What models have been made with a bobbed hammer in 9mm? What are the ballistics like out of these with 147grn ammo? How would they compare to say the 158grn FBI .38 load? Can they handle 9mm +P ammo? Recoil comments?

The only 9 mm J frame was the 940 which is a Centennial model, that is a concealed hammer. Some folks here have successfully converted other J frames to 9 mm and a search will turn up some very interesting reading and information.

With regards to your queries on ballistics, I will defer to more experienced members. However the 940 with factory ammunition with 115 gr. and 124 gr. bullets, is much snappier than the 640 with 158 gr. ammunition. I shoot very little +P in any J frame as I do not think it is practice and the recoil gets tiring quickly.

The 940 is loaded with Moon clips, and can be reloaded very quickly. The off the shelf 900 in 115 or 125 has a very sharp recoil, and depending on how big your hands are and how the grips fit it can be painful. When I first got mine, I had obtained some very nice Spegel boot grips which fit my hand pretty good, but with factory loads I shoot over two cylinder-fulls quickly it hurts. If I am going to do much shooting I will put on Pachmayer compact grips, which help a lot. I also reload a 125 gr. lead load at about 900 fps for practice and it is comfortable to shoot.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I don't know about the recoil issues with 940s. I just don't think it's that bad. My 9mm 360J only weighs 13oz or so and the recoil is no worse than with comparable .38spls and it's much less noticeable in the steel frame 9mm snubbies I've had. When I qualified with the 360J I fired 100rds of 115gr ball in about 35 minutes and was no worse for wear. Maybe its just me...

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