9mm loads in .38 short Colt case?

[Ralph G. Briscoe]

My carry gun is a Smith 642. Typical of revolvers with short ejector rods, it often fails to eject all the cases no matter how hard I slap the ejector. It occurred to me that this would be less of a problem with the shorter 9mm Luger case, but J frames in 9mm are rare and expensive. The old .38 short Colt is close to the size of the 9mm. None of the manuals list hot loads for this cartridge because of the ancient guns for which it was chambered, but is there any reason with a modern revolver one could not approach 9mm Luger velocities with this case? Thanks.

 

[unbatoloco]

Hi,
I must be missing something here ?. Is'nt a 9mm , a rimless case and most revolvers are rimmed cases unless the gun has been adapted for moonclips ? Having said that , I cut down some 38 special cases down to the size of a .38 short colt and then loaded them to .38 super specifications ( I had to re-size them again because the projectile bulged the base of the thicker case). Revolver handled the loads beautifully with no signs of excess pressure . Lever action rifle did not like them at all .

 

[TSQUARED]

There are several shooters in the normal pistol games which use S&W627's with 38 Short colt cases loaded to higher pressures. My only concern would not be the gun but the brass case. The 9mm brass case is built exceptionally strong while the 38 Short Colt case was never designed for 9mm pressures.

 

[goldenbb]

The 9mm J frames (340?) have been discussed on here quite a bit, do a search. I had a Ruger Blackhawk that had a 38/357 cylinder and a separate 9mm cylinder. No moon clips as the chambers were cut in such a way as to headspace the 9mm cases on the neck just like in any semiautomatic. I was really jazzed about that gun for awhile, but then I realized I never used the 9mm cylinder and I didn't like the hugeness of the gun itself, so I traded it off.

 

[Bullseye Smith]

I was told to use the data for 9mm lead for the 38 short, the super is a longer case, like the short is to the 9mm. I have loaded to the 9mm with no problems at all.

 

[Ralph G. Briscoe]

Thanks everyone.
A couple of people, here and elsewhere, have expressed concern about the strength of 38 short Colt brass. I suppose shortening .38 special brass would eliminate that concern. Bullseye, do you use any particular brand of case? What bullet weights have you used? ( I like 158gr LSWCHP's.) I may order a set of Lee .38 SC dies and give this a try...guess I actually may just need a crimping die...

 

[ddixie884]

Starline offers new .38 short colt brass. I wouldn't be surprised if it were as strong as .38 spl...............

 

[tops]

I used a pipe cutter to cut about a dozen .38 spec. cases to use in a short colt. That was aggravating enough to make the pope cuss. I would think the best thing to do is just buy new .38 short colt brass. Larry

 

[6thtexas]

Does a regular .38 Spl crimp die have enough adjustment to crimp a Short or could you use a 9mm die? Just curious as it sounds like an interesting idea.

 

[shovelwrench]

You could also have your cylinder cut for moonclips, they make extraction and reloads much faster....

And you won't have to muck around with short colt stuff.

 

[bmcgilvray]

Does a regular .38 Spl crimp die have enough adjustment to crimp a Short or could you use a 9mm die? Just curious as it sounds like an interesting idea.

No it doesn't but the 9mm crimp die could be satisfactorily pressed into service.

 

[Andy Griffith]

If you have a set of .38 S&W dies, the crimper will work off them, and likely is a roll crimp rather than the taper crimp die that comes with a 9mm set.

It is best to use real .38 Short Colt brass rather than .38 Special brass trimmed, but regular .38 special brass may be trimmed down as it seems to be identical in the web area (Remington brand is the only one I checked). ".38 Special +P" marked brass is usually a bit thicker in the web area, and may have less internal space when trimmed and increase pressure significantly. Not all brass is created equal, even if it looks idential superficially!

Just be careful, and as always check all components twice before going wildcatting!

 

[Bullseye Smith]

Bullseye, do you use any particular brand of case? What bullet weights have you used? ( I like 158gr LSWCHP's.) I may order a set of Lee .38 SC dies and give this a try...guess I actually may just need a crimping die...

I use the Star Line brass, it is made to handle the loads of the 9mm. I use 38 cal 125gr Flat point DS from Berry's with Federal match primers. Fast to reload in the 686 and would be great in the J frame.

 

[walnutred]

Is your pistol in 9x19 now? Have you tried 38 S&W brass? I used to own a 9mm Federal revolver, which was basicaly a 9x19 Rimmed ctg loaded to 9x19 +P+ specs. I never had any trouble reloading Remington 38 S&W brass using 9x19 +P+ load data. I would think you would have trouble with rim thickness. I eventualy got concerned about mixing up my reloads and rechambered my pistol 38 Super.