"Easily" converted pistols; what are the options?

[lsudave]

In a normal world, 9x19mm Parabellum is the cheapest and most common centerfire ammo around, and you can grab a lot of guns in that caliber. And ammo is easy to come by.

Things aren't normal. Ammo is scarce and expensive, and some of the other, more obscure ammo is more available and currently less expensive. So, one option to increase your chance of finding more ammo, is to get a handgun able to shoot those other calibers.
I know there's a .22lr option for almost every gun, but I'm looking more at centerfire ammo here.

If you're like me and have picked up "a few" guns over the years, you might already have the gun, just waiting for a couple parts to do the conversion...

In my case, I have already done one. Norinco T-54, a Tokarev that came with a 9mm barrel. I bought a 7.62 Tok barrel and it was a simple drop in, the gun now runs 7.62x25 without a hitch. So that's now a multi-caliber pistol.

I also have a Star Super B, I did some asking around and it seems like a conversion to 9x23 Largo could be as easy as a barrel (possibly a mag swap too; to be safe I already have some Super A mags on the way for a decent price). If I can locate a Super A (Largo) barrel, that's another multi-caliber gun.

I recently picked up a Beretta 81, in .32 acp. Brief checking on the Beretta forums indicate that a .380 barrel from the appropriate matching gun (Beretta 84, or Browning BDA) works fine. That would make 3 multi-caliber platforms.

I know there's a lot of .40 to 9mm options, but I don't think you go the other way... right? You don't want to move up from 9 to 40.

You guys know of any other, probably old/surplus guns, that we could make multi-caliber?

 

[rbernie]

You guys know of any other, probably old/surplus guns, that we could make multi-caliber?

Probably the most common multi-caliber gun is a police trade-in 40S&W; you can keep it 40S&W, make it 9mm, or make it 357 Sig. I've done that with Glocks and Sig P226s/P229s. The 9mm conversion needs both barrel and mag; 357 Sig conversion just needs a new barrel.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

If you can find a .40 HiPower, down-sizing to a 9mm is easy, but not the other way around.

Many popular 9mm automatics were also offered in .30 Luger for European and S.American markets. Swapping between those should only require a barrel swap- however I dont know what the availability of .30 Luger is lookin like these days.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

Glocks have some options for barrel changes, 40 down to 9mm seems the most common. Same for SIG as mentioned above.

Can do the same thing with a Beretta 92/96 but I think the better option there is a caliber specific top end for best performance.

I know its not your question but don't forget about revolvers. Ruger makes a 9mm/38/357 Blackhawk and the .327's can shoot 32mag and 32Long. Several other revolver options if you haven't looked at those yet.

 

[Jim Watson]

About any 9mm P can be back-converted to .30 Luger, if you can find a barrel.

SVI has an interchangeable breech face that will let you convert one of their guns to about anything that will fit the magazine well.

 

[fxvr5]

A 1911 can be converted to about anything by changing the top end - slide and barrel.

 

[Jim Watson]

And a revolver can be converted to about anything with a new barrel and cylinder too; but both approaches are tedious and expensive.

 

[lsudave]

If you can find a .40 HiPower, down-sizing to a 9mm is easy, but not the other way around.

Yeah, that's my problem.

I have the 9mm versions, not the .40's. I actually have about 150 rds of .40, including 50+ of JHP defensive ammo. Not sure why or how, as I've never owned a 40. I don't want to buy another gun (well,... not for this exercise at least!); I'm trying to make things I own "more flexible".

• The Tok was reliable for decades with the 9mm barrel, and with the newly acquired 7.62 barrel it seems fine in that. I can now pick up 7.62 ammo, something I didn't have before.
• The Star Super appears to meet that requirement, if I can locate a Largo barrel. If it works, I could add Largo into the ammo stash.
• The Beretta 81 appears to meet that too, if I can pick up a decently priced 380 barrel (been looking at kits). I actually don't have .380, but if I can convert something I own, it would be worthwhile.
• I have a High Power clone in 9mm, I hadn't considered the .30 Luger option. Going to research barrels and see if there's anything around; and check the ammo situation to see if that's remotely viable.

I clearly missed the boat with the .40 police trade-ins, a P226 would have been a smart move. I got 9mm in both DA/SA and DAK, instead... and probably can't expand them to another centerfire caliber.

