Hi all,

New to 9mm reloading and wondering about 2 questions. Can .356 bullet flat nosed be used? and can you use small pistol Magnum primers?
Any help on these questions would be appreciated.

You can use the SMPPs but I'd work-up slowly & lower it's max. powder charge by a few tenths from what's listed.

Some pistols don't like flat nosed bullets, others don't care.

Buy a small quantity you'd like to try & make sure the final OAL" passes the plunk test in your barrel.

And don't forget to check that they feed in the magazine without binding before you load a bunch.

Flat nose bullets often require a shorter OAL" than a round nose.

.

__________________
Waiting for the break of day

I reload 9mm, have for 25 plus years, which does not make me an expert or an authority. The real savvy guys will be along come daybreak with better answers, I'm sure
My answer to both parts of your question would be...... YES, but why would you?
I can't guess your intentions, but a flat nosed 9mm isn't going to be all that effective at any distance, and will likely shed velocity and energy faster than most other bullets. Possibly you intend it for bedside use against an intruder, and it would likely be fine for that, and also for punching paper at 7-25 yards.
Personally, I don't see much value for using magnum primers in non magnum handgun rounds, but I think some guys believe they give you a better powder burn. Maybe they do, I can't say.
I'll be first to tell you, I'm not smarter than the folks that build the components we use, I trust them for the most part.
In the event you're wanting to use up extra stuff, yeah, go for it, you'd be OK using both.
HTH
Bob

Small pistol magnum primers are not necessary for the 9x19. You can use them, you may reach peak pressure and velocity a few tenths of a grain of powder less than you would with standard primers.

Some pistols are happy with flat point bullets, some are not and there is only one way to find out.

By the way, you did not mention what firearm you will be using. If that pistol has polygonal rifling, like most Glocks, you are advised to not use plain lead bullets due to the potential of excessive leading in the barrel. Polygonal barrels should be restricted to powder coated lead, plated lead, or jacketed bullets.

__________________
VCDL, GOA, NRA

I reload a flat nosed 95 grain bullet in 9mm. I cast them. They work just fine for me, and they allow me to conserve my precious lead supply. It is one of my target loads. Jacketed .356 bullets should work fine. Only your gun can tell you how it likes them.
To be honest I've never noticed much difference in primers in anything I load. Just follow procedures and you should be fine.

Haven't heard that one before. I have a Glock 19X with about 1500 rounds down the tube - ALL home cast 124 grain lead round nose. I see no leading at all.

Does the 19X fall into that category?

Not sure If the x has poly rifled bbl or not, but the leading thing in glock bbls is way over hyped. I shot 1000s in my gen1 glock, just clean the bbl a bit sooner than with jacketed or plated or coated.
To the op, 0.356" bullets are actually preferred, especially coated lead or plated. Some even go 0.357" or 0.358" with lead/coated lead.

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

.356 bullets - yes . I use .357 cast lead .

Flat Nose - probably , each gun is a law unto itself , test a few dummy rounds , cycling by hand through action . My favorite moulds are truncated cone that have a flat point.

Magnum primers - yes , but lower your powder charge to make up for the extra power of the magnum primer . Do Not use a max. powder charge and magnum primer , that combo could produce excess pressure .

Gary

__________________
Certified Cajun
NRA Member

One of my favorite bullets for my 9mms is a Lee 125 gr, RNFP. Feeds quite well in my 4 9mm pistols. I size them to .358"+ for one gun, and 357" for the other three. My newest 9mm has poly rifling barrel and I've not noticed any excessive leading. For some good "expert" info on poly/lead shooting check here;Polygonal rifling and lead bullets?

I have experimented with SP Magnum primers in my 9mm handloads but, as usual I began work up using the starting loads as listed in my manuals. I found no real advantage (other than I have 3,000+ CCI Mag primers and a bit less than 2,000 Standard primers, with a few others like Winchester and Wolf).

It depends on the pistol and your dies & cases...........
on what dia. bullet will work in your weapon.

I ordered some 125gr coated bullets that were .356, .357 & .358 dia. (50 each) from a company for my first try with their bullets.

The .356 dummy loads were ok, with no problems.
With my mixed brass, the .357 dia. started to show a tiny bit of case bulge.
The larger .358 bullet would not go all the way into the chamber
with a few of the loads that I made with W-W, RP, FC & a Military case

It could be from the cases or maybe a tight chamber but the .358 dia. was just a little too big for my C9 pistol.

At least I know what size coated bullets this weapon will digest.
Have fun.

Yes it will vary from chamber to chamber. I couldnt get 0.358 to be 100% reliable in mixed brass, even in a glock. I gea few, even with 0.356" bullets that bulge a suspect case, often foreign stuff. Why I sort my 9mm brass & toss foreign stuff.

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

If the purchased bullets ranged from .356"-.358" I'd find another vendor/caster...

One of my favorite range bullets is a RMR conical flat nose 124gr FMJ. It loads well in my Colt 1911 Government model, Glock 17, and AR-9 pistol. I like CFEpistol in my 9mm for target loads.

I have tried magnum primers but they are better suited to larger capacity cases like 38SPL/357MAG with powders that need the extra umph like HS-6. Standard SP primers work well with Bullseye, Power Pistol, Blue Dot, Universal, AA #7, WSF, TiteGroup, HP-38, Unique, CFEpistol, and others.

I have several nines and each require a different bullet shape. But, they all function with 0.356 diameter.

I use a lot of the Berry 115 gr flat nose (truncated cone actually). They're a nominal 0.356 in. Due to the ogive shape I seat them at about 1.090 in OAL and they feed fine. I stay away from the hollow base type bullet. While they may give you more bore contact and might have some mythical accuracy advantage, the length would seem to be a problem with most of the powders I use. The flat nose has more bore contact than the RN design anyway.

Back when the 9 mm was the hot new military service pistol round, the Air Force did a bunch of development work (OK, they paid someone else) and the most accurate and effective FMJ was found to be the flat nose/truncated cone. 124 gr IIRC. Hornaday made the bullets for the testing and had them as a catalog item for decades until they replaced them with their HAP line. Which has about the same profile.

The powders typically used in the 9 mm don't need magnums. Given the case capacity I'd be hesitant to use them. But, as noted above, if you're real cautious with powder charges.............

This as above!

I cast a NOE .358, 9mm, 135 grain, RNFP and size to .357 and shoot it in both 9mm and 38/.357, my lube is medium soft. I get great accuracy in both and absolutely no leading in my barrels. The RNFP .357 plated also work well. I have not experienced feeding issues.

I only saw about 25FPS increase using a "slow" (non-magnum) powder and no "visible" pressure signs. As other have stated reduce powder by .2 grain for starters.

I do not recommend either of the above scenarios. Use only published data and components!

Smiles,

My first question is what kind of bullets?

Personally I wouldn't hesitate to use .356 bullets if they are plated, coated, or bare lead, but would be a little more hesitant if they are jacketed.

A minimum spec 9mm barrel at .354-.355 might be a little tight for .356 jacketed. Not saying you can't do it, but I probably wouldn't myself. I'm a pretty conservative loader though. Especially when it comes to anything like that since it might create overpressure issues.

I'd be a lot more comfortable with the idea if I slugged the barrel first to confirm it is .355 or more.

But that's just me.

__________________
Send lawyers, guns & money...

Results Using mag primers will vary with your powder choice. I find with medium loars using fast powders, almost no change in vel swapping out primers. With medium & slow powder, near max loafs, there is a definite increase in vel, thus pressures. That is when you want to be reducing powder charges.

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO