Charter Arms 38 v 9mm

[WestKentucky]

Out of curiosity, is the frame assembly for a Charter Undercover 38 and a Charter Pitbull 9mm the same? Essentially is it possible to swap in a 9mm cylinder into a 38 gun and it function and be safe?

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Good question.
It'll be interesting to hear the answers.
Todd.

 

[Dframe]

Sorry I don't know enough about charters to say.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Still following.....

Aside from the Undercover & Pitbull, wouldn't it be cool if they sold a 4.2 inch .38/9mm *convertible*?

I'd sure buy one.

Todd.

 

[WestKentucky]

I have looked for cylinder specific specs and have not found a good answer there. What I did find however is that an undercover has a weight of 16oz in either stainless or blued frame. The 9mm pitbull has a weight of 22oz and is only available in stainless. Based upon that, it sounds like the pitbull is the slightly heavier and larger frame size as opposed to the original small frame size. This could be a issue of the 6shot 9mm compared to the 5 shot 9mm and I’m still looking at specs to try to nail that last part down. My hopes of swapping the cylinders out is fading quickly.

 

[WestKentucky]

Still following.....

Aside from the Undercover & Pitbull, wouldn't it be cool if they sold a 4.2 inch .38/9mm *convertible*?

I'd sure buy one.

Todd.

Just like the Taurus swap cylinder... and yes that would be nice.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

What if a fella had an extra .38 cylinder and cut it for 9mm&clips?

Kind of like the old Webley/Enfields.

Todd.

 

[unclenunzie]

the pressure differences between the two cartridges would scare me.

What if a fella had an extra .38 cylinder and cut it for 9mm&clips?

Kind of like the old Webley/Enfields.

Todd.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

the pressure differences between the two cartridges would scare me.

Certainly a consideration.

Maybe speaks to why Charter has not offered it.

Todd.

 

[WestKentucky]

What if a fella had an extra .38 cylinder and cut it for 9mm&clips?

Kind of like the old Webley/Enfields.

Todd.

The issue there is strength of the cylinder. 9mm is a lot higher pressure and would bust a whole lot of small frame cylinders if recut. The next interesting thing to consider is an even simpler cut, .380acp moons that is a really simple milling setup...

Rotary table, index the cutter for the cut making sure it avoids the star/ratchet portion of the extractor, slowly rotate the rotary table to cut the new cylinder face and extractor which will be squared off because they are being cut together. Again, avoid the ratchet.

no mill? Lathe... cylinder assembly in the chuck and bring the cutter in and take a few thousandths off each pass. Cut it down for the thickness of a moon clip and reinstall in gun.

neither mill nor lathe... put on consignment at the local shop, when it sells order what you want...

 

[Blue Brick]

Small frame vs large frame. No it will not work.

 

[Blue Brick]

I think they make a six shot 380.

 

[fxvr5]

I think they make a six shot 380.

The 380 is a 5 shot.

 

[Blue Brick]

The 380 is a 5 shot.

Six.

 

[TonyAngel]

I don’t think it’s recommended that you feed the .38 a steady diet of +P loads, which is essentially what a 9mm is. .38+P.

 

[fxvr5]

Six.

I stand corrected, thanks.

I was wrongly thinking of the Taurus. Their's is a 5 shