929 Grouping

[Ted Murphy]

Hello There,

 

i picked up a used (but barely shot) 929. It had some machining and action work done done by a revo smith. 
 

the action is light and everything seems tight but it groups rather poorly with ammo known to be accurate in other 9mm’s. 
 

i have not slugged the barrel yet but I wonder if they put a .38/.357 barrel in it.  
 

any suggestions?

[Bill Sahlberg]

Try a different bullet or load. Revolvers are notoriously accurate with a good bullet & load.

 

(my 627 I shoot 130 gr RN .356 Montana Gold (1030 fps) with 4.6 gr Univ Clay's, Fed Primer, at 1.100" oal and can get tight groups at 25 yds)

[Batmo]

Did a test with my 929 a few years back with different bullet sizes.....356, .357, and .358.  They were all 147 gr. RN coated bullets loaded with the same powder and OAL.  The groups got smaller as the bullet size increased.

[Squirrel45]

.358s work best in mine. Anywhere from 95g and up to 170g. The consensus by most is that the 929 run better w an oversized bullet. 

[MikeBurgess]

2 hours ago, Ted Murphy said:

 

 I wonder if they put a .38/.357 barrel in it.  
 

 

they did,  

 

929s are notorious for liking larger bullets 

 

[Ted Murphy]

50 minutes ago, MikeBurgess said:

they did,  

 

929s are notorious for liking larger bullets 

 

Thank you. That is a bit annoying. 

[Toolguy]

They originally started out with a .355 barrel, but soon switched to a .357, seems to be the general consensus. Probably so barrel sizes don't get mixed up in production when there's only 1 (.357) to choose from.

[Ted Murphy]

32 minutes ago, Toolguy said:

34 minutes ago, Toolguy said:

They originally started out with a .355 barrel, but soon switched to a .357, seems to be the general consensus. Probably so barrel sizes don't get mixed up in production when there's only 1 (.357) to choose from.

Seems like a .38/.357 would have been a better choice for me. 

[Toolguy]

The .38 and .357 are the same. The 9mm is .355, .38/357 is .357.

[AzShooter]

Mine always worked best with .358 bullets.  Just a thing about the 929.  It really didn't matter who's bullets I used.  I liked ACME because they had such a wide variety of colors.  I could easily separate my Steel Challenge loads from ICORE and USPSA.

[Ted Murphy]

34 minutes ago, AzShooter said:

Mine always worked best with .358 bullets.  Just a thing about the 929.  It really didn't matter who's bullets I used.  I liked ACME because they had such a wide variety of colors.  I could easily separate my Steel Challenge loads from ICORE and USPSA.

I am not real cool on having to load larger bullet 9mm ammo.  

Edited December 2, 2022 by Ted Murphy

[revoman]

Actually your barrel is .357 so shooting .355 bullets will never get the accuracy you are wanting. The .358 bullets are proven to work. Me I don’t have a 929 but I do have a custom 627 with a custom .356 barrel and I strictly shoot .358’s it will group under 2” at 50 yds. Also ammunition that shoots good in one gun will not necessarily shoot good in another gun of the same caliber. Especially if you are shooting one in an auto and then try it in a revolver. 

[Ted Murphy]

22 minutes ago, revoman said:

Actually your barrel is .357 so shooting .355 bullets will never get the accuracy you are wanting. The .358 bullets are proven to work. Me I don’t have a 929 but I do have a custom 627 with a custom .356 barrel and I strictly shoot .358’s it will group under 2” at 50 yds. Also ammunition that shoots good in one gun will not necessarily shoot good in another gun of the same caliber. Especially if you are shooting one in an auto and then try it in a revolver. 

Thank you. Gun is already up for sale. 

[zombywoof]

The cylinder on my 929 measures .357". I size my bullets to .3565-.3568. They seem to shoot just fine.

[pskys2]

20 hours ago, Ted Murphy said:

Thank you. Gun is already up for sale. 

First try 355 jacketed bullets.  I've had good luck in my 627's, 357 barrels, with mg 355 HP.  Understand the reluctance for different bullet sizes.  My biggest beef with the 929.  You can also shoot 38 short colts in a 929, they worked very well.  Just use 627 moon clips not the 9mm moonclips.  Not much change over with the press either.  Most use 9mm dies except for sizing, and you can even use it especially if you plan on not using the 38 sc in a 627.

