9mm Differences

[xseler]

I was 'test feeding' my new to me 1940 Luger last week to make sure everything was good to go --- well, it wouldn't cycle the cartridges. The magazines were original to the gun and weren't 100% on the top. Hmmm, so I decided to order some repro magazines to use and just store the originals. After I placed the order, I was doing a little more research and discovered that some owners said that their Lugers were very particular to the length and shape of the bullet.

That got me to thinking. I don't guess that I had paid much attention to the shape of the projectiles since all my modern pistols in 9mm pretty much ate anything. There are differences! (Duh, some of ya'll just said!)

The cartridge on the right is regular Remington brown box. The left one is Speer Lawman. Both are 115gr FMJ. The Remington is shorter overall and kinda stubby. The Speer Lawman is a touch longer and much more 'pointy'. The Remington refused to feed at all. The Speer Lawman worked slicker than butter!! I would've bet money the shorter cartridge should have worked better...…….glad I didn't bet ---I hate to pay myself.

Just something that made me go, "Hmmmmm."

 

[dennishoddy]

I was 'test feeding' my new to me 1940 Luger last week to make sure everything was good to go --- well, it wouldn't cycle the cartridges. The magazines were original to the gun and weren't 100% on the top. Hmmm, so I decided to order some repro magazines to use and just store the originals. After I placed the order, I was doing a little more research and discovered that some owners said that their Lugers were very particular to the length and shape of the bullet.

That got me to thinking. I don't guess that I had paid much attention to the shape of the projectiles since all my modern pistols in 9mm pretty much ate anything. There are differences! (Duh, some of ya'll just said!)

View attachment 144462
The cartridge on the right is regular Remington brown box. The left one is Speer Lawman. Both are 115gr FMJ. The Remington is shorter overall and kinda stubby. The Speer Lawman is a touch longer and much more 'pointy'. The Remington refused to feed at all. The Speer Lawman worked slicker than butter!! I would've bet money the shorter cartridge should have worked better...…….glad I didn't bet ---I hate to pay myself.

Just something that made me go, "Hmmmmm."

Good observation! Back in the day, there wasn't a whole lot of variety.

 

[AKguy1985]

You'd think that it would eat any 9mm luger cartridge.

 

[Fyrtwuck]

My 1941 Luger has never had any problem with any ball ammo. I’ve used cheap factory ammo and my reloads. Is it the magazines or feed ramp design changes?

 

[HFS]

I think I have read somewhere that the German military used a 123 or 124 grain bullet in the 9mm Luger.
Just a guess but maybe that's why your pistol likes the longer bullet?

I never owned one. But people I've talked to who actually shot their Luger pistols said it was either: very reliable and accurate or a real jam-o-matic.

EDIT: Some of those Lugers had been rebuilt or refurbished and I wondered if lousy repair work might have been the problem?

 

[druryj]

Can you describe the problem with feeding in a little more detail? Was the gun clean and lubed? Did the round hang up at the top of the chamber? Would it eject fired cases okay? Do you think the recoil spring might not have been strong enough to slam that slide forward?

My first guess is that it’s a magazine problem.


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