LCR 9 Ammo to avoid unseating bullets

[5Wire]

I was shooting American Eagle 124 gr 9mm in my LCR9 and had one round in each string of five where one bullet unseated from its case. Ruger mentions the possibility in the LCR manual quoted below. I have a couple other brands an weights but I'd like to know if others have arrived at a good selection where this doesn't happen.

AMMUNITION CHECK
Due to the light weight of the LCR ®, inertial forces to ammunition during firing could possibly unseat a bullet from its crimp in the cartridge casing. The LCR ® has been tested with a variety of popular ammunition manufactured to SAAMI industry standards and has not demonstrated any tendency to unseat bullets. However, before placing the LCR into service, it is recommended that you:
1. At a range or other suitable location, fully load your revolver with the ammunition you wish to test in accordance with the safety and loading instructions in this manual.
2. Fire four of the five rounds in accordance with the safety and firing instructions in this manual.
3. Unload the four fired cases and the unfired round in accordance with the safety and unloading instructions in this manual. Closely inspect the unfired round for signs that the bullet has moved forward out of the case. For jacketed and lead bullets with a cannelure or crimp groove, check to see if the bullet has moved forward enough so that the case mouth is no longer located in the bullet cannelure or crimp groove. For lead bullets without a cannelure or crimp groove, there should be no detectable movement of the bullet. If the bullet has moved as just described, do not use that brand of tested ammunition, and repeat this test with another brand until one is found that the bullet does not unseat during this test.
4. After the test is completed, unload and store the revolver in accordance with the safety and storage instructions in this manual.

 

[woodsy]

One more possibility/caution: beware of limp-wristing.

 

[5Wire]

One more possibility/caution: beware of limp-wristing.

Thanks. Not the problem.

 

[Cal44]

I've seen a list published of load that people have tested and did not find crimp jump.

Can't find it right now, but I'm sure someone will come by that can.

 

[mike campbell]

I don't have the answer in terms of specific loads, but I'd say it's matter of trial and error for each shooter. I don't know that a list would be anything more than a suggestion based on what works for others. Hickok45 says he was unable to make it happen at all with his test gun. So his blessing a brand of ammo wouldn't necessarily help the next person. In theory, of course, the culprit is high recoil velocity so slower and/or lighter bullets are the direction to go. And limp-wristing can surely play a part. I know a shooter who experiences bullet pull with taper-crimped, mild 38 spls in an airweight revolver. For that person, nothing short of a good roll crimp worked, and that was the happy solution. Don't have that option with the 9 of course.

 

[buckshotshorty]

Since I am a reloader, I reload special 9mm rounds just for the LCR. They are loaded down and roll crimped.
When I first got the gun I brought my calipers with me and measured the fifth round after every string, and although I never had a bullet come close to fully jumping the crimp, there definitely was discernible movement with some ammo.

 

[buckshotshorty]

Sorry, double post

 

[demented]

Another potential problem with all mass produced ammo is that one odd round that isn't crimped properly. I've ran across this many times shooting a Charter Arms .44 special and a few times with various alloy framed .38's.

 

[5Wire]

Another potential problem with all mass produced ammo is that one odd round that isn't crimped properly. I've ran across this many times shooting a Charter Arms .44 special and a few times with various alloy framed .38's.

I am unaware of any 9mm ammo that is crimped except by reloaders and I don't reload.

Am I missing something?

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Another potential problem with all mass produced ammo is that one odd round that isn't crimped properly. I've ran across this many times shooting a Charter Arms .44 special and a few times with various alloy framed .38's.

I am unaware of any 9mm ammo that is crimped except by reloaders and I don't reload.

Am I missing something?

There is a slight taper crimp on all 9mm rounds. The case of the 9mm is tapered.

 

[DGW1949]

Simple physics says that all else being equal, a 115 GRN bullet will have less tendency towards it's bullet becoming "unseated from its case" during recoil than a 124 GRN bullet.

