9mm blackhawk questions

[crankycalico]

yeah there is a big change in accuracy due to the bullet to barrel diameter when using the 9mm cylinder in the 357 black hawk convertible.

Im wondering if 9mm does better with a really oversized cast bullet, or merely with a bullet that has a base that tends to expand better when it hits the forcing cone?

like say shooting a hollow base wadcutter in it.

[tazman]

A lot will depend on the diameter of the throats on that cylinder. If they are the smaller size designed for most 9mm handguns(.356 give or take) it won't matter what diameter boolit you run through the cylinder. The boolits will be sized down by the throats.
If the throats are larger, a larger boolit will be probably of great benefit.
This assumes the revolver shoots well with larger boolits in the 38/357 cylinder.

[Thumbcocker]

Doug guy will ream your 9mm cylinder to .358. Just send it in and have him do it. Believe me it will save you a lot of hair pulling and frustration with the 9mm cylinder. Get the Lee 125 rnfp mold and use it in .38 special, .357 and 9mm.

[Outpost75]

Cylinder throats of most Ruger 9mm revolvers are dimensioned for jacketed bullets, .355-.356". The very early convertible Blackhawks were .357-.358, but people complained they were inaccurate with cheap 9mm FMJ ammo people wanted to plink with...

A word of caution. IF you have a compact 9mm revolver such as an LCR or SP101 which you intend to carry for SD and you plan to shoot factory personal protection ammo for that purpose then you should LEAVE IT ALONE!

Use cheap FMJs for practice and NEVER shoot cast in it. Period!

BUT If you have a convertible Blackhawk you intend ONLY to hunt and plink with, and will NEVER carry it for SD or ever want to use factory ammo and expect decent accuracy, then having DougGuy ream the cylinder throats and chamfer the sharp edge of the chamber stop surface so that base upset with cast bullets will not drag little lead rings off the heel of the bullet! (The 3/8" ball chamfer tool from Brownell's accomplishes this by hand with a light touch). Then you can shoot cast bullets to your heart's content. Shooting factory jacketed 9mm ammo in larger cylinder throats WILL be less accurate than had you left it alone, about 3" vs. 2" groups at 25 yds. But that is OK for "minute of beer can" once you accept the fact that lighter bullets will shoot low.

Using 147-grain 9mm it will shoot closer to your sights if adjusted for common 158-grain .38 Special or .357 ammo.

Decide which you want to do.

[higgins]

A lot of newer 9mm/357 convertibles seem to run larger in the 9mm chamber mouths, say .358-.359. See if your 9mm chamber mouths slug about the same as the .357 chamber mouths. If that is the case research threads here about loading larger diameter bullets, even some of the right weight range for 9mm, that are intended for 38/357.

Also slug the bore of your 9mm pistol if you're loading for one of them too. You might be surprised to find a .357-.358 groove diameter in the 9mm. I too can recommend DougGuy if the chambers need reaming, but I'll venture a guess that they're bigger than standard 9mm bullets of .355-.356 diameter and do not need reaming unless you just want to even them up.

[Drm50]

I bought my Dad a Ruger BH 357/9mm when they were first out. He tried a lot of 9mm ammo but
none shot well enough to be practical. I think he threw 9mm cylinder away. We didn't load 9mm but
we did 38sp & 357mg. We could see no point in loading 9mm when it was easier just to use 38 or 357. The idea behind convertables is to be able to shoot another ammo, the whole point is lost if you
have to custom load for a secondary cartridge. About half the 22-22mgs are equally useless for accuracy.

[MT Gianni]

http://www.castpics.net/subsite2/ByFireArm/Cast%20in%20the%209mm%20Blackhawk.pdf

Beagle did it best.

[beagle]

When I put the first 6" 9mm Blackhawk through its paces, it was a finicky rascal as to seating depth. Last year I got the hankering for a 4 5/8" Blackhawk convertible. Hadn't had a chance to shoot 9mm in it until Thanksgiving this year when my son came in. We put about 3 boxes of cast 9mm through it. Evidently, Ruger has done something to their chambers dimensional wise as it performed flawlessly. Wish I could have the other one cut to these dimensions as they're right on the money. Darn thing is accurate too. I'm using .358" bullets in it, seating first and then a bump for a taper crimp./beagle

[Texas by God]

I always imagined rechambering the 9mm cylinder to 357-44 Bain&Davis and hunting with it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[welder_48340]

I have the 5.5 in barrel blackhawk Convertable. I use 9mm Lee 124 gr cast. I use the TL356 -124-2r and the TL-356 124-TC9 Will say the TC9 is more accurate. But both shoot well out of the pistol. I also shoot 38 \357 cast . Alas not enough time with those though for much input. Maybe I am lucky or just spend a lot of time adjusting my reloads but these 9mm also shoot very well in my Taurus 92 and 92 f .

[Forrest r]

yeah there is a big change in accuracy due to the bullet to barrel diameter when using the 9mm cylinder in the 357 black hawk convertible.

Im wondering if 9mm does better with a really oversized cast bullet, or merely with a bullet that has a base that tends to expand better when it hits the forcing cone?

like say shooting a hollow base wadcutter in it.

How was the high/low compared to the point of aim? In the handloader magazine #313/april 2018 they did an article on the ruger vaquero convertible with the 357 & 9mm cylinders. In that article they reported that the 9mm's hit 8.5" to 14" below the poa @ 25yds.

There's hb molds out there. Every now and then I cast some 35870 bullets with a custom hb pin to use in the 9mm. The single cavity mold takes forever to get a decent pile of bullet to make it worth while to load them. 50yd 10-shot groups with nm 1911
https://i.imgur.com/77VoPsa.jpg

I tried cast 148gr hbwc's in the 9mm. My problem was I had to seat them too deep in the cases because of the firearms I have chambered in 9mm. I'm sure they would work in a 9mm revolver.

[welder_48340]

Mine are a pretty consistent 5 to 6 " low at 25 yrs. Right on at 10 yrs. Which is what I did a lot of last yr was the 10 yards. Since I received the 986 9mm revolver last week I will start doing 25 yrs. I am hoping to go fri if the weather is not to shabby.

[crankycalico]

How hard would it be to turn the 9mm cylinder into something more useful like a 38 sw?

[MT Gianni]

I cannot conceive how a 38 S&W would be more useful than a 9mm. Free cases, lower bullet weights, faster loads all add up to a much more useful gun.

[Outpost75]

How hard would it be to turn the 9mm cylinder into something more useful like a 38 sw?

Real easy. My S&W Model 940 stainless Centennial J-frame can use 9mm ammo with moon clips or .38 S&W without.

233508233509233510233511

[crankycalico]

Have any load data that will let a 9mm push a 200 grain bullet?

[Outpost75]

Have any load data that will let a 9mm push a 200 grain bullet?

In revolver ONLY!

http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=36-200T-D.png

and 2.5 grains of Bullseye. DO NOT EXCEED!

DO NOT INCREASE SEATING DEPTH beyond base-to-crimp groove of this bullet.

[KVO]

Powder coat them and you can do silly stuff like this. FWIW I opened my cylinder throats up to .358"
233520

[crankycalico]

I know I was merely being snarky, but ooooh boy. What kind of velocity are you guys getting?

And how would you consider that as a bear defense load for 5-600 pound black bears

And how do you guys feel that stacks up against the traditional 200 grain loads in 38 sw, and 38 special and 357?

[FergusonTO35]

Real easy. My S&W Model 940 stainless Centennial J-frame can use 9mm ammo with moon clips or .38 S&W without.

233508233509233510233511

Sweet! Do you know if this is the case in most 9mm revolvers?