anonymouscuban Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 I've been shooting Brazos 135gr .356 bullets. They run well in my CZ and are pretty accurate. No leading issues either. I'm about to place a large order. I was thinking of ordering .357 but I don't want to get stuck with 10k bullets that my gun doesn't like. Should I just stick with .356 or bump up to the .357? Tanks! Sent from my SM-G930U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bench Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 2 hours ago, anonymouscuban said: I've been shooting Brazos 135gr .356 bullets. They run well in my CZ and are pretty accurate. No leading issues either. Should I just stick with .356 or bump up to the .357? 1. Have you slugged your barrel? Plenty of information on the web for the process and decision making on bullet diameter coices. 2. Why change something that seems to be working? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harpo Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 If the .356" is working, I'd stick with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elguapo Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 Did you know that you can order a small sample pack from Brazos for less than twenty bucks? BTW, Brazos is my new go to bullet place. The prices are insanely good and the bullets shoot as good as anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yondering Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 Things have to go really wrong before you get leading with coated bullets; the lack of leading doesn't mean everything is perfect. Do you get any lead smoke? I'd guess you do with .356" bullets, and larger diameter helps to prevent that. Like Bench said, slug your bore and throat and find out for yourself what that barrel needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 Buy a sample pack of .358 and see if they work in your gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NuJudge Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 I have two 9mm barrels that have tight chambers but loose groove diameters, and if I load a bullet that fits the groove diameter, the cartridge won’t chamber. If I use a Lead bullet small enough for the cartridge to chamber, I get lots of Leading. Don’t buy in quantity until you know it works. If your barrel was .357” or .358” groove diameter and you shot .356” bullets, you would have had lots of Leading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcc7x7 Posted November 10, 2019 Share Posted November 10, 2019 Brazos uses 13 Brinell hard lead in their bullest per their website. Use a bullet that is 18 or more Brinell with the hytek coating Save yourself a lot of trouble. OR Buy sample packs of 250 or so and make dead sure before you buy 10K of bullets that they work with your normal reloading process! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenstone Posted November 10, 2019 Share Posted November 10, 2019 (edited) On 11/4/2019 at 6:03 PM, anonymouscuban said: I've been shooting Brazos 135gr .356 bullets. They run well in my CZ and are pretty accurate. No leading issues either. I'm about to place a large order. I was thinking of ordering .357 but I don't want to get stuck with 10k bullets that my gun doesn't like. Should I just stick with .356 or bump up to the .357? Tanks! Sent from my SM-G930U using Tapatalk Buy the 0.357" bullets And a Lee push thru sizing die 0.356" as a back-up if the bigger bullets turn out not to work, you can resize them down to 0.356" I buy bullets big for 38/357 and push them thru a die to use for 9mm. I push all the 38/9mm bullets I buy thru a sizing die for uniformity. Lee now sells resizing dies that contain a bushing/sleeve like NOE so you only need to buy one die body and all the bushings in the size range you need. Edit: looks like newer bushing type sizers are not for sale yet... Here's the sizer die that's available now: https://www.titanreloading.com/lee-precision-reloading-equipment/lee-lube-and-sizing-kits/356-lee-bullet-lubricating-sizing-kit or https://www.amazon.com/Lee-Precision-90046-SIZING-356/dp/B00162UJN4/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?dchild=1&keywords=.356+LEE+BULLET+LUBRICATING+%26+SIZING+KIT&qid=1573357098&sr=8-2-fkmr1 Edited November 10, 2019 by Kenstone add links Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yondering Posted November 10, 2019 Share Posted November 10, 2019 6 hours ago, NuJudge said: I have two 9mm barrels that have tight chambers but loose groove diameters, and if I load a bullet that fits the groove diameter, the cartridge won’t chamber. If I use a Lead bullet small enough for the cartridge to chamber, I get lots of Leading. Sounds like Lone Wolf barrels. They are bad about excessively tight chambers. There's no good reason to make a barrel that way, but it's what they do. If you want to continue using those barrels with lead, either use a reamer (rent your own or contact someone like MemphisMechanic) or lap the chamber with a fired case. I've had to do that with several, mostly when friends want to go cheap and buy a Lone Wolf instead of a more expensive barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddc Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 On 11/4/2019 at 6:03 PM, anonymouscuban said: I've been shooting Brazos 135gr .356 bullets. They run well in my CZ and are pretty accurate. No leading issues either. I'm about to place a large order. I was thinking of ordering .357 but I don't want to get stuck with 10k bullets that my gun doesn't like. Should I just stick with .356 or bump up to the .357? Tanks! Sent from my SM-G930U using Tapatalk Why would you order 10k bullets if you weren't damn sure they were the bullets you really want? Really? Buy a sample pack or a couple hundred or whatever and figure out whether you like them or not. Really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymouscuban Posted November 17, 2019 Author Share Posted November 17, 2019 Hey all. Thanks for the input. Maybe I gave the wrong impression but the .356 are running well. I went through a batch of about 4000 already. They ran well. No leading at all. Accurate at 25 yards. I do get some smoke but it's not bad at all. I see many run .357 and was just wondering. But as some of you said, why fix something that ain't broke. I decided to stick with the .356. Sent from my SM-G930U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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