Will Abrahams Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 ok, here is a stupid "nu-bie" question..... i just bought a used open gun in 38 super and a dillon reloading press with 38 super dies. now when i went to the montana gold bullets web site to order some bullets they have the 9mm .355 and the 9mm SUPER .356. after looking around at some other bullet companies it looks like all they have is 9mm/.355, so i figure thats 38 super. then i looked in the lyman reloading manual and it says 9mm is .355 and 38 super automatic is .356. so what bullet do i use for my open gun in 38 super? if it turns out to be .355, what then is .356 used for? thanks for the help! Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdragon Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 220-221 What ever it takes! Ivan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Gaines Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 you can use either one, but find out which one shoots more accurately. I personally use the .356 in my super Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoShooter Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Some 38 supper barrels are .355 some are .356 The only way to konw is to 'slug' the barrel = use soft lead and push it through. If the gun was a Saturday night gun with cheep parts shooting a .356 in a .355 may make a dif. But with good stuff it is nothing more that somthing to eat at the back of your mind. my gun likes the .356 Zero bullets ...because that is what I wanted it to shoot best. The .355 don't shoot as good at 35 yards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Abrahams Posted June 20, 2006 Author Share Posted June 20, 2006 Some 38 supper barrels are .355 some are .356 The only way to konw is to 'slug' the barrel = use soft lead and push it through. If the gun was a Saturday night gun with cheep parts shooting a .356 in a .355 may make a dif. But with good stuff it is nothing more that somthing to eat at the back of your mind. my gun likes the .356 Zero bullets ...because that is what I wanted it to shoot best. The .355 don't shoot as good at 35 yards. so if the barrel is "cut" to .355, would the barrel get subjected to more wear if i shot .356 out of it? or if its cut to .356 would it be bad for it to shoot .355? Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Gaines Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 I am curious since some shooters use .355 (9mm) for a .356(super) would it be safe to say that you could use a .356(super)for a .357 magnum or .38 special. I know this a drift, but always wondered about that. PK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al503 Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 so if the barrel is "cut" to .355, would the barrel get subjected to more wear if i shot .356 out of it? or if its cut to .356 would it be bad for it to shoot .355?Will If the bullet is too small in diameter, you're going to get 'blow by' where the gas from the burned/burning powder is going to squeeze through in between the bbl and the bullet. This will actually cause more wear (from what I gather) than using a bullet that is .001 larger than the bore. Hope I made sense. I would just use .356 and call it good whether it's a .355 or a .356 bbl. On another note, I've been shooting zero jhp's and their .355 mikes out at .3555 and their .356 actually mikes out to .3555 also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam B Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 I shoot .356 out of my open 9mm guns with no issues and they are both labeled .355 on the barrel hood. The one thing to be concerned with is that it will change your pessure if you are going from load data that was for a .355 bullet. I have found that the .356 bullets work better for me but everyone gets different results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbs007 Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 I shoot Montana Gold 124 gr. JHP .355 through my Schuemann .355 stampped barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry White Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 Most barrel mfg. now just sell .355 barrels, and most gs building open guns just buy .355 barrels( most are stamped on the hood area). Sometimes a gun will shoot 356s a little better. A lot of times a barrel that has a lot of rds thru it and has started to loose it accuracy will come back to life with 356s.------Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revchuck Posted June 21, 2006 Share Posted June 21, 2006 (edited) I am curious since some shooters use .355 (9mm) for a .356(super) would it be safe to say that you could use a .356(super)for a .357 magnum or .38 special. I know this a drift, but always wondered about that.PK You can, but may not get the accuracy you would from .357-.358" bullets. .355-.356" FMJs tend to have pointier noses, so this could be an advantage for speedloading. Just use the expander from a 9mm/.38 Super die set. Berry's plated 158 grain .357" RNs seem to have the same kind of nose as the smaller FMJs, so using the smaller ones isn't necessary...unless you have a gazillion left over from another gun. Edited June 21, 2006 by revchuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Abrahams Posted June 21, 2006 Author Share Posted June 21, 2006 well that clears everything up, thanks for all the info Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Front Man Posted June 21, 2006 Share Posted June 21, 2006 Most barrel mfg. now just sell .355 barrels, and most gs building open guns just buy .355 barrels( most are stamped on the hood area). Sometimes a gun will shoot 356s a little better. A lot of times a barrel that has a lot of rds thru it and has started to loose it accuracy will come back to life with 356s.------Larry What Larry said. More bullet choices in 9MM (.355) too. FM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie1947 Posted June 21, 2006 Share Posted June 21, 2006 I use Zero 9 mm bullets in my 38 super shoots great, but it has less than 5k rounds, I may have to move to the .356 if I start to lose my accuracies but this should be severals thousand more rounds I hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluewater Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 I had the same question last month when I purchased a new Colt Commander in 38 Super. The 0.355" and the 0.356" bullets both shoot fine for me as I chronograph all new loads when checking their accuracy. In reality, you are suppose to shoot the 0.356" projectile. This is what you need to do to answer your question. Use a micrometer and mike the 0.355" bullets and to your surprise, most of them will be >0.355". Most of my 0.355" bullets have measured over 0.356". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxshooter Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 This is a little late for a reply. I talked to Wil Schueman on the phone this week to ask what bullet he recommended for the 38 SC AET Tribrid barrel in my SV IMM. He explained that the bore of the barrel was .355 and that I should ideally use .357 bullets because the barrel would be more accurate( something about the barrel shrinking the bullet down when it hits the rifiling and this will give it a cmore consistant seal etc.) . He said however I probably could not get the shape bullet I wanted in .357 so go with the .356 diameter. I have benn shooting .355 bullets since I have had the gun and it is very accurate. I bought some .356 bullets to try will post results when I ahve time to load and test them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M16A2556MM Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 I have used both .355 and .356 in my STI 38 super with little or no difference in accuracy and velocity. I can also say the same for small rifle primers and pistol primer, hardly any difference, if any at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxshooter Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Wil was correct the .356 bullet holds a little tighter group than the .355 did. That was shooting off of a rest. I can't tell the difference offhand. I will stick with the .356 as I understand it will be eaiser on the barrel as far as wear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmon Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 It probably doesnt really make a diff as far as wear is concerned, shoot whatever shoots good. .355 or .356 its only 1/2 a thou either way in the bore. harmon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steel1212 Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I was curious about shooting 121/125 haps which are .356 through my 9mm due to premature wear that I had in my head Anyways, I went down and measured some 147 xtps, 0.355 on the button, and the haps, .356 on the button. Then I was curious, just how small is 0.001? I measured a piece of paper out of my lyman load log, 0.004. So we are talking 1/4 thickness of paper lol. Yeah, I was bored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now