9mm Blackhawk

[HighValleyRanch]

I'm confused. So then can I load my LeHigh .355 90 grain bullets into .38 special cases?

[reynolds357]

Originally Posted by HighValleyRanch

I'm confused. So then can I load my LeHigh .355 90 grain bullets into .38 special cases?

Who knows?Makes no sense to me.

[44 AMP]

So then can I load my LeHigh .355 90 grain bullets into .38 special cases?

Sure, why not??? They'll fit.....

The rest will be the result of the specific relationships between the bullets, the cases, your load, and the gun you fire them from.

Might be a good idea, might not be. You'll have to test with what you have, and make up your own mind.

[74A95]

Originally Posted by HighValleyRanch

I'm confused. So then can I load my LeHigh .355 90 grain bullets into .38 special cases?

Yes, but neck tension is an issue because 38/357 brass is built around .357 bullets. smaller diameter bullets might 'fall' in the case. Remington brass tends to be thin, and can be a problem with undersize bullets.

I get around that by using a 38/357 Lee Undersize die. That shrinks them down about .002" smaller than the usual 38/357 sizing die, and that works well with .355 bullets in 38/357 brass.

Edit to add: I forgot to mention that I expand the case mouth with a 9mm flaring die. You can try a 38/357 flaring die and see if they still have enough tension to hold a .355 bullet.

[HighValleyRanch]

Thanks for the tip with the underszing die.
Also, for a while I was cutting the .38 cases down to .38 long and short colts, so maybe by cutting the case down, the thicker wall might hold the .355 bullet better as well.
I was doing that to see if I could get faster ejection with the short snubby rod, and faster reloads.

[zeke]

Would guess if you using bullets for 9mm, a 9mm die could be used to neck size a 38 case? Then a 9mm expander?

[stinkeypete]

I used to use a .38 Super die to just expand the neck of my .357 cases. It's okay to mess around.

It's also okay to slug your throat and barrel and see what you actually have.

But, once you are this deep into reloading, the idea of using 9mm seems like a whole lot of bother rather than just shooting .357.

[rclark]

Once you are this deep into reloading, the idea of using 9mm seems like a whole lot of bother rather than just shooting .357.

Yep. I Agree. You can load from ~600fps to ~1500fps if you reload in a .357 case. Who needs to load 9mm for the revolver? I also drew the same conclusion with .45 ACP. The semi-auto cartridge cylinders rarely get used. I've got the die sets to to load the semi-auto rounds too ... but no need to use them.

[rock185]

I don't have a Ransom Rest, but shooting my Ruger convertible from the bench at 25 yards, I could not determine that .357 was any more accurate than 9mm. If anything, I could sometimes do a little better with .38 +P, due to it's soft recoil in the big Blackhawk. Even standard pressure 9mm had more recoil than the 125-129 grain 38 +P I tested. The 9mm +P and +P+ I tested seemed to have recoil closer to .357 than .38+P.

[Drm50]

I bought a 357/9mm for my dad when they were first out. I had owned several 357s prior, but mine were all 3screw. Anyway dad got another 9mm cylinder and him and another gun nut who was a machinist modified it. My old man bragged with his 3 cylinders he could fire 33 different cartridges. I dd see him shooting 38Super, 380, and several kinds of 9mm. He was know to stretch things a mite, but he had them all wrote down on a index card if you cared to wager. Gun was tuned for moderate 158 cast SWC of which it did good job of slinging down range. It shot 9mm to different point of aim at 25yds.

[reynolds357]

Originally Posted by rclark

Yep. I Agree. You can load from ~600fps to ~1500fps if you reload in a .357 case. Who needs to load 9mm for the revolver? I also drew the same conclusion with .45 ACP. The semi-auto cartridge cylinders rarely get used. I've got the die sets to to load the semi-auto rounds too ... but no need to use them.

If you want to run cheap factory ammo, 9mm is the solution. I bought mine because it was cheaper with 2 cylinders than one. It is at Ruger now, hopefully being fixed.

[44 AMP]

I could sometimes do a little better with .38 +P, due to it's soft recoil in the big Blackhawk.

I don't understand how recoil, or lack of recoil could have any effect on accuracy, unless you are introducing some time factor into it.

[reynolds357]

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

I don't understand how recoil, or lack of recoil could have any effect on accuracy, unless you are introducing some time factor into it.

I wouldn't from a perspective of the gun. It can from the perspective of the shooter.

[44 AMP]

It can from the perspective of the shooter.

IF so, I would refer to that as a "flinch".

[reynolds357]

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

IF so, I would refer to that as a "flinch".

