Abilene Al, SASS #72248 Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 Can these lead bullets be interchanged, I have hundreds of 105 gr 38s left over from when my wife was able to shoot Cowboy and was puzzled as to loading 9mm with them. Thought I would ask the experts. Abilene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 What's their dia? You want .356-.357 for 9mm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okie Sawbones, SASS #77381 Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 38 special is .357″ and 9mm is .355″ in diameter. If you slug your 9mm barrel, you may find that the actual diameter is larger than the nominal .355”. If it measured at say .358″, you could see improved accuracy using a larger diameter bullet. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 Have a care, measure precisely, check manuals and think about your reloading experience. Good luck! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Gator SASS #29736 Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 Some of the shooters who shoot ICORE with double action revolvers use the .357 bullets in 9mm. Some guns are 38spl/357mag and some are 9mm revolvers. There's a lot of 38 short Colt use. I think they have run into issues similar to modern 44-40 rifles that use 44 mag barrels. The 9mm revolvers may have .357 barrels installed. How they might work for semi autos I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crooked River Pete, SASS 43485 Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 I loaded a bunch of 158 gr rnl in 9mm cases once. They worked fine in a ruger, but wouldn't work in a S&W, the smith had a tighter chamber and would choke on them. I'd load up about 10 and try them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 Good quality, calipers are your friend. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigan Slim Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 I know a guy that swears by the Lee .38 RNFP for his 9mm. He sizes them to .356 though. The 9mm is a high pressure job to start with. Be careful. I would find a buddy with a size die. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mossy Horn Gent Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 On 4/29/2024 at 4:57 PM, Michigan Slim said: I know a guy that swears by the Lee .38 RNFP for his 9mm. He sizes them to .356 though. The 9mm is a high pressure job to start with. Be careful. I would find a buddy with a size die. Agreed. Just pick up a bullet sizer die or kit and resize them to .356-.357. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 (edited) Here’s a link for the Lee Bullet Resizer kit. Pick 9mm and resize your lead bullets to .356” https://leeprecision.com/classic-bullet-sizing-kit I use one of these for .45 Colt to size my .452” bullets to .451” for my revolvers. Edited May 1 by Pat Riot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigan Slim Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 12 hours ago, Pat Riot said: Here’s a link for the Lee Bullet Resizer kit. Pick 9mm and resize your lead bullets to .356” https://leeprecision.com/classic-bullet-sizing-kit I use one of these for .45 Colt to size my .452” bullets to .451” for my revolvers. I've got six or seven sizes now. I gas check for my M1 carbine and .30-30 with them as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three Foot Johnson Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 At the ranges we shoot, you could shoot .44 spl/mag in a .45 revolver and probably still hit everything. Going the other way, using those .38 bullets in a 9mm shouldn't be a problem, as long as you size them to .356", as has been suggested above. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 1 hour ago, Three Foot Johnson said: At the ranges we shoot, you could shoot .44 spl/mag in a .45 revolver and probably still hit everything. Going the other way, using those .38 bullets in a 9mm shouldn't be a problem, as long as you size them to .356", as has been suggested above. Yup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 Yeah if we're shooting steel. Some of yours back a friend of mine was shooting my Super Blackhawk, and I noticed that all of the bullets had keyholed. And while I'm sitting there looking at the target in shock, he punches out the first round and says, "are they supposed to do this?" Longitudinal split, almost all the way from the mouth to the rim. Yep, those 357 cases all split. And I guess sending those 36 caliber bullets down that 43 caliber hole might have something to do with why they tumbled. But at 50 feet they all hit the target. Although none of them were in the black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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