9mm STEYR

[toot]

I have a mod. 1912 9MM, STEYR. what can i use to make or form them from? commercial ammo is too expensive.

[sigep1764]

Maybe you could make it from 9mm Largo? Graf's has 100 cases of 9mm Steyr for 20.99 and Starline has 500 cases for 97.50.

[toot]

if i was sure that 9 m/m largo would work i would go for it- $20.99 a 100 is a killer price. will wait for some one to get back to me with info that will work, thanks.

[sigep1764]

The 20.99 and 97.50 were prices I found for 9mm Steyr brass. Looking at the cases, 9mm Largo had a longer and deeper extractor groove. However, 9x23mm brass is almost identical to the Steyr. It is the same length as well. Difference being that one case is tapered and the other seems to be straight walled. I'd bet that fired 9x23 brass through a 9mm Steyr die would be fine, but someone with more experience will chime in and I totally understand you wanting information from someone who had tried it. I bet BrassMagnet might have an answer for you. That man is an encyclopedia of knowledge.

[toot]

i hope so, BRASSMAGNET where are you when we need you?

[2152hq]

I always shot my 9mm Steyr pistols with 9mmLargo ammunition.

Spanish surplus (used to be cheap and plentiful) & Blazer aluminum cased 9mmLargo were the 2 that were commonly available.
Never any problems. The Blazer stuff was very weak powered and dirty to shoot but functioned the guns just fine.
I still have a couple boxes of both but that's about it.

I reloaded for them using 38acp/38Super brass. It was easy to find at the time.
I know the stuff is a semi-rim, but it will in most instances still fit the breechface of the pistols OK.
The same reloads were used in my Astra 400 and Star Model A.
Reloading dies were common 9mmLuger dies. You have to adjust them in or out on the sizer to get the case sized just right. But they work.
The expander and crimper are used just as you would if loading 9mmLuger.
Regular 38Super dies work fine of course too, but I didn't have any of those.

All this stuff is cheap and readily available now and in carbide dies, ect.
New 9mmLargo brass is too which is something that in boxer primed cases was no where to be found.

Another case that can sub is the 38 Super Comp..it's a 38Super Rimless.,,just another 9x23 rimless case but the run and gun shooters needed it I guess for something. More $$ than plain 9mmLargo brass of course, but you may run accross some for a deal sometime.

If I start to reload the 9mmLargo again for the one Steyr pistol I have left, it'll be on some new 9mmLargo brass from Starline and I'll just probably use the 9mmLuger dies again. Maybe treat myself to a set of cheap Lee carbide 38Super dies!

Standard 9mm bullets, the orig was a 130gr IIRC, but you can load most anything. I won't print any data, there's plenty around.
I used to start with 380 data to be on the safe side and it actually did function the pistols at times. Usually ended up in the very low 9mmLuger data.
Be gentle on the old pistols, parts are expensive to find.
Fun hole punchers for a day at the range.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Yes, yes...all well and good, but why not use the newly produced 9mm Steyr brass? Like sigep1764 said, it's readily available from Grafs at a reasonable price. Always best to use the brass specifically designed for the pistol under discussion.

[SOFMatchstaff]

The factory GECO 9 Steyr ammo uses a 117 gr bullet, and is fairly (1200fps) hot. I load a bunch of it in 38 super comp and any other rimless super brass I can find on the ground after the ipsic tai chi matches.. Most brass that has a rim dia. of .380 to .390 will work fine when sized in a std 38 super die, the Geco cases are .380 dia straight from mouth to rim. I usually load a mid-range spec super, 115 or 124gr plated for the MP-34 .. I shoot the factory Steyr ammo when I need the brass for making 9x56 jacketed bullets for the Mannlicher . Recycling yeah thats it.... If you have to have new brass, Grafs has the armscor 38 super rimless at $32.99 for 200 cases plus shipping($8) good brass.

edit to clarify....

the factory GECO Steyr ammo is berdan primed, and the 9mm super comp and win 9x23 brass has a body taper like the parabellum. If you run it into a straight 38 super size die you will get a pronounced belt...

[2152hq]

Yes, yes...all well and good, but why not use the newly produced 9mm Steyr brass? Like sigep1764 said, it's readily available from Grafs at a reasonable price. Always best to use the brass specifically designed for the pistol under discussion.

'Cause I load(ed) for a Star model A and Astra 400 as well as the Steyr. and they would be once again if I started reloading the caliber again .
So I would use one brass in all three guns. I'd choose to use the 9mmLargo
9mmLargo factory & Milsurp stuff worked just fine in the past, they'll work just fine again in the form of reloads.
Yes,Yes,,it's all well and good.

