ammo interchangeability

[tubeshooter]

What you do with your .357s is not the end-all and be-all of what you can shoot out of a .357. A body might like to know they can shoot .38 Special out of their .357 if they wanted to.

You didn't know either until somebody told you.

What doesn't really count for you as far .22 doesn't mean much either.
Most ".22LR" stamped revolvers can shoot shorts.
Most ".22LR" stamped autos cannot.

You said what you said. What's on the barrel.
Which doesn't always perfectly line up with what you do with your guns and why.


This is why it keeps coming up.
And why your solution isn't so simple for everyone else.

 

[dobedo]

uhhhhhmmmm..... forgive me but...
.410 bore SAAMI= 13,500 psi for 3" chambered guns.
444 Marlin maximum chamber psi = 51,500 psi

Unless you're saying you loaded 444 SHOTSHELLS and fired them in .410s. If so, okay then.

They are loaded as 410 shot gun shells not 444 marlin loads. 3": 11/16 oz shot 14.4 grs H110 1170 fps 12,600 PSI

 

[tark]

Most ".22LR" stamped autos cannot.

Unless you have a Remington 550 or 550-1 ; in which case you can shoot everything from CB caps to high velocity LRs and the gun will function flawlessly.

 

[Jim Watson]

Old advertisements listed everything that would fire in a .38 Special; .38 Short Colt, .38 Long Colt, and about half a dozen different .38 Special loads called out by brand or type.

Some Spanish pistols are marked "9mm/.38" meaning 9mm Largo or .38 Auto. Maj. Geo. C. Nonte once showed some ugly pictures of Largos that fired with a 9mm P in ahead of the extractor but not out of reach of the firing pin.

 

[tws3b2]

Harington & Richardson 650. Revolver. Bought it new in 1978. Marked on cylinder 22 ""LR"". Also came with 22 WMR cylinder.
Try to shoot 22 shorts and you get most inaccurate and shavings from the cylinder. I know, I did
It's stamped on the gun for A Reason.

 

[Miami_JBT]

.327 Federal Magnum will shoot .32 H&R Magnum, .32 S&W Long, and .32 S&W (Short).

.357 Remington Maximum will shoot .357 Magnum.38 S&W Special and .38 Long Colt.

.22 Long Rifle will shoot .22 Long, .22 Short, and .22 CB.

.414 SuperMag will shoot .41 Magnum and .41 Special.

.445 SuperMag will shoot .44 Magnum, .44 Special, and .44 Russian.

.35 S&W Auto will shoot .32 ACP.

7.62x38mmR will shoot .32 H&R Magnum, .32 S&W Long, and .32 S&W (Short).

9x18mm Ultra will shoot .380 ACP.

.460 S&W Magnum will shoot .454 Casull, .45 Colt, and .45 Schofield.

 

[Miami_JBT]

Unless you have a Remington 550 or 550-1 ; in which case you can shoot everything from CB caps to high velocity LRs and the gun will function flawlessly.

Gill Guns are stamped .22 Short, .22 Long, and .22 Long Rifle. The barrels flat out tell you to work it as a bolt action if you shoot anything other than .22 Long Rifle out of it.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I've shot thousands of .22 Shorts from my LR-marked revolvers without any issue except a change of POI and some extra cleaning.

.32 ACP will fire from a .32 S&W or .35 S&W in an emergency, but will likely damage the gun eventually.

Not exactly interchangeable, but if you cut off a fired .22 WMR cartridge, it can be used as a sleeve to fire .22 LR.

.32 Colt New Police is interchangeable with .32 SWL, AND .38 NP with .38 S&W.

 

[lysanderxiii]

Just to play nitpick-nazi here, but none of the listed ammunitions are "interchangeable."

Interchangeability – Items possessing similar functional and physical characteristics that are equal in performance, and capable of being exchanged one for the other without alteration.

.38 Special and .357 Magnum are not "equal in performance".

They are "compatible," items or components or material that exist or function in the same system or environment without mutual interference.