DGW

 

[5Wire]

I would think the physics involved would go like this:

The bullet remaining in place: "A body at rest will remain at rest unless an outside force acts on it...";

The firearm is discharged: "...if an unbalanced force acts on a body, that body will experience acceleration ( or deceleration), that is, a change of speed..."

The bullet is propelled out the muzzle and recoil goes the other way, pushing on the cartridge case with force conducted to to the recoil shield. Other bullets "want" to remain in place. The faster/stronger the recoil, the more likely any bullet will begin to unseat. Unseating depends more on the case, cannelure, any crimp in some combination. I don't know of any crimped 9mm that is not home-rolled.

 

[DGW1949]

I would think the physics involved would go like this:

The bullet remaining in place: "A body at rest will remain at rest unless an outside force acts on it...";

The firearm is discharged: "...if an unbalanced force acts on a body, that body will experience acceleration ( or deceleration), that is, a change of speed..."

The bullet is propelled out the muzzle and recoil goes the other way, pushing on the cartridge case with force conducted to to the recoil shield. Other bullets "want" to remain in place. The faster/stronger the recoil, the more likely any bullet will begin to unseat. Unseating depends more on the case, cannelure, any crimp in some combination. I don't know of any crimped 9mm that is not home-rolled.

All of that is true, but then there's this:

RE: "The faster/stronger the recoil, the more likely any bullet will begin to unseat. Unseating depends more on the case, cannelure, any crimp in some combination. I don't know of any crimped 9mm that is not home-rolled."

What you are actually saying there is that it's the friction between the bullet and it's case that keeps the bullet in it's case as the case is accelerated backwards. That is very true....however;
Up until the point wherein it was acted on by an outside source, the bullet itself was at rest, so the only energy it possessed was simply potential energy.
Potential energy is figured thusly....PE=MGH, with the "M" meaning mass. What that tells us relative to this discussion is that all else being equal, the more mass an object has, the more it tends to remain at rest.....so it follows that more mass, the less it will be effected by X-amount of outside force, be it in the form of friction, velocity or whatever.

In other words....like I said before, simple physics says that all else being equal, a 115 GRN bullet will have less tendency towards it's bullet becoming "unseated from its case" during recoil than a 124 GRN bullet.
Yeah sure, one could also alter the outcome by using a heavier gun or a weaker powder charge.....but then the formula would either have involve a different/heavier revolver, or perhaps the use of a lessor powder charge. But hey, the little LCR weighs what it weighs, I don't know of any "purposely weak" factory 9MM ammo, and you don't hand load, so that don't leave many options to try......hence my suggestion to try ammo with a lighter bullet.

No offense meant.

DGW

 

[5Wire]

...a 115 GRN bullet will have less tendency towards it's bullet becoming "unseated from its case" during recoil than a 124 GRN bullet.

Thanks for your post and no offense taken. I don't disagree with your argument but because a bullet might have less mass doesn't mean it can't unseat in the cylinder. Cartridge fit and friction would play a part with whatever tendency there might be and that can change by product line (other things being unequal between lines). I've got some different weights and types, as I posted above, just haven't tried them yet. My OP was looking for experience with the LCR9 with ammo that might save some time and expense.

LCR9 weighs 17.2 oz according to Ruger

 

[mike campbell]

Apparently, nobody has the exact data you're looking for. What you're getting are viable suggestions for how to find out for yourself. No one said a lighter bullet "can't unseat"....just that it has "less tendency" and I agree with that.

Cartridge "fit and friction" would be pretty difficult to compare, quantify, predict, etc. Bullet weight and muzzle velocity can be known. The number of options don't seem all that daunting. Perhaps you could just try a box of each of the major brands of shoot-em-ups in 115 grain persuasion.

In my limited experience, periodically chronographing a fresh box in the only 9mm I own, the Remington UMC 115RN load is lowest velocity. YMMV, but you might consider starting there.

 

[5Wire]

...Perhaps you could just try a box of each of the major brands of shoot-em-ups in 115 grain persuasion.

That's the plan I stated, thanks. However, 115 gr is not the only one I'll be trying.