9mm Browning Long

dfletcher

I already reload for anything from 25 ACP to 416 Rigby - so what's one more set of dies going to matter? :)

Am considering picking up a pistol in 9mm Browning Long and know very little about reloading for it. Am interested in how difficult it is to find (or make) brass and dies, shellholders, etc. Basically the nuts & bolts of making my own. And any challenges associated with reloading.

All I've read for now is that brass can be made from 38 ACP or Super. Is 9mm Makarov brass viable when sized down? 9mm Luger dies work?

Any experienced tips appreciated.

rufe-snow

9 Browning Long is one of John Browning's earliest cartridges. Dating to the early 1900's. Same, same as his .38 auto, of 1900 hundred. Case is .160 shorter than .38 auto. With the same semi-rim.

9 mm Luger has a tapered case with a head dimension of app. .389 just forward of the rim. The 9 mm brass is also app. .040 shorter than the 9 mm B.L. Easy to load with .38 auto or super brass cut down app .160. Use .38 auto/.38 super dies.

All the 9 mm B.L. pistols I've owned, have been blowback not locked breech. i would use 9 mm bullets, with either 9 mm Makarov or .380 loading data. All the 9 mm B.L. pistols, were made prior to W W Ii. Doesn't pay to stress an old timer with hot loads.

nononsense

dfletcher,

Here is a dab of reloading information as a basic guide:

"The original load was a 110 gr (7 g) FMJ bullet going at about 1,000 ft/s (300 m/s) with a muzzle energy output of 240 ft-lbf (330 J). Modern loads are a 108 gr (7 g) FMJ bullet travelling at about 1,150 ft/s (350 m/s) with an output of 316 ft-lbf (428 J)."

Technical specifications

Cartridge type

Straight, Semi-rimmed

Parent cartridge

38 Super. (modern reloads)

Overall length

1.10 in (28 mm)

Case length

20 mm (0.79 in)

Neck diameter

.379" nom. (9.68mm)

Base diameter

.380" nom. (9.72mm)

Rim diameter

.404 in (10.3 mm)

Muzzle velocity

1,000 ft/s (300 m/s) (original loading)

1,150 ft/s (350 m/s) (modern loading)

Primer type

Small pistol

Otherwise the suggestions above are right inline with everything I've read about this cartridge. Use .38 Super brass and carefully down to the proper length.

Historic Information

9mm Browning Long

Also known as 9x20mm Browning, this cartridge is almost unique in being the only John M. Browning cartridge design that is now considered obsolete. Invented in 1903, Browning developed the cartridge expressly for the European market and the FN Browning Model 1903 semi-auto. Apparently, Colt owned the rights to .38 ACP, which made a parallel cartridge necessary. US manufacturers never produced any arms or factory ammunition in 9mm Browning Long. 

      Even a relative failure for Browning would have been a lesser designers crowning achievement. 9mm Browning Long and the Model 1903 pistol sold quite well throughout Europe before WWII. The Model 1903 was adopted as the military sidearm of Sweden in 1907, and it continued to serve in this role until 1946. The Model 1903 was a very simple, but robust blowback design. It is believed that this pistol may have been the most pirated design in history, that is, produced on the black or gray market while still under patent. Many thousands of these pistols were made in Spain from 1905-1936, since Spain did not observe customary international law regarding intellectual property. Other handguns chambered in 9mm Browning Long were produced by Le Francais and Webley & Scott.

      9mm Browning Long may have been a victim of Brownings own genius. A few years later, he unveiled the 9mm Browning Short (.380 ACP, 9x17mm, etc.), which delivered virtually identical power in a more compact form. At the same time, 9mm Browning Long was only slightly smaller than his own .38 ACP, yet it was much lower in power. The increasing dominance of 9mm Parabellum, coupled with the release of the improved .38 Super Auto in 1929, finished off the 9mm Browning Long cartridge.  

      9mm Browning Long is slightly smaller and less powerful than 9mm Parabellum. The case was 20.32mm (0.80), and the overall length was 27.94mm (1.10). The bullet diameter is 9.03mm (.355), which is the same as 9x17mm, 9x19mm, 9x21, and the various 9x23mm cartridges. Factory loads in 9mm Browning Long had a nominal velocity of 1,100 fps with a 110gr bullet.   

Check your PM.

Best.

Horse Plains Drifter

Interesting read, thanks guys! Ya know old saying "you learn something new every day"? Well until ten minutes ago I had never even heard of a 9mm Browning long.

dfletcher

Many thanks.  I've found a source for Browning Long brass, bullets should be no problem.  I can cobble together a "set" of dies that work too.

Also picked up a 380 ACP barrel. I reload for that cartridge, losing a few 380 cases won't bother me as much as losing the Browning Long.