[GONRA]

Decades ago GONRA made these from .38 Special. Head diameter is the same.
>>> Thats important! <<<
Lathe verk to turn off the rim and cut extractor groove.
(Make an arbor to fill case. Put in 3 jaw chuck. Turn cartridge case head to spec.)
Shorten to length.

[rrob692326]

I have an entire plastic coffee can full of 9 mm steyr ammo given to me for work done on a 1911 but as I live in Hawaii, so no way to legally ship. If you can manage a cheap ticket to Hilo I will gladly drive the 35 miles to the airport to give you the ammo free. The airlines allow 10 pounds of ammo in the luggage, Let me know if you can figure a way for you or someone you know coming here, as we can meet so they can pick it up, It is quite a bit of rare ammo and in good shape and glad to gift it to you.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

According to "The Handloader's Manual of Cartridge Conversions" by John J. Donnelly the 9mm Steyr can be made from either the .38 ACP or .38 Super ACP. Trim rim to .3891" dia. & back chamfer. Use the .38 ACP dies to F/L size and load.

Sounds pretty straight forward.

I'd still cut a financial corner somewhere and buy the ready made commercial 9mm Steyr brass.

I owned one of these pistols for years, but mine was a Nazi conversion to 9mm Luger. I'd like to own another, this time in the original caliber, but the last one I saw in really nice condition went for over $900 on an internet auction. They are extremely well made, and a significant part of WW I history

The 9mm Largo is a great cartridge, and I own and reload for several of the Star Mod. A, Super A, and Astra 400 pistols, but have never tried using them in a Steyr or converting the brass. The .38 ACP conversion sounds like the better route to follow.

[GONRA]

GONRA sez - 9mm Steyr cartridge case head diameter is smaller than .38 ACP, .38 Super, 9mm Bergman-Bayard, 9mm Largo....

[Freischütz]

In my experience Steyr brass is thinner than 38 Super. Sizing Steyr cases with a 38 Super die will often not produce enough case tension to hold the bullet in place. I now use a 9mm Luger die and have no trouble.

[SOFMatchstaff]

In my experience Steyr brass is thinner than 38 Super. Sizing Steyr cases with a 38 Super die will often not produce enough case tension to hold the bullet in place. I now use a 9mm Luger die and have no trouble.

I should have included this bit of dimensional information in my previous post, the case mouth brass thickness is .003 to .004 thinner than the Largo, and Supercomp brass that I use in the sub-gun chamberings. The Steyr 1912 chambers are Really tight, so that when an empty case, sized so it chambers, is loaded with a std 9mm projectile, it will NOT chamber properly. I had one here yesterday that proved troublesome, it chambered the factory GECO rounds, but locked up on my std re-loaded rounds. I thought it was the base diameter that was the issue, nope, case mouth diameter with bullet seated was the culprit. I thought I'd be sneaky and run the Steyr reamer in and clean up the chamber, nope , Austrian steel was having no part of that . That stuff is HARD, the reamer would not bite, a new second cut file slid right off the barrel any place I tried to do a test cut. So, my previous opinion on the suitability of largo and such brass for the Steyr chamberings holds true in the Sub-gun, not so much in the 1912 Steyr pistol. This may vary in different 1912 guns, cant say for sure, your mileage may vary.

[toot]

guy's thank's for the renewal input of my question originally posted, 07-06-18. this all has been and still is a great help to my query I originally posted.

[SOFMatchstaff]

Well, I ended up with the Romanian contract Steyr Hahn and got to work on the brass issue. I found that a lot of Starline 9mm Largo that I have had stashed under the bench for years works well when it is sized in a 38 special die that has a Very flat bottom and almost no entry bevel. I end up with a nice straight .380 dia. case with just a very slight ring at the bottom at .384 above the extractor cut. I have a bunch of 115 jacketed HP that came in undersize enough at .354 to work without expanding the neck dia. when seated to 1.280 coal.

I trimmed off a shell holder to get the case a tad farther into the die get rid of the problem bulge on the first batch, worked great until the rim pulled off the lip on the of the modified holder. Not enough lube for the steel die, oops. I then decided to try one in the rl1050 set up for std 38 super/sub-gun Steyr ammo, replaced the super die with the 38 spec. die, wasn't to sure the shell plate would be thin enough to get what I needed, but it worked well when chamber checked. Now its just a matter of a size die change in the Dillon and the 1912 spec ammo is available quickly. There is still an issue with the neck wall thickness in the super comp and other 38 super brass that I have tried, interesting how a couple of thousandths will lock up this particular chambering. Now to get to test fire the loads. I just turned out a new barrel for the MP34 in parabellum, so its up for a full mag test fire also, worked well on single shot in the trap, now for the giggle switch run....

[RED BEAR]

Starline has 9mm steyr brass 500 for $101.