9mm in a .357 Mag revolver?

WoundedWolf

I like the idea of a 9mm revolver, such as the Taurus 905, but I really like the concept of the Medusa Model 47:

http://www.cadco.com/firearms/pri.htm

I already have a Ruger GP100 .357 Magnum, and it is great that I can shoot the cheaper .38 Special for target practice. Being able to shoot 9mm would be even better!

From what I understand, the 9mm, .357 Magnum, and .38 Special all use basically the same diameter bullet, which is why the Medusa works. I've been looking at buying the single-action Ruger Blackhawk for some time now, simply because I love the idea of a "convertible" gun that will shoot .357 Mag/.38 Spl and 9mm. Ruger does it by actually providing a separate cylinder for 9mm.

What I am really curious about is if anyone has experimented with shooting 9mm in a full moon clip in a revolver chambered for .357 Mag. I don't know much about moon clips, but from what I understand they allow automatic cartridges to be fired in a revolver by clipping into the extractor groove on the cartridge. From what I read on a Gunbroker post, it sounds like the 9mm Taurus revolver uses full moon clips. If anybody knows more about this, or has used a moon clip, then I would like to learn more.

It seems like a clip could be designed that would allow 9mm to be fired in a .357 Mag revolver. I would experiment myself, but I don't want to destroy my GP100, or get injured myself.

I would like to hear if anyone has experimented with this stuff or has any comments.

Thanks!

gap1916

Smith and Wesson made a 9mm double action revlover for the French police a few years back. They also sold them here in the US bit did not have much luck with the sales here. You can still find them at gun shows and on links like GB. I beleive Astra also made a double action 9mm revolver. [8D]

Greg
Former Marine
A N G L I C O

rufe-snow

There is no way you could possibly fire a 9mm cartridge, in a revolver chambered for .357 Magnum. Without the revolver being rechambered,i.e. chargeholes in the cylinder being reamed out.

The 9mm cartridge has a diameter just forward of the rim of app. .392. The .357 on the other hand has a dia of app. .379.

Char

Is the Medusa still being made? I have been trying to find one for some time and I never get a response back from Cadco.

nmyers

This is not a workable concept. I would be very surprised if the Cadco revolver actually exists. Buyers willing to pay $900 for one are even more difficult to find. Rufe-snow's logical is pretty difficult to overcome; the only way I know of to fire different size cartridges in the same revolver is with different cylinders or, possibly, chamber inserts.

In any case, bore size & twist rate are determined by the characteristics of a specific cartridge & range of loads. A revolver with cylinders for different cartridges is never equally accurate with all cartridges. Even the .38 spec & .357 mag cartridges that can be fired in the same cylinder do not group equally well; that's why the Colt Python .38 spec revolver, with a different twist rate, was released.

Neal

WoundedWolf

Thanks for the quick responses, guys.

I don't doubt the Medusa exists. It was supposedly designed by a guy that worked at NASA. This page has some more links to articles about it:

http://www.obscure-reference.com/guns/medusa/

The Popular Mechanics article is very good. As far as availability, I can't say. But if it really does shoot 20 different cartridges then it may be worth $900.

I guess the unique rifling allows it to shoot these various cartridges with relative accuracy.

Happy Shooting!

haroldchrismeyer

If cheap shooting is what you want, then start reloading your 38 special cases. If you cast your own bullets then it is even cheaper. I get free lead from wheel weights, so a thousand 38 specials cost me $15 for the primer, and $5 for the powder. That is $1 for a box of 50.

Char

Medusas do exist. I talked to them a few years ago when they were in Texas, but lately their web site says they are moving to North Carolina, but it has said that for months. They also did conversions of S&W model 66s to their multi-caliber cylinders, I have seen a few of these conversions. And conversion of Ruger 45 colt guns to shoot both 45 colt and 45acp interchangeably. I just can't get hold of them anymore, they might have gone out of business.

cliffdropover1

See if you can find the Ruger Blackhawk convertible. It is a .357, so you can shoot .38 special too. But the really neat thing is that it comes with an extra cylinder fitted to the gun to shoot 9mm. It does not need or use moon clips. It is still being made. Check Ruger's web site.

Hope this helps.

gunnut505

I believe you're looking for the Philips & Rogers folks that also offer 9mmWin Mag and other conversions for Blackhawk, etc. revolvers.

Another reason you shouldn't try a 9 in your GP100 is that it's not designed to take a moon clip-the recoil shield wil bind it against the cylinder when you try to close it on a moon clip. Guns designed for the use of moon/half moon clips are all relieved in that area to compensate for the extra width of that piece of metal.

If you really want to try something dangerous; don't post about it here first-just give it a shot, and when you get better, you can tell us all about it!

If you know it all; you must have been listening.<br>WEAR EAR PROTECTION!

lrarmsx

The Medusa type conversion cylinders have actually been available for almost 20 years. Initially that is all they offered, conversion of your gun with their cylinder. Years later they started making a complete gun. Some of their early models used S&W parts. Later models were their own gun entirely. Their claim that they would shoot .30 carbine, .32acp, and some of the other obviously too small calibers was a bit of a stretch, but the other calibers like 9mm Luger, 9mm Browning long, 9mm Largo, .38 Super, .38acp, .380acp, .351, 9X18 Ultra, etc. was quite feasable.
In each of those cases they at least had a (close to being) correct bullet diameter. The guns, or more specifically their cylinders, use an extraction system much like what S&W used in their model 547 9mm revolver, so there was no need for a moon clip. The Medusa revolvers do exist and have been around in some form either as a complete gun or a conversion since the mid-1980's. The prices on the current models got a whole lot more reasonable a few years ago. They used to be twice the price of a S&W. Now they are somewhere close to $150+ more than the comparable S&W production gun.

LRARMSX

Contender Man

Bore dimeter is a real problem relative to accuracy w/ multiple calibers. Even w/ the Ruger and it's second cylinder there is still the problem of the different diameter bullets firing in a common bore barrel. Just not very accurate.

If you want a highly accurate pistol that will fire dozens of different caliber rounds ... get a T/C Contender and start collecting the various barrels[:D]



If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!

gskyhawk

try calling Ruger and see if they would fit your gp100 with a 9mm cylinder , I've seen this done , its a little harder to change the cylinder on a GP100 than on a Blackhawk but not that big of deal

phxtravis

you could try this. http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=17322008

Spring 1911-A1 Mil-Spec
FEG PJK-9HP(HiPower)
EAA Witness 10mm
Ruger MK1
Springfield M1903
Mossberg 500A
Marlin/Glenfield Mod 60
Mosin-Nagant M38

gruntled

I had one of the 9mm/.357 Rugers. It was very fussy about the 9mm ammo it would take. There were a lot of cases that would not enter the chambers deep enough. Reloads were almost impossible, military suplus was not good & even not all new factory cases could be loaded.
Of course that could be just that one cylinder but the case doesn't have a rim to headspace on so the dimentions would have to be tight.