What is a Cartridge Adapter?

[jamesinalaska]

I came across a 1979 trade paperback with a series of articles focused on survival. They never mentioned zombie attacks or a government gone wild (I suppose there was more trust to go around in those days) but there was a lot of repeated talk of natural and nuclear disasters. (It is important to remember that the 3-Mile Island accident happened in 1979 also, so that would have been fresh on everyone's mind.)

Although the times were different and the national anxieties were different, the articles were screamingly similar to the survival articles we read today. There were a couple of long articles praising the utility and effectiveness of the 12 gauge shotgun, for example, and there was an entire chapter on canning vegetables, and another article about the usefulness of having a remote cabin in the woods. Also there was an interesting article describing how great the new military cartridge in .223 is. One article in the collection described something I had never heard of. They called it a cartridge adapter.

The article described the adapter as something to be used to shoot smaller cartridges in larger chambered rifles. They mentioned the 30 carbine cartridge quite a bit and said the 30 carbine with the right adapter could be used successfully in rifles chambered in 30-06 and 30-30 Winchester and the like. Unfortunately the article didn't show any pictures of the adapters they wrote about - they only showed a picture of the 30 carbine cartridge next to a 30-06 case. My question to THR readers is how did these adapters work? Are they some sort of machined spacer that the owner can push into the chamber of his rifle which will then hold a smaller cartridge (like 30 carbine) with a proper headspace?

The article also mentioned one other adaption, a .223 to 22lr. There was one photograph for this, it showed a primed .223 case, a small metal rod with an offset nipple on one end, and a 22lr cartridge.with a funky-looking gasket. The point from the article was to take a primed .223 case, insert the rod with the nipple pointing toward the case mouth and then seat a 22lr cartridge into the .223 case mouth. When fired the .223 primer would supposedly launch the rod against the 22lr and fire it, launching the 22lr BULLET down the barrel. But for the life of me I could not figure how this could actually work except maybe one try out of 20. Have any THR members seen this work?

I did search THR for past references of this, but did not find anything matching what the article desribed. I should have paid the 50 cents for the book.

 

[Jim Watson]

The only current brand I know of is MC Ace.
http://www.mcace.com/adapters.htm

 

[chicharrones]

There are also chamber inserts for break open shotguns. Like shown at this link.

http://gearupcenter.com/products/x-caliber-gauge-adapter-system.html

 

[chicharrones]

I gotta admit, I bought one of the stainless MCAce chamber adapters out of curiosity. The one I have is stainless and allows firing .32 ACP through a .308 Winchester rifle. It is a fun way to shoot a .308 rifle with no recoil, but .32 ACP fired this way is not very accurate. Think 1" groups at 15 yards, and to a different point of aim.

Supposedly in this case, it turns a deer rifle into a short range squirrel gun. But, you better have a scope on it so you can holdover for the different point of aim and still see your target. In my experience with that adapter anyway.

 

[ironworkerwill]

AT4 to 9mm trainer. Best adapter ever!! ALOT less noisy.

Really an actual adapter is made for shot shells. 12 to 20ga, among others, is a lot of fun. I never used the 22lr to 223 or the 30carbine to 308- '06 ect. Sounds fun!

 

[Tinpig]

This is the only one I have:



It allows me to shoot .410 shells in my 20 ga. shotgun. Sportsman's Guide has inserts that let you shoot .32 ACP in a .30-06 bolt-action rifle.

Tinpig

 

[Malamute]

I have a 32 auto/30-30 adapter. It works fine, with fair accuracy, certainly usable for rabbits out to 30-40 yards. Since I reload, its simpler to just make light loads in 30-30 cases though. 32 auto shells arent exactly cheap, but for guys that dont reload, I suppose they have their place.