 

[.45Coltguy]

"....nitpick-nazi...."! Gonna remember that one. Epic!

 

[JTHunter]

As the OP mentioned, .38 SPLs in a .357 are OK. .38 Short Colt ammo works fine in a Spl chamber ( or a 357 ) but it makes a mess in the chamber

Tark - what about .38 Long colt ammo? Can it be shot out of a .38 Sp as well as a .357?
And correct me if I'm wrong about the OP's question - can almost any .32 cal. load be shot out a .327 gun (.32 ACP, etc.)?

 

[fxvr5]

Tark - what about .38 Long colt ammo? Can it be shot out of a .38 Sp as well as a .357?

Yes. Folks, a lot of this information is on the wikipedia sites for these calibers. Also, several articles have been written of these subjects so a Google search should find them.

e.g. https://www.ssusa.org/content/the-other-38s/

 

[tark]

Tark - what about .38 Long colt ammo? Can it be shot out of a .38 Sp as well as a .357?

You are correct. Forgot about that one.

can almost any .32 cal. load be shot out a .327 gun (.32 ACP, etc.)?

Not sure about that one, but I wouldn't shoot .32 ACP ammo in an old black powder .32 revolver.

 

[Miami_JBT]

Tark - what about .38 Long colt ammo? Can it be shot out of a .38 Sp as well as a .357?
And correct me if I'm wrong about the OP's question - can almost any .32 cal. load be shot out a .327 gun (.32 ACP, etc.)?

.38 Long Colt can be fired from .38 S&W Special, .357 Magnum, and .357 Remington Maximum revolvers. The .38 S&W Special is an elongated .38 Long Colt. In fact, my 1903 made S&W Model 1902 is marked that it can fire both the .38 Special and .38 Long Colt.

 

[Miami_JBT]

You are correct. Forgot about that one.

Not sure about that one, but I wouldn't shoot .32 ACP ammo in an old black powder .32 revolver.

You are correct. Forgot about that one.

Not sure about that one, but I wouldn't shoot .32 ACP ammo in an old black powder .32 revolver.

JTHUnter said most .32 loads can be fired out of a .327 Magnum revolver. Not the other way around.

 

[entropy]

If the gun has a 5.56 chamber either 5.56 or 223 is fine in any gun. Technically you're not supposed to fire 5.56 in a 223 chamber, but the only issue would be if done in a Semi-auto.

To my knowledge the only semi-auto ever chambered in 223 were the very early Ruger Mini-14's. They quickly changed to 5.56 chambers to avoid the problem. Those haven't been made in years and I've never seen an AR with a 223 chamber. You'll never have issues firing 5.56 in a 223 bolt action.

The last statement in each of these paragraphs are both wrong. Firing 5.56 in a .223 chambered Handi-Rifle will almost always cause the rifle to pop open and the case will stick, with the primer showing signs of very high pressure.
As for bolt action .223s firing 5.56 ammo, in  most rifles, the only issue one will encounter is a little more oomph needed for extraction. However, older (80s on back) .223 bolts, varmint rifles in particular, will have stuck cases and flattened primers if 5.56 is fired in them.

Here are the differences in chamber dimensions:

 

[tubeshooter]

I do want to say that if you want to subscribe to the "what's on the barrel" philosophy, it is a valid approach that you won't go wrong with.

There isn't a manufacturer around nowadays that would tell you much otherwise.


That being said, it is ignoring perfectly good information to not recognize at least the less controversial and questionable compatibility that is general and common knowledge. If one elects to forego it in the name of caution and a simpler manual of arms, that is on the individual. I guess the library science in me resists it, at least with respect to this thread. YMMV, which is fine.

 

[Jim Watson]

9x18mm Ultra will shoot .380 ACP.

