Author Topic: "Stepped " bullet in CZ chamber  (Read 1512 times)

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Offline wv109323

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"Stepped " bullet in CZ chamber
« on: January 07, 2022, 05:05:24 PM »
Has anyone used a cast "stepped" bullet in their CZ 75 with any success?
By this I mean the bullet ogive starts out smaller in diameter than the bullet bearing surface on the rifling.
I would lean toward a 135 or 147g.bullet with a TC or round nose configuration. I would also lean toward a mold with a grease groove so that I could use conventional lube or powder coat.
This is to get away from the ogive hitting the rifling and not allowing the slide to go into full battery. Comments

Offline SI VIS PACEM PARRABELLUM

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Re: "Stepped " bullet in CZ chamber
« Reply #1 on: January 07, 2022, 05:53:34 PM »
I have a 130 gr. SWC mold that I have used successfully in CZ's and many others over the years. Regardless of the slug you choose you have to find it's max OAL for your chamber and determine if it will provide a safe reliable cartridge in your gun. You can't just slap a cartridge together and hope it headspaces without taking these steps. Have you read all the info on the reloading section here?
I also have a mold for a cast RN that has such a wide ogive that it has to be seated far too deeply to ever be safe in My CZ chambers.

Offline Wobbly

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Re: "Stepped " bullet in CZ chamber
« Reply #2 on: January 07, 2022, 05:58:05 PM »


I believe the MBC "Small Ball" (shown above) is similar to what you are talking about. On other brands the 'step' is slightly more pronounced.

I don't think it gives you much help at all. You will still need to do the "push test", and if the ogive isn't hitting the rifling, then the "step " is hitting the end of the freebore. The shoulder at the step simply becomes the limiting factor, rather than the ogive. In short, you are swapping the bullet on the RH side for the bullet on the LH side...



And if you need to shorten the OAL a lot, then the step can recede into the case mouth and leave you nothing to crimp against.

• You wouldn't know unless you have a Lyman mold number and someone here had the same mold, or you bought 100 bullets and tried it. But I suspect you are asking because you found a deal on 3000.

• Or, you could just tell us what weight bullet you'd like to shoot, and we could suggest some really good bullets that are known to work in the CZ chamber really well. Why re-invent the wheel ?

Just my 2 cents.
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Offline mrcabinet

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Re: "Stepped " bullet in CZ chamber
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2022, 08:55:31 AM »
I loved shooting the "Lucky 13" coated 124 grn. that were like that. They would fit just about any 9mm on the planet and were accurate to boot. It was a sad day when they closed down.
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Offline armoredman

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Re: "Stepped " bullet in CZ chamber
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2022, 06:22:34 PM »
I think you are referring to something like this, the Lee 124gr Tumble Lube bullet?


If so, yes, I've been casting and loading this bullet for...I dunno, 12-13 years now? Can't remember, best one for CZ chambers I've found yet.
« Last Edit: January 09, 2022, 08:24:44 AM by Wobbly »

Offline M1A4ME

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Re: "Stepped " bullet in CZ chamber
« Reply #5 on: January 09, 2022, 07:53:11 AM »
When I saw the thread title the first thing that crossed my mind was a LSWC.

I have loaded 140 grain LSWC in 9MM cases.  They plunk tested in my CZ75 Compact and functioned/fired fine in it.  Locked my P09 up tighter than I could get loose by just yanking rearward on the slide.  Not particularly accurate in the CZ75 Compact but I didn't try a real work up, just getting rid of some left over bullets in a big box after loading up all the .38 special brass I had bought.

In order to plunk in the Compact they had to be seated deeper than you wood in a .38/.357 piece of brass.  Not to the top of the step, but almost.  Don't remember the overall length (which was still too long to work in the P09 and maybe other CZ 9MM pistols I've got) but it's in the log book in the shed.
I just keep wasting time and money on other brands trying to find/make one shoot like my P07 and P09.  What is wrong with me?

Rock-it3

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Re: "Stepped " bullet in CZ chamber
« Reply #6 on: January 09, 2022, 08:04:59 AM »
I have shot a few thousand of these through several CZ pistols with success. They are listed under the .38/.357 section, but they can be sized to .356" diameter for 9mm. The boxes I have are labeled 9mm, .356 dia. I use 124 grain load data, as the bullets tend to weigh less than 125 grains, typically in the high 123 point-something range.


https://www.steelvalleycasting.com/product/38-357-hi-tek-125grn-conical-nose-bullet/