.380ACP in a 9mm Revolver?

Slow_Hand

Please cut me some slack on this question as I'm new at all of this.

I was wondering if a 9mm Luger cartridge revolver that uses moon clips, e.g. Taurus 905 stainless steel 5-shot revolver, could safely and satisfactorily shoot the shorter .380ACP or 9mm Kurtz ammo? Obviously, it could chamber the round but shooting it is a whole different matter.

Any ideas or info?

perry shooter

Hello Yes it would chamber with half moon clips and the bullet diameter is the same . However IMHO what you are asking to do is NOT the same as say shooting a 38 special in a 357 Mag revolver . The 9MM luger is a tapered case and the area just ahead of the extractor is larger by almost .020 of an inch . Whould this cause the case to split on a 380 cartridge ??? but I think if you value your hand, eyes ETC you should shoot the cartridge the gun is chambered in . If I had a 9MM pistol and only had 380 ammo I would use it as it is better then no gun at all but would use this mix only in emergency. If you want milder recoil out of your 9 MM just reload reduced loads.

bobski

please dont not put a bullet into a gun that its not designed for. it makes pro gun people look stupid and if enough people do stupid things like this, theyll want to make laws to make guns idiot proof. its bad enough 3/4th of the bbl is taken up with danger warnings now...if you blow yourself up, they might have to put a bullet warning on the grips next.[:(]

v35

Since the 9mm brass is tapered, there's a good difference (.012-.013") between diameters of the brass at the case webs but not so much at the neck. I expect 380 brass may split near the web and spray you with hot gas. You may just get a big bulge in the 380 cases but I wouldn't do it.

Slow_Hand

quote:Originally posted by bobski
please dont not put a bullet into a gun that its not designed for. it makes pro gun people look stupid and if enough people do stupid things like this, theyll want to make laws to make guns idiot proof. its bad enough 3/4th of the bbl is taken up with danger warnings now...if you blow yourself up, they might have to put a bullet warning on the grips next.[:(]


Wouldn't want to do anything stupid or dangerous - certainly not my wish - but there is a pricey model revolver called the Medusa that shoots .380, 9mm, .38Special, .357Magnum and at least one or possibly two additional calibers of ammo. And so I was curious as to whether or not the .380 and 9mm were compatible in any run-of-the-mill 9mm revolver as the .38Special ammo is in .357's.

dtknowles

I expect that the half moon clips would not hold the .380 well or relaibily. If they did and the cartridge fired it might split but probably not in a catistrophic manner. Kind of like firing .32 Colts in .32 S&W chambers. If you have a lot of .380 ammo, I will trade you with some 9mm amd split the shipping. The .380 stuff is more expensive because it is less used. 9mm is about the cheapest centerfire ammo you can buy. No reason to fire .380 in a 9mm. Don't do it.

Tim

jthoresen

Slow_Hand,

dtknowles is right, .380 ammo is much more expensive than 9mm ammo. In fact other than the 22 LR nothing is cheaper to shoot than a 9mm.

JackiePapers

Years ago I used to shoot .380 in a p38 pistol.. no problem. Of course the thing wouldn't cycle... but sometimes you use whatcha got! [:D]

jack85

Medusa Multi-caliber revolver:
A rare gun produced in Texas that was the ultimate prize for many survivalists before the war. The Medusa is a revolver with a special device that allows it to chamber and fire .357, .38, 9mm and .380 auto ammunition without having to modify the weapon in any way. The four types of rounds can be loaded with no hassle and can be fired and extracted just as easily. The weapon was very expensive before the war, and now it is almost impossible to find.

spanielsells

FWIW I had a .380ACP and would never, ever own another. I found it to be more unreliable than not as well as highly inaccurate.

I kept it under the front seat of my car for five years before I wound up selling the thing.

Yes, a 380 is better than nothing, but I'd rather have something more reliable and accurate, given the opportunity.

1911a1-fan

this is one of those dumb things i have actually tried, i did fire a box of .380's through a 9mm auto, with no malfunction at all, no spilt cases, no gas blow back, they did not feed at all, it was a single shot for the experiment, it was some time ago, and i do not advocate doing it

i do agree with dtknowles about them not fitting properly in a moon clip, i say this because i have had several .380 brass pieces slip into my 9mm brass while reloading, some manufacturer's brass fit the dies ok, while most of them will be shot out of the case holder upon seating a primer, i had this happen a few times, enough to where i now go through each piece one by one