9mm Bullet Diameter: .355 vs .356

[CraigAPS]

Total newbie reloader here, but decided, with the state of things, to take the plunge. I have been thinking about reloading for the past couple years and have bought small things and saved brass. Today I bought a press and dies. I'm looking at bullets and have seen both .355 and .356 diameter bullets in 115 gr fmj bullets. How do I choose which is the right one to get???

 

[jhopson]

When you are loading plated bullets it doesn't make much of a difference. If you are loading cast/hitek coated bullets then the .356 is the better choice.

 

[d.kaufman]

Usually you see the .356 diameter in plated bullets like Berrys bullets. .355 or .356 will be just fine for 9mm

 

[CraigAPS]

Usually you see the .356 diameter in plated bullets like Berrys bullets. .355 or .356 will be just fine for 9mm

That was actually what I was looking at: Berry's vs Speer.

Thank you both!

 

[2in1evtime]

i find there is a difference in reloading .355 and .356, the .356 is more accurate out of all my 9mm pistols and carbines!! used to buy a lot of extreme now i buy berry"s because of the diameter difference!!

 

[CB1911]

Craig APS,
I find reloading to be just as enjoyable as shooting, they are two of my favorites. I have enjoyed loading 9mm for 25 years. FWIW, I think a new reloader would do well to not worry about .355 vs .356 until later on. It's true .356 jacketed can be more accurate in some guns, and .356 is what you want in lead/coated. But for a starting reloader, my thoughts would be to purchase a bulk quantity 1000/2000 of 115 or 124 full metal jacket round nose .355 diameter (not plated) from a quality manufacturer online with free shipping. These bullets will be the easiest/trouble free to load. Place them over a load of medium burning pistol powder such as Unique, AA#5, using starting charge out of a loading manual then work up. I also recommend owning a chronograph to measure velocity. It's extremely helpful in load development. It should be fairly easy to produce a 115/124 fmj reload using the above components that will equal or exceed what you might be purchasing in the store. Once you have this mastered you might find this is all you need or looking for. If not, having fun with load development changing components is almost endless.

 

[CraigAPS]

i find there is a difference in reloading .355 and .356, the .356 is more accurate out of all my 9mm pistols and carbines!! used to buy a lot of extreme now i buy berry"s because of the diameter difference!!

Is there a difference in the reloading process or just the bullet to barrel seal?

 

[2in1evtime]

Is there a difference in the reloading process or just the bullet to barrel seal?

You get a slightly snugger seat and seal to sides of brass, but the biggest thing is the contact to the rifling in your barrel more contact more control.

 

[CraigAPS]

Craig APS,
I find reloading to be just as enjoyable as shooting, they are two of my favorites. I have enjoyed loading 9mm for 25 years. FWIW, I think a new reloader would do well to not worry about .355 vs .356 until later on. It's true .356 jacketed can be more accurate in some guns, and .356 is what you want in lead/coated. But for a starting reloader, my thoughts would be to purchase a bulk quantity 1000/2000 of 115 or 124 full metal jacket round nose .355 diameter (not plated) from a quality manufacturer online with free shipping. These bullets will be the easiest/trouble free to load. Place them over a load of medium burning pistol powder such as Unique, AA#5, using starting charge out of a loading manual then work up. I also recommend owning a chronograph to measure velocity. It's extremely helpful in load development. It should be fairly easy to produce a 115/124 fmj reload using the above components that will equal or exceed what you might be purchasing in the store. Once you have this mastered you might find this is all you need or looking for. If not, having fun with load development changing components is almost endless.

Thanks for the info! I was looking at either Unique or Titegroup, but ended up going with Unique because everything I could find on those two (seemed to be very popular two from my research) the Unique had more consistent comments about it (either great or mediocre at least), while Titegroup seemed to be a "love or hate" kind of thing.

I had already bought some Berry's bullets. I was checking prices online to see difference in prices (local shop is overpriced) when I began to notice the two sizes. I was under the impression that there was one 9mm sized bullet. Berry's was the only thing the local shop had.