Can a .38 S&W revolver fire 9mm?

15w40

15w40

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I have a revolver that is chambered in .38 Smith and Wesson (not to be confused with .38 special). The ammunition looks almost indistinguishable from 9mm except the rim is a shade bigger.

Anyway, today I was reading an article about ammo interchangeability and the author claimed a .38 S&W revolver will also shoot 9mm luger. :eek: Has anyone heard that or tried it before? I have serious reservations about trying it, but that would be a huge game changer for my old revolver if it's true.

This is the article: Interchangeability of Ammunition in Weapons - Gunshot Wounds
 
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Simply put, absolutely not.

It's not just a matter of "will it fit." The 9mm Luger is loaded to MUCH higher chamber pressure than the 38 S&W. The S&W is commonly encountered in old breaktops and shooting a modern 9mm in one of those would not be good for the gun, your eyes, or your hands.

Once we're past that very important point, I just tried to drop a 9mm Luger into the chambers of one of my 38 S&Ws and it just drops in past flush with the chamber mouth. It won't headspace on my particular gun (a 1901 Lemon Squeezer).

Obviously the S&W is going to have a little bigger chamber than a 38 spl/357 mag because it's got a bigger diameter. The 9mm Luger simply won't fit into one of those guns, but it does actually get into a S&W chamber.

So that leads us to the last point. The 9mm Luger is a tapered case design. At its mouth it is .355 - .357" ID, but the base tapers out to well beyond that. The 38 S&W, as well as the special/357 mag, are for all intents and purposes straight walled cases. The 9mm is not simply a shortened version of those calibers but without a rim. The case will not be supported by the chambers designed for a straight-walled case.

And of even less importance: even if it did fire and was safe (which it's not), you'd be sending a .355" bullet down a .361 or 2" bore. You'd get terrible accuracy.

So the answer is, even if you could somehow get a 9mm to headspace and fire in a S&W gun, it is extremely stupid and the person who did that would receive the Darwin award for whatever happened to them.

Bottom line: shoot the ammunition stamped on the firearm ONLY. Even if something else "fits."
 
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Can 9mm cartridges be fired in a .38 S&W chamber? Yes, but most would not do it. The extractor groove and rim on a 9mm case can be defaced enough with a hammer and punch to form a crude rim adequate to keep the cartridge from falling into the .38 S&W chamber. However, the 9mm develops a far higher chamber pressure than the .38 S&W, and an old revolver could be severely damaged by firing one. Second, the 9mm bullet diameter is undersized by about 0.005”. Not an advisable substitution except in extreme need situations.

I have written previously about firing 9mm in.38 revolvers during WWII, and indeed it is definitely known to have been done by both German and British troops, but not as a regular practice.
 
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smithra_66 said:
So the answer is, even if you could somehow get a 9mm to headspace and fire in a S&W gun, it is extremely stupid and the person who did that would receive the Darwin award for whatever happened to them.

Bottom line: shoot the ammunition stamped on the firearm ONLY. Even if something else "fits."
Click to expand...

DWalt said:
Can 9mm cartridges be fired in a .38 S&W chamber? Yes, but most would not do it. The extractor groove and rim on a 9mm case can be defaced enough with a hammer and punch to form a crude rim adequate to keep the cartridge from falling into the .38 S&W chamber. However, the 9mm develops a far higher chamber pressure than the .38 S&W, and an old revolver could be severely damaged by firing one. Second, the 9mm bullet diameter is undersized by about 0.005”. Not an advisable substitution except in extreme need situations.

I have written previously about firing 9mm in.38 revolvers during WWII, and indeed it is definitely known to have been done by both German and British troops, but not as a regular practice.
Click to expand...

Well this was all interesting to learn. Thanks for all the info!

I think I'll try it sometime when I'm in a life or death situation, my only remaining gun is the .38, I'm all out of .38, and all I have is 9mm.
 
There was at least one revolver made which was designed to shoot any cartridge of approximately 38 caliber, from .357 Magnum to .380 without modifications. I just can’t remember its name. I think it was made in Texas. I have seen several of them, even handled one several years ago. I’ll look it up, and add the name later.
___________________
It was the Medusa. See: M47 Medusa | Gun Wiki | Fandom
 
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I have always been a fancier of handguns having multi-caliber capabilities. I have two of them, a Colt M1911 and an EAA Witness. I have the Colt set up for 9mm, .38 Super, .400 Cor-Bon, .45 ACP, and .22 LR. The Witness uses 9mm, .38 Super, and .45 ACP. I have considered adding .40 S&W and 10 mm, but I don’t particularly swoon over the .40s. Besides, the .400 Cor-Bon I already have is better than either of them. Except I must handload the .400.
 