 

[JSH1]

I have a chamber adaptor to shoot 32 ACP, 32 S&W, 32 S&W Long, or 32 H&R Mag in a 7.62x54R. The adaptor itself works fine but the accuracy out of my Mosin is horrible. 2-3 inch groups at 10 yards. I tried 32 ACP, 32 S&W Long and 32 H&R Mag, lead and jacketed. Nothing grouped.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/762x54r-to-32-cal-multi-chamber-insert?a=587989

Chiappa has gone whole hog with the X-Caliber. It is an over and under 22 LR / 12 gauge combination gun bundled with 8 chamber adaptors for the 12 gauge barrel.

http://www.chiappafirearms.com/product/2677

It is also "tactical" with 3 picatinny rails

 

[tactikel]

Cartridge adapters are machined metal pieces designed to fit into the chamber of the larger caliber, chambered for the smaller, cheaper, round. I have a Marble adapter that allows me to shoot .32acp in my .30-06. They were touted as survival aids, but were really best suited for cheap plingking. While potentially useful, they are IMHO novelties.

 

[v8stang289]

Tinpig, how well does the .410 to 20 adapter work and pattern? I'm thinking of getting one for my NEF 20 ga single shot to introduce my son to shotguns.

 

[Malamute]

I had a 410/12 and 410/20 ga adapter, the old Savage "four-tenner" units. They throw usable patterns, maybe not as good as a dedicated barrel in that ga, but certainly usable for small game relatively close and for practice and fun.

My question to THR readers is how did these adapters work? Are they some sort of machined spacer that the owner can push into the chamber of his rifle which will then hold a smaller cartridge (like 30 carbine) with a proper headspace?

Thats basically it.

I load the smaller shell in the adapter, then hand chamber the adapter in the Winchester 94 (very easy with the top eject action). Once fired, I run the lever open, the adapter/shell ejects, spinning, and the small shell spins out of the adapter. I catch the adapter in my hand, already empty. Havent shot one enough at one time to have the small shells stick and need a rod to push the empties out of the adapter.

Results seem to vary widely. I've had decent accuracy, I've heard of a number of people that havent. It may be the host gun and its groove diameter and the size of the smaller cartridges bullet dimensions fit that make or break it, maybe not.

 

[benEzra]

I have a .22LR to .223 adapter lying around somewhere. It looks like the .32-to-.30-06 adapter Tinpig posted, except it has an insert that goes in behind the .22LR round that transfers the firing pin strike from the center to the cartridge rim.

 

[jamesinalaska]

Thank You THR readers

And thank you benEzra, for explaining the .223 to 22lr conversion. I obviously got the idea from the original article wrong. Do you recall how accurate your adapter is?

And thank you to the others who posted links. I have an old Stevens double barrel I always thought would be neat if I could get it to shoot .357 mag. Maybe the excaliber adapters are for me. But at nearly $500 I would not be buying a whole set.

 

[chicharrones]

I have a double barrel Stoeger with 26" barrels. If for any reason it was a coach gun, I'd probably already have an adapter just because. I'd pick one of the 10" long ones so there would be some rifling for the cartridge to take advantage of.

I see .38 Special adaptors at a few locations, but only one for .357 Mag.

http://www.gunadapters.com/12-gauge-to-38-special-pathfinder-series/

http://www.mcace.com/shotguninserts.htm

http://www.gaugemate.com/component/hikashop/product/1426-sniper-10-shotgun-to-pistol-rifle

 

[chicharrones]

Here are some photos of my stainless MCAce adapter (.32 ACP/.308 Win) I got a few years ago. Plus a target with me trying to find point of aim using iron sights.

The MCAce worked perfectly with American branded .32 ACP, but the European branded .32 ACP has a thicker rim and my rifle's bolt wouldn't close on the Euro ammo. So, I made a lapping tool out of a spent .32 ACP cartridge to change the headspace (spaces on the rim on .32 ACP). Now the gun works with American or Euro ammo.

 

[beag_nut]

Just saw this today; check it out. If they had .357 I'd get one tomorrow, but they have numerous others.

http://www.gunadapters.com/

 

[Kaeto]

Found this site a while back
Chamber adapters

http://www.mcace.com/adapters.htm

Though I'd rather use this item they produce. Full length barrel inserts.

http://www.mcace.com/shotguninserts.htm

 

[mnrivrat]

I have a .223 to .22rf adaptor that I carry inside a forearm slot on my Savage 24V. The upper barrel was .222 and I chambered it to .223 .

I have shorter than factory barrels and tuned them so they shoot to POA at 25 yds (what I consider a good shotgun and rifle range for survival small game shooting) . The adaptor with 22rf, the original barrel rechambered to .223, and the shotgun barrel with slug or center of shot pattern all shoot within a one inch pattern at 25 yards.

