Ruger LCRX9mm Loads

[pharos]

I've got a new Ruger LCRX in 9mm. Any suggestions for a suitable load on the mild side for this revolver? I've got lots of reloading manuals, but none specify good 9mm revolver loads. It's a real kicker with most loads I've tried so far, not to mention most powders seem to fill the case almost to capacity, leaving little seating room - even with 115 grain bullets.

 

[reddog81]

3.6 grains of N340 with any bullet 115 to 147 is one of my favorites. Any starting load will work in a revolver. You can go down some from there since you don't have to worry about cycling the action.

There's so much 9mm load data out there it's almost hard to give much specific advice with such little guidance.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

Another thing to consider in reloading 9mm for a revolver is the concept of possible "bullet jump" in the cylinder, supposedly due to the 9mm case rim being held by the moon clip and the latter rounds being exposed to recoil multiple times...? I've seen it argued that the 9mm was not originally designed for use in anything other than a magazine-fed firearm.

Proper (i.e., minimal) expansion and a good crimp should avoid this problem. I like the LEE FCDs for all my reloads.

Cheers!

P.S. Ruger even goes into this concept in their manual, so it may actually be relevant: of course, testing your firearm with various types of ammunition for reliability is always a good idea, regardless of caliber. They also warn about using ONLY metal jacketed bullets (and none of them NASTY reloads, either!) because of possible lead build-up in the chamber (Uh, wouldn't that be the cylinder?)...

P.P.S. Wish someone would come up with a 357 SIG revolver...

 

[Nevada Ed]

True;

the little 9mm case does not have much room but I have never had problems getting enough powder into the small case, even if I am using the big flaky Alliant Red Dot powder..........
with all styles of 115 & 124 gr bullets.

If you are having problems with case space, you might be seating the bullets too deep into the case or using too much powder.

For lighter recoil, try out the starting loads from your loading manuals, with the powders that you have.

That revolver should be ok with a light load doing around 1020 fps or so.

Good luck.