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.380

prusspruss Member Posts: 74 ✭✭
edited November 2010 in Ask the Experts
Can .380 rounds be fired out of a 9mm. What's the difference between the two rounds besides length.

Comments

  • beantownshootahbeantownshootah Member Posts: 12,776 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    "Can" you fire a .380 from a 9mm gun?

    Supposedly Charter Arms is working on a convertible 9mm luger REVOLVER that will also safety handle .380ACP rounds.

    If you're talking about a conventional semi-auto pistol, if you can get the round to be held against the breech by the extractor, there is a reasonably good chance you can get it to go off and fire in certain guns. In other words, there is a good chance this is physically possible.

    Should you try this? I don't see a good reason to short of an improbable emergency where that's the only gun and ammo combination you have.

    First of all 9mm luger ammo is more powerful, less expensive, and easier to find than .380ACP, so there is no economic or ballistic reason to do this.

    Second, for a variety of reasons related to safety and wear and tear on guns, its never a good idea to fire ammo from guns that were not designed to handle the ammo in question. You're probably not going to blow up your gun trying this, but accuracy will likely be poor, you'll get increased chamber fouling, and it probably won't cycle the action properly.

    In terms of differences, the biggest ones are that .380 (aka 9x17mm, 9mm short, 9mm kurz, etc) uses a shorter cartridge than 9mm luger (aka 9x19mm, 9mm parabellum, etc), generally takes shorter lighter bullets, and is loaded to lower pressures.
  • prusspruss Member Posts: 74 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks for the reply. It's more of a retoricle question that came up today regarding interchangeable rounds such as the 38 and 357. 410 and 45.
    What is a 9mm Kurz.
  • NwcidNwcid Member Posts: 10,674
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by pruss
    Thanks for the reply. It's more of a retoricle question that came up today regarding interchangeable rounds such as the 38 and 357.410 and 45.


    .410 and .45 are NOT intercahngeable, nor are .38 and .357.

    There are guns that are made to take .45//410 but dont go sticking a .45 shells in your .410 shotgun. Also you can fire a .38 in a .357 but dont shoot .357 in a .38.

    quote:
    What is a 9mm Kurz.


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9_mm_caliber
  • prusspruss Member Posts: 74 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sorry you misunderstood my meaning. Bad choice of words on my part but thanks for your input.
  • midnightrunpaintballermidnightrunpaintballer Member Posts: 2,233 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by pruss
    Sorry you misunderstood my meaning. Bad choice of words on my part but thanks for your input.




    I understood what you meant. But we like to be very clear because ya never know when someone else stumbles across this information and doesn't know better. Wouldn't want anyone to misinterpret and blow themselves up. Although, if you can get a .357 magnum to rotate in line with the barrel in a .38spl revolver, you're figuring out something that I'm not. Also, you forgot .40S&W and 10mm (for a revolver chambered in 10mm)
  • prusspruss Member Posts: 74 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Good point. But if your stupid enough to do as you suggested the you probably get what you deserve. Not referring to you of course
  • 11b6r11b6r Member Posts: 16,584 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Kurz is short. You may also see Corto. Again, short. 9mm Kurz is another name for .380 ACP.
  • dcs shootersdcs shooters Member Posts: 10,870 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Originally posted by pruss

    What is a 9mm Kurz.


    KURZ is German for SHORT [;)]
  • prusspruss Member Posts: 74 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    dcs and 11b6r, thank you for your straight forward reply to my second question.
  • Riomouse911Riomouse911 Member Posts: 3,492 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The .380 is one of those that has a lot of names; 9mm Kurz, 9mm Corto, 9mm Browning Short, 9x17mm, ,380 ACP, .380 Auto etc...

    Many years ago I fired a magazine that contained a .380 round in it. (It was loaded by another shooter from a big box of loose rounds a bunch of us were practicing with) It fired (I'm guessing the extractor held the casing against the breechface firmly enough for the pin to strike and fire) but it didn't cycle the Sig 226 I was using.

    Needless to say I wasn't happy about the .380 round in the 9mm box, and it led to a long search of other loose-round boxes to cull out incompatible rounds that were in them.
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