I have a few 9x18 Mak pistols, but they're all blowback, I'd have to deal with pressing the barrel. Not fitting the "easy" category.

I do have an old Savage in .32 acp, I wonder if the 380 conversion is an option there?

 

[SharpDog]

IMHO, In the short term you are better off just buying a .40 and worry about converting it later. Both .40 & 9mm are about the same price now. All of my 'convertable' pistols are Sig p22x's that started in .357 Sig, then converted to .40 S&W and finally 9mm.

 

[WestKentucky]

Several frames are the same from 9-40 so if you have a 40 you need a 9mm barrel and a bushing for the slide/barrel interface usually, but not always. If you have the 9mm then you need a whole slide.

BUT depending upon the level of skill a man has he can occasionally take a 9mm locked breach and with some work find himself holding a .380 blowback.

The thing I want to see happen though is a chamber adapter conversion for a few common things. .380 to 32naa is one I have dreamed of many times. 32acp to 25naa is less appealing but the same concept. Your conversion barrel starts where the shoulder would be on the NAA case. In a rifle I don’t see it making sense but the same concept would be applicable from 35rem to 3030 or 32special. 243 from .308, 25-06 from 30-06. Although with big high pressure rifle rounds I would fully expect the pressure and friction to destroy a thin sleeve rather quickly.

But also, consider the basic chamber adapters. I keep putting off getting adapters from 3030 to 32 long. I have seen several 12 ga to 38spl or 45acp conversion inserts.

Then there are the contenders and encores where a barrel swap is 2 screws and a pin. Centerfire Big bore to rimfire weakling takes about 2 minutes.

 

[Sergei Mosin]

The Glock 21 is pretty flexible - .45 ACP as designed, drop in a G20 barrel to shoot 10mm or .40, or convert to .45 Super or .460 Rowland.

 

[WestKentucky]

The Glock 21 is pretty flexible - .45 ACP as designed, drop in a G20 barrel to shoot 10mm or .40, or convert to .45 Super or .460 Rowland.

But parts for large frame glocks are crazy. I was considering it when I had a complete g20 lower in my safe but finding a slide was difficult and expensive. I could get on a backorder waiting list, for an overpriced slide, or wait forever for a slide that appeared to be out of production, or try to buy a factory slide for roughly the cost of a complete gun.

 

[lsudave]

One thing I've always been intrigued with, has been a .380 to 9x18 Mak conversion for the Beretta 80 series. The Berettas are still blowback, but they're not "fixed" barrels, meaning you can swap them easily.

I've got a few 9x18 pistols, and from what I understand the mags interchange for 380 pistols in those designs (Makarov, CZ 82, FEG PA 63). The issue with those are that since the barrels are pressed in, you can't do an easy swap. I ended up getting another FEG in .32 acp, just for variety; when if the barrel could have been changed easily I'd have gone that route.

I like the Beretta's, I like my 81 in .32. I'm browsing for .380 barrels at the right price, but I'm fully aware that ammo isn't any cheaper or more available right now. On the other hand, 9x18 does tend to run a lot lower, and I've got several cases stashed. I don't mind carrying my CZ-82 at all, and I'd love to have the Beretta added to that mix. I think if it can handle 380, it mechanically could handle 9x18; it's just a matter of finding the barrel.

 

[JeeperCreeper]

EAA Witness large frames can go from 9-10-40-45-22

 

[reddog81]

But parts for large frame glocks are crazy. I was considering it when I had a complete g20 lower in my safe but finding a slide was difficult and expensive. I could get on a backorder waiting list, for an overpriced slide, or wait forever for a slide that appeared to be out of production, or try to buy a factory slide for roughly the cost of a complete gun.

Realistically it going to be that way with all the guns mentioned in the thread. Buy an old milsurp gun for $200 to $300 and to make it multi-caliper it's going to cost $100 or more for another barrel, assuming you can find one. At least with the Glock there are plenty of options out there. IMHO it makes more sense to just use the money to buy another gun or spend it on ammo.

