SP-101 9mm revolver -- .380 ACP and 9x23?

MatthewVanitas · August 17, 2002, 10:09 PM

Greetings all. Just got back from the range w/ a buddy who'd never fired anything other than military issue. He loved the Ruger 22/45, thought the .22LR was an amazing little round. The retiree shooting next to us let us try his .357 Python, said buddy thought that revolvers were pretty novel, compared to an M9. Had to explain the whole rim/rimless thing to him, explaining how 99% of the time revolvers use rimmed cartridges.

By sheer coincidence, at the local gunshop later that day, ran across a SP-101 in 9mm. Buddy was fascinated: it's a wheelgun, but it's in our issue _9mm_. Got me pretty curious myself, might have to sneak back there before he can buy it (smirk).

Anyway, question as follows: can the SP-101, when using moonclips, fire the .380 ACP? To answer the inevitable "why bother", I thought it'd be easier to teach the non-gunsavvy. Word on the street is the 9mm revo kicks more that a .38, less than a .357 Mag. So, .380 ACP a go or no?

On a minor sidenote, even if 9x17 Browning (.380 ACP) will run, the 9x18 Makarov would not, correct? Slightly different diameter of case and projecticle, right?

Moving on to a third cartridge: has anyone here on the board got that 9x23 conversion done, or shot one? How much does it run and from whom? Is it worth doing? It seems everyone talks about how "efficient" the 9mm is out of a 2.5 revo barrel, it seems rather odd to claim that and then put a much hotter round in, like it would be as noisy and wasteful of powder as the .357 Mag snub was in the first place. Am I just not following the wisdom of the conversion?

Thanks for all help.

C.R.Sam · August 17, 2002, 10:58 PM

The .357 mag can be wasteful of powder n noisy.

But...while being wasteful, tis puttin out bout twice the energy from that 2" barrel. More weight faster than the 9X19.

Or can be downloaded to suit the meekest.

My favorite 9mm is the 9X32 Rimmed.

Sam

mikey357 · August 18, 2002, 01:13 AM

Yes, you CAN fire .380's out of a moonclipped 9mm revo...accuracy MAY suffer...or may NOT suffer...there WERE two VERY GOOD gunsmiths I know of who WERE doing the 9x23 conversion on 9mm revo's...Dane Burns of BCP and Mark Hartshorne (sp-?) of Pinnacle High Performance...don't know if EITHER will currently rechamber a J-frame-sized gun for the 9x23...might be worth askin' about....mikey357

E357 · August 18, 2002, 04:13 AM

The 9x23's only reason for being is to provide a SAFE 50,000 PSI 9mm round in an AUTOMATIC. The automatic may have an unsupported chamber. In a revolver nothing is going to beat the .357 magnum in this size bullet unless you count the .357 Max.

Elliot

brionic · August 19, 2002, 12:05 PM

Dane Burns (Burns Custom Pistols) is the man to whom you should speak. He will ABSOLUTELY make the conversion to 9x23 on the SP101. In fact, he feels the SP101 is the perfect revolver for this platform.

You can reach him via his website, or on pistolsmith.com, which he also runs.

August 17, 2002, 10:09 PM	#1
MatthewVanitas Senior Member Join Date: August 24, 2000 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 256	SP-101 9mm revolver -- .380 ACP and 9x23? Greetings all. Just got back from the range w/ a buddy who'd never fired anything other than military issue. He loved the Ruger 22/45, thought the .22LR was an amazing little round. The retiree shooting next to us let us try his .357 Python, said buddy thought that revolvers were pretty novel, compared to an M9. Had to explain the whole rim/rimless thing to him, explaining how 99% of the time revolvers use rimmed cartridges. By sheer coincidence, at the local gunshop later that day, ran across a SP-101 in 9mm. Buddy was fascinated: it's a wheelgun, but it's in our issue _9mm_. Got me pretty curious myself, might have to sneak back there before he can buy it (smirk). Anyway, question as follows: can the SP-101, when using moonclips, fire the .380 ACP? To answer the inevitable "why bother", I thought it'd be easier to teach the non-gunsavvy. Word on the street is the 9mm revo kicks more that a .38, less than a .357 Mag. So, .380 ACP a go or no? On a minor sidenote, even if 9x17 Browning (.380 ACP) will run, the 9x18 Makarov would not, correct? Slightly different diameter of case and projecticle, right? Moving on to a third cartridge: has anyone here on the board got that 9x23 conversion done, or shot one? How much does it run and from whom? Is it worth doing? It seems everyone talks about how "efficient" the 9mm is out of a 2.5 revo barrel, it seems rather odd to claim that and then put a much hotter round in, like it would be as noisy and wasteful of powder as the .357 Mag snub was in the first place. Am I just not following the wisdom of the conversion? Thanks for all help. __________________ --Capitalism isn't a program or a system like "socialism," but a description of reality like "the Pythagorean theorem." Deal with it.

August 18, 2002, 01:13 AM	#3
mikey357 Senior Member Join Date: November 24, 2000 Location: Griffin, GA, USA Posts: 742	Yes, you CAN fire .380's out of a moonclipped 9mm revo...accuracy MAY suffer...or may NOT suffer...there WERE two VERY GOOD gunsmiths I know of who WERE doing the 9x23 conversion on 9mm revo's...Dane Burns of BCP and Mark Hartshorne (sp-?) of Pinnacle High Performance...don't know if EITHER will currently rechamber a J-frame-sized gun for the 9x23...might be worth askin' about....mikey357 __________________ mikey357, TFL Member # 7556

August 17, 2002, 10:58 PM	#2
C.R.Sam Senior Member Join Date: October 29, 1999 Location: Dewey, AZ Posts: 12,876	The .357 mag can be wasteful of powder n noisy. But...while being wasteful, tis puttin out bout twice the energy from that 2" barrel. More weight faster than the 9X19. Or can be downloaded to suit the meekest. My favorite 9mm is the 9X32 Rimmed. Sam

August 18, 2002, 04:13 AM	#4
E357 Senior Member Join Date: August 27, 2001 Location: SE Florida Posts: 152	The 9x23's only reason for being is to provide a SAFE 50,000 PSI 9mm round in an AUTOMATIC. The automatic may have an unsupported chamber. In a revolver nothing is going to beat the .357 magnum in this size bullet unless you count the .357 Max. Elliot

August 19, 2002, 12:05 PM	#5
brionic Senior Member Join Date: July 14, 1999 Location: Eastern IA Posts: 88	Dane Burns (Burns Custom Pistols) is the man to whom you should speak. He will ABSOLUTELY make the conversion to 9x23 on the SP101. In fact, he feels the SP101 is the perfect revolver for this platform. You can reach him via his website, or on pistolsmith.com, which he also runs.