Bulgarian Makarov .380 Conversion
Anybody done one of these with the Federal stainless barrels? How did it shoot. Accuracy as good as the stock barrel in 9X18? Thanks.
JC
Ted Kennedy's breath has killed more people than my car.
JC
Ted Kennedy's breath has killed more people than my car.
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I've been thinking about getting a Bulgie Mak too and if/when I do I'll shoot .380 and 9Mak both
I don't see the reasoning of doing a conversion to .380 ... I've shot .380(9X17) in place of the 9Mak (9X18) for years with no problems
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Chance favors the prepared mind [8D]
kimberkid@cox.net0 -
There has been much discussion of this within clubs of Makarov owners. The general consensus now is to NOT shoot .380 in a Makarov barrelled to 9x18, and that converting a Makarov to .380 is a waste of time. 9x18 ammo has become much more available, at good prices, lately, ensuring a good supply. .380 is a weaker cartridge, so why would you want to use it? The conversion is hardly free, and involves some gunsmithing that could well mess up your Makarov, why risk it?
"Go to Lakedaemon, stranger passing by;
And say there, that in obedience to her law, here we lie"0 -
Chunky, I luv my Mak and I luv .380. Yeah Mak is cheap and availible through mail order but .380 is everywhere and produced in many more configurations. I will not shoot .380 out of the 9x18 bbl because of the diminished accuracy issues. I am going to have a smith do the bbl changeout($50.00) and bbl is another $50.00. So all totaled I will have anout 280.00 in what I hope to be a fine little tank of a shooter. I just hope it is as accurate as the stock 9x18.
JC
Ted Kennedy's breath has killed more people than my car.0 -
Chunkstyle is right..............don't go messing up your 9X18 Makarov by trying to convert it to .380. You'll only have problems. Bad idea.
Bruce0 -
quote:Originally posted by chunkstyle
There has been much discussion of this within clubs of Makarov owners. The general consensus now is to NOT shoot .380 in a Makarov barrelled to 9x18chunkstyle-
I don't think you are attacking my post, just sharing the Mak "experts" consensus ... But I gotta ask; Is there any reasoning behind the consensus, or is is just because thats not what the barrel is marked for?
It's a 1 mm difference in case length, as noted the .380 is a weaker cartridge, so no doubt the weapon can handle it ... same difference in shooting .22 S-L-LR in the same gun ... as long as the weapon will handle the largest calibur - I don't see a problem ... its not like you are tring to shoot the more powerful 9mm para in it [xx(] ...
Lastly, I've been shooting .380 in place of 9mm kurtz for over 20 years in various guns ... I started shooting .380 in place of 9mm kurtz because of price and thats what I could find, as you pointed out, now the 9mm kurtz has much better price & avaiability now than in years gone by ... but reguardless, I won't be changing my "consensus" [:0]
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Chance favors the prepared mind [8D]
kimberkid@cox.net0 -
Kimber, "Kurtz" is german for short. The .380 and the "Kurtz" are one in the same. The 9x18 is soley designated as the "Makarov" and or the "Ultra". Also I believe the .380 is also a scad smaller in diameter than the 9x18. Have you experienced any accuracy issues stemming from your use of the .380 being fired out of your Makarov pistols?
Ted Kennedy's breath has killed more people than my car.0 -
interstatepawnllc - Thanks for the correction to the Mak and kurtz designation ... I know that, I think brain fade kicked in [B)]
According to my Lee reloading manual the .380 & 9mm para measure .356" while the 9Mak measures .364", a difference of .008
I'm not sure what kind of accuracy info your looking for, I've never done any group size measurements but I can keep them well inside a 8" paper plate at 25 yards.
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Chance favors the prepared mind [8D]
kimberkid@cox.net0 -
My whole point is, why spend money to make a pistol LESS powerful? Especially if the more powerful ammo is inexpensive and abundant? If you are just a tinkerer and can't leave well enough alone (of which sin I plead guilty, your Honor) then, by all means go ahead. But to me, the beauty of Makarov shooting is the simplicity and reliability, why complicate things? Just my 2 cents.
"Go to Lakedaemon, stranger passing by;
And say there, that in obedience to her law, here we lie"0 -
The conversion was a success. Although I no longer have it, it was a very accurate and of course most reliable pistol. 0 -
interstatepawnllc,
Well, it only took 14 years but at least you finally came back to report on the conversion...[;)]0 -
quote:Although I no longer have it, it was a very accurate and of course most reliable pistol.
Seems like that would be the one to keep.[:)]0
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