Reloading and cast boolits for a 9mm revolver?

[1187Shooter]

Looking for some input... I'm just starting to get into Reloading and casting, and figured I might as well do it for all of my guns... I have a little Taurus m905 9mm that has been a great little shooter but I've only ever put factory target and SD rounds through it. It's my only 9mm, and being a revolver I figured (maybe incorrectly, ) that I should have a little more leeway when reloading for it... not having to worry about feed issues or cycling the action etc.
Anyone reload specifically for a 9mm revolver? They're not the most popular but there are a few out there...

[Dan Cash]

Don't know why not. As with other calibers, make sure that your bullets fit the chamber throats and that the chamber throats are larger than the bore. Other than that, load as you would for an auto loader.

[376Steyr]

I assume you're interested in extra light loads that wouldn't cycle an auto's action, and odd bullet shapes that would never feed in an auto. No firsthand experience here, but I would warn you that the 9mm has a relatively small case volume, and a bullet that seats deeper than the standard 9mm fare could run up pressures in a hurry.

[williamwaco]

Don't load a large quantity of ammo that will not function in an auto. Sooner or later you WILL want to use it in an auto.

Other than that you can do pretty much anything you want. but the 9mm is already a high pressure cartridge ( 35,000 PSI ) do not think you can load hotter in the revolver. stick with normal published powder charges.

[1187Shooter]

376Steyr is correct, I'm mainly interested in lighter loads and maybe playing with different types of boolits. This gun is mostly a novelty for me. I've carried it before but now carry a .357 mainly. It's a fun range toy and dirt clod buster, but it might make a good up close pig dispatcher with the right load.
Being a Taurus, I don't have any desire to up the pressures at all... if it were a Ruger, I wouldn't be so hesitant. A Speed Six in 9mm would be a great little package.

[gwpercle]

I don't load for 9mm revolver but do so for a 45 acp revolver . You are correct about flexibility.
Use any shape boolit , wadcutter, semi-wadcutter..... the sky's the limit . Any powder charge that gets the bullet clear of the barrel . You don't have to chase brass all over the place . That's gotten important with me and my old back.
My 45 acp is a Taurus 455 , I use standard 45 acp and auto-rim load data for it. No reason not to use standard data for your 9mm , just don't try to make a magnum out of it.
If I were going hog hunting , that 41 magnum in my avatar would be my choice , with a near max load and heavy cast boolits. Hogs get mean when wounded and I'm not good at tree climbing any more.
Gary

[jmort]

I have two Ruger LCR 9mm revolvers. Really like those guns. Aside from diameter, I go .358" you really have nothing to worry about if it does not exceed the OAL of the cylinder. Moon-clips are cool.

[tazman]

I have a S&W 929(N frame, 8 shot revolver). It uses moon clips to hold the rounds for loading into the cylinder.
I have been loading some light loads for it just to see if accuracy improved. It did.
So far I have only used standard 9mm shaped boolits, but in the near future I am going to try some light weight wadcutters and other such boolits just to see how they work. I expect the wadcutters to shoot quite well.
The only issue is that some flatter nose profiles don't load into the cylinder as easily a the round nose or TC types do.
Depending on how your cylinder is throated, you may be able to use a much longer OAL than normally used for semi auto pistols. In my 929, I can use any length that will keep the boolit in the case because of the cylinder length.

[1187Shooter]

A 41 or 44 would be my preference for a handgun as well, if I were just hunting with a handgun, I'm thinking more along the lines of dispatching trapped or wounded critters, my primary hog guns are a .44 Ruger Carbine and a sporterized .303 No.4...
Thanks for the tip on reloading for your .45acp. That's the kind of info I'm looking for.
Jmort I didn't know the LCR came in 9mm... that would be a great little carry package...

[Thumbcocker]

I have heard of folks cutting .38 special brass to 9mm length to get around using moon clips but have never done it myself.

[tazman]

I have heard of folks cutting .38 special brass to 9mm length to get around using moon clips but have never done it myself.

There is an issue to doing that with my revolver. The cylinder doesn't headspace on the case mouth. It headspaces with the moon clip. The chamber doesn't have a ledge where the case mouth would be. The chamber walls are tapered rather slowly to the throats. The 9mm case will drop entirely inside the chamber before it stops.
I am not certain the rim of the cut down 38 special would would get the primer close enough to the firing pin to set the cartridge off. There is room between the cylinder and frame for the moon clip and the extractor rim of the case. Much thicker than the rim of the 38 special case.
I can't say how the Rugers are set up. I never held one.
I shot a Taurus 9mm revolver once that had the headspace set on the case mouth. It could be shot without the moon clips if you wished. I put an entire box of ammo through it that way.

[runfiverun]

best way to find out is to try a case or two.
in my 30 carbine I could use 32-20 brass but not 25-20 because of the rim thickness.
maybe some 38 would work and would get you some more case length to work with.

anyway I'm running 3,2 grs of red-dot and bulls-eye both in my 9m's under a cast 130gr boolit.
I have run a 125gr rnfp in them before but the oal was super short [for feeding/chambering] you might be able to get away with a rnfp, or long seating a swc like the lee 100 or 120gr.
that gives you more case volume to work with.

[tazman]

The major point of this revolver for me was to have a great quality/dependable revolver that would shoot 9mm. If the antis get the semi-auto handguns outlawed, I would still have my revolver and a good excuse to have 9mm ammo in the house when they couldn't find my semi-autos.
Beside, it is a very fun gun to shoot.

[1187Shooter]

My m905 headspaces on the case mouth, so I can load without the clips, but it's just a bit slower to reload. Its a good thing because the Taurus 9mm clips are really flimsy and unreliable.
Since it doesn''t need the clips, I wouldn't need to try to cut down .38 cases, but I may give it a try just to see.
This is all encouraging, maybe this will give this little popgun a new lease on life...

[1187Shooter]

Tazman, what barrel length is your 929, and what kind of groups are you getting?

[tazman]

Barrel length is 6.5 inches.
Groups are a good as I can shoot with any other revolver. My eyes and nerves are no longer conducive to tight groups. Rested at 20 yards I am getting groups about 2 inches. Offhand, I get about 2.5-3 inches at 10 yards.

[1187Shooter]

Mine is a little snubby 2" barrel. Does really good offhand out to 10 yards or so but the short sight radius is not conducive to precision shooting. Not to mention it's DAO, as well.
It is a very fun gun to shoot though.

[gunarea]

Hey 1187Shooter

I have a Ruger Blackhawk with a 9mm cylinder. The 6.5 inch barrel performs better than with its sister cylinder in 357. Not so much in accuracy as in efficiency. For Lawnsteel, a Lyman cowboy 160gr slug sized at .357 held accuracy out at 70+yds comparable to my other loads in both 38 special and 357. In its first public outing, game 2 was perfect. This was accomplished using the new, completely stock and with nothing but a rear sight adjustment. To maintain similar chronograph speeds, the 9mm requires less of a propellant charge. In the Blackhawk, cylinder throat length is much greater and lends itself to the improved efficiency. My choice of 9mm revolver was also hinged on not using clips of any kind. Loading for my Blackhawk is very simple in all calibers and I don't expect it will ever see anything but home cast projectiles. Although originally acquired as more of a novelty, it has proven itself to be a quality performer. Low cost brass and reduced propellant consumption will offset the additional cost of the cylinder in good time. To date I have not done any extensive accuracy testing with anything of traditional 9mm fare. Good skill to you.
Roy

[tazman]

gunarea-----I also have the Ruger Blackhawk with the 9mm conversion cylinder. I haven't done much testing with the 9mm cylinder beyond checking for basic function and impact point. I have been concentrating on 357 loads.
Your comments about the cartridge's efficiency are spot on.
Perhaps I need to get it out and do some work with it.

[gunarea]

Hey tazman
You should definitely get into exploring the advantages. For Lawnsteel, velocity and projectile weight are governing factors of the competition divisions. Maintaining a given muzzle velocity across the caliber spectrum make sight adjustments a non issue. The humble little nine does this with a 21% propellant decrease over the 38 load to maintain identical velocity. 9mm brass is basically free for those who bend over and pick it up. My tumbler holds half again as much 9 brass in a single load. I hope you are as pleasantly surprised with your Blackhawk, as I.
Roy

[1187Shooter]

This is making me want to get another Blackhawk. I've owned and traded several over the years, in .357 and .44 but never had a convertible. A Vaquero in 9mm would be ideal. I seem to remember the old large frame Vaquero may have been offered as a 357/9mm package, but the new Vaquero won't take a regular BH cylinder. My .44 old model Vaquero was hands down my favorite SA revolver. I regret trading it, but at the time, it was what I needed to do. I'm notorious for trading guns and guitars like Baseball Cards, drives my wife nuts.
Off to browse the local listings...