9mm Major in a 5906?

[furyalecto]

Has anyone shot 9mm USPSA major power factor in a 5906 type gun?
I think that Ranger 9mm 127 +P+ are about the same thing if someone has experience with that.
I was curious about the 5” models such as the Super 9 & PPC.

There are barrels for the 9x21 and 356tsw for the Super 9 model. I thought that the 356tsw was supposed to be a load that made major back when major was 175pf. Were there special springs for the 356tsw barrel that allowed operation at that power factor? Was it the 356tsw barrel that allowed for that power factor?
I know that using 9mm major ammunition would make the gun more prone to breaking down & is explicitly not supported.

What lb recoil spring would help with function?
Would the extra power magazine springs possibly help?
What would the signs/symptoms of overpressure be on the pistol?

I thought that there was a Briley comp model that was an open gun in 356tsw.
Thanks for any assistance.

 

[missiondude]

Pretty sure by rule, that 9mm can't be major, even if it makes power. 40 cal is the minimum now.

 

[OKFC05]

If you will accept a caution from a USPSA CRO, the major 9 is only for fully supported custom barrels, and the case tends to blow out at the ramp in barrels not fully supported. 9mm Major is ONLY legal is Open Division. 40 cal is the minimum for major in all other divisions.

I have seen this happen in 1911s when the ammo got mixed.

The Ranger +P+ does not make major power.

 

[furyalecto]

Thank you for the caution and information OKFC05.

The best bet sounds like it would be to use a 356 TSW Super 9 barrel for major in Open Division if there were ammunition around to support it.

There does not appear to be much information on the 356 TSW round.
Would there be issues with the extractor & magazines?

Is it the casing of the 356 TSW cartridge that allows for the pressure in the same gun or is the chamber in the 356 TSW barrel different?

 

[OKFC05]

Thank you for the caution and information OKFC05.

There does not appear to be much information on the 356 TSW round.
Would there be issues with the extractor & magazines?

Is it the casing of the 356 TSW cartridge that allows for the pressure in the same gun or is the chamber in the 356 TSW barrel different?

One of our shooters shoots a custom shop S&W originally chambered for TSW, and has a second 9mm Luger barrel fitted by the custom shop. The 9mm barrel is not recommended for Major 9. He still loads and shoots TSW rounds sometimes, but the caliber is an obsolete orphan in USPSA Limited.

Looking at his gun, I'd say the 356 TSW was an engineering exercise that used both barrel and cartridge enhancements, and it worked. But way too many people just jazzed up the 9mm Luger and shot it in limited guns: KABOOM!

So 9mm Major is restricted to Open guns, like STI, SVI, etc., and even then problems arise. One of our shooters is paying almost $600 to get a custom 9mm major gun repaired: split compensator, ruined barrel, broken barrel link. The good news is that the link is only $8.........

 

[H Richard]

Back about 10 years ago when I shot USPSA 9 major was legal, but there were so many "failures" and several injuries, only a fool with a lot of extra money would shoot it. I've seen $2500 custom race guns with fully supported barrels blow the magazines out the bottom and lock the slide up with attempts at major 9. If you value your gun, your hand, and bystanders, I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Husky71]

I have a 356 TSW pistol from the S&W performance center. Very nice gun.

Did a lot of reloading for it back in the day when I was actively using the gun in IPSC in the early 90's.

My recollection is that the cartrage wall thickness was the same or very nearly so to that of the standard 9x19. The .356 round uses a 9x21.5 case and has the COL as a standard 9 mm parabellum - hence the use of a truncated nose 147 gr round.

That way S&W was able to use the same magazines with the rest of their 9 mm guns. I can swap mags forth and back with my 5906.

It's a very nice round as fired in the Performance center gun, but I have no idea what it would take to safely build up a standard 9 mm gun to shoot this critter.

It does pack a nice punch and would knock over the steel targets like nobody's business

 

[Gary1911A1]

Alanta Arms makes a .355 Super that is really 9MM Major. Atlanta Arms and Ammo It's meant for 5" fully supported barrels to make major. I wouldn't shoot a S&W 5906 in Open Division with it, but I see no reason you couldn't try. To be truely competitive you would want a compensated barrel, optic sight and several 20 round mags.

 

[furyalecto]

Thanks for all the responses. I appreciate the relation of those bad experiences as well as the information on the 356 pistols.

That was pretty sobering. It doesn't sound like I would get many grins out of trying it.

 

[bad_man_ one]

Try this link:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-...ne-questions-update-found-356-tsw-barrel.html

I've been very pleased.
Regards,
BM1

 

[furyalecto]

I re-read that great thread more closely & found some things I had missed earlier.
The ammunition\brass availability issue concerns me about it. I wish it were readily available.

 

[YARDDOG]

All them .40 guys say 9mm weak are a little ful of somthing,The 9x25 357mag beats the Hell out of the 4o: ) + a 8 shot revolver ya right