Loading for multiple handguns chambered for the same cartridge

[tazman]

This is going to be a question of personal preference. There is no really right or wrong answer to this. It will all depend on where your preferences lie and how much patience you have.

Assuming you have multiple guns in each pistol caliber you own, do you prefer to load for the maximum accuracy in each handgun you have or do you want to have ammunition that works reasonably well in all the guns you have in each chambering?

I tend to load ammo that will work in every handgun I have chambered in a particular cartridge. I like to be able to just grab some ammo and not worry about which gun it fits. I have a couple of guns that are special enough that I load ammo that they like particularly well but even this ammo will work n the other guns I own with the same chambering.

I have an older model 60 S&W chambered for 38 Special that wasn't made to normal specs. Everything is undersize, from the throats, all the way out the barrel.
The throats measure .356. The groove diameter of the barrel is just a shade under .355.
I can run some really small diameter boolits in this revolver without leading.
I just run normal sized boolits in it because I never know which gun I am going to be shooting and that revolver is the only one I have with that situation. It shoots well enough with .358 boolits that I can't tell the difference on the target. Perhaps a better shot could tell, but I am not a better shot.
I also have a pre model 14, K frame Target Masterpiece that has every spec perfect. All the throats are .358 and the groove diameter is .357. Wonderful old gun. It likes everything that is .357 and larger.
I still size everything to .358 and go from there because they work in my revolvers.
Since I have so many different 38 Special revolvers, I NEVER push the envelope on pressure in them. I have 357 magnum revolvers for that.

I have 8 different 9mm handguns in everything from a revolver to a pair of 1911s to a Taurus PT92 and a couple of plastic fantastics.
The groove diameters run from .357 to .354 depending on which gun you are talking about. The tightest chamber will accept a .357 sized boolit(barely).
The boolit designs I use allow me to use the .357 in all the chambers without jamming into the rifling. Either truncated cone or stepped round nose boolits.
The accuracy varies a lot as you might expect, but the ammo functions in all of them.
The Taurus guns have Beretta M9 barrels in them. Those are the large groove diameter barrels and the chambers will feed boolits up to .360 without issue. I use .357 in those also but I expect I am bumping those up when they are fired. They are surprisingly accurate with this setup.
The Springfield Range Officer has a tight chamber and bore. I need to make sure everything is right. No sloppy reloads here.
It will still shoot the ammunition for the other pistols but I get an occasional jam when things aren't quite right.
Then there is the S&W 929 revolver. There are no throats to worry about since the chamber doesn't headspace on the case mouth. It tapers from the front of the cartridge right out the cylinder. It will accept nearly anything you can stuff into a 9mm case and doesn't care what the OAL is since there is no rifling to run into inside the cylinder.

My mistake came when I purchased the Taurus pistols first and loaded a bunch of ammo for their generous chambers in those Beretta barrels. I got sloppy because they just didn't care. Now I have a bunch of ammo I can only shoot in those pistols. I have to keep that stuff separate from all the rest and only use it in those guns or the 929.
All the ammo I load now will work in any of the 9mm guns I have.

My 45ACP pistols all have the same groove diameters but have different chamber dimensions. A couple have match chambers.
Everything I load is made for the match chambers and it will run in any of the others. Fortunately, none of my pistols care about nose shape and will feed everything I have run through them. I used to have a couple of 45ACP pistols that would not feed certain boolit shapes due to a design flaw. They went down the road.

I only have one 40S&W pistol so I don't have to worry about different dimensions there. I don't really shoot it much anyway.

Experience has been an interesting teacher.

[JWFilips]

All comes down to all guns are Different! I have 3 ...S&W 357 mags and all need a bit of & some TLC ...if you want them to shoot the same

[Bazoo]

I do both. I load ammo that fits everything, but I also work specific loads out for the gun if I like the gun. If I don't like the gun I trade it normally.

[Petrol & Powder]

For revolvers chambered in 38 Special my answer is, "I generally load cartridges for the entire lot of guns, with a caveat". My S&W revolvers are all pretty similar in terms of dimensions of throats and bore diameters. Most of my Ruger DA revolvers are close enough. I have had some GP-100 revolvers that were not (one in particular). However, Colt revolvers are a game all unto themselves.

45 ACP platforms will generally get by with a standard load, assuming it will feed and chamber. With a 200 gr SWC this is almost never a problem.

NOW, the REAL PROBLEM children are the 9mm pistols. I have not been able to find a single cast bullet load that will work in all of my 9mm pistols. I can get jacketed bullets to work in most guns, the problem appears with cast bullet loads.
9mm barrel dimensions are all over the map. Loads that will feed and function in all of my pistols are inaccurate in some. Loads that are accurate in some guns will not feed and function in others. So, when it comes to 9mm pistols, I'm forced to load to the individual pistol.

So may official answer is,....." IT DEPENDS... "

edit: my older Ruger DA revolvers seem to be a little more consistent and closer to S&W specs. Not sure if that is a function of better quality control or just a fluke in my pack.

I was sizing my 38 Special bullets to .358" but found .357" was a better fit to almost all of my S&W throats and most of my Ruger cylinders. That seems to result in less leading and better accuracy.

[Larry Gibson]

Pretty much agree with Petrol & Powder.

I have "generic" loads for all my handgun cartridges that shoot just fine in all of the handguns I have for the particular cartridge. That includes target level loads, mid range loads and +P or magnum level loads. Some that come to mind are;
3 gr Bullseye under 85 - 90 gr cast in 32 S&WL and 3.2 gr in the 32 H&R,
3.5 gr Bullseye under a 150 to 160 gr SWC in 38 SPL,
4 gr of Bullseye, 6 gr Unique under a 158 SWC or 14 gr 2400 under a GC'd 358156 in the 357 magnum,
2.5 gr Bullseye under a 105 gr SWC in the 380 ACP,
4 gr Bullseye under a 115- 124 gr cast in the 9mm [I've not found any 9mm handgun that won't shoot 4 gr Bullseye under the Lee 120 gr TC quite well],
6 gr Bullseye or 8.5 gr Unique under the Lee 210 gr TL SWC in the 41 magnum,
5 gr Bullseye under a 240 SWC in the 44 SPL
6 gr Bullseye, 8.5 gr Unique or 22 gr 2400 under a 250 gr Keith SWC,
5 gr Bullseye under a 195 - 230 gr cast bullet or 7.5 gr under a 200 gr cast bullet in the 45 ACP [for use in ACP or AR cases in semi auto or revolvers],
7.5 gr Bullseye under a 200 gr cast SWC or RNFP or 8.5 gr Unique under a 250 SWC or RNFP in the 45 Colt.

My top end higher performance loads used for hunting are most often for the individual handgun.

[RJM52]

Guess I have a combination of both....

I have loads that will run in just about all the guns of a specific caliber but have specialty rounds that won't either because they exceed the maximum LOA for a certain gun or are maximized for a certain gun and while not "dangerous" to shoot in one of the other guns will wear both the gun and user out a lot faster than a standard load.

Bob

[MT Gianni]

I have 2 40 S&W that take different diameter bullets. I went to a lee 140 gr so I can easily distinguish them.

[onelight]

My auto pistol loads , and most of my revolver loads fit and work in them all at least the ones I have now I also have settled on a stepped RN for 9mm because of they will chamber in all of mine for these fit all loads . I use a 200 grain rnfp with a crimp groove that works in all my autos and 45 colt I buy the bullets for this style load now Hi-Tek coated and the loads for them are all light to medium levels . My cast I use for loads that are tailored to a specific gun but may work in more than one mainly revolver loads and most in the 800 to 1050 FPS range. But do have some GC molds/loads for magnum revolvers.

[shooting on a shoestring]

When I was a kid and had only 1 Model 19, life was easy (and FUN).
As the years rolled past and stray revolvers began hanging around my house problems arose with those pesky dimensions.

My answer was to size all my 38/357 boolits to 0.359”.

I bought a chucking reamer for 0.359” and a flexihone.
Any 38/357 revolver of mine with throats that were smaller than 0.358” got corrected.

Once again life got easy.

