.380 ammo in 9mm wheelgun
Would it be safe to fire .380 ammo in a 9mm wheelgun, such as
a Ruger SP 101 or a model 547 S&W? Could be useful in an
emergency situation.
a Ruger SP 101 or a model 547 S&W? Could be useful in an
emergency situation.
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I had replied to this same question awhile back, The chamber will fit loose if you do. It would probably work but would likely stretch/split cases. The 9mm and the 380 both are tapered rounds, they have the same neck diameter but the 380 is 2mm shorter and hence will have a bit of gap between the brass and the chamber. Basically, the 380 tapers quicker than the 9mm so the chamber wouldn't match well. Don't know what the difference would be, but it probably wouldn't kill you at least.[;)] 0 -
I don't think this is a good idea--if I'm not mistaken there are some size variations that might affect reliability. Even if not, you are underpowering your gun. An extra loaded moonclip doesn't take up a whole lot of room and should be carried with your gun.
Three Precious Metals: Gold, silver and lead0 -
It should work in moon clips but performance would probably be not be so hot because the difference in case diameters would not allow the 380s to center so well in the 9mm chambers. Additionally, there would probably be a bit of case splitting, so wear leather gloves and eye protection. The Astra 400 had a chamber designed to shoot a bunch of different 38 & 9mm ammo. A company in recent years copied these dimensions in a revolver cylinder. My guess is that the chamber was tighter than today's SAAMI 9mm Luger dimensions.
In short, don't do it unless you have to.0 -
As mentioned, this would probably work but I feel it is not a cheap solution to a search for a second caliber for your pistol. I have a S&W 940 in 9mm and a .380 case will of course drop in, But it is a very poor fit- too much space around the outside of the case head. The .380 round also drops so far into the chamber that I am not sure that the firing pin will even be able to reach the primer as it sits just slightly inside the edge of the cylinder. Even if the firing pin will reach, I am not too sure about getting a good centerd strike on the primer.
The 940 uses 5 shot moon clips and the clips will not accept a .380 case- it simply falls out and can offer zero support for the case. Even if everything does work and the .380 round fires, the case will surely spit and puching it out- a slow process without moon clips even using the correct 9mm caliber- will be a very big hassel. My opinion is to forget about this idea.
Mark T. Christian0 -
"The Astra 400 had a chamber designed to shoot a bunch of different 38 & 9mm ammo."
Wrong. The Astra 400 pistol/chamber was designed for one round only, others will fit but are unsafe/unreliable in it, but that hasn't stopped the idiots that continue to endanger themselvs and others by spreading this old wives tale.
Just because the 9mm/38 AKA the 9mm Bergmann-Bayard AKA 9mm Largo is not the easiest cartridge to find is no excuse.
Developed/adopeted in 1903 it predates the other cartriges (except the 38ACP, 1900) that people suggest it was designed to interchange with (think about that for a minute), 9mm Lugar was adopeted in 1904 by the German navy, 9mm Browning Long 1907, 380ACP 1908, 9mm Steyr 1912. In addition the same gun was offered in 9mm Bergmann and 9mm Lugar, if they were truely interchangable don't you think the manfacture would have made only 1 model?
George C. Nonte Jr. has a 4 page article on this exact subject in the 1971 issue of Gun Digest if you want more details/photos
Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.0 -
Some years back the American Rifleman did an article on the versatility of the Astra 400 in handling a variety of different ammo and, as I recall gave it their blessing. 0
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