Same as .40 in 10mm, GAP in ACP or the fabled “Any 9mm“ Spanish guns. Headspacing on the extractor can be a chancy business.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

It's been a while since I heard a Savage Model 6 called a "Gill Gun". Stepdad had one. Worked semiauto for .22 LR. You could push the steel bolt handle in to lock the bolt for short, long, long rifle. The "gill" vents helped reduce fouling build up around the bolt head in semi- auto mode.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

My son got a great deal on a ".380" Makarov.
Yes some Makarovs were sold rebarreled for .380. The owner was up front and said the functioning was not perfect.

Turned out this one was original 9x18mm Makarov caliber so yes .380 ACP was a sloppy fit. Shorter case. smaller diameter bullet. So-so accuracy with. 380 ammo. Better accuracy with 9mm Makarov ammo.

9x18mm Makarov is 9.2x18mm in reality.
.380 ACP is actually 9x17mm.

I tried the Makarov with .380 ACP. With a round in the chamber, I removed the magazine, pulled slide to the rear. The chambered round slipped off the extractor and remained in the chamber. Duh. If I didn't know I put a live round in the chamber I could have reinserted the magazine thinking the chamber was clear. Always treat a gun with the respect due a loaded weapon (especially the "unloaded" ones).

I do NOT recommend .380 ACP in a 9mm Makarov pistol except in a dire emergency.


I have done some experimental last resort tests. Like .380 ACP in 9mm Luger and .32 ACP in .30 Carbine. I recommend not doing it.
Unless it's a life or death emergency.

 

[ojh]

Russian Nagant revolvers are chambered in 7.62x38R. In a pinch one may shoot 32 S&W Long in them. I've done it, accuracy is OK but cases swell and there's no gas seal.
Russian 7.62x54R and Finnish 7.62x53R are almost fully interchangeable to both directions. Still according to CIP they are different calibers. "Almost" because I would not recommend shooting large amounts of 54R with steel-jacketed .311 bullets through, say, a Finnish M28-30 Mosin that has .308 bore.

 

[wanderinwalker]

I've shot thousands of .22 Shorts from my LR-marked revolvers without any issue except a change of POI and some extra cleaning.

.32 ACP will fire from a .32 S&W or .35 S&W in an emergency, but will likely damage the gun eventually.

Not exactly interchangeable, but if you cut off a fired .22 WMR cartridge, it can be used as a sleeve to fire .22 LR.

.32 Colt New Police is interchangeable with .32 SWL, AND .38 NP with .38 S&W.

Very esoteric, but I believe the .32 and .38 Colt New Police were simply the .32 and .38 S&W cases loaded with a different bullet profile, and of course Colt couldn't possibly have their competitor's name on their revolvers.

The .35 S&W has very minor dimensional differences versus the .32 ACP. My impression was the S&W cartridge came about because at the time there were concerns about barrel life using FMJ ammunition, and the .35 S&W used a bullet with a lead bearing surface and a jacketed nose to aid in feeding. Yes, I briefly considered tracking down a S&W 1913 to add to my accumulation. Luckily the urge passed.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

It's been a while since I heard a Savage Model 6 called a "Gill Gun". Stepdad had one. Worked semiauto for .22 LR. You could push the steel bolt handle in to lock the bolt for short, long, long rifle. The "gill" vents helped reduce fouling build up around the bolt head in semi- auto mode.

I've usually heard them called "click-clacks" thanks to the unique way they hold the bolt open before the trigger resets. I always thought the gills were to allow air-cooling while the bolt is open, though why you would need it with a .22, I dunno- lol.
Their sear system is kinda sketchy and they are pretty infamous for going FA.....

 

[Miami_JBT]

Same as .40 in 10mm, GAP in ACP or the fabled “Any 9mm“ Spanish guns. Headspacing on the extractor can be a chancy business.

.45 GAP will safely shoot in .45 ACP chambered revolvers with moonclips.


I shoot .45 GAP out of my S&W Model 625 all the time.

 

[Jim Watson]

And you could shoot clipped .40s in a 610, too. It is sort of like those 9mm barrels for .40 autos, why buy big to shoot small?