[Mk42gunner]

Until recently it wasn't a problem for me since I tended to only have one handgun in each caliber. Then I found a second Ruger SSM. And then the delightful little I frames in .32 S&W Long.

An increase in disposable income has seen an increase in both .38 Special and .357 Magnum revolvers that reside here.

As a result, I tend to make loads that work in all guns, i.e. a standard load for the caliber.

Rifles on the other hand, tend to get specific loads for specific guns. This was brought about by the approximately ¼" difference in seating depth between a No 2A Ishapore Enfield and a 7.62 NATO Parker-Hale Mouser barrel.

Robert

[Pete44mag]

Like to tinker. Every one of my guns has its own specific load that shoots the most accurate. I also clean my brass nice and shiny. It's that OCD thing I can't help.

[bimus]

The load I used in all 45 ACP pistols worked great till I wanted to use them in a UZI 45 they where a little weak for the blow back action and I started working on a load that worked well in both and had to change to BE 86 powder .

[FergusonTO35]

My ammo will work in any gun I own with the same chambering, however I do have favorites for each one. Sadly, my new Ruger PC Carbine does not like the Lee 356-120-TC at all. It loves the 358-125-RF though, which is fine because my Marlin 1894 .357 likes 'em too.

[EMC45]

All my S&W .38 Special revolvers will shoot the 158gr. Lee RNFP over 3gr. Bullseye better than I can.

[dverna]

When loading for pistols, I would rather compromise a bit on accuracy than tailor a round to optimize accuracy in a specific gun. 100% reliability is far more important for my needs than a smaller group at 50 yards. But I do not hunt with them and run factory ammunition for SD. I have seven .38/.357's and all use the same load. I may add a .38 +P+ load this year.

Only one load for the 9mm's, and.40's. I am getting out of shooting much .45, but it only had one load.

I am with Taz....prefer being able to pick up a box of ammunition and not worrying about which gun uses it. And I am lazy. Once I am set up for a decent load, I just want to crank it out.

[RonIa]

I keep notes and set up rounds ( empty no primer ) for each gun that way I always have a reference for seating and notes for the powder charge I load for (45 acp 1911 / model 25) 44 magnum -38 short colt 38 sp. 357 -9mm with cast and jacketed bullets
Ron

[charlie b]

.45acp I loaded mid-range and one that would cycle in very pistol, including my father-in-laws two pistols. They were most accurate in his Nat Match model but my custom 1911 would come close. I had a Ruger BH in .45LC with a .45acp cylinder. It shot the loads ok, but, not great.

The .357's were all for best accuracy in the Colt DA. The SP101 didn't care much. Father-in-laws SAA didn't do as well with those hot loads and his Marlin didn't do that well either. He made some special loads for the Marlin and put them in nickel cases so we could tell them apart. That was a deal that irritated him. He bought the SAA and Marlin so he could have one load for those and the Colt DA. He eventually sold off the Marlin (he still had his 94Win in .30-30). He kept the SAA and I kept the DA.

So, yes, I load so at least one of the guns will have decent accuracy and ALL will function reliably.

[Winger Ed.]

My situation is more simple than yours:

I've only got a couple in each caliber.
I load all my .38DEWC to do the best in a S&W model 52, but also fit the revolver.
Then a Keith style SWC for the revolver, and the rifle.

When I got the .357 rifle, and pumped up the GC SWCs for it, I sold off the .357 handguns to avoid any ammo 'confusion'.

In .45ACP, I load a accurate cast for one, but they also work in the other.
For the other, I load the most accurate hard ball, and they work in the other if I change the spring.

[tazman]

All my S&W .38 Special revolvers will shoot the 158gr. Lee RNFP over 3gr. Bullseye better than I can.

If you get a chance, try that 3 grain powder charge under a 125 grain rnfp. It shoots great in my handguns albeit a little low. Recoil about like a 22lr.
Probably about 700fps.

[Drm50]

Some of mine the same. K38s all same, I have found the 45s like different loads. Most all my revolver loads are target WCs but have a 61/2” and 83/8” tuned for two different cast bullets and powder loads.