[Guest]

This may be a stupid question, and it has no doubt been ask before but here it goes.

Can 9MM cast bullets be used in a 38 Special revolver? I was looking at the tolerances on the two bullets and there is only 0.001†difference between the upper limit of the 9MM and the lower limit of the 38 Special.

Specifically:
9MM 0.355 – 0.356 inches
38 Special 0.357 – 0.358 inches

In some cases I have seen tolerances of 0.0005â€. I do not think that cast bullets can be held to that tight of tolerances – may be wrong however.

Your comment would be appreciated.

 

[Guest]

Cast bullets can be held to those tolerances if you run them through a swaging die after being cast. Swaging dies also pop in a gas check, which I guess is important? I don;t cast, nor do I have any intention of casting. I'd personally stick to using 9mm bullets in a 9mm, and 357s in a 357 (or 38) but thats just me.

 

[Silicon Wolverine]

Ive shot lots of 125 gr LTFP bullets cast for 9mm out of a .38 and .357 mag. Works fine, just stick to fairly mild loads. Also gas checks arent an absolute neccesity unless you are hot rodding the loads to full power.

SW

 

[wizard93]

I have a 9mm bullet mold which drops 125 grain bullets at .358" diameter. So I can run them through the .358" sizer and lube them to load in my 38 special. They group nice and tight in my Taurus 85 revolver, but impact below point of aim.

In this instance, you can load 9mm bullets in a 38 Special, but I do not recommend using .355-.356" bullets in a 38 Special. You will likely find poor accuracy and be spending your shooting time scrubbing the lead out of the barrel.

wizard93

 

[TheGunMan]

My question is why? I shoot 38's out of my .357. The cost isn't that much different from 9MM And at least in my area, 38's and 357's are easy to get. 9MM are hard and getting more expensive. I just paid $25 for 25 9MM Remingon Golden Sabers. Used to be under $20. 115 Grain Blazers were 9.95 are now $15.00. I guess it was bound to happen. I just read hand gun sales are up 42% from December. If all the gun owners gathered in one place, there would be a big bunch of us wouldn't there.

http://www.secondamendmentmarch.com/

 

[Silicon Wolverine]

In this instance, you can load 9mm bullets in a 38 Special, but I do not recommend using .355-.356" bullets in a 38 Special. You will likely find poor accuracy and be spending your shooting time scrubbing the lead out of the barrel.

wizard93

depends on the bore of the revo. my colt tropper has a .356 bore and .358 bullets (normal sized for 38/357) shoot like crap. 9mm sized bullets shoot the best. you dont know until you slug the barrel.

SW

 

[TheGunMan]

I shoot a Ruger .357 and 6" barrel. I can hit 6 out of 6 at 25 yards so never considered the bullet size effecting accuracy.

http://www.handloads.com/misc/stoppingpower.asp?Caliber=5&Weight=125

Use Remington Golden Sabers in the 9MM for protection

http://www.handloads.com/misc/stoppingpower.asp?Caliber=16&Weight=124

 

[Silicon Wolverine]

it differs from company to comapny. many colt revos are undersized bore. the rugers ive been around were all in the 357-358 category.

SW

 

[WILDCATT]

38 spec is .357 the 9 mmis .355.I have a mod 10 I use for target shooting I use standard target load.I can load cheap as you also can if you cast. and with a revolver you can load much lighter loads than an auto.