Exactly.

[44 AMP]

Some time back I was looking for a Ruger .357/9mm to compliment my .45 Colt/.45acp, but I found a pristine .357 Blackhawk for about half new retail, and it went home with me, I never got the convertible since it wasn't the priority, just something I was looking to get if I could.

Had I gotten the convertible, I'm sure it would have wound up being the same as my others, the main cylinder getting all the use and the spare just a few rounds, rarely, if ever.

[rclark]

Had I gotten the convertible, I'm sure it would have wound up being the same as my others, the main cylinder getting all the use and the spare just a few rounds, rarely, if ever.

You could have 'got one' when Lipsey's medium frame .357/9mm flattop was introduced. I jumped on that with both feet ... not because of the 9mm cylinder, but because it was on the proper medium frame, steel ejector housing and grip frame ... and the bonus of having a 5 1/2" barrel (my favorite barrel length). Not regretted that purchase. Like you alluded to, the 9mm cylinder stays in the gun rug. Shot a factory box of 9mm just to see if cylinder functioned and not used after that.

If you want to run cheap factory ammo, 9mm is the solution. I bought mine because it was cheaper with 2 cylinders than one. It is at Ruger now, hopefully being fixed.

I agree ... if shooting factory ammo, 9mm is going to be cheaper. Reloading though is a wash. What is wrong with your revolver???

Here is my .357/9mm tuned flattop:

[44 AMP]

You could have 'got one' when Lipsey's medium frame .357/9mm flattop was introduced.

I could have, but I didn't want one. I wanted a new model Blackhawk, not the flattop version, and found one with the 6.5" barrel I prefer over the shorter ones.

I originally wanted the Blackhawk with the 9mm cylinder so in addition to .357/38s so I would have something other than a semi auto that shot 9mm. And then, as luck would have it, I ran across what I consider the ultimate plinker/survival gun in 9mm, a 6" Contender barrel in 9mm Luger. It's also the most accurate 9mm pistol I've ever owned.

SO, my desire for the 9mm Blackhawk faded, as I had it covered all the way around.

[rclark]

Sounds like you have . So have I . That's all that matters. That's why there are so many 'varieties' of revolvers out there.

[arquebus357]

The slightly smaller 9mm bullet may be due to the 9mm Luger being a tapered case.

[44 AMP]

The slightly smaller 9mm bullet may be due to the 9mm Luger being a tapered case.

The slightly smaller bullet and the tapered case are due to the designer, Georg Luger.

Luger redesigned the Borchardt pistol, and created a new round for it, the .30 Luger. The German military wanted a bigger caliber bullet and in 1902 Luger "opened up" the .30 case to take a .35 caliber bullet, creating the 9mm Luger cartridge. Most of the histories mention how Luger chose it because it was the biggest thing he could get in the case and still work in his pistol.

But of course 120 years later, who can really say?

There was no attempt at any kind of commonality with the US or any other nation's pistol bore and bullet sizes.

[reynolds357]

Originally Posted by rclark

You could have 'got one' when Lipsey's medium frame .357/9mm flattop was introduced. I jumped on that with both feet ... not because of the 9mm cylinder, but because it was on the proper medium frame, steel ejector housing and grip frame ... and the bonus of having a 5 1/2" barrel (my favorite barrel length). Not regretted that purchase. Like you alluded to, the 9mm cylinder stays in the gun rug. Shot a factory box of 9mm just to see if cylinder functioned and not used after that.

I agree ... if shooting factory ammo, 9mm is going to be cheaper. Reloading though is a wash. What is wrong with your revolver???

Here is my .357/9mm tuned flattop:

The 9mm cylinder has One hole that regularly misfires and one that misfires about 25% of the time. Of course that is using anything except federal or Magytech primers. It light strikes those two but never misfires them. Headspace issue. Two chambers cut too deep.

[meaves]

Originally Posted by 74A95

The bore will not be oversized. 9mm and 38/357 have the exact same SAAMI groove specifications.

Huh?

.355 verses .357.


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[44 AMP]

Huh?

.355 verses .357.

ah,,,no, not exactly...

Those are the commonly used sizes, but if you look at the current SAAMI spec for bore size AND include the +/- tolerances they are both the same.

[warnerwh]

If the bores are the exact same specs then why do bullet manufacturers size 9mm jacketed to .355 and hardcast to .356? And then size .357 magnum jacketed bullets to .357 and hardcast to .358? Seems to me to get the best accuracy out of the two different rounds they would make the bullets the same diameter. Someone please explain. Thanks