Has anyone worked up a load for the 147gr “Smiley” .357″ projectile as a 9mm subsonic, and if so how much did you have to reduce charge weight to account for the added diameter?
Context:
I am an experienced reloader of around 10 years, and have developed many loads over a dozen different calibers. One of my favorite subsonic loads for my HK pistols and MP5 clone is RMR’s 147gr 9mm Matchwinner, with N320 powder. (I don’t have my logbook with me so forgive the absence of OAL and charge weight.) A while back I picked up a bunch of the 147gr .357 Smiley’s, with the goal of loading them in my Marlin lever action rifle as subsonics as well, however I’m not sure if it’s a bearing length issue or what, but the best I can get them to group at 50 yd is maybe 3-4″ which is unacceptable for my use case. (Yes I’ve tried different powders, primers, etc, and have been working on this load for over a month multiple days a week with no success. I’d like to make good use of these projectiles and not waste them, but they aren’t working as hoped in my Marlin and that’s the only 38/357 I have. ) \
For curiosity’s sake, I loaded a dummy round of the 357 147gr smiley into a 9mm case using my existing seating die settings, and the projectile seats fine and plunks fine in any suppressed hosts that I want to try it in. Seating depth looks acceptable, not too deep, so I am thinking about giving it a try and seeing how they perform. Has anyone else experimented with this before, and if so how did it turn out?
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