleston Munitions if you need options, they offer coated 9mm bullets in .356, .357 and .358. Also hit me up if you need a discount code, I can get you 15% off until the end of the month.

[9x45]

You need a micrometer to accurately measure bullet diameter, not a calipers. 124 TC Bayous are .3563" in diameter. I run them at 1.100" OAL on top of 4.2 grains of TiteGroup. They do not smoke. I also run Black and Blue 125's, same charge weight, at 1.130" OAL, they measure .3564" in diameter. Go about 1,180 fps thru a Glock 17 with a BarSto barrel.

https://www.facebook.com/Black-and-blue-bullets-297645180391530/

[bandw1dth]

I got one of Eggleston's sample pack of .356, .357 and .358. The .356 chambered just fine but for some reason the .357 & .358 did not even pass the case gauge. Put the problematic rounds threw a Lee 9mm factory crimp die with a moderate crimp but to no avail. I've since tried 750 125gr RN coated lead bullets from The Blue Bullets and they have worked out beautifully.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ultimo-Hombre]

Coated bullets never gauge well for me in the EGW gauge but they plunk and run just fine in the gun.

Don't overthink this stuff too much man, just go by the results.

Edited April 29, 2016 by Ultimo-Hombre

[ChemistShooter]

Makes sense. Lead is a soft metal.

I've got some Cerrosafe but haven't gotten around to slugging the chamber yet.

I have read good things about Eggleston. Taken under consideration.

Thanks to all.

[practical_man]

http://www.bayoubullets.net/38-357-115-gr-rn-1000-ct/

Many 9 mm barrels are cut slightly larger than .355. For better accuracy the .357 dia works well, bell the case mouth just a little more so the coating doesn't scrape off the sides when loading.

^^^^This

I have better performance using .357 or .358 lead projectiles in 9mm production pistols. BlueBullets brand .358 125 grain bullets run fine in my 9mm glock.

[al503]

All depends on your bbl. I have 2 identical Schuemann barrels in two pistols built by the same smith.

One will shoot almost every bullet, weight and diameter and powder I load accurately (I consider acceptable accuracy from a new to lightly used custom pistol to be about 1" at ~18 yards.)

The other will not shoot anything well (anywhere from about 2.5" to 5" at 18) besides one single bullet and powder combo. A .355" 147 grain blue bullet with WST.

Testing was done with various 124/125, 135, 147 grain bullets in jacketed, plated, heavy plated, moly, and poly coated, in .355, .356, and .357" including MG, zero, x-treme, blue, acme, precision, and eggleston with n320, e3 and WST.

I pulled the barrel and switched it to the other pistol. The (poor) accuracy followed the bbl. Both bbl's slugged at .354"

Edited April 30, 2016 by al503

[9x45]

Just use pure lead to slug a barrel

http://www.starlinebrass.com/articles/Slugging-Handgun-Barrels/

[ChemistShooter]

Speaking as a chemist, if you use lead to slug a barrel, make sure you do it in a WELL-ventilated area. Lead will cause long-term problems.

Edit: Read the article. Okay, they don't melt the lead. so no vapor problems. Nevertheless, be careful. You're going to get lead chips in the air. Again, do it in a well-ventilated area.

Edited April 30, 2016 by ChemistShooter

[thompsoncustom]

Lead doesnt vaporize till around 1200 degrees so even melting it isnt a problem.

[ChemistShooter]

It doesn't BOIL until 1749C (3180F), when its vapor pressure equals atmospheric pressure. Lead's vapor pressure steadily rises with temperature, i.e. the hotter the lead is, the more lead vapor you are being exposed to.

Consider water. A cup of water will evaporate totally even if not heated. This is due to its vapor pressure. Water molecules are leaving the water at a certain (temperature-dependent) rate, and eventually it all disappears, no matter its temperature.

Same thing with lead, although the required temperature is a LOT higher.

Let's get nerdy for a second:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapor_pressures_of_the_elements_(data_page)

Lead is element 82.

Edit: I have the feeling "Lead vapor does not become a health hazard until it hits 1200 degrees." is what is being said. It fits. The vapor pressure probably does not become significant until then. And really I wouldn't know, because this is actually toxicology, not chemistry.

Edited April 30, 2016 by ChemistShooter

[rustybayonet]

Softer the bullet, larger the diamiter. FMJ I run .355, with plated and coated, I go with .356.

P.S. is that the same guy that pops up every once in a while with "slug your barrel" ?

[superdude]

Speaking as a chemist, if you use lead to slug a barrel, make sure you do it in a WELL-ventilated area. Lead will cause long-term problems.

Edit: Read the article. Okay, they don't melt the lead. so no vapor problems. Nevertheless, be careful. You're going to get lead chips in the air. Again, do it in a well-ventilated area.

Bachelors, Masters or Doctorate? Just curious.

[9x45]

Chem, you are overthinking this again! Lead melts at about 625*F, but pushing a pure lead bullet thru the bore will not create lead "chips" Have your blood lead level tested if you want a baseline. Lead is NOT absorbed thru the skin, and if ingested, most of it will pass thru. 99% of the lead shooters get is from breathing it in during firing, including the 20% you get from the lead styphnate in the primer exhaust. you may have a BS in Chem, but you have allot to learn about lead in reloading. You are not going to get lead in your blood from touching it.....

Beginning to be curious if you graduated from an ABET college?

[ChemistShooter]

Bachelor's.

[BobT]

Pick up some .36 cal round lead bullets for black powder (.375"), and drive them through your barrel with a little oil. Measure with a micrometer, add .001 or .002 and use that for coated lead bullets.

I use .356-.357 for my wife's PPQ, (.355 bore), and .357-.358 for my Beretta 92 Elite, (.3565 bore)....

Generally have the best results with the larger size in both.

Bob

Edited May 1, 2016 by BobT

[ChemistShooter]

Yeah, 9, I know the primary route of ingestion for lead (for shooters) is breathing it in. It doesn't go through the skin.

Overthinking? Guilty as charged. You should see my reloading SOP. Every session so far results in a couple of new lines. Every once in a while it pays off.

[wtturn]

Yeah, 9, I know the primary route of ingestion for lead (for shooters) is breathing it in. It doesn't go through the skin.

Overthinking? Guilty as charged. You should see my reloading SOP. Every session so far results in a couple of new lines. Every once in a while it pays off.

Imagine how good you could be if you put the same effort into your shooting.

[9x45]

Yea, get to the gripping and ripping.

[Garrett]

I have better performance using .357 or .358 lead projectiles in 9mm production pistols. BlueBullets brand .358 125 grain bullets run fine in my 9mm glock.

Yeah, Blue Bullets seems to offer .355 and .358. I had been hoping for a .356 or .357 from them. Anyway, I bought a 250-pack of each to try out.

Like yours, the 358s won't drop into the Dillon gauge. But they both seem to shoot the same for me (not always the case with some bullets). I ended up loading the rest of the .355s in 9mm, and used the .358s in .357 Mag cases with a taper crimp for the Desert Eagle.