A little bit of a crazy idea here but lets start with the beginning.
Background: My mom has a .380 auto revolver from Taurus and my brother in law has a .380 LCP. It's nice to be able to use the same ammunition for both but the problem is my mom hate's the moon clips.
Possible solution?: She wants to get a .38 special revolver which is quite the possibility. I Suggested she try one of the many moon clip tools out first to see how she does. However a third possibility arises. Would it be possible to take .38 special brass (I have a virtually endless supply) and trim it down to .380 acp length then load to .380 acp specifications and use .380 acp dies with the .38 special shell holder? I have a few concerns with that though, headspacing (Not sure how to check this on a revolver when making a custom cartridge like that), Case capacity I suppose just measuring the hydraulic capacity of the case and making sure they are close enough to each other would be sufficient and finally case strength/ I understand the cylinder contains most of the pressure but is there a difference in the webbing around the case head between the .38 special and .380 acp? I would expect the .38 special to be stronger than the .380 acp but I really don't know. The idea behind trimming the .38 special brass is to make a sort of .380 auto rim like the .45 auto rim for .45 acp revolvers. That way she can have brass that operates properly with the extractor so she doesn't need moon clips.
Background: My mom has a .380 auto revolver from Taurus and my brother in law has a .380 LCP. It's nice to be able to use the same ammunition for both but the problem is my mom hate's the moon clips.
Possible solution?: She wants to get a .38 special revolver which is quite the possibility. I Suggested she try one of the many moon clip tools out first to see how she does. However a third possibility arises. Would it be possible to take .38 special brass (I have a virtually endless supply) and trim it down to .380 acp length then load to .380 acp specifications and use .380 acp dies with the .38 special shell holder? I have a few concerns with that though, headspacing (Not sure how to check this on a revolver when making a custom cartridge like that), Case capacity I suppose just measuring the hydraulic capacity of the case and making sure they are close enough to each other would be sufficient and finally case strength/ I understand the cylinder contains most of the pressure but is there a difference in the webbing around the case head between the .38 special and .380 acp? I would expect the .38 special to be stronger than the .380 acp but I really don't know. The idea behind trimming the .38 special brass is to make a sort of .380 auto rim like the .45 auto rim for .45 acp revolvers. That way she can have brass that operates properly with the extractor so she doesn't need moon clips.
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