Reloading 38 Super - 9mm Bullets?

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Benchmark12

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Is it safe, acceptable or common practice To use 9mm bullets for reloading 38 Super? Is it just a matter of matching up acceptable diameter and grains to ensure it does not exceed the max velocity? I believe the length plays a role in it, but does that only effect accuracy? Thanks. Any other insight is appreciated, not wanting to ruin the bore or whatever else. I was looking at using this for doing it as it seams to coincide with measurements. I want to use TMJ copper plated.

I was looking at buying on of these, but unsure which would be recommended.

[​IMG]
9mm- 147 RN
9mm- 147 RN
www.xtremebullets.com
9mm- 147 RN
Diameter: 0.356

or

[​IMG]
9mm-124 RN
9mm-124 RN
www.xtremebullets.com
9mm-124 RN
Diameter: 0.355
 
You'll probably end up blowing the plating off at 38 super velocities. Plated bullets have a speed limit, for lack of a better term. Check with the MFG, and keep it under that. It should be listed on their page. Rmr bullets plating is a bit thicker so I'm told it will handle higher velocities. Just something to keep in mind.

As for bullets, as far as I know, yes, 9mm and 38 super take the same diameter. The super can just take heavier bullets, which end up being longer. But I've shot 152 grain bullets in 9mm too.

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When it comes to bullet types and grain weight use, would TMJ bullet grains required be equivalent to FMJ bullet grains that are listed in manuals? HP? XTP? Lead?
 
Benchmark12 said:
When it comes to bullet types and grain weight use, would TMJ bullet grains required be equivalent to FMJ bullet grains that are listed in manuals? HP? XTP? Lead?
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Grains are grains. It's a unit of weight, and it's the unit that we use in reloading. A 124-grain bullet (projectile) weighs 124 grains, regardless of what type of bullet it is.

FMJ = Full Metal Jacket -- but most full metal jacket bullets aren't really fully jacketed. Most leave the base of the bullet uncovered.

TMJ = Total Metal Jacket -- a term used by some manufacturers to describe bullets that are actually plated rather than "jacketed," but the plating is thicker than projectiles sold as "plated." A TMJ bullet has the lead at the base of the bullet coated, as well as the body and nose of the bullet.

HP = Hollow-Point. What the name implies. There's a hole in the nose of the bullet.

XTP = XTP. It's a trade name for one specific bullet design by one particular bullet manufacturer.

Lead = lead.
 
Aguila Blanca said:
Grains are grains. It's a unit of weight, and it's the unit that we use in reloading. A 124-grain bullet (projectile) weighs 124 grains, regardless of what type of bullet it is.
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I could be wrong but I think he's asking about the grain weight of powder charge being the same for all types of bullets of the same weight.
 
While I do understand the desire for input and confirmation, these questions are adequately explained in almost all reloading manuals.
 
See Firearms Forum for my answer.
Been shooting 0.357" jacketed bullets in 9x19, 9x21, and .38 Super for decades. In the '70s, you couldn't find 0.355" bullets and reloaders never thought anything about it as they were loading 0.356 and 0.357" jacketed bullets without issue.
Look, if you are asking about the charge weight, the STARING load is the SAME and you WORK UP the load. Whether the bullet is 0.355, 0.356, or 0.357", the load work up is same--start at starting load and watch for any signs of over pressure.
Maybe you only fire a couple of rounds at the start load, but you still start there and you still LOOK for signs of over pressure
Caveat: 9x19 is the only round where I found this, but LOW pressure 9x19 rounds actually CAN flatten the primer, with no other sign of pressure. That may mean the low pressure round actually produced some sort of over-pressure spike somehow (though I tend to suspect the head space gat is too great in many 9x19 chambers and the primer simply backed out a bit before the case slammed back and flattened the primer), but I've seen it twice during load workup in my 9x19s. Next 0.2-0.3gn heavier charge weight set gave perfect looking primers.
 
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74A95 said:
I could be wrong but I think he's asking about the grain weight of powder charge being the same for all types of bullets of the same weight.
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If so, I completely misunderstood. When I read "bullet grains" my dinosaur brain automatically thinks "bullet grains."
 
nhyrum wrote:You'll probably end up blowing the plating off at 38 super velocities. Plated bullets have a speed limit, for lack of a better term. Check with the MFG, and keep it under that.
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Yes and no. I've loaded 10's of thousands of plated 357 @ jacketed velocities. The "speed limit" is not fixed. It is a pressure / velocity curve and not all plated are the same in regards to plating thickness or core hardness. I've also ran 10's of thousands of 9mm, 9mm +P & 44 Mag Plated.

38 Super can be run and run hard with the right bullets and powder combinations. Some experimentation is in order. And FWIW, Xtreme Bullets offers load data for THEIR bullets. One can simply call them and ask if their data covers 38 Super before purchasing.
 
Reload data 38 Super

Well damn I’ll definitely need to do more homework. So is it fair to say that this is in the ballpark using copper TMJ? 124gn/AA5: 6.7-7.6gn.
 

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