Lessons learned with 9mm revolvers

[gtmtnbiker98]

Took the LCR out to the range today, having recently purchased it. I purchased this particular revolver to serve as a training analog for my more traditional .38/.357 snub revolvers. I can shoot twice as much 9mm with same or similar recoil impulse to .38 +P for the same cost of shooting .38. I'm approaching 300 rounds deep on this LCR and today, experienced my first bullet pull. I was shooting Blazer Brass 115gr and experienced bullet pull on the fifth round on the first cylinder for the day. This bullet pull incident dead-lined the gun, hard. Took me way too long to figure out what was wrong with the gun when trying to pull the trigger and once I observed the bullet poking almost all the way out of the cylinder, I pushed it back in and opened the cylinder. What a mess!! A simple clearing of the cylinder did not suffice, there was so much gun powder in the cylinder, the moon-clips would not seat far enough to close and lock the cylinder. Of course, I didn't have any cleaning patches on the range with me so I loaded a single round in the offending cylinder hole and fired a single shot to blow out the residual debris. That worked and I was back in business to finish out the day.

I have previously tested Blazer Brass for bullet pull the last time I had it out and did not observe any obvious issues. I won't be carrying taper crimped ammunition in revolvers for social purposes. Thought I'd share today's experiences, prior to this event, I thought that bullet pull was an over exaggerated claim. Guess it wasn't.

[Rick R]

I had a Scandium framed S&W 325NG that was a great bullet puller, everybody’s 230 fmj was pretty much hopeless, Winchester’s SXT jhp ammo seemed to be about the only thing that stayed put every time. My 3” SS GP100 in 10mm is much more comfortable to shoot and the bullets in factory ammo resist bullet pull much better in the heavier gun.

I’d suggest shooting something with asphaltic sealant for your “cheap” ammo and careful selection/testing for social ammo.

[Outpost75]

Police and military 9mm ammo has the bullets cemented into the case with asphaltic varnish known in the trade as Black Lucas.

It's purpose is to increase bullet pull to improve ballistic uniformity as well as to oilproof and waterproof the rounds.

It also prevents inertial dislodgement in revolvers and set back in autopistols occurring during the feed cycle.

Inexpensive range and training ammo lacking this feature is subject to the failure mode described. Crimping alone is not 100% reliable.

[taadski]

You might play with using a heavier bullet. Smith recommends not using less than a 120 grain projectile in their scandium .38/.357 revolvers as it exacerbates bullet pull issues. That said, I shoot 124s in a couple of their 9mm revolvers (to include my reloads, which I definitely don’t over crimp) and haven’t had any issues.

[D-der]

I've only run 500-600 rds through my lcr 9 so far but haven't experienced a problem, in all honesty it's been 100% reliable and I haven't looked for pull. I've only shot a handful of AE 115 gr, the rest have been 124 S&B, Norma ,AE, HST, 147gr AE, Lawman and HST. I've kind of steered away from 115gr as I've read of pull problems. Too bad, I've got a bit of 115gr I picked up during virus times, I generally stick to 124's in auto loaders.

[runngun]

I've had 1 bullet pulled in about 1,500 rounds of 115 gr. ammo in my LCR, but I've since switched to 147 gr Lawman exclusively with no further issues. I had no drama resolving it, and would compare it to remedial action malfunction clearance in a semi auto. Also, if the gun can be put back into action by the operator, then it isn't deadlined.

[gtmtnbiker98]

I've only run 500-600 rds through my lcr 9 so far but haven't experienced a problem, in all honesty it's been 100% reliable and I haven't looked for pull. I've only shot a handful of AE 115 gr, the rest have been 124 S&B, Norma ,AE, HST, 147gr AE, Lawman and HST. I've kind of steered away from 115gr as I've read of pull problems. Too bad, I've got a bit of 115gr I picked up during virus times, I generally stick to 124's in auto loaders.

I guess I’m also going to avoid 115gr. I’ve ran 124gr Speer Gold Dot +P and 135gr Critical Duty +P and very little signs of movement were noted. I guess I’ll be using heavier bullets.

[gtmtnbiker98]

I've had 1 bullet pulled in about 1,500 rounds of 115 gr. ammo in my LCR, but I've since switched to 147 gr Lawman exclusively with no further issues. I had no drama resolving it, and would compare it to remedial action malfunction clearance in a semi auto. Also, if the gun can be put back into action by the operator, then it isn't deadlined.

I would have been “killed in da streets” with my mess. Powder everywhere and fouled the chamber terribly.

[CCT125US]

Had a case of Blazer 147 that went back. As the rounds would travel up the mag tube, they would set back under recoil. Feed ramp would then cause set back even further. I measured, sharpied the O.A.L on the brass and retested as they worked their way up. It was not great, but CCI made it right.

[D-der]

I know some have had good luck with BB but, I've found it to be dirty shooting and not a bargain, generally priced comparable to other ammo I prefer although I do still have a couple of case's I'd picked up in ammo lean time's...I guess they'll sit there until more lean times come around.