Shooting 9 major in super barrel

[Mo Zee]

I have tried the search function but cannot find the answer. Perhaps I need some lessons in searching.

I have been tinkering with the idea of running 9 major this year but before I invest in money and time I wanted to paly around with it. I know that 9mm is a tapered case compared to the straight walled super case, but is there a possibility to shoot them in my gun?

With regards to reloading can I use my super dies from dillon or do I just need to swap out the sizing die?

Any information will be appreciated.

[GrumpyOne]

The 9mm is way shorter than the super..You'd be relying on the extractor tension to hold the case in place when the hammer falls. Might work, might not. And the bullet would have a pretty good jump till it hit the first of the lands and grooves of the barrel, possibly shearing some material off on the shoulder where the super head spaces. You can shoot 9x23 in a super barrel (in fact, STI's Dave Cupp used to recommend this to break in a new super). I would think anything shorter than the 9x23 would be problematic.

I believe you have to swap out at least the sizing and maybe the seating dies.

[Gregory_k]

i seen guys run a few mags of 9mm major thru a super to finish matches.

[superdude]

while it might work there are several things that can go amiss.

1. as GrumpyOne noted you might be depending on the extractor to hold the round. when hit with the firing pin even not so hot rounds can result in a pierced primer, the material can often end up plugging the firing pin hole (personal experience with that one).

2. the 9mm is slightly wider at the head than a 38 Super. depending on barrel chamber dimensions the 9mm brass can get stuck in the chamber - not necessarily because it has gone too far forward, but in fact sort of at the "proper" place so the base is against the slide's breech face. When fired it doesn't take much expansion for that case to get STUCK, and i mean bring your squib rod and a big-ass hammer to pound that baby out. i know this from personal experience too, and had the same problem with Winchester factory 9X23 ammo in a 38 Super barrel. 9 Major loads are liable to make this more likely than standard pressure loads. you could consider reaming the chamber for 9mm or 9X23 and that might allow you to shoot both without the sticking problem. for what's it worth, i've also run Starline 38 Super Comp brass loaded to major in a 9X23 chamber and it does not appear to expand so much that it can't still run in a 38 Super chamber again after reloading. so far so good but i've not tried it with tons of brass, just some, so reaming the chamber might work. other folks with more experience could chime in on that.

it depends on chamber dimensions and with some of my 38 Super chambers the 9mm brass slip in too far, while for others the cases stop flush with the hood.

[G-ManBart]

Everybody I know that does this say "oh, I just run 9mm in my Super", then their gun pukes multiple times during the match.

9x19 rim diameter is .392". 9x23 rim diameter is .394". .38SC rim diameter is .386", and .38 Super rim diameter is .406".

That's going to pose some extractor issues, which is already a point of vulnerability with the shorter 9x19 case.

The real problem is that the diameter of the case forward of the extractor groove is .392" on a 9x19 and .384" on a .38 Super or .38SC.

The reason 9x19 will sometimes run is that the case simply gets wedged into the smaller chamber and stops...so it's not necessarily being held in place by the extractor, it's sort of headspacing on the taper, which isn't a great idea.

You would definitely need a different resizing die. I think you could probably get away with running the Dillon .38 Super seating and crimp dies, although I suspect the seating die might actually be cut differently (just a guess based on a discussion with Dillon years ago). R,

[Mo Zee]

Thanks for the responses thus far. Would I still have issues if I have the OAL at about 1.17 inches?

I received pricing on an STI trubor barrel today. Equates to about 600USD Maybe I should just stick to supercomp, although I suspect in the near future I will be having problems purchasing new brass here in sunny South Africa.

[Gregory_k]

You can play with it, but best get a barrel set up for 9mm major.

my sample is only of 2 guns, 3 different 9mm major loadings and about 300 rounds over 3 or 4 years.

[G-ManBart]

Increasing the OAL won't do that much...it's the size and shape of the case, not the OAL that causes problems. R,

[matt2ace]

Thanks for the responses thus far. Would I still have issues if I have the OAL at about 1.17 inches?

I received pricing on an STI trubor barrel today. Equates to about 600USD Maybe I should just stick to supercomp, although I suspect in the near future I will be having problems purchasing new brass here in sunny South Africa.

You can probably ROI that $600 investment on the $$$ savings in brass alone, especially if 38SC is getting scarce in South Africa.

Can your source Shuemann barrels in SA? Might be less expensive to go for a 9mm Shuemann barrel and get a comp made locally, if you have a good smith in the area.

[Mo Zee]

Thanks for the responses thus far. Would I still have issues if I have the OAL at about 1.17 inches?

I received pricing on an STI trubor barrel today. Equates to about 600USD Maybe I should just stick to supercomp, although I suspect in the near future I will be having problems purchasing new brass here in sunny South Africa.

You can probably ROI that $600 investment on the $$$ savings in brass alone, especially if 38SC is getting scarce in South Africa.

Can your source Shuemann barrels in SA? Might be less expensive to go for a 9mm Shuemann barrel and get a comp made locally, if you have a good smith in the area.

Barrels as well as good gunsmiths are scarce. period. It looks like I will bite the bullet and purchase the Trubor Barrel.

thanks for all the replies and expect a few more posts in the near future for more info once the top end is built.

[herky]

It is best to rebarrel, I have run 9mm major in my 9x23 open, but it is not reliable enough to count on in a match. It is worth the expense to rebarrel and I did.