A 9mm in an old 38S&W topbreak would be hazardous to the shooter as well as target. I am not so sure about the older I+J frame 38 S&W revolvers because of their age and era. It would not surprise me that some chambers that were on the large size would accept 9mm rounds and some headspace them right. The base of a 9mm is .391+- and a 38S&W .3865+_ BUT its SAAMI chamber base .3887 so only a .0003 difference from a S&W chamber and 9mm case base. Thr BIG concern is pressure, a second is if the 9mm case fit and head spaced well enough to fire, it may happen with a large headspace either as the 38S&W chamber ledge is to far forward and firing pin strike may drive it in even more. Having a case with a large headspace take a run at you recoil shield is never a good thing and way worse when the round is at ot above the guns design parameters.

I have made 2 K frame 9mm cylinders using newer 38 special cylinders from a couple 10-7 revolvers by reaming them and recessing them. The reamer did not remove much and only cuts for about 1/2" of 38 chamber. They use TKC clips which are expensive Something like $80 for 10. They work and function fine. Never tried them in my Ransom rest to check for best accuracy results. I fire them a few times but don't really use them, just thought they would be nice to have on hand.

NOTE TKC does J+K+l frame 38 Special to 9mm conversions
But they state

"Our work on cylinders rechambered to 9mm are LIMITED to our customer's using standard 9mm ammo or low pressure reloads, which are 34,000 - 35,000 psi chamber pressure or less. Same chamber pressures apply to firing of .38 SPL & .357 Mag. Examples of FACTORY Brands are: Winchester, Federal & Remington.

Absolutely NO 9mm Nato, 9mm +P or 9mm +P+, all which are far beyond the 34,000 - 35,000 psi chamber pressure"

My cylinders
rrxJY4b.jpg

1MWn3aR.jpg
 
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I have heard similar stories about semiauto cartridges working in revolvers. I often hear about people shooting 32 ACP out of 32 S&W, 32 S&W Long, 32 H&R Mag, and 327 Federal revolvers. I have also heard of people shooting 38 Auto out of 38 S&W revolvers. That's the predecessor of 38 Super - using the later round would be very unsafe. The 38 Auto bullet would be way undersized for the 38 S&W bore. It is also at least as hard to find 38 Auto ammo as it is to find 38 S&W. Using any cartridge other than the one it is chambered for in any firearm is dangerous and should not be done.
 
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I have doubts as to whether a .38 Auto/Super round would fully chamber in a .38 S&W cylinder as the case is too long. But SOME .38 Super brands will chamber in SOME .357/.38 Special cylinders, and if so, they will work fine. I have done that many times. In fact, it shoots like a light load. There is not much of a diameter difference between .38 Super cases and .38 S&W cases, and I size .38 S&W cases in a .38 Super FL die, and have for many years.
 
DWalt said:
I have always been a fancier of handguns having multi-caliber capabilities. I have two of them, a Colt M1911 and an EAA Witness. I have the Colt set up for 9mm, .38 Super, .400 Cor-Bon, .45 ACP, and .22 LR. The Witness uses 9mm, .38 Super, and .45 ACP. I have considered adding .40 S&W and 10 mm, but I don’t particularly swoon over the .40s. Besides, the .400 Cor-Bon I already have is better than either of them. Except I must handload the .400.
Click to expand...

A man after my own heart. My Witness is set up for .22LR, .38 Super and .45 ACP.
 
I once considered adding .357 Sig to my list, except it won’t do anything a hot .38 Super load or 9x23 Win can’t handle just as well. You re aware that you can add 9mm capability to your Witness for the price of a 9mm barrel and magazine. I have found that 9mm does not feed reliably from a .38 Super magazine.
 
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15w40 said:
Well this was all interesting to learn. Thanks for all the info!

I think I'll try it sometime when I'm in a life or death situation, my only remaining gun is the .38, I'm all out of .38, and all I have is 9mm.
Click to expand...

You got it! If the year is 1943 and I'm a British soldier, and my Spitfire got shot down in Nazi territory, and all I have is my empty Enfield No. 2, but I find a can of 9mm Luger cartridges, you bet I'm going to roll the dice and try to use them in my gun!

Outside of that, nope. Not worth it.
 
erikpolcrack said:
I have heard similar stories about semiauto cartridges working in revolvers. I often hear about people shooting 32 ACP out of 32 S&W, 32 S&W Long, 32 H&R Mag, and 327 Federal revolvers. I have also heard of people shooting 38 Auto out of 38 S&W revolvers. That's the predecessor of 38 Super - using the later round would be very unsafe. The 38 Auto bullet would be way undersized for the 38 S&W bore. It is also at least as hard to find 38 Auto ammo as it is to find 38 S&W. Using any cartridge other than the one it is chambered for in any firearm is dangerous and should not be done.
Click to expand...

The .32 ACP, .38 Auto and .38 Super are all semi-rimmed cartridges. These can headspace on that semi-rim.
 
DWalt said:
I once considered adding .357 Sig to my list, except it won’t do anything a hot .38 Super load or 9x23 Win can’t handle just as well. You re aware that you can add 9mm capability to your Witness for the price of a 9mm barrel and magazine. I have found that 9mm does not feed reliably from a .38 Super magazine.
Click to expand...

I considered the .357 SIG and reached the same conclusion. I have enough 9mms already, but if circumstances demanded that I limit myself to one handgun I'd be onboard.
 
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