Can black powder make a 9mm pistol function?

[ScottMcc]

Imagine a post-apocalypse scenario. Somehow you have enough primers and cast your own bullets from wheel weights, and all you have to do is make your own black powder. Can you get enough black powder into a 9mm case to make an auto pistol function? How about in a PCC? Would it take FFFFG? FFFG? I worry about the reloading task required to dispatch 300 million zombies some day..

 

[ebb]

Hoard powder like you are primers and never use black in a semi auto, way too dirty.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Plow truck and fire, way more efficient on zombies.

 

[dellet]

I can’t confirm a 9mm, But it’s a straight blow back so likely.

What I can confirm is that 20 grains of 2f with a 125 grain bullet will cycle a 16” carbine gassed AR chambered in 300 Blackout.

The problem with semi autos and black powder is not the pressure needed to cycle, but repeated cycling without jamming do to the debris and fouling that gets in the action.

 

[joshb]

I’d be using a 44 Magnum on Zombies. A 9mm will just “rip there lungs out”. Zombies don’t need lungs. The 44 will “blow his head clean off”.
You won’t have time to reload if you’re being chased by Zombies! Better start buying powder and reload now.

 

[DGP4]

The 9mm was designed for smokeless powder. Why not use a 38/357 Magnum revolver or lever action rifle instead? Those cartridges would work fine with black powder.

 

[ebb]

Look up musket and do some research why they had no rifling. A rifled gun needed cleaning soon because it was so fouled you could not force a bullet down the barrel. Trying to shoot the same very dirty black powder in a self loader would seem problematic to me. Tolerances have gotten tighter since black powder guns were common, making even more of a fouling issue.