 

[Jim Watson]

I do not understand the practice of buying big and shooting small.
I am a handloader, so If I had a .40, I could make it do what I wanted it to without buying a 9mm barrel. Not to mention the magazine, extractor, and ejector recommended for those who want to depend on their Frankengun for duty or defense.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

CDNN sent this out today for the FNS. For $100 its a cheap conversion if you have the base gun already;
https://www.cdnnsports.com/email-sp...te-conversion-9-to-40-ex-ln.html#.X5Ci8HV7mM8

They also have a complete 40 long slide conversion for $140.

Makes me wish I had the base pistol.

 

[bannockburn]

My favorite, and easiest, conversion is adding a 9mm. barrel assembly to a 1911 in .38 Super. The only other thing you need is 9mm. magazines and you're good to go!

 

[Sergei Mosin]

I wish I had bought one of those .38 Super Commanders when they were in production.

 

[tommy.duncan]

CDNN sent this out today for the FNS

Wish they did this for the FNX-9!!

 

[Hasaf]

Browning 1911-380. It will shoot 22lr with a slide assembly swap. In 380 it uses a delay/locking mechanism, as can be seen by the cutout in the picture. The 22lr slide is straight blowback. The result is that the felt recoil is very similar in both configurations.

 

[pairof44sp]

In a normal world, 9x19mm Parabellum is the cheapest and most common centerfire ammo around, and you can grab a lot of guns in that caliber. And ammo is easy to come by.

Things aren't normal. Ammo is scarce and expensive, and some of the other, more obscure ammo is more available and currently less expensive. So, one option to increase your chance of finding more ammo, is to get a handgun able to shoot those other calibers.
I know there's a .22lr option for almost every gun, but I'm looking more at centerfire ammo here.

If you're like me and have picked up "a few" guns over the years, you might already have the gun, just waiting for a couple parts to do the conversion...

In my case, I have already done one. Norinco T-54, a Tokarev that came with a 9mm barrel. I bought a 7.62 Tok barrel and it was a simple drop in, the gun now runs 7.62x25 without a hitch. So that's now a multi-caliber pistol.

I also have a Star Super B, I did some asking around and it seems like a conversion to 9x23 Largo could be as easy as a barrel (possibly a mag swap too; to be safe I already have some Super A mags on the way for a decent price). If I can locate a Super A (Largo) barrel, that's another multi-caliber gun.

I recently picked up a Beretta 81, in .32 acp. Brief checking on the Beretta forums indicate that a .380 barrel from the appropriate matching gun (Beretta 84, or Browning BDA) works fine. That would make 3 multi-caliber platforms.

I know there's a lot of .40 to 9mm options, but I don't think you go the other way... right? You don't want to move up from 9 to 40.

You guys know of any other, probably old/surplus guns, that we could make multi-caliber?

You maybe already know about it, but what about the 22TCM barrel for Glocks? 40 grain bullet at 2200 ft/sc, according to Youtubers.

 

[BigBlue 94]

10mm and 40 in a G20 as noted

38 super 1911 could run 38 special wadcutters with some work. I have a colt magazine for one... Bet it would work for a 9mm.

380 to 32NAA would require a barrel swap and thats it. But 32NAA is not widely produced and is pricey. Ive got a Guardian chambered in 32NAA. Might be able to get an adapter for 32acp for the NAA.

 

[lsudave]

I do not understand the practice of buying big and shooting small.
I am a handloader, so If I had a .40, I could make it do what I wanted it to without buying a 9mm barrel. Not to mention the magazine, extractor, and ejector recommended for those who want to depend on their Frankengun for duty or defense.

I dunno, I guess it's just increased options, I guess. Not everyone reloads. Right now, not everyone can get reloading components, either.

It's not necessarily "buy big, shoot small", it's having a functional conversion. If you take a gun built to handle a certain round or pressure load, odds are you're not going to be able to go UP the ladder, you go sideways or down.
Sideways would be 9 Luger to 9 Largo, and I suppose 7.62 Tokarev. Shooting small, to me, means going from something like 380 to 32.

I could see that being something people are interesting in, or not interested, depending on their point of view.

 

[lsudave]

Silly question; is it possible/okay to cold-blue a pistol barrel? I'm not talking bore, but exterior.

Asking, because I want to differentiate between calibers for guns I pick up a second barrel. So, say, 9mm in the white, 7.62 Tok blued.
If not, are there any other measures that could be done easily enough?