JCN has all kinds of bad ideas: 380ACP out of a J-frame

[JCN]

So as a preface, 9mm works well out of a <2” barrel.
Arguably better than 38 special and 357 magnum if you are talking about ballistics and shootability.

I wondered how 380ACP might fare out of something like a J-frame.
I know Taurus makes one...

So I bought some Taurus 380 moon clips to see if I could fit them in my Ruger LCR9.

The answer? Nope. The hole spacing is different between guns...

And there’s probably too much of a gap around the cartridge to be safe anyway.

But... but....

@Stephanie B sometimes it’s not in the manual because nobody has thought of it or it’s a really dumb idea.

The Taurus moon clip fits perfectly on an uncut J-frame and the 38/357 chamber is actually a better fit for a 380ACP.



That’s with the moon clip fitting.



That’s with 380 snap caps in place.

Cylinder closes and rotates without binding...



This MP340 has an Apex kit with the firing pin and it looks like it’s centered.

Anyone interested in a chrono, range report and video tomorrow?

Could this be an easy and cheap alternative for a light J-frame?

Am I dumb?

@jetfire if it works it can be a GAT article...

[Stephanie B]

I don’t know if it’s dumb or not. But I haven’t seen cheap .380s in a ling time.

[SiriusBlunder]

TL;DR: The consensus seems to be that due to head-spacing issues and other reasons, you probably won't get reliable ignition.

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....f-9mm-Revolver

[JCN]

I don’t know if it’s dumb or not. But I haven’t seen cheap .380s in a ling time.

I’m not worried about cost or availability, just shootabilty and ballistics.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if 380 recovery precedes 38/357 in a general sense.

I’m in good shape for 38/357/380 target and SD ammo for a long while so it’s just a feasibility experiment.

[JCN]

TL;DR: The consensus seems to be that due to head-spacing issues and other reasons, you probably won't get reliable ignition.

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....f-9mm-Revolver

That is correct... trying to shoot 380 out of a 9mm revolver.

This is shooting 380 out of a 38/357 revolver.

Headspacing looks perfect and firing pin strikes are dead on....

[SiriusBlunder]

That is correct... trying to shoot 380 out of a 9mm revolver.

This is shooting 380 out of a 38/357 revolver.

Headspacing looks perfect and firing pin strikes are dead on....

My bad, I read "LCR9" and my brain stopped processing.

Hope it works out. Interested to see your results.

[TheNewbie]

Very interested to see results.

[JCN]

@DMWINCLE by putting 380 in an uncut 38/357 cylinder the moon clip basically holds the 380 case where a 357 rim would be.

38 special


380 with moon

[CCT125US]

Sort of hope this works.

Sold off all my .380s years ago, but still have ammo, and brass, so much brass, and bullets are cheap.

[Duelist]

Huh. That might be kind of cool.