Best ammo for LCR 9mm

[halfded]

The wife got herself a new 9mm ruger LCR and really likes it, but we are having a problem with bullets pulling loose from the cases. The fifth round in the cylinder will sometimes walk out of the case, locking the gun up.

So far, we've tried federal and blazer 115 grain. Today, out of 25 rounds, 3 pulled loose.

I know this can be a problem with revolvers chambered in pistol calibers as well as a problem with lightweight revolvers.

Ruger recommends trying a lighter weight bullet, but then said that they usually test with 147 grainers.

Anyone else have this problem and find a brand or specific type that stays together in this little cannon?

 

[old fart]

i bought a lcr 9mm just before Christmas, i have been using freedom munitions 135 grain and 124 grain. so far i have not had any back out or at least not enough to lock up the gun. i also have heard that ruger recommends lighter bullets, but my way of thinking is heavier. because with a heavier bullet even with slight movement there would be more of the bullet to stay in the case.

 

[halfded]

The rep I spoke with said it has to do with the laws of inertia. A lighter bullet is more apt to travel with the gun because there's less mass holding it stationary.

I did some reading and found the Bobrick compatibility chart. We're going to try some of the brands listed there. If I can find some of the brand you mentioned above, we'll give them a go too.

 

[C0untZer0]

Existing thread on this issue:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=10130706#post10130706

What I posted in this other thread, Arnie Boberg's pistols (now called the Bond BullPup Pistol)load the 9mm cartridge by pulling them back out of the magazine by the extractor groove. Some cartridges would just come apart. Users compiled a list of cartridges that would hold together and withstand being yanked from a magazine:

http://community.bobergarms.com/forum/topics/boberg-compatible-ammunition

So I'm thinking that ammunition that would withstand being yanked back out of a magazine and hold together is more likely to hold together in the LCR. The difference between the Boberg and the LCR is that each cartridge in the Boberg only undergoes these forces once whereas cartridges in the LCR undergo forces multiple times with at least one cartridge in the LCR being yanked backward by the moon clip 4 times.

 

[Drail]

Bullets pulling in a revolver or bullets setting back in a semi auto are for the most part an ammo problem. If the cartridge is built with enough case neck tension the bullet will stay in place. Any experienced reloader has learned this. The problem is the ammo manufacturers never intended or considered that consumers would shoot their ammo in a flyweight revolver - or repeatedly rechamber rounds in a semi auto over and over. The manufacturers "assume" that any revolver the ammo is fired in will weigh more than 20 oz. (which used to be true) or that the ammo will be chambered in a semi auto one time and then be fired. But now we have polymer/alloy framed revolvers and a society that insists on making people clear their semi auto pistol several times a day week after week and the ammo they sell you is not up to the task. If you want to be able to shoot flyweight revolvers and rechamber auto rounds over and over you MUST learn to reload your own ammo. Because the ammo manufacturers simply do not care and have very good lawyers on their payroll. The only thing they care about is that they sell the product. They make no guarantee that it will perform adequately if shot in a flyweight revolver or is repeatedly rechambered in a semi auto pistol. These kind of guns and practices place much more demand on the cartridges. They could if they chose to do so manufacture rounds that will stand up to those practices but they don't have to. It's just the way it is. If you want high quality ammo you must make your own.

 

[murf]

heavier bullets will have more of the bullet inside the case and therefore have more neck tension area. try the heavier/longer bullets.

murf

 

[Drail]

But if the neck is not properly sized down (or overly expanded) the length of the bullet isn't going to matter. A heavy bullet will have more inertial pull than a lighter one. You must have sufficient tension on the case neck. Lightweight revolvers have always had problems with bullet pull. And the lighter you make it the worse the problem will be and many popular revolvers are being sold today that are just too light to be used with poorly made mass produced factory ammo (and more and more people insist on using +P ammo). Sure, flyweight revolvers are great to carry all day but if they disassemble your cartridges they're not going to be much help when you really need your gun to work. If you're going to run a lightweight revolver then the ammo you load into it needs to be built with the anticipation of severe bullet pull. Factory ammo does not take that into account. When you handload you can take that into account and measure your bullet dia. and your expander dia. and change them if necessary to achieve sufficient tension and maintain control over bullet movement. When you buy a box of factory ammo you have no control. It's like going to the hardware store and grabbing any bolt and "hoping" it is the correct size. The odds are against you.

 

[Luger_carbine]

many popular revolvers are being sold today that are just too light to be used with poorly made mass produced factory ammo

When Georg Luger designed the cartridge, it was designed in conjunction with the Parabellum-Pistole. The cartridges sitting in a magazine residing in the grip of a semi-automatic never experience the inertia force that they do while being gripped by the extractor groove by moonclips in a revolver.

The cartridges were never designed to be fired from a revolver.

The bullets and cases worked fine and continue to work fine in hundreds of thousands of P08, P38, Browning Hi-Powers, Beretta M9, Glocks, HK MP5 and UZI submachine guns not to mention the thousands of other 9mm firearms in existence, the Ruger revolvers are yanking the cases off the bullets and somehow its poorly made ammo by the manufacturer?

This is like buying a Smart ForTwo to tow a 2,500 pound boat and when you try to stop at a traffic light the boat pushes you and the ForTwo into the intersection and you blame the car.

The cartridges function to specification in the firearms that they were designed to be fired in.

 

[murf]

luger carbine,

the lcr in 357 magnum also has this problem. scanadium 44 mag revolvers also have this problem.

the problem has to do with light weight guns and bullet inertia. the op will either deal with the situation, or continue to have the problem.

murf

 

[Drail]

Or learn to build his own ammo.

 

[murf]

halfded,

there is another thread on this very subject wherein the op had the exact same problem with 115 grain factory loads. the op did not have problems with a 124 grain (either xtp or gold dot) load. i guess you will just have to try different loads and find those that function reliably in your gun (i'd stay away from +p loads regardless).

or, you could always make your own.

murf

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I would use at least a 124gr bullet in any 9mm. I don't like light bullets which are only used to up the velocity numbers. As for which won't pull, you just have to keep trying. I'm not surprised the Blazer ammo pulled because I dint think an aluminum case will hold as well as brass. If it was only the aluminum ammo that showed a bullet pull then you already have your answer.

 

[halfded]

Update:

We bought a box of tula and a box of Winchester white bow at the wally mart and hit the range again.

Tried the tula first and while it didn't exhibit any signs of the bullet walking out of the case, the empty cases also stuck very hard in the cylinder... Like tap the ejector rod on the table hard. I know tula is junk but thought we'd give it a go.

The Winchester ammo performed flawlessly, with no bullet movement whatsoever. The wife happily banged through a 50 round box and whatever she managed to grab out of the value packs we had with us as well. I put a few rounds of the Winchester through it as well and its a pretty accurate gun for its size.

This is her first gun and she's fallen in love with it and shooting in general. I'm glad we quickly and fairly easily resolved the problem.

Once she's a proficient enough shot and finds a holster/belt combo that's both comfortable and stylish, we'll start testing SD ammo for the LCR.

I also made the mistake of prodding her to try my G43. She was hesitant at first but now wants a semi auto as her next gun..along with an AR15, and a rifle with the little tube on top (her reference to a scope) lol

Thanks for the help everyone!