Edited December 3, 2022 by pskys2

[Ted Murphy]

Thats how it grouped at 20yds with my 9mm minor  load (coated bullet)

 

i am capable of much better groups than that 

 

factory Federal 115 gr jacketed grouped about the same. 
 

Since all my brass has been run through a Glock, I wanted to start with fresh brass. I had purchased 2000 rounds of Federal 115 grain, idea being i shoot them over the winter then reload the brass for the spring. But that is pretty darn sad, and a waste of ammo to continue firing perfectly good factory ammo through that gun.  

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by Ted Murphy

[GrumpyOne]

33 minutes ago, Ted Murphy said:

Thats how it grouped at 20yds with my 9mm minor  load (coated bullet)

 

i am capable of much better groups than that 

 

factory Federal 115 gr jacketed grouped about the same. 
 

Since all my brass has been run through a Glock, I wanted to start with fresh brass. I had purchased 2000 rounds of Federal 115 grain, idea being i shoot them over the winter then reload the brass for the spring. But that is pretty darn sad, and a waste of ammo to continue firing perfectly good factory ammo through that gun.  

 

That is absolutely horrible.

[Toolguy]

I agree. Really bad.

[NoSteel]

Be sure bullet not contacting muzzle cap,  that was a common issue (remove car and test).  Mine shot fair with 147gr .355 but made a huge difference when I switched to 160gr .358.  As others have said,  this is not unusual with 929’s.

Edited December 4, 2022 by NoSteel

[tomjerry1]

The answer to your problem, if you keep the pistol, is in the second and third responses. I was achieving the same with my 929, and after a lot of research, I came to the same answer. I'm using Blue Bullets 147gr 38/357 bullets, Winchester brass, Federal small pistol primers to help with the reduced hammer strike because I reduced the trigger pull. 

I am finally starting to like the 929, it's almost 100% reliable. I tried the reliable tried and true .356 9mm loads that produce great accuracy in other pistols, doesn't work in the 929. I usually shoot open, it's much easier to get a good load.

[AzShooter]

My favorite brass was Winchester.  I had no problems with extraction.  Like a lot of shooters I found that 158/160 grain .358 bullets worked best.  By 2000 Winchester cases and you will be good to go.

 

You should be able to get about 2 inch groups from a bench at 50 yards.  Your off hand groups will open up but you should be able to keep everything in the 5 ring.

[superdude]

2 hours ago, Ted Murphy said:

Thats how it grouped at 20yds with my 9mm minor  load (coated bullet)

 

i am capable of much better groups than that 

 

factory Federal 115 gr jacketed grouped about the same. 
 

Since all my brass has been run through a Glock, I wanted to start with fresh brass. I had purchased 2000 rounds of Federal 115 grain, idea being i shoot them over the winter then reload the brass for the spring. But that is pretty darn sad, and a waste of ammo to continue firing perfectly good factory ammo through that gun.  

 

 

Was this from a rest (bench)?

[ysrracer]

11 minutes ago, superdude said:

 

Was this from a rest (bench)?

 

No, you don't shoot shotguns from the bench

[David.Hylton]

On 12/2/2022 at 4:20 PM, Ted Murphy said:

Thank you. Gun is already up for sale. 

Have you posted it in the classifieds?

[revoman]

On 12/2/2022 at 4:20 PM, Ted Murphy said:

Thank you. Gun is already up for sale. 

I will give you $750 and I will even pay shipping. With a revolver that shoots so terrible I will help you out and relieve you of your burden and make sure no one else gets this terrible revolver. I hope you let the buyer know before hand how this revolver does not shoot well and only patterns like a shotgun. I feel that you were misled when you purchased the revolver thinking that the barrel was .355, all cylinders throats reamed to same size, forcing cone reamed and cut and crown cut perfectly. 
But before you sell to me I would try some of the suggestions put forward here such as jacketed .355 bullets, .358 bullets or making sure cap is not interfering with the exit of the bullet. If not my offer stands. Just a revolver guy trying to help out. 
 

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