Best 9MM for ...

pwillie

November 22, 2015 17:10

..1918 Luger ,any brands?...I was told I needed hot loads to make the action work..??

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  perry shooter

  November 22, 2015 17:21

  I would try some European ammo like sellier & bellot or fiocchi
  in full metal jacket NO hollow point

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  pwillie

  November 22, 2015 17:25

  quote:Originally posted by pwillie
  ..1918 Luger ,any brands?...I was told I needed hot loads to make the action work..??
  Thanks, anything else?

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  Ricci Wright

  November 22, 2015 19:36

  There's a lot of Winchester nato 124 gr stuff around and that's pretty hot.

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  Hawk Carse

  November 22, 2015 20:21

  I don't think you need a real hot load, the original 1903 9mm was a 124 grain bullet at 1050 or 1090 fps.
  
  What you do need is a roundnose bullet at or near the maximum OAL to fill the magazine and hit the feed ramp right.

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  chiefr

  November 23, 2015 03:18

  Years ago, I lived in Germany and owned and fired many Lugers. Sadly today, they have all sold or traded way. I lived in Germany when most of LE in the states carried wheel-guns or a 1911 and the 9mm craze had not began.
  
  Perry is 100% correct. I could never get the domestic RP, FC, or WW to function reliably. Geco, RWS, SB, and Fiocchi would function reliably. If you reload, you can work up a load that will work.
  
  Years ago I cromo'd the European stuff and it was indeed faster.

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  62fuelie

  November 23, 2015 14:38

  The NATO spec load is about +p pressure and velocity and should function just fine regardless of manufacturer.

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  v35

  December 01, 2015 18:43

  Do you handload?
  Yes, loads need to be near max and overall length is critical (1.160").
  Bullets need to be RN although the first can be HP.
  No flat nose or hollow point.
  The original bullet was a tapered conical 124 grain flat point that was changed to a RN. I wouldn't waste any money trying to match it.
  Fire a single round with an empty mag in place. If the Toggle (slide) doesn't lock back the charge isn't heavy enough.
  Ackley published load of 6 grains Unique behind a 124 grain bullet seems to cycle my Lugers reliably so far. I haven't chronographed them yet.

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  45forme

  December 04, 2015 20:56

  I've had good luck with NATO loaded ammo. It's a little hotter than standard 9mm and its 124gr

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  b0400879

  December 10, 2015 09:37

  P08s do tend to function best w/ a stout load - so as a safe benchmark, any European-made 9x19 ammo should suffice.

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  Kenneth Stuart

  December 10, 2015 15:31

  I've gone through this before testing different factory ammo in Luger. PMC Blazer with the aluminum case seemed to work all the time. Sellier Bellot worked fine too. Then I tried recommended powder combinations with 124 FMJ, Lee carbide taper crimping of the bullet, and never got anywhere near as reliable (i.e., no failure to feed, eject, smoke stacks, etc.) as the Blazer. Even switched out all the springs except for the magazine spring - maybe it was the magazine spring who knows, even polished the feed ramp, had thoughts that maybe since the Luger was originally designed for a bottle-necked cartridge then changed form 7.62mm to 9mm with a slightly tapered case that was part of the problem, again who knows. Even pulled the bullets from unfired Blazer cases and reloaded them with different bullets. That didn't work as reliably as expected. Finally decided Old Lugers are interesting/collectable just not shootable.

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