Success!

After my first time out testing my cast boolits, I was able to load up some more test rounds.

I had some marginal success with 3.7 - 4 gr Unique, but it seemed that I was getting leading caused by insufficient lubrication. So I decided I would add a coat of lube to my boolits and load from 3.7 - 4.3 gr Unique and see how they would do. I did not expect this single step to make such a drastic difference!

The gun I'm shooting is the XD9 Tactical pictured below.



This gun has always been able to shoot about 2 - 3" groups with commercial jacketed rounds. So that is what I was expecting to be the best I could get with my cast rounds. I was wrong.

All groups shot from a rest at 7 yards.

3.9 gr Unique.


4 gr Unique.


And 4.2 gr Unique.


The 4 gr load is a 1" group! And the 3.9 gr group is just a bit above 1" That same load with 1 coat of lube produced a 3" group. Oh the difference a little lube will make!

And leading? I'm sure you remember this picture from the last set of test loads.


Well, here is the bore after the new test loads.


Yes! As you can see, no leading!

I am thoroughly enjoying this hobby. Nothing is more satisfying to me than to make my pistol shoot better with my homemade rounds than with commercial stuff!

Testing My Cast Boolits

So, I finally had occasion to go out and test some of the boolits I had casted. The results were not discouraging.

Disclaimer: Always used PUBLISHED load data. My loads didn't kill me or my gun, but who knows how yours will fair.

So, I loaded up some 9mm with some of my 125 gr. Round nose boolits over 3.4-4 gr Unique going up in .1 gr increments. Seated the boolits to 1.1" OAL in Mil Brass.

Boolits were lubed with the LLA/JPW/Mineral spirits lube that I have reviewed in an ealier post. All brass was primed with Federal SPM primers.

I would post pictures of each target, but unfortunately the person shooting in the booth next to mine, well, couldn't exactly hit the broad side of a barn. So a few of my targets were blasted into obscurity. Matter of fact, I only managed to save three.

All groups were shot off hand at 7 yards.

This is 3.5 gr Unique, from which I got several stove pipes.



Perfect function was found at 3.6 gr, of course that target was lost.

This is 3.8 gr Unique. Group measures 3"



And here is 3.9 gr Unique. Group measures 3.5" Unfortunately, I cannot say with authority that it is the load that caused this group to open up, as I believe I messed this one up with a trigger jerk or two.



It seems that 3.7-3.8 gr is the ticket with this boolit and gun combo. I will be loading up some hotter loads to test soon. Gun is a Springfield Armory XD9 Tactical.

And this is what the bore looked like after all the test rounds were fired and a plastic brush was passed through the bore.



Yes, I know the date stamp says that picture was taken 7 days later. It was. Normally I clean my guns the day I go shooting, but with two daughters under 2 years old, sometimes I can't do as I normally would.

But what they cause in distraction, they make up for in cuteness.