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9x18
bt1911
Member Posts: 24 ✭✭
I just bought a pistol that is marked 9X18, the owner told me that it was a 380 acp. I have had several .380's over the years, and none of them said 9x18. Can anyone give me some info on this ???? is a 380 auto and the 9x18 the same thing ?????
Comments
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9X18 sounds more like 9mm Makarov, which is a totally different cartridge from the .380. I don't suppose it would be possible for you to actually tell us what type of pistol (make and model )you purchased? I guess this could be top secret information that you can't possibly divulge, but it can make identification of the cartridge much easier if we know what gun it is supposed to fit in.
Come on. . .this is ask the EXPERTS.
You don't want this to get too easy, do you? [;)]
Anyway, if the gun is labelled 9x18 than it CAN NOT be a .380ACP, which also goes by the name 9x17mm short (aka corto, aka kurz, etc).
Here is an image stolen from handguns magazine.
From left to right, .380ACP, 9x18mm Makarov, and 9x19mm luger (aka parabellum).
[Edit, sorry, I mistyped this originally as 9x21mm, which everyone knows refers to the "largo" round, not "luger" [;)]]
9x18 *PROBABLY* means the pistol is chambered for the 9x18 round, also called "9mm Makarov" since the Makarov pistol and its knockoffs are the most popular pistols that take it.
Common guns that use the 9mm Makarov round include: Czech CZ82 and CZ83, Makarov (and many clones), Polish P64, Polish Radom (p83), and probably several others I can't think of off the top of my head. While in some cases it may be possible to obtain replacement barrels for the gun that will take a .380ACP, in many cases this is not possible, and you CANNOT use effectively use .380ACP in 9x18 mm guns.
And just to shake things up further, there are also a few other scarce 9x18mm rounds, including the 9x18mm police and 9x18mm ultra rounds.
Mark Christian: Exactly. If he says that the pistol is a Walther PP Super then we can go from there.
Edit: For what its worth, yes, I suppose its possible that a gun labelled as 9x18mm has had its barrel replaced by one for .380ACP, though for obvious reasons, that's not a good idea. . .the barrel itself should then be labelled .380 (or 9x17mm short) to avoid just this problem.
Lastly, I wouldn't be so quick to swap calibers that way in any case. There was a time when 9x18mm Makarov ammo was scarce and hard to find in the USA, and .380 was common. Back in those days, it made sense to swap.
Right now, the converse is true. 9x18 Makarov ammo, bizarrely enough, is easier to find and generally cheaper than .380, plus the Makarov round is also a little bit more powerful.
So why switch?
Both these are the same round.
The easiest way is to tell us what kind of pistol, or a picture. Don't just try the Makarov, since the bullet is bigger than the other possibilities.
Repeat, 9x18 Makarov is not a true 9mm, it is really about a 9.2mm with .364" bullet. Which will not chamber in anything I have tried and a good thing, too.
Yes, Polish P64 is 9mm Makarov not interchangeable with other 9mm whatevers. It even has its own site:
http://www.p64resource.com/
Please clarify: 9mm Luger/Parabellum is NOT 9x21mm, it is 9x19mm.
Correct.