Is all 9mm Ammo the same?

[krmgator]

I know nothing about 9mm's and am thinking of getting one. My pistols are wheelguns.

Will any 9mm shoot any 9mm bullet? I guess the reason I'm asking is what does it mean when the box of ammo says 9x18 or 9x12 or whatever?

 

[sd]

no , all 9mm is not the same. You should get better answers here soon, but the most common 9mm is 9X19, otherwise known as 9mm Luger , which are the same or interchangeable. THere are lots of different 9mm, 9x18 (soviet), 9x23 (competition mostly) 9mm kurtz a.k.a. .380. These are NOT interchangeable, but most common 9mm is 9mm luger/9x19. Refers to diameter and length of bullet.

 

[PT1911]

not at all... 9x18 is a soviet round that is shorter than a 9mm luger and actually larger in diameter... if you get a 9mm be sure you know which you are getting. they will not function in guns interchangeably... so... essentially.. just be sure of what you are getting.. I have seen more than one person mess up their gun by feeding it the wrong ammuntion...

 

[rcmodel]

This is what you want.
9x19mm Parabellum, 9mm Luger, 9x19mm NATO

These are all different and will not work in your gun.

.380 ACP = (9x17mm, .380 Auto, 9mm Browning, 9mm Corto, 9mm Court, 9mm Kratak, 9mm Kurz, 9mm Scurt, 9mm Short)
9x18mm Makarov
9x18mm Police (9mm Ultra)
9mm Browning Long (9x20mm Browning SR)
9mm Glisenti
9mm Federal
9x21mm IMI
9x21mm Gyurza (9x21mm SP-10)
9mm Action Express (9mm AE)
9x23mm Steyr
9mm Largo = (9mm Bergmann-Bayard, 9x23mm Largo)
9mm Super Cooper = (9x22mm Super Cooper)
9x23mm Winchester
9mm Mars
9mm Mauser Export (Export caliber for C96)
9mm Winchester Magnum
9x25mm Dillon
9x25mm Super Auto G
9x30mm Magnum (9mm Dillon Magnum)

rc

 

[Blackbeard]

rcmodel pretty much summed it up, but just to clarify, the 9mm Parabellum, 9mm Luger, and 9x19 NATO are all different names for the same cartridge. When people refer to "9mm", this is the cartridge they mean. All those others that he listed are different cartridges and are not interchangeable.

 

[ants]

And guess what?

None of them are actually 9mm!

But they're close. Typical jacketed bullets are 0.355 inches and lead bullets are 0.356 inches, where 9 millimeters is actually 0.354330 inches. I guess they figured it was close enough, considering that they already had 38 caliber set at .357 inches.

 

[ROBBY.1911]

if you are a wheelgun guy you should appreciate the differences between .38 special and .357 magnum. in some guns you can shoot both, in others no.

 

[Sunray]

"...None of them are actually 9mm!..." A .38 Special isn't .38" either. Nor does .308" convert to 7.62mm.
"...in some guns you can shoot both..." You can shoot any .38 Special ammo out of any .357 Mag, but not the reverse.
You won't be finding any firearm chambered in 9mm AE. It's a .41 AE necked down to 9mm. Neither cartridge is loaded by anybody.