So you guys like WST?

My Dad and I took his press out to the range a couple weekends back and worked up a load with WST. I think it clocked around 138pf out of my G34 and 134 out of his CZ. Should be good enough to make minor in any situation. I'll post the specifics once I get my press set up and start loading my own.
 
The WST shot better with the lead bullets but still tumbled 1 or 2 out of 10 out of the CZ. I am about to give up on trying to get the cast bullets up to PF. They seem to fly well for me at 120 PF but not very well above that. Sure makes cardboard target life go to crap with those huge holes from sideways bullets. I think I will slug the barrel soon and see if it might be a little to big. One guy told me he had to shoot .38 super bullets in his CZ to keep it from tumbling. I am going to take the old XD Tact out at lunch tomorrow and see how these same bullets are doing in it. If they fly well, I'm blaming the problem on the gun.
 
Since there are quite a few of us that have run that same lead bullet at PF without tumbling, I just don't see how it is a bullet issue Lonnie.
 
My XD barrel slugs at .356 and I have to use Mitch's 38 super bullets to get good accuracy, just from reading here and there; there seems to be a lot of variance in 9mm bore diameter between manufacturers. I had a Sig P226 that slugged at .355 that would shoot .355 or .356 bullets very well, but my XD just will not shoot the .355 bullets well. I tried Unique, 231, and Solo 1000 with varying degrees of crimp and OAL, the only thing that solved it was going to Mitch's .356 bullet.

Some barrels like different sized diameters when it comes to cast bullets.

Lonnie, PM sent.
 
imhntn said:
The WST shot better with the lead bullets but still tumbled 1 or 2 out of 10 out of the CZ. I am about to give up on trying to get the cast bullets up to PF. They seem to fly well for me at 120 PF but not very well above that. Sure makes cardboard target life go to crap with those huge holes from sideways bullets. I think I will slug the barrel soon and see if it might be a little to big. One guy told me he had to shoot .38 super bullets in his CZ to keep it from tumbling. I am going to take the old XD Tact out at lunch tomorrow and see how these same bullets are doing in it. If they fly well, I'm blaming the problem on the gun.
Click to expand...

I tend to agree with you GT. The bold above is where I was directing my comment.
 
imhntn said:
The WST shot better with the lead bullets but still tumbled 1 or 2 out of 10 out of the CZ. I am about to give up on trying to get the cast bullets up to PF. They seem to fly well for me at 120 PF but not very well above that. Sure makes cardboard target life go to crap with those huge holes from sideways bullets. I think I will slug the barrel soon and see if it might be a little to big. One guy told me he had to shoot .38 super bullets in his CZ to keep it from tumbling. I am going to take the old XD Tact out at lunch tomorrow and see how these same bullets are doing in it. If they fly well, I'm blaming the problem on the gun.
Click to expand...
Hey Lonnie, do you happen to know what the twist rate is in that barrel?
The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook 3rd edition only lists 1 in 10" for S&W and 1 in 16" for Colt. This is copyright 1980 so I'm not sure it's accurate now. It is my understanding that the European gun companies typically use faster twists which will help you. I've read that some 9mm barrels just won't stabilize a 147 or they are just borderline of stabilizing them and I suspect it's the slower twist barrels. I hope this isn't the case for you but it's something to check.

I also shoot Mitch's 38 Super bullets at .356 dia. But when I first started using them I just got the .355s and noticed they were .001 under what I always size mine at. I always size cast bullets .001 over groove dia. (as I've never had to go over that, but sometimes you have to). Now with that said, I couldn't tell that the .355s were any less accurate than the .356s and I know for a fact that I never saw the .355s tumbling at the target. I asked Mitch and he said he made them in .356 so I just started running those and have ever since with good results.

There is almost always no reason to slug a barrel today. They just hold such closer mfg. tolerances today than what they were able to in the past that there's really not a need. But there is always room for error in manufacturing, it's not gonna hurt if you do slug it to know what you have.

Try to run down the twist rate if it slugs good. If it's the same as M&P's, etc. then the bullet dia. might just be your issue.
 
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