9mm reliability/safety/performance advantage of having cannelured cartridge?

[avqpuggr]

Spoke with a guy trying out some new solid copper hollow points he bought from Corbon and Defiant Munitions. 9mm rounds that had cannelures.

I'm not accustomed to seeing cannelures on 9mm factory ammo for pistols. The guy paid a hefty penny for the ammo and I was wondering if there is any reliability, safety, or performance advantage to having cannelured 9mm cartridges?

I took a quick look at the market and most of the manufacturers I saw don't seem to be using them but the brands that charge a lot (like >$1.50/round) all have them. Is there real world benefit?

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

It definitely helps keep bullets from setting back into the case from repeated chambering.

That said, the 9x19 rounds I’ve personally observed to be the most resistant to setback are Winchester PDX1 147gr hollowpoints and they have no cannelure at all.

 

[Steve C]

The cannelure is there to help retain the bullet in place and prevent bullet set back when the round in chambered. Jhp bullets have a little rougher time when sliding up the feed ramp into the chamber than a round nosed FMJ. Since defensive and law enforcement ammo may be chambered and ejected several times the cannelure helps keep the ammo useful and reliable.

Cartridges that are loaded to 100% density where the bullet sits on top of the powder with no excess volume left don't need a cannelure as there is no room for them to move deeper into the case.

 

[lysanderxiii]

The case cannelure is optional on military ammunition, that should tell you something....

 

[zaitcev]

It might help to retain the bullet in a revolver, such as LCR, or an exotic rear-feeder like Bond Bullpup. But I pretty much guarantee that these applications are not a consideration for the ammunition makers.

 

[barnetmill]

I think it is a good idea and I do not see a down other than a little more cost.
Repeated chambering of the same round in a pistol will drive the bullet back into the case raising pressures.

 

[bangswitch]

I didn't think a cannelure was good for anything unless you crimp the case, and you don't normally crimp a case that headspaces on the case mouth. Have you put a micrometer on those? 0.355" is for 9mm, 0.357 is for .38/.357. My Hornady manuals don't show any cannelured bullets for the .380, 9mm, or .357 Sig.

You might be able to load those in a 9mm (if they turn out to be .357), but they may swell the case enough to be a tight fit in the chamber, and not feed well.

 

[lysanderxiii]

I didn't think a cannelure was good for anything unless you crimp the case, and you don't normally crimp a case that headspaces on the case mouth. Have you put a micrometer on those? 0.355" is for 9mm, 0.357 is for .38/.357. My Hornady manuals don't show any cannelured bullets for the .380, 9mm, or .357 Sig.

You might be able to load those in a 9mm (if they turn out to be .357), but they may swell the case enough to be a tight fit in the chamber, and not feed well.

The cannelure is on the case, not on the bullet.

 

[bangswitch]

Oh, I gotcha. When he mentioned buying "solid copper hollow points", I thought he meant the bullet. I suppose cannelures on the brass are doing the same thing, but I've never had any issue with setback on a 9mm, recoil isn't usually strong enough, but hey, why not? The picture shows the groove at about where the back end of a 124 or 140 grain bullet would seat to.

 

[Walkalong]

The cannelure is there to stop bullet setback, not bullet creep from recoil.

 

[fxvr5]

My Hornady manuals don't show any cannelured bullets for the .380, 9mm, or .357 Sig.

Sierra has cannelures on a couple of 9mm bullets.
https://www.sierrabullets.com/product-category/handgun/?filter_diameter=0-355&query_type_diameter=or

 

[fxvr5]

I suppose cannelures on the brass are doing the same thing, but I've never had any issue with setback on a 9mm, recoil isn't usually strong enough, but hey, why not?

Setback in semi-auto cartridges is usually from feeding - hitting the feed ramp.

 

[IdaD]

I've never had setback issues with 9mm defensive ammo. 380 on the other hand, seems to set back pretty quickly after just a few chamberings.

 

[bangswitch]

Obviously, my experience with cannelure is limited to revolvers. I can't remember that I've ever had semiauto ammo with a cannelured case, and I shoot 9mm, .40S&W, 10mm and .45 Auto. never had any issues with setback, from any cause, even with relatively hot 10mm loads. Not saying it's useless to have it, but is it all that necessary? I rarely shoot factory ammo, and re-use my cases until they split

 

[barnetmill]

The cannelure is on the case, not on the bullet.

View attachment 946775

Here here is another way of crimping a bullet in the neck of a bottle necked 7.62x25. A punch is used to dimple the neck several times around its circumference.

 

[WheelGunMan]

Spoke with a guy trying out some new solid copper hollow points he bought from Corbon and Defiant Munitions. 9mm rounds that had cannelures.

I'm not accustomed to seeing cannelures on 9mm factory ammo for pistols. The guy paid a hefty penny for the ammo and I was wondering if there is any reliability, safety, or performance advantage to having cannelured 9mm cartridges?

I took a quick look at the market and most of the manufacturers I saw don't seem to be using them but the brands that charge a lot (like >$1.50/round) all have them. Is there real world benefit?

It definitely helps keep bullets from setting back into the case from repeated chambering.

That said, the 9x19 rounds I’ve personally observed to be the most resistant to setback are Winchester PDX1 147gr hollowpoints and they have no cannelure at all.

The cannelure is there to help retain the bullet in place and prevent bullet set back when the round in chambered. Jhp bullets have a little rougher time when sliding up the feed ramp into the chamber than a round nosed FMJ. Since defensive and law enforcement ammo may be chambered and ejected several times the cannelure helps keep the ammo useful and reliable.

I used the Sig 365 V-Crown in my Sig P365XL...the other night I noticed that out of a mag of 12...8 had recessed into the cartridge. Thankfully I have an RCBS bullet puller so I was able to make easy work of pulling the bullets out and resetting them. To my surprise they had cannelures. So Sig is using cannelured bullets with no crimp. They certainly have a slight crimp now and time will tell if they move around again.

 

[barnetmill]

I used the Sig 365 V-Crown in my Sig P365XL...the other night I noticed that out of a mag of 12...8 had recessed into the cartridge. Thankfully I have an RCBS bullet puller so I was able to make easy work of pulling the bullets out and resetting them. To my surprise they had cannelures. So Sig is using cannelured bullets with no crimp. They certainly have a slight crimp now and time will tell if they move around again.

Cannelures on those bullets likely had crimps, but still one can get set backs. For non-emergencies loading of the chamber I only pull the slide back far enough to be sure that the extractor goes over the case and that round is fully chambers to slow down set back. But I recycle the first round every so often since I shoot +P+ before it gets noticeable set back.

 

[Telum Pisces]

Crimp or don't crimp. Find you method that works best with you. Neck tension to take the bell out of the case is enough or me. I don't need any more crimping past that into the cannelures