I fired an entire magazine of .380's through my M&P 9c

[Lost Lake]

I was at the farm with my oldest daughter and we had a .22, a BG380, a M&P9c and a M&P40fs. I wanted my daughter to try them all and I had all different boxes of ammo out, from Win WB to reloads, FMJ to HP. We were going to shoot about 800 rounds at clay pigeons, reactive targets and old refrigerators.

I remember loading the 9c mag and thinking the last round was weird. It really took a lot of force to get it in the mag, then it didn't seat quite right. I thought maybe I was crushing the spring. I walked onto the range and after the first shot I smiled and thought this 9c has such a light recoil I just LOVE it!

But the next pull of the trigger was a click. I racked the slide and ejected the empty round. It fired and then click. This went on for the entire magazine with me thinking I must have a shell pinched in the bottom of the mag causing the follower to jam or something. Each round had to be hand ejected.

It wasn't until I went back to the bench that I realized I just shot 13 rounds of .380 from my 12 round 9mm magazine....

 

[GaryS]

For a minute I thought that this was another review of a BG 380!

 

[ronnie gore]

380

the 9mm headspaces on the case mouth, the 380 was just being caught buy the extractor. i would not do that again.

 

[depicts]

It took you a full mag to notice you had the wrong ammo? And you admit it in public? Stay safe!

 

[youseemym&p]

i almost had this happen on my Taurus millennium once.except when i racked the slide the entire round flew out of the barrel at about 3mph haha didnt even stay in the gun, just plop......right out the front haha

 

[JeremyFr79]

Um......wow a malfunctioning gun is never a "safe" gun. logic would dictate that if you experience a malfunction you immediately stop shooting said gun, and check all issues that may be causing your malfunction, not continuing to fire all 13 rounds and continue to do so when each one cause's a malfunction.

I'd say consider yourself extremely lucky you were able to walk home from this and maybe it's time to rethink your safety practice's with firearms.

I'm not trying to be an *** here but seriously I don't want to hear about a fellow gun lover being injured because of a "simple" mistake.

As for me when I'm firing multiple guns/calibers I always seperate them on the bench and group together to avoid ammo mixup even then as I load I always double check to make absolutely sure that I'm putting the right ammo in the right gun.

Stay safe my friend!

 

[aznav]

Aside from safety, I'm wondering about barrel damage. I know that literally, the German term for .380 is "9mm short". So maybe diameter is not a problem, so to speak. Any thoughts?

 

[kris7047th]

I would check with a S&W tech before firing that gun again .. to be safe.

Let this be a lesson .. NEVER force a gun to operate after the first failure to fire. Always double check everything. If you can't determine the cause for the 1st failure .. STOP

I also advise that you get your eyes checked. You should have caught visually that you were loading with the wrong ammo BEFORE you loaded all 13 rnds.

 

[firstcounts]

Lost Lake, Thank you. I'm always extra safe. Now I'll be extra, extra safe.

 

[OKFC05]

Aside from safety, I'm wondering about barrel damage. I know that literally, the German term for .380 is "9mm short". So maybe diameter is not a problem, so to speak. Any thoughts?

The .380 is a true 9mm and the bullet diameter is the same as the 9mm Luger. The barrel is safe.

The piece in danger is the extractor, which can be damaged or blown off by shooting too-short cartridges.
The only reason the .380 fired was being held back by the extractor.

 

[Lost Lake]

Yes the .380 is a 9x17 round if I remember correctly, and a 9mm is a 9x19 round.

I don't know why the .380 shells fired at all. I would think they would have fallen into the barrel and not been touched by the firing pin. But they did work, just didn't have enough blow back to rack the slide all the way.

And why didn't I check the gun? Well I had it in my mind that something was wrong in the magazine. That if I could just get the next round to cycle properly all would be well. Of course hind sight is 20/20 and you all have the advantage of now acting as Monday Morning Quarterbacks.

My point is, the .380 rounds worked in the 9, but didn't have the recoil to operate the slide.

As for damage, perhaps an armorer could chime in to give some thoughts, but if the bullet was being held against the breech face (or what I call the bolt) by the extractor the only place something didn't quite fit right would be the 2mm gap between the casing lip and the end of the chamber.

I can't imagine any damage would be done, but I'll let those who know chime in.

This is the first time in 40 years I have made this mistake, and I won't make it again. I'm letting you know this so maybe you won't make the same mistake. I'm not really looking for someone to tell me I'm an idiot or unsafe or need my eyes checked. I know the difference between a .380 and a 9mm.

 

[dirty gary]

This happens more often than you think. Used to find severly bulged 380 cases mixed with 9mm in range brass at a commercial shop. Once saw a fellow rack the slide on a 44 Mag Desert Eagle and the round fell
out on the ground. Realized he had a 50 AE barrel on gun, oops

 

[K1500]

A lot like shooting .40 out or a 10mm. You can do it but it isn't the best idea. I am glad everything turned out good for you.

 

[Ky Bob]

Aside from safety, I'm wondering about barrel damage.

I'm thinking the same thing.

 

[blkpitbull]

The barrel will be fine, a .380 is a 9mm. Only difference is bullet weight and case length....id say your fine..
And damn all you lil Mr. Perfects, the guy made a mistake, he knows that, he surely didn't post it to get paddled by the internet. Wow..

 

[kris7047th]

Wasn't trying to beat you up. I have *old eyes* and I have come close to doing what you did one time. But something didn't seem right so I unloaded the few rnds that I had loaded and did a comparison. Sure enough I caught my mistake early. Some of the 9mm hollow points seem to be close to the size of a .380 too, so I can see how it can happen. But if your gun is acting up after the first 1-2 rnds when it had never done so before, time to stop and check everything out.
Just glad that you were not hurt. This sort of a thing a a good wake up call to remember safety procedures.

And thanks for sharing ..

 

[Hillbilly77]

Yes the .380 is a 9x17 round if I remember correctly, and a 9mm is a 9x19 round.

I don't know why the .380 shells fired at all. I would think they would have fallen into the barrel and not been touched by the firing pin. But they did work, just didn't have enough blow back to rack the slide all the way.

And why didn't I check the gun? Well I had it in my mind that something was wrong in the magazine. That if I could just get the next round to cycle properly all would be well. Of course hind sight is 20/20 and you all have the advantage of now acting as Monday Morning Quarterbacks.

My point is, the .380 rounds worked in the 9, but didn't have the recoil to operate the slide.

As for damage, perhaps an armorer could chime in to give some thoughts, but if the bullet was being held against the breech face (or what I call the bolt) by the extractor the only place something didn't quite fit right would be the 2mm gap between the casing lip and the end of the chamber.

I can't imagine any damage would be done, but I'll let those who know chime in.

This is the first time in 40 years I have made this mistake, and I won't make it again. I'm letting you know this so maybe you won't make the same mistake. I'm not really looking for someone to tell me I'm an idiot or unsafe or need my eyes checked. I know the difference between a .380 and a 9mm.

I agree with you. You realized your mistake, and certainly don't need to be scolded like a child.
If anything, all the guys that own .380's & 9MM's should thank you for the heads-up reminder to watch for that.
I defy anybody to honestly say they have NEVER made a mistake or a dumb move with a firearm, be it an accidental discharge, or even pointing it in an unsafe direction, etc.
Let's all just be glad nobody was hurt, and there's a lesson we all can learn.

P.S. Your profile says Army.
Thank you for your service.

 

[SMMAssociates]

I did one round through my old M39-2 a year or two ago....

I loaded up a magazine with .380's and fired the thing. Ejection failed. A quick look at the casing after getting it out showed that I'd put the wrong load on the top of the magazine.

A quick check of the magazine showed I'd filled the fool thing ....

What surprised me was that the chamber & such fully contained the round - the case was damaged enough that gas should have gotten out, but nothing happened.

The .380's the same ball, more or less, as the 9mm, and pressures & such are nominally lower, so it shouldn't have hurt the gun any, but gas and case fragments could be an issue. (Particularly, IMHO, with guns with a "loaded chamber indicator" done with a hole in the chamber.)

Not to panic....

The real danger is the availability of some 9mm submachine gun rounds that are kinda +P++ that may still be around, and all kinds of rifle rounds that can be made to fit (often with some effort) into chambers, but are totally wrong for the rifle - excessive pressures, etc.

Regards,

 

[Lost Lake]

'Likes' to those who stuck up for me at my moment of vulnerability.

There was nothing wrong with the .380 cases that came out of the gun, and I don't understand why there should be. The chamber of a .380 is only .020" smaller than a 9mm. Maybe the pressure was so low it didn't stretch the case at all.

I got no powder blow back, no flames, no indication at all that anything was wrong except the light recoil and failure to eject.

 

[kris7047th]

'Likes' to those who stuck up for me at my moment of vulnerability.

There was nothing wrong with the .380 cases that came out of the gun, and I don't understand why there should be. The chamber of a .380 is only .020" smaller than a 9mm. Maybe the pressure was so low it didn't stretch the case at all.

I got no powder blow back, no flames, no indication at all that anything was wrong except the light recoil and failure to eject.

That would definitely indicate ammo, not the gun.

Again .. thanks for sharing!