9MM Revolver Load

[TexasJackKin]

A friend of ours broke her wrist and was unable to rack the slide on her 9MM pistol, so she bought a 9MM revolver. However she is bothered by the recoil of the revolver, I told her I could load her some light loads for her revolver, but that they wouldn't work in her auto.

So, I get home and look in all my reloading books and can't find anything like what I'm looking for. I'm looking for something that won't get stuck in the barrel, and poke holes in the target at 10 yards.

I don't know what kind of revolver she got, or how long the barrel is (I can ask the next time I see her)

Any ideas?

[jericho89]

First off it is very hard to get a bullet stuck in the barrel of a revolver.
Anything over a primer load will push through. You will not find much since the 9mm round is for semi auto pistols.
What I would recommend is a ladder load but work from minimum down. Make a cylinder amount of each and depending on what powder you are using go down a few grains each load. Start with the highest one and have her shoot. Keep going down the ladder till she finds one that works best for her.
Obviously making sure that the first load of each cylinder clears the barrel.

[McGuiver]

A friend of ours broke her wrist and was unable to rack the slide on her 9MM pistol, so she bought a 9MM revolver. However she is bothered by the recoil of the revolver, I told her I could load her some light loads for her revolver, but that they wouldn't work in her auto.



So, I get home and look in all my reloading books and can't find anything like what I'm looking for. I'm looking for something that won't get stuck in the barrel, and poke holes in the target at 10 yards.



I don't know what kind of revolver she got, or how long the barrel is (I can ask the next time I see her)



Any ideas?

Trail Boss powder in the 9mm case. I shot some from my G17. Wouldn't cycle the semi auto, but very light shooters. Will shoot thru a revolver no problem. You could load 100gr 380 size lead bullets in 9mm case with Trail Boss powder. PM me if you want help with this.


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[Whiterabbit]

Post 3 nailed it. You are shooting 10 yards, so everything is going to group just fine. As long as you can cough that bullet out of the barrel it's going to shoot great. Trailboss is great, like a 38 super-special. Any cheap bullet.

Lots of loads here too:

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-661252.html

[TexasJackKin]

Thanks for all the good information. After doing some more looking around, I think I'll load a .380 load in a 9MM case. My Lyman 49th edition shows 2.0 grains of Bullseye producing 711 FPS (for a .380) with a 115 grain bullit, it would seem to me that this should be safe to load in a 9MM case.

However, this goes against one of my rules I always give new loaders, "If you can't find an exact recipe, don't load it."

Thoughts?

[Bigtwin]

Don't know. I use 3gns of tight group in my .380.

[Eljay]

However, this goes against one of my rules I always give new loaders, "If you can't find an exact recipe, don't load it."

Thoughts?

I think that's excellent advice to new reloaders. I think there are a few times where you can ignore it and one of those is when you're trying to make a super light load. As long as you know what potential problems to look for (squibs, unburnt powder) you can go surprisingly light. They're below the suggested minimum for 9mm because they won't cycle a semi auto but if you look at a lot of classic 38 special target loads there's barely any powder in there.

[McGuiver]

9MM Revolver Load

I think that's excellent advice to new reloaders. I think there are a few times where you can ignore it and one of those is when you're trying to make a super light load. As long as you know what potential problems to look for (squibs, unburnt powder) you can go surprisingly light. They're below the suggested minimum for 9mm because they won't cycle a semi auto but if you look at a lot of classic 38 special target loads there's barely any powder in there.

Trail Boss powder is virtually idiot proof. As long as you don't compress it you can't go wrong. Also not for use in a muzzle loader that should only take Black Powder. I just loaded up some 357 mag & 38 spl loads with 148 grain wad-cutters. These things are powder puffs. Almost like shooting a 22.

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/pistol

Trail Boss general info...

http://www.imrpowder.com/PDF/Trail-Boss-data.pdf

I follow this data for my unknown loads using Trail Boss powder. For semi-autos I have done 380 acp, 9mm , 9mm Makarov, & 45 acp ammo all with Trail Boss powder. Only one to cycle all the time was the 45 acp with 230gr lead round nose bullets. Anything lighter in 45 acp would not cycle my G30sf. The 9mm Makarov would cycle semi-reliably, just not all the time. It was fun to shoot. With a revolver this is the powder you would like for powder puff rounds. It is the only powder that is white and looks like small doughnuts.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1461130396.037020.jpg

Loading 45 acp rounds with Trail Boss.


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[Eljay]

My only problem with the suggestion of using trail boss is that it's been nearly impossible to find the last couple of years.

[McGuiver]

I bought 2 pound containers (actually 9oz per container) about a month and a half ago. I went looking yesterday and they were out.


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[sargenv]

I'd suggest you try Titegroup since it's pretty much available these days. Using 380 auto data would be fine.. 2.0 - 2.5 gr of titegroup with a 115 should be just fine in a 9mm revolver. Titegroup being position insensitive would be my first choice.

[Eljay]

I bought 2 pound containers (actually 9oz per container) about a month and a half ago. I went looking yesterday and they were out.

That was just pure blind luck. There was a shipment around then. Cabelas had some for about 8 hours. Powder Valley never got any. The last shipment before then was a year before that.

[Volver]

If you are interested in buying, rather than loading your own, Load-X worked up some lower velocity 9mm stuff for me...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OyuZpO8Ph4

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1138063

http://loadxammo.com/

I am not affiliated with this company (other than buying his ammo)

[Hummer]

The easiest thing to do is keep the full power loads in revolver and train her to shoot it left handed. If she can hit a silhouette at 5 ft should protect her from most till her other arm gets better.

I just had to go through much the same. Right shoulder got tore up in wreck and it was a real pain for two years so I had to do stuff left handed. It is still giving me problems.

[pistolmania]

Thanks for all the good information. After doing some more looking around, I think I'll load a .380 load in a 9MM case. My Lyman 49th edition shows 2.0 grains of Bullseye producing 711 FPS (for a .380) with a 115 grain bullit, it would seem to me that this should be safe to load in a 9MM case.

However, this goes against one of my rules I always give new loaders, "If you can't find an exact recipe, don't load it."

Thoughts?

It's hard to find truly minimum loads in reloading books, especially for 9mm since loads are published for semi-auto applications. You will occasionally find recipes for "cowboy loads." I reload a lot of 38sp and my cowboy load is about 60% of a typical load. Work your way down from the minimum. Pay attention to signs like unburned powder and excess soot. I also like to do positional testing by tapping each cartridge to force the powder into a certain position in the case (against the head, against the bullet, etc.) just to see if there's any noticeable difference.