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.354" (9mm Luger) bullets in .38spl/.357 Magnum - can/should it be done?
- Thread starter pathdoc
- Start date
NoSecondBest
New member
Of course you can do it. They’ll shoot like karp, but they will go bang. Just crimp them enough to hold them together. I’ve shot them the other way around and some loads worked very well. I had a 38 Super that really liked .357 Gold Dots as target loads. Accuracy wasn’t adversely affected in that case.
Hammerhead
New member
.354"?
I've loaded quite a few 9mm (.355/.356) in 357
brass. I skip the expander die, but I flare them slightly. I seated them deep enough so that I could crimp lightly on the nose.
Accuracy was good enough for plinking.
I've loaded quite a few 9mm (.355/.356) in 357
brass. I skip the expander die, but I flare them slightly. I seated them deep enough so that I could crimp lightly on the nose.
Accuracy was good enough for plinking.
Your primary concern will be neck tension since they are 0.003" smaller than what the brass is normally designed to use.
Accuracy could be just fine. I've shot .355" jacketed bullets in a Ruger Blackhawk which has a .3577" groove diameter and it put 24 rounds into less than 1.50" at 25 yards from a Ransom Rest.
Accuracy could be just fine. I've shot .355" jacketed bullets in a Ruger Blackhawk which has a .3577" groove diameter and it put 24 rounds into less than 1.50" at 25 yards from a Ransom Rest.
Your primary concern will be neck tension since they are 0.003" smaller than what the brass is normally designed to use.
Accuracy could be just fine. I've shot .355" jacketed bullets in a Ruger Blackhawk which has a .3577" groove diameter and it put 24 rounds into less than 1.50" at 25 yards from a Ransom Rest.
Against the neck tension problem, I was thinking (a) it may not be as necessary to flare the case mouth and (b) I can always give it a very light crimp.
Accuracy-wise, I would be prepared to take my chances. This would be purely a practice load, with serious work being done either by factory ammo or .357-specific reloads.
Some of my bullets are 125gn factory-lubed lead. I know it's probably unwise to drive those at .357 velocities, but .38 Special or 9mm Luger-developed loads should be safe in a .357 case and gun, and I theorized they might grip the rifling a tad better.
Against the neck tension problem, I was thinking (a) it may not be as necessary to flare the case mouth and (b) I can always give it a very light crimp.
Accuracy-wise, I would be prepared to take my chances. This would be purely a practice load, with serious work being done either by factory ammo or .357-specific reloads.
Some of my bullets are 125gn factory-lubed lead. I know it's probably unwise to drive those at .357 velocities, but .38 Special or 9mm Luger-developed loads should be safe in a .357 case and gun, and I theorized they might grip the rifling a tad better.
Sounds good. Let us know how the neck tension thing works. I've not tried .354" bullets before.
When I load .355" bullets in 38/357 cases I use an undersize sizing die and then flare with my 9mm expander.
I was given some undersized 158 LSWC's that I loaded for 38Spl. I don't recall their diameter, but .354" does come to mind.
My first concern was that I didn't actually need a press to seat them. I could press them in by hand.
They were not accurate. Oddly, they almost always shot high. One would expect a random buckshot type pattern. Not accurate at any rate.
My first concern was that I didn't actually need a press to seat them. I could press them in by hand.
They were not accurate. Oddly, they almost always shot high. One would expect a random buckshot type pattern. Not accurate at any rate.
Geezerbiker
New member
May years ago I slogged the bore of the Model 19 S&W .358 I had and found the bore was .356 something. I figured that was pretty close to 9mm and the a local gun shop (Murry's Guns) now long gone, had bulk 9mm bullets cheaper than any .357 jacketed bullets I could find so I bought a couple hundred.
I had to use the expander from a 9mm die set so they'd have enough neck tension but they shot fine. I loaded some with light loads with red dot and some with hotter (but not over book loads) of H110. The most rememorable thing about the H110 loads is they were as bright as a camera flash the one time I went target shooting at night...
Tony
I had to use the expander from a 9mm die set so they'd have enough neck tension but they shot fine. I loaded some with light loads with red dot and some with hotter (but not over book loads) of H110. The most rememorable thing about the H110 loads is they were as bright as a camera flash the one time I went target shooting at night...
Tony
With lead bullets you are asking for leading, poor accuracy, and a long cleaning session if you shoot undersized bullets. With jacketed bullets you won't easily see the effects of 0.001" undersizing. As you get still smaller, the bullets can't easily bump up to fill the grooves, so the bullets tend to go through the bore cocked at an angle. That moves the bullet center of gravity off axis. This results in some dispersion, but with pistol bullets it may be rather small. More of an issue may be muzzle blast playing off the slightly tipped bullet base, and thus imparting some lateral drift. About all you can do is try it with your particular bullet to see what happens.
With jacketed bullets you won't easily see the effects of 0.001" undersizing. As you get still smaller, the bullets can't easily bump up to fill the grooves, so the bullets tend to go through the bore cocked at an angle. That moves the bullet center of gravity off axis. This results in some dispersion, but with pistol bullets it may be rather small. More of an issue may be muzzle blast playing off the slightly tipped bullet base, and thus imparting some lateral drift. About all you can do is try it with your particular bullet to see what happens.
Data?
I would think it would be fine with FMJ ammo. however hollow points would probably perform poorly as the extra velocity would most likely cause them to over expand and possible come apart in a target.
Terminal performance is not an issue, as I live in Canada and self-defence carry is not on the table.