Ammo Brief: 9mm Steyr

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A quick look at 9mm Steyr, the standard cartridge for the Austrian Steyr Model 1912 military pistol.

9mm Steyr is the standard Austrian military pistol cartridge for the Steyr Model 1912 auto pistol. Its case is approximately 23 millimeters long, as compared to the 9mm Luger, which is 19 millimeters. Apparently, the only other countries besides Austria to use this as a military round were Romania and Chile, which adopted both the Steyr pistol and cartridge in 1912.

This cartridge is very similar to the 9mm Bergmann-Bayard, and these two are often confused. However, 9mm Steyr ammunition is usually found with a nickel-jacketed bullet. The 9mm Bayard case is slightly longer. Quantities of 9mm Steyr pistols have appeared on the United States surplus military market and, for a while, ammunition was readily available.

General Comments

The 9mm Steyr is quite similar to the 9mm Bayard. The Astra Model 400 will sometimes handle both, but other pistols will not. The 9mm Steyr is a good field cartridge, similar to the .38 Colt Automatic in performance.

Bullet diameter is the same as the 9mm Luger, and one can use Luger bullets for reloading. Any standard load for the 9mm Luger or .38 Automatic will work in the Steyr pistol. Fiocchi of Italy still loads this round.

Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt of Gun Digest's Cartridge's Of The World.

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