[Mp15-22]

hi everyone.

my question is probably "weird" and maybe too obious for most of you who are experts on this subjects, but im not that good. and i need some explanation before doing something dangerous, ok, the question, is it safe to shoot a .380acp round thru a 9X18 makarov pistol? the guys in the gun store were i bought the gun told me that it can, and that it works pretty well!!. but i wasnt very happy with the explanation, because i think they only wanted to say that to convince me to buy the gun, because the 9x18mak ammo is not common here. but the .380 it is! ive being tempted to shoot one .380 round thru it, but im afraid that sonething bad will happen! even though both rouds look very much the same, exept for the fact that the .380 is 1mm shorter, so please if somebody can tell me if its safe then let me know, ill aprecciate your help, thank you all!!

 

[Archie]

"Safe" is a relative and somewhat flexible term.

As far as I can tell, the 9x18 Makarov pistol round is loaded just a bit hotter (more pressure and velocity) than the .380 ACP. Additionally, the bore diameter of the Makarov is larger than .380 ACP - marginally; so the bullets will fit down the barrel without undue turmoil.

So, if one could chamber a .380 ACP round AND the extractor hold the case in close enough proximity to the firing pin to fire, one would probably not blow up the gun.

However, with the case being a loose fit in the chamber, one might experience the case moving in the chamber under recoil and the case and primer slamming into the firing pin causing a puncture. Said puncture would then leak the expanding gases back through the firing pin channel, around the hammer and in the general direction of one's face. Maybe.

Also, with the slight but measurable difference in round size - length and possibly case diameter - one might expect some difficulties in the mechanical process of being stripped from the magazine, navigating up the feed ramp and chambering.

For the record, I cannot find comparative dimensions of the two rounds conveniently at the moment. So I'm not going to predict how well the .380 ACP round will fit into the Makarov chamber.

The general rule of thumb with firearms, alcohol and red-heads is "If you have to ask about it, it's probably NOT a good idea".

Stranded behind enemy lines with a found Makarov and a box of .380 ACP ammo, I'd go for it. In leisure, not so much.

 

[gdmoody]

I think that Archie covered it pretty good.

I would not do it if it were me.

 

[stev32k]

According to my Hornady manual the Makarov bullet is a slightly larger diameter than the .380. The .380 is .355 dia the makarov is .365 dia. The Makarov case is also larger it is .390 dia X .713 long. The .380 is .375 dia X .680 long.

I would try the barrel plumk test with some makarov rounds in the .380 to see if they fit. The overall cartridge length is pretty close for both - .380 is .965 - .980, the makarov is .964.

SAAMI does not list the 9X18 Makarov so there is no way to compare the pressure limits between the two. You might be able to find pressure data for some of the Makarov rounds then compare that to the SAAMI standards for .380.

Oops, just realized I had it backwards - you were wondering about shooting .380 in the maka. Somehow I got that backwards. Anyway the data is the same.

 

[noylj]

The 9mm Mak is a 9x19 case blown out to eliminate the taper. The case head is larger than the .380 and the body of the case is a lot larger.
Any reloading manual will show the case drawings and you can see the dimensional differences.
Just remember that if you fire a .380 in a 9mm Mak or 9x19, that the only thing holding the round to the breech is the extractor and, if the case doesn't blow up, you will probably break an extractor real fast.
Good ol' gun store knowledge

 

[RJay]

I've seen .380 fired in a 9X18 gun ( by accident ) nothing happen to the gun but that doesn't make it right. I've seen .38 special fired in a .38 S&W chamber, nothing happened to the gun, but that doesn't make it right. Yes, most 9X18 chambered guns will fire a .380 and it will probably even eject.,; but both will give lousy accuracy and neither is right for the guns. Sooner or later it will break an extractor or firing pin. Shooting a .380 in a 9X18 chamber is akin to " hey, hold my beer and watch this ", not a good ideal, you were right to doubt the gun store

 

[Bindernut]

I've seen .380 fired in a 9X18 gun ( by accident ) nothing happen to the gun but that doesn't make it right. I've seen .38 special fired in a .38 S&W chamber, nothing happened to the gun, but that doesn't make it right. Yes, most 9X18 chambered guns will fire a .380 and it will probably even eject.,; but both will give lousy accuracy and neither is right for the guns. Sooner or later it will break an extractor or firing pin. Shooting a .380 in a 9X18 chamber is akin to " hey, hold my beer and watch this ", not a good ideal, you were right to doubt the gun store

As someone who owns several Baikal Makarovs in both calibers I've "been there, done that".
I happened to have one of each at the range one day and mistakenly loaded one of the .380 mags into the 9x18 Mak. I didn't notice the slip-up except that I shot a 12" group @ 25yds instead of a typical 2"-3" group.
After policing up the brass, I saw what I did. Every one of the .380 cases had split all the way up to the web, but that cheap little Russian battle-tank didn't miss a beat. That's why I like the Mak, regardless of what caliber it's chambered in.

Would I do it knowingly? **** no!
As pointed out above, there are enough dimensional differences that are good enough reason to not do it. Besides, the cheap import 9x18 ammo is cheaper than most of the .380 stuff on the shelf...you just might need to order it instead of walking into WalMart to buy a box.

BTW, the european designation for the .380 is 9mm Kurz, or also 9x17mm in some countries. It's 1mm shorter than the 9x18 Mak, which is 1mm shorter than the 9x19 Luger.

 

[Mp15-22]

ok so that means that the .380 acp is smaller ( in both aspects, caliber and cassing lenght) than the 9mm makarov. that was my comfussion because both look pretty much the sane and are suppod to be 9mm, like i say im not an expert in this subjects but im learning alot from you guys! thank you for enlightening me with your knolege! i will definetly not fire a .380 with my makarov! thank you every one you have being of great help to me! God bless

 

[Tad thwaites]

The 9mm Mak is a 9x19 case blown out to eliminate the taper. The case head is larger than the .380 and the body of the case is a lot larger.
Any reloading manual will show the case drawings and you can see the dimensional differences.
Just remember that if you fire a .380 in a 9mm Mak or 9x19, that the only thing holding the round to the breech is the extractor and, if the case doesn't blow up, you will probably break an extractor real fast.
Good ol' gun store knowledge

First don't give out miss information, a makarov does not shoot 9 ×19. 9×19 IS 9 MM LUGER. MAK SHOOTS 9×18 SHORTS not a The 380 is 9×17 the only difference be tween 9×19 luger and 9×18 short and 380 is the length . The lead its self is all the same just the loads are different. I'm a gunsmith I know . And yes you can fire 380 out of the mak but I'm not sure it will build enough to cycle it.. u may have to cock it for every shot to cycle it. What I mean by cycle is to eject the spent casing and to load a fresh casing . But I'm almost certain it will the loads aren't much different.

 

[howlnmad]

And this thread is almost 10 years old .