So in my case the adator shoots very well in my rifle/shotgun combo.

 

[entropy]

I would think the Atchisson or Ciener converters to be the best examples.

The Pedersen Device would be a good contender, if any exsisted outside of museums.

 

[TruthTellers]

When it comes to adapters, especially the smoothbore ones for shotguns, there's no difference in quality from the few manufacturers that make them. I prefer Shortlane in Montana as he'll occasionally run sales that reduce prices $5-10 and because of the free shipping. His selection may not be as large as others, but his prices are the best.

I don't know much about adapters for use in rifles, I don't know where to even buy them. I can say that with the accuracy, or lack thereof, they would not be much use in the end of the world as we know it survival situation. Also, since most rifle calibers are under .355, that really only leaves the litany of .32 ammunition to use in 7.62 rifles, .22 rimfires in .223, and 7.62 Tokarev in AK's, SKS, Mosin's, etc. Besides .22LR/Mag, none of that ammo is what I would consider common and even if someone had that ammo, they probably also have the pistol which they'd be better off shooting with.

What makes much more sense in chamber adapters in survival at collapse of civilization is the shotgun adapters. For 12 gauge, heck even 20 gauge, these will be available from .22 up to .45 ACP and .45 Colt. As said, they come in both smoothbore and rifled versions. The rifled ones in various lengths, the smooth ones usually just 2 3/4".

The shotgun to shotgun adapters make the most sense as all they do is throw shot down the bore. Patterns won't be perfect, but keeping it within reasonable distance they'll be effective. For the money they are the most effective adapters around.

The smoothbore pistol adapters won't give much of any accuracy. Rounds will keyhole but within 10 yards you should be able to hit the target. One thing I will say is a keyholing round of good size like .45 or .40 will cause a serious amount of damage. For 20-25 bucks, I think these are pretty cool toys to experiement with that could be useful in survival.

As for the rifled adapters, I've read that accuracy can be suspect, but I've seen videos that with a scope they can range out to about 30 yards. For $100 though, I have a hard time accepting 30 yards as the max range, with scope, on top of toting around an 8" long steel pipe. For a 5" barrel and $50-60, I think that could be an alright setup.

 

[TruthTellers]

Just saw this today; check it out. If they had .357 I'd get one tomorrow, but they have numerous others.

http://www.gunadapters.com/

I don't think it's sensible to make magnum adapters. Too much pressure for not a lot of performance.

 

[Kaeto]

So nobody has a comment on the full length shotgun barrel adapters?

 

[TruthTellers]

So nobody has a comment on the full length shotgun barrel adapters?

It would make sense if they were shotgun only, like 20 gauge, and had a fixed choke machined into the muzzle. For rifle chamberings, for 165 bucks... I see no benefit at all getting one when an 8" for 65 bucks less works just as well. The weight of an 18 inch long tube is just ridiculous for a survival situation.

 

[boom boom]

They have been around for awhile and you see them on fleabay or gunbroker from time to time as well. Be careful though about getting a bullet stuck in the barrel which is not an issue for the shotgun adapters of course.

For safety reasons, be very careful about the adapters for firing cartridges in flareguns.

 

[illinoisburt]

Over the years I have seen a few people using the pistol and rimfire adapters. They were universally slow to load. People using them were happy as best I could tell.

I can tell you for certain that the chamber inserts for 30-06 to 308 do work well. I got one of the "US GI" conversion sleeves many years ago when 308 battlepacks were dirt cheap and readily available. I could get SA ball for less than the cost of a 30-06 reload.

Follow the directions - clean chamber and insert really good with mineral spirits, dry both with a heater, then give a thin coat of blue locktite only in the middle up to the shoulder (you don't want any to ooze out the front or back). Slide into chamber with a round of 308, fire and leave action closed for 24 hours. Open action and eject. Worked like a charm, though was tough get out later. Heat and broken shell extractor got it out, but was definitely a one-time installation.

At this point with the price of ammo being much the same I wouldn't find much utility to the conversion in most situations. However it might be a good inexpensive solution to breath life back into an old 30-06 with a pitted/rusted chamber? Hmm...