9mm for rifles

RobbieLaidlaw

RobbieLaidlaw

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Hello friends,

I am inquiring knowledge any community members may posses on the topic of pistol cartridges.

As far as i understand, modern pistol cartridges such as 9mm are made with powders that burn fast in effort to be made ideal for short handgun barrels.

My curiosity is directed towards ammunition made more ideal for rifles. That being, ammo that has a higher ceiling of potential when it comes to velocity.

If such a thing does not functionally exist on the market, is it possible to reload 9mm or .40S&W with hotter powders to achieve peak velocity?

I have read through the forum and cant seem to find pointing info to this exact question.

Thank you very much for any info!
 
I'm not clear on exactly what the question is. Are you looking for a 9mm cartridge which goes a lot faster from a rifle length 9mm barrel than from a pistol? That would seem to include most 9mm cartridges. Winchester 147gr JHP for example is rated at 990fps from a pistol, but from an 18.75" barrel goes well over 1,100fps. But perhaps I'm misunderstanding the question...
 
I realize 9mm accelerates more out of a longer barrel up to ~17 inches before its diminished.

Most 9mm is designed for handguns (Fast burning powder etc)

Where can I find 9mm designed for rifles/carbines? Does it even exist?

The difference will surely be negligible (maybe 100-200 fps?) but i am still interested.
 
RobbieLaidlaw said:
I realize 9mm accelerates more out of a longer barrel up to ~17 inches before its diminished.

Most 9mm is designed for handguns (Fast burning powder etc)

Where can I find 9mm designed for rifles/carbines? Does it even exist?

The difference will surely be negligible (maybe 100-200 fps?) but i am still interested.
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there are no 9mm designed for rifles. you can probably load up +p ammo with slow burning powders and get more velocity out of it.

That said the 9mm does not have enough powder to benefit a lot from long barrels and there is a point where a longer barrel will slow the bullet down.


You can find graphs online for the 357 shot out of carbines vs revolvers and depending on with which you go the drop off seems to be around 16-18 " with commercial rounds.

the 357 having much more powder and velocity I would think the drop off length for 9mm would be lower...


Of course there is the question why one would need more power in a 9mm rifle ... for combat use (that isnt an issue here) you would use a carbine with .223 or larger caliber


for plinking it doesnt matter.

for target shooting and things like 3 gun, probably doesnt matter either ...
 
Using shotgun powders I can squeeze slightly more velocity than powders like 231. The difference isn't much though. Any powders that produce high velocity in a pistol will do the same in a rifle. The 9mm is not designed to use fast burning powders it just often does.
 
I was just thinking of this same thing while loading up some 9mm for my PCC. Would be neat if a guy could use a powder that gave it a little more oompf down the longer barrel but I think the case is so small that any possible gains wouldn’t be worth the trouble. I’m happy with a 150fps advantage over pistols as it is.
 
Fwiw the lighter the bullet weight the more velocity you will gain, generally speaking. I get barely 100fps more with 147s but well over 300fps gain with 115s.
 
Poking around and looking at existing cartridges, it seems a fair bit of power can be had from a non-restricted barrel with some commercial stuff. Hornady American Gunner Handgun Ammo for example, 9mm Luger +P, 124Gr, rated at 1,200fps from a pistol barrel, likely around 1,400fps from an 18.75" barrel, delivering 540fpe. That's a substantial jump from the ~350fpe one gets with most 147gr FMJ or JHP stuff. I happen to prefer subsonics for better enjoyment while plinking, don't much like noise, but if it's a flatter trajectory and harder hitting you're after there are a few 115 or 124gr rounds which are more rifle-like in power level.
 
Hi RobbieLaidlaw,

The comments made regarding gaining 150-200ft/s when using regular ammo in a carbine (16-18") in 115 -125gr ammo, are true. Also the comment by Bubba Yugga about using NATO ammo. I have not seen the 9mm NATO ammo, but in the US these are produced and marked as 9mm Luger and 9mm NATO respectively.

The NATO ammo is loaded hotter than regular 9mm Luger ammo. These points are well illustrated in two of the videos in the internet which Paull Harrell has made and are free. If I remember correctly, the ammo he used to compare 9mm Luger and 9mm NATO was either Winchester (or Remington). He shows the velocities as he fires them over his chrono. Enjoy the videos.

RSA1
 
^ I have seen up to 350fps gain with 115 JHPs and I have only started experimenting. With a shorter bullet and if I find a more suitable powder I think 1600fps with a 115 is possible. That's not too shabby at all.
 
B said:
^ I have seen up to 350fps gain with 115 JHPs and I have only started experimenting. With a shorter bullet and if I find a more suitable powder I think 1600fps with a 115 is possible. That's not too shabby at all.
Click to expand...

Not bad at all. You’ll have to let us know how you make out.
 
There’s the Federal Syntech PCC. Says it’s optimized for pistol caliber carbines. They claim 1140fps for a 130g out of a 16” barrel. Might be worth a look.
 
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