[oxbow]

I just bought a ruger 357/9mm convertible.

I was thinking it would be a good ideal to use 357 bullets in the 9mm brass.

My resoning, wouldn't have the 0.002" slop in the common barrel.

Is this a good ideal or not?

Thanks

 

[Barenjager]

Unless you have no access what-so-ever to .357 or .38 Special brass, I don't understand why you'd even bother to reload 9mm cases for this revolver.

Roe

 

[njcioffi]

Your reasoning seems pretty sound to me. Though I would stick to the lightest of .357 projectiles. I would think that a 158 would take up too much real estate inside the case.

 

[CtYankee]

In the days of the 2nd Ed. Hornady reloading book (1970's) there was a paucity of 9mm bullets and the book listed loads for 125 grn .357 bullets. I load 125 gr. .357 bullets for the stock barrel of my Beretta 92; Berettas tend to have large barrel dia. (I also have a match barrel). I agree with njcioffi, 158 gr. seems a little heavy, although I expect that it will chamber. Having a better bullet/rifling fit will help, but you will still have a longer case rim to forcing cone distance so I wouldn't expect your accuracy to improve by much.

 

[papajohn]

I think I'd slug the bore and mike the chamber throats before I decided on a course of action!

 

[swany]

Take your 9mm cylinder and see if a .357 bullet will drop through. Then seat a .357 in a 9mm case if bullet dropped through, then set it in the cylinder and see if it will go in all the way.

Human hair averages .008 that is only .002 or .001 per side.

I still do not understand convertible revolvers or shooting a shorter bullet in a long rifle chamber.

Myself if I had one, that 9mm cylinder would be new in the box the day I died.

If it's .357 that is what it will be, kind of like slipping in a short in case you see a rabbit when you're out grizzly hunting.

 

[TMan51]

Unless you have no access what-so-ever to .357 or .38 Special brass, I don't understand why you'd even bother to reload 9mm cases for this revolver.

Because it has a 9mm Cylinder?

I use .357/110gr HP's with 115gr bullet data, and 140gr Hornady Cowboy bullets with 147gr bullet data. It will improve accuracy dramatically.

I also played with 140gr Cowboy bullets and 1.7gr of Trail Boss. Noise and recoil is in the .22LR class from a Blackhawk, accuracy will surprise you.

What you need to be careful with, especially with the jacketed bullets, is having one wander into a friends 9mm.

The 9mm cylinder is an interesting accessory, and in a pinch could be used with marginal accuracy and 9mm bullets, at least that's the case in mine. I often consider having it rebored for a .357X.41 Magnum wildcat. Maybe someday.

 

[punk427]

The problem I see is going to be bullet selection...You have to keep in mind even though they have a close groove dia., chamber throats are very different. in most cases the 0-give on a 38/357 bullet is longer than that of a 9mm and the chamber is a little smaller so the heavier the bullet the further youll need to seat it so It will chamber, and lets face it, the 9mm doesn't have a lot of room for powder nor a reputation for being excessively accurate to begin with. I think your best bet is something in the 120gr area with a truncated cone. I would take a FIRED 9mm case and drill out the flash hole so the primer pocket is completely open, then take a small round or half round file and some sand paper to the inside of the cartridge until you can insert and remove the bullet you've selected by hand with slight resistance. When you've reached this point, push the bullet deep into the case by hand and place it in the cylinder chamber (out of the firearm of course). Be sure that the cartridge mouth is headspaceing on its own and the bullet not dragging in the chamber. Place the edge of your finger firmly over the edge of the rim of the cartridge to hold the case mouth tight against the chamber and using a short cleaning rod or drift pin push the bullet out of the cartridge lightly until you just feel it touch the chamber. carefully remove the cartridge and measure the oal being careful not to seat the bullet any further with your calibers. subtract about .005 and that will tell you where you need to seat your bullet. if its past the 0-give it isn't going to work.

 

[35remington]

PJ and Swany pretty much nailed this one. To some degree the dimensions are a compromise, with the barrel diameter likely favoring 38/357 but your confirmation is awaiting your measurements.

Punk, some measurements of throat diameter of both cylinders and barrel diameter would save him the trouble of doing all that.

 

[mister 270]

I am not sure its a bad idea i like the idea if i could get them both to shoot well i like the nine mil and the 357 mag so having a revolver that shoots both sounds great

 

[Smoke Jensen]

Not the best idea. Too much room in the case taken up by a bullet too big around and too long will cause pressure problems. This making it unsafe to fire. I wouldn't do it. The 9mm doesn't take well to compressed loads.

 

[TMan51]

Too much room in the case taken up by a bullet too big around and too long will cause pressure problems. This making it unsafe to fire. I wouldn't do it.

110gr bullets are the same length as a 115gr HP, or even a bit shorter in some examples, a 140gr lead bullet is shorter than a 147gr HP or RN as I measure the examples I have on hand.

Some of the 9mm cylinders sold with a Blackhawk shoot reasonably well with 9mm ammo, most do not. If you want accuracy, the only way to get that is to use a .357 diameter bullet. Pressures with any reasonable 9mm load will not even get close to stressing a Blackhawk. Anyone careless or stupid enough to feed them through a 9mm auto, is gonna die of stupid sooner than later anyway.

 

[oxbow]

Thanks for all the comments!

I will give it a try and see if accuracy is increased.

 

[Smoke Jensen]

Good luck. Be safe.