Caliber Conversions Questions

[SW357Addict]

Hello. I am thinking of getting my 686 converted to shoot 9mm/38Super/9x23. Would the 9mm use a different moonclip than .38SPL/.357Mag? Or can the same moonclips be used? Where can 9mm mooclips be purchased? I have also thought about getting my 8-shot 627Pro converted to 9mm. Does anyone make a 9mm 8-shot moonclip?

 

[SW357Addict]

Hello. I am thinking of getting my 686 converted to shoot 9mm/38Super/9x23. Would the 9mm use a different moonclip than .38SPL/.357Mag? Or can the same moonclips be used? Where can 9mm mooclips be purchased? I have also thought about getting my 8-shot 627Pro converted to 9mm. Does anyone make a 9mm 8-shot moonclip?

 

[Revolver King]

They make 38 super moon clips for 6 & 8 shooters, you can use them for 9mm.
Your 38/357 clips won't work.

 

[M29since14]

I am thinking of getting my 686 converted to shoot 9mm/38Super/9x23.

The 9x19 and 38 Super have considerably different diameters just infront of the rim, which makes conversions technically questionable. If blank, unchambered cylinders were available, one could be chambered up in either caliber, but without such cylinders, it would seem the excellence of the conversion is going to be lacking.

 

[SW357Addict]

Okay then. With this conversion can .380 Auto also be used?

 

[the45automan]

If you are going to the trouble of making a conversion, then I would suggest find a resource for the dimensions of the cartridges and the power factors of each (might be important). A handloading guide should have all the dimensions you need to consider (would really be handy when checking someone else's work). The information would really be of service if you were going to try and create a "universal" conversion for all your favorite cartridges whose name begins with a 3 or a 9.

 

[Revolver King]

Just for info, Charter Arms is coming out with a revolver later this year that shoots 9mm and 380 without using moon clips.

 

[Bullseye Smith]

SW357 here is where you can get the moonclips from. Plus I don't think that the 380 will work, the 9mm and 38 super will make me happy. I called the other day and I should have my cylinder in the next day or two, and I will shoot it next weekend

.

 

[H Richard]

Since .380 is a 9mm short, it should work just fine in the conversion. But why would you want to? .380 is lower availability, and more costly, and less powerful than 9mm or 38 Super.

 

[Bullseye Smith]

Hey H R - Target shooting, more fun than the OK Shootout

. Could also make it easy for the wife to shoot to

.

 

[epj]

Don't have a reference manual handy, but I don't think the 9mm and .380 are exactly the same case diameter. They use a different shellholder for reloading and a .380 is pretty loose in a 9mm shellholder. Maybe they are close enough to work ok, but you might want to check.

 

[Ed Becka]

The tapered case of the 9X19 makes it incompatible with the rest of the 38/9 family. .380 cases would bulge if fired in a 9mm-compatible chamber. The grooves ahead of the rims are different in each case. The Super gets by with the same shellholder as the 9 but the case head is slimmer like the .380 - so the TK conversion to shoot 'everything' out of one chamber sounds great until you bulge the 38/357 cases and overwork them in the sizer die and shoot them with magnum loads in the hogged-out chamber again and get a split or annular separation. They can fly-cut your cylinder for clips, and provide the proper .380-size moons, so you can use .380 for a sub-cal without doing the 9X19 chamber cut. You can also use .38 Short Colt or .38 Long Colt for sub-cal shooting.

 

[WC145]

Ed Becka - You need to look at the dates on the threads you're responding to, this one is 9 years old. Many times with these ancient threads the subject matter is no longer relevant and the original posters have often moved on.

 

[Tom S.]