9mm Luger loaded with .357 bullets ??

[Win]

Back in the day (doesn't seem that long ago) when you could get 9mm for a dime a pop, I stocked up, thinking at these prices, I will never waste my time reloading this calibur.

Well, that's all changed, hasn't it?

To get on with the question, I stocked up on 125 grain .357 jhp tips from National Bullet Company (when they were still in business) for a nickle a tip. Now I have ordered a set of dies in 9mm and am about to take my first trip into reloading the 9. So here it is.... anybody used .357 jhp to reload the .355 9mm round (with any success)? My only 9mm is a Ruger SP-101 revolver with a 3 inch barrel, so functioning isn't a problem....I can load down for the higher pressures a slightly oversized bullet will generate as it squeezes into the .355 bore.

I'm thinking this should work if I don't get too carried away....probably use Unique powder and look for mid range performance loading.

So, anyone tried this??? Any suggestions ...other than work the load up carefully ?

 

[walnutred]

I shoot .358 lead in my 9x19 but I've never tried jacketed that oversized. In a pistol with a military chamber it's probably be OK, but not sure about your revolver. Slug the barrel, there is always a chance it's .357 anyway.

Looking at that revolver in your picture I though you had an early version of the new Ruger LCR. Cylinder looks right and the grips look better.

 

[Win]

No...that's a Reich Commission revolver from the 1880's in 44 Russian. The German side arm before adopting the Luger in 1908.

 

[gbrady]

I have been reloading for the public since 1992 and my advice is don't do it. It will create a lot of pressure very quick.

 

[Paul5388]

I slugged a couple of 9x19s last night and got .3565" on a Taurus and .358" on a Walther P1.

I would suspect Ruger has never made a 9mm revolver with anything other than a .358" barrel, because that's what they used on the Blackhawk convertibles that had 9mm cylinders.

Of course, you'll never know until you actually slug it.

 

[David Sinko]

Try some cast bullets in that 9mm Ruger revolver and see if they hit the target sideways. If the cylinder throats and bore are as dimensionally dysfunctional as was my expensive 627-4 .38 Super, then five yards is all you need to determine this. You really need to determine whether or not you have .355 cylinder throats and a .358 bore if you intend to do any cast bullet shooting. Such a revolver can fire plated and jacketed bullets just fine but will be uttely hopeless with any cast bullets, no matter what they are sized. If you DO have a .357 or .358 barrel, it would be best to open up the cylinder throats accordingly and forget about using .355 bullets altogether. That any modern manufacturer would dare sell a revolver with .355 cylinder throats and a .358 barrel is an insult and an absolute disgrace, yet they continue to do this and think they can get away with it. And expensive Performance Center items, no less!

Dave Sinko

 

[harry carey]

S&W 547; i have loaded .355, .3565, .358 bullets. there are some tricks involved to load fat bullets. this is 9mm, tapered case! cast bullets. this gun is .355 throats, .380 chamber. the Ruger blackhawk convertible has very large dimensions, .357/.395. why? they also made some 44wcf guns with undersized dimensions. .3565 bullets work best in the 547. the most accurate bullets are valiant 125 loaded backwards. this puts bearing surface at the throats. i load this same bullet inverted in S&W 52.sort of a rebated boattail..3565 dewc is second best in the 547. oal with dewc,.3565 is .980 and this IS a 148g.I am using a casemaster jr. then normal loading and then a super 38 carbo size die to take care of the bulge at the base of the dewc that is too long for the short tapered case. 105g dewc are easier to load for 9mm revolvers.

 

[buckeyeshooter]

No way I would try it, you are just asking for problems of the very unpleasant type!

 

[harry carey]

two of us were suggesting CAST bullets, not jacketed. see WG MITCHELLS article in Rifle magazine on cast bullets .355 to.360 in 38 special (old S&W guns) 1988 and S&W m52 .359 the biggest in the 52. I load mostly cast however I will load this very day jacketed bullets and plated in the 9mm for the 547 .357 and shoot them tomorrow and get back to you. plated is different. btw to load fat cast in 9mm there are tricks as i said earlier and it is not worth all the trouble when a lee sizer to turn 358 to 3565 is $14.00. but, it is possible. an expert at one bullet manf. said it would not work(358,cast,148dewc) but i emailed him how to do it. there is a trick to it, do you know the trick ??? then don't say it won't work.

 

[fredj338]

I've loaded .357 bullets in the 357sig w/ good success so I don't see whay you can not workup loads for the 9mm as well. Just back the powder charge off & work it back up. A chrono will help.

 

[harry carey]

the problem is that stinking tapered case and it is short ,so heavy, fat, long bullets are not very good. i bought a 547 JUST to experiment with wadcutters in it . i now have tried it and know that what i thought would work does. some of these things are more trouble than they are worth but you do not know until you know. a theory is just one man's opinion. (einstein) 547 needs .3565 cast bullets in dewc 148 .980 OAL, 2.7 AA2 works and is accurate. .358 is not and there is a trick to load these.those who say it won't work have yet to figure it out but i did post it on a thread.

 

[Bullseye Smith]

I had the 9mm conversion done to one of my 686 and I have been loading target rounds for it with 125gr 38 bullets and 2 grs of titegroup and it shoot better than me.

 

[HKSmith]

While some here think the results of using a slightly oversize bullet could be catastrophic, the data would suggest otherwise.

Speer published the results of firing 155 grain jacketed bullets in a .38 Special pressure test gun with standard dimensions and a 6.5 inch barrel. The powder charge was 6 grains of AL-5 (no longer available) and the bullet diameters varied from 0.352 to 0.362 inches.

Surprisingly, there were no significant differences in pressures and velocities, with the 0.352 bullets giving 889 ft/sec at 12,000 psi and the 0.362 bullets giving 914 ft/sec at 13,000 psi. Bullets of intermediate diameters ranged from 11,000 to 14,000 psi, in no particular order. This data is from Speer Manual #5 from 1962. While it's old data, it's not the sort of thing that changes with time, although I'm sure modern pressure testing equipment would give more precise results.

The conclusion was "Bullet diameter may often have a considerable effect on accuracy but evidence so far indicates it has little effect on pressure or velocity.".

I've occasionally loaded 0.358 bullets in 9mm; the biggest probem was that thick walled cases would bulge and not chamber in some guns.

 

[harry carey]

I did a second sizing on .358 bullets ,sizing the bullet in the case. I have a press that does nothing but 38 special and the number 4 position is a super 38 carbo size die which takes care of unsized wadcutters bulge at the base. now for the results of .357 jacketed and plated bullets in the S&W 547. 125 berry plated, speer 125 jhp, rem 158 sjhp, excellent ! again the problem with long bullets in 9mm is the tapered case. .3565 dewc works. throats are .355. yes these are dirty to shoot. work up loads properly. buy the books , read the books, etc.

 

[pinkymingeo]

Maybe I'm wrong but, in a revolver, doesn't pressure normally peak before the bullet contacts the rifling? I wouldn't think barrel ID would make a whole lot of difference.

 

[OKFC05]

Any suggestions ...other than work the load up carefully

You know, we can all speculate until Hades freezes, but the tried and true "slug the bore and chamber throats" will give all the answers. It's not that hard to do.

As Sinko said, there are an amazing number of revolvers sold with mis-matched throats and barrels.

 

[harry carey]

I am loading light to medium loads, with all the bullets. chambers do get dirty with cast bullets. the most leading with the 547 is with .355 bullets as the gas gets to the side of the undersized bullet. the barrel leads a great deal with .355's. the throats and forcing cone leads with fat bullets but not the barrel. since we can resize these bullets for a $14.00 Lee sizer we have nothing to complain about I suppose.

 

[11e40]

i load .357 125 jhp montana gold bullets in 9 mm. for my ruger blackhawk. seated out to max oal. aa#5 works real well for me. your mileage may vary.

 

[Win]

I'm having second thoughts about this project. The .357 125 grain jacketed bullet will NOT go through the cylinder from back to front nor front to back. Not loaded round...just the bullet itself... cannot be made to go through the cylinder throat....even tapping on the base with a wooden dowel.