P08 shoots 9x21mm ammo?

Doubs · 09-09-2002, 12:10 AM

[quote]Originally posted by unspellable:
<strong>If I remember correctly, the 9 x 21 is loaded to the same OAL as the 9 mm Parabellum, has the same boiler room and the same ballistics, and is intended to sidestep the laws of various countries that ban military chamberings. The 9 x 23 was a US wildcat or proprietary cartridge designed to make major for competitive shooting. It has a little more OAL length and a little more boiler room.</strong><hr></blockquote>

The 9x21 has been pretty well replaced in IPSC by the .38 Super and 9x23.... both having almost the same case length of 23mm. (So does the Largo case, BTW.) Doing a bit of research shows that the 9x19 is now forbidden in the US in Major caliber class.
The 9x23 as developed by Colt made the odd-ball (in the US, anyway) 9x21 unnecessary.

In Europe, I can understand loading the 9x21 cartridge to the same OAL as 9x19 if a magazine designed for 9x19 is to be used. The chamber, of course, would still have to be 2mm longer to headspace correctly. The move to 9x21 in the US was specifically to avoid the extremely high pressures of the 9x19 when loaded to Major class velocities. Competitors in IPSC no doubt made good use of the extra case capacity. The same performance can be gotten from .38 Super but that cartridge had to be changed from headspacing on the semi-rim to headspacing on the case mouth for best accuracy. Once that was done, the .38 Super gained a following pretty quickly.

None of my reloading manuals are new enough to include 9x21 or 9x23 so I really can't give specifics as I'd like. I do shoot and reload for Largo but I pretty well use starting loads for .38 Super as maximum... especially in the Astra 400.

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09-09-2002, 12:10 AM	#5
Doubs User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Byron, Georgia Posts: 1,736 Thanks: 819 Thanked 1,769 Times in 586 Posts	[quote]Originally posted by unspellable: <strong>If I remember correctly, the 9 x 21 is loaded to the same OAL as the 9 mm Parabellum, has the same boiler room and the same ballistics, and is intended to sidestep the laws of various countries that ban military chamberings. The 9 x 23 was a US wildcat or proprietary cartridge designed to make major for competitive shooting. It has a little more OAL length and a little more boiler room.</strong><hr></blockquote> The 9x21 has been pretty well replaced in IPSC by the .38 Super and 9x23.... both having almost the same case length of 23mm. (So does the Largo case, BTW.) Doing a bit of research shows that the 9x19 is now forbidden in the US in Major caliber class. The 9x23 as developed by Colt made the odd-ball (in the US, anyway) 9x21 unnecessary. In Europe, I can understand loading the 9x21 cartridge to the same OAL as 9x19 if a magazine designed for 9x19 is to be used. The chamber, of course, would still have to be 2mm longer to headspace correctly. The move to 9x21 in the US was specifically to avoid the extremely high pressures of the 9x19 when loaded to Major class velocities. Competitors in IPSC no doubt made good use of the extra case capacity. The same performance can be gotten from .38 Super but that cartridge had to be changed from headspacing on the semi-rim to headspacing on the case mouth for best accuracy. Once that was done, the .38 Super gained a following pretty quickly. None of my reloading manuals are new enough to include 9x21 or 9x23 so I really can't give specifics as I'd like. I do shoot and reload for Largo but I pretty well use starting loads for .38 Super as maximum... especially in the Astra 400.