semi auto cartridge length

Brutus · March 29, 2013, 03:38 PM

Dropped about $200 on premium 9mm offerings because they were available (might be gone tomorrow).
As a side note upon arriving home, out of curiosity, I measured the overall lengths of my premium ammo purchases with the following results:
1. Corbon 124gr +P JHP =1.040.
2. Remington 124gr. +P =1.130
3. Speer 124gr Gold dot =1.126
4. Hornady 124gr. Tap JHP =1.065
5. Federal Hydrashock124gr. JHP =1.102

That's a max deviation of 3/32 of an inch (2,25mm for you non American thinkers) Does anyone know if a standard exists for the overall length of a given auto pistol cartridge?
I got FTF with the short Corbons in a CZ PCR.
Fed just fine in my CZ 85 combat

**Aguila Blanca** · March 29, 2013, 03:45 PM

Standards? You vant schtandards?

http://www.saami.org/specifications_...tion/index.cfm

CurlyQ.Howard · March 29, 2013, 05:42 PM

Aguila Blanca, Thanks for the link. That sporting ammunition and the firefighter video was really excellent - both well produced and extremely interesting. For those who are interested, here's the link:
http://www.saami.org/videos/sporting...irefighter.cfm

LarryFlew · March 29, 2013, 06:27 PM

Since 9mm have many different ogives the total lengths will be different based on where the bullet might touch the rifling and typically CZ likes them short.

mete · March 29, 2013, 06:31 PM

One of my old reloading books I had said that the 9mm Parabellum[luger] had greater dimension variation than any other cartridge !!! Remember that the 9mm has been made by a large number of countries all with different specs. SAAMI is a much more recent spec !

**44 AMP** · March 31, 2013, 01:24 PM

9mm Luger max overall length (w/bullet) 1.169".

This information is from an old Lyman handloading manual.

In Theory, any round this length or less should fit in the magazine and feed.

Of course, your particular gun may think otherwise.

wpsdlrg · March 31, 2013, 01:43 PM

One "standard" COL ? Ha ha..... if only it actually worked that way.

Reality is that COL needed for reliable feeding, with different brands and models of 9mm pistols, will be all over the place.

Case in point: My Stoeger (nee Beretta) is marvelously tolerant of COL differences. Depending on bullet shape, it will feed almost any COL - as long as the round will fit in the magazine. On the other hand, I've now had two successive S&W 3rd generation pistols that will feed jamb anything, except a RN bullet, if the COL is longer than 1.09" - period. My Sig Sauer is even more finicky. It will feed jamb with COL's that the Stoeger and S&W's like just fine.

Go figure. So, I load to the longest COL I can, which will function in all. Fortunately, since I am loading only cast bullets at this point, I am not loading anywhere near max. pressure for the cartridge - so I can get away with this without any "drama".

745SW · March 31, 2013, 02:57 PM

Here are the 9mm cartridges I currently have giving the OAL and the OAL fluctuation using a sample size of three or more. My pistols are Glock 19C, Walther P5 and Ruger P89 DC. No known issues of these cartridges with these pistols. Measurements taken using a Mitutoyo 6” dial caliper.

1. Geco FMJ 124gr, 1.155 +/- 0.005
2. Federal JHP Hi-Shok 147gr, 1.103 +/- 0.003
3. WWB bulk pk FMJ 115gr, 1.164 +/- 0.004
4. RWS FMJ 124gr, 1.154 +/- 0.004

March 29, 2013, 03:38 PM	#1
Brutus Senior Member Join Date: September 11, 2005 Posts: 1,023	semi auto cartridge length Dropped about $200 on premium 9mm offerings because they were available (might be gone tomorrow). As a side note upon arriving home, out of curiosity, I measured the overall lengths of my premium ammo purchases with the following results: 1. Corbon 124gr +P JHP =1.040. 2. Remington 124gr. +P =1.130 3. Speer 124gr Gold dot =1.126 4. Hornady 124gr. Tap JHP =1.065 5. Federal Hydrashock124gr. JHP =1.102 That's a max deviation of 3/32 of an inch (2,25mm for you non American thinkers) Does anyone know if a standard exists for the overall length of a given auto pistol cartridge? I got FTF with the short Corbons in a CZ PCR. Fed just fine in my CZ 85 combat

March 29, 2013, 06:31 PM	#5
mete Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2004 Location: NY State Posts: 6,575	One of my old reloading books I had said that the 9mm Parabellum[luger] had greater dimension variation than any other cartridge !!! Remember that the 9mm has been made by a large number of countries all with different specs. SAAMI is a much more recent spec ! __________________ And Watson , bring your revolver !

March 31, 2013, 01:24 PM	#6
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,844	9mm Luger max overall length (w/bullet) 1.169". This information is from an old Lyman handloading manual. In Theory, any round this length or less should fit in the magazine and feed. Of course, your particular gun may think otherwise. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

March 29, 2013, 03:45 PM	#2
Aguila Blanca Staff Join Date: September 25, 2008 Location: CONUS Posts: 18,468	Standards? You vant schtandards? http://www.saami.org/specifications_...tion/index.cfm

March 29, 2013, 05:42 PM	#3
CurlyQ.Howard Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2012 Posts: 280	Aguila Blanca, Thanks for the link. That sporting ammunition and the firefighter video was really excellent - both well produced and extremely interesting. For those who are interested, here's the link: http://www.saami.org/videos/sporting...irefighter.cfm

March 29, 2013, 06:27 PM	#4
LarryFlew Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2009 Location: Minnesota CZ fan Posts: 902	Since 9mm have many different ogives the total lengths will be different based on where the bullet might touch the rifling and typically CZ likes them short.

March 31, 2013, 01:43 PM	#7
wpsdlrg Senior Member Join Date: August 18, 2009 Posts: 826	One "standard" COL ? Ha ha..... if only it actually worked that way. Reality is that COL needed for reliable feeding, with different brands and models of 9mm pistols, will be all over the place. Case in point: My Stoeger (nee Beretta) is marvelously tolerant of COL differences. Depending on bullet shape, it will feed almost any COL - as long as the round will fit in the magazine. On the other hand, I've now had two successive S&W 3rd generation pistols that will feed jamb anything, except a RN bullet, if the COL is longer than 1.09" - period. My Sig Sauer is even more finicky. It will feed jamb with COL's that the Stoeger and S&W's like just fine. Go figure. So, I load to the longest COL I can, which will function in all. Fortunately, since I am loading only cast bullets at this point, I am not loading anywhere near max. pressure for the cartridge - so I can get away with this without any "drama".

March 31, 2013, 02:57 PM	#8
745SW Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2011 Location: California Posts: 776	Here are the 9mm cartridges I currently have giving the OAL and the OAL fluctuation using a sample size of three or more. My pistols are Glock 19C, Walther P5 and Ruger P89 DC. No known issues of these cartridges with these pistols. Measurements taken using a Mitutoyo 6” dial caliper. 1. Geco FMJ 124gr, 1.155 +/- 0.005 2. Federal JHP Hi-Shok 147gr, 1.103 +/- 0.003 3. WWB bulk pk FMJ 115gr, 1.164 +/- 0.004 4. RWS FMJ 124gr, 1.154 +/- 0.004