The 9×23mm Steyr, also known as 9mm Steyr, is a centerfire pistol cartridge originally developed for the Steyr M1912 pistol.
History
Adopted in 1912, the 9mm Steyr was the service ammunition for most branches of the military in Austria-Hungary during World War I and remained the service ammunition for Austria, Romania and Chile between the World Wars.[2] Some MP 34 submachine guns were also issued in this caliber in addition to 9×25mm Mauser. When the Austrian Army was incorporated in the Wehrmacht in 1938 following the Anschluss, many Steyr M1912 pistols and MP 34 submachine guns were rebarrelled to 9×19mm Parabellum for standardization purposes.
Design
The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case. Its performance is close to that of the .38 ACP. Unrelated to the modern 9×23mm Winchester, it is similar to the 9×23mm Largo cartridge in performance, but their dimensions are just different enough to make them non-interchangeable.[3]
Handloading
For handloading, reloadable Boxer-primed cartridge cases can be made from 5.56×45mm NATO brass. This requires inside neck-reaming, as such a conversion would otherwise leave unacceptably thick mid-to-rear case walls from the original cartridges to form the mouths of the new, shortened cases. At least one commercial source apparently can produce such a forming die set, complete with reamer. Loading data would be much like .38 ACP.
Gallery
-
Steyr M1912 pistol with holster and 9×23mm Steyr ammunition on stripper clips
-
Steyr M1912 pistol with box and stripper clip of 9×23mm Steyr ammunition
References
- ^ "9mm Largo vs. Others". Archived from the original on 2008-06-25. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
- ^ *Wilson, R. K. Textbook of Automatic Pistols, p.235. Plantersville, S.C.: Small Arms Technical Publishing Company, 1943.
- ^ Jeff, John (August 2009). "Q&A". Guns Magazine. p. 35.