9mm Steyr
Jim is quite correct, load with 9mm Luger data. 9mm Steyr used a 115g FMJ bullet with a maximum velocity of 1050 to 1150 fps.
Use the slower pistol powders like IMR-PB, AA#5, Unique, WSL or Power Pistol with the very slowest being AA#9, H-110 or W-296.
Do not use 38-comp brass, it's to short!
Starline Brass makes "9mm Largo" cases which work very well and are within a couple of thousants of an inch of being the same size as 9mm Steyr brass.
You will need to find out which works for your pistol as regards dies. Some Steyr's will chamber brass sized with standard Lee 9mm Luger dies, most pistols will not, and 38 Super dies are required to size properly. Seating can be done with either a Luger or 38 Super die I've found no difference of results for this step.
The best loads (most accurate) I've worked up have been in the 1000 to 1125 fps range using 115g FMJ or 124g FMJ bullets, Star 9mm largo brass and depending on the powder used standard or magnum primers.
One warning PLEASE, PLEASE, DO NOT fire 9mm Largo, 9mm Luger, 38 Comp, 38 Super or for that matter any ammunition other than your hand loads or 9mm Steyr in your pistole! 9mm Luger is to short a cartridge and puts undue stress on the extractor and will cause rapid throat erosion. The other cartridges (above) are loaded to much higher pressures than 9mm Steyr, with 38 super being the brute and pushing a 115 to 124g bullet up to as much as 1350 fps!
Below are some loads I’ve found to work well in my Steyr-Hahn pistole’s…
All tests were fired off hand at 11 yards from a seated position with my elbows resting on my knees.
All group sizes are outside diameter measurements not center to center of the two most wide spread shots.
Geco factory ammo shot 1.66" to 2.21" in several four shot groups.
The case, primer, bullet & cartridge OAL are the same for all loads unless noted otherwise. CCI-550, .355 diameter IMI-124g FMJ, Starline 9mm Largo brass, O.A.L.= 1.320".
AA#5 @ 5.8g shot a 1.23" four shot group 798 fps avg. S.D. of 7.41.
WC-820 (my lot loads the same as H-110) No Chronograph data was taken this day.
WC-820 @ 10.4g shot a 1.16" four shot group.
AA#9 @ 9.7g shot a 1.22" four shot group.
HS-6 @ 5.7g shot a 1.26" three shot group. 750 fps avg.
Unique @ 5.5g shot a 1.56" WSP primer four shot group. 1022 fps avg.
HS-6 @ 6.0g yielded a .99" 3 shot group at 762 fps.
HS-6 @ 7.2g yielded a 1.19" 4 shot group at 991 fps.
Unique @ 5.3g yielded a 1.05" 3 shot group at 1026 fps.
WC-820 @10.6 yielded a 1.18" 4 shot group at 937 fps.
WC-820 @ 11.4 yielded a 1.07" 3 shot group at 1024 fps.
All of the above results are what I've found to work well in my pistole's. If you are of a mind to use any of this information I recommend that you start out low and work up slow.
Published data for the 9mm Luger cartridge is a good place to start. Further, the trend (as I'm finding it seems to be that my pistole's shoot their best groups with near or just over max 9mm Luger loads.
For those not familiar with it I highly recommend that you spend some time at Stephen Ricciardelli's web pages, as they have proven invaluable as a source of information in this endeavor!
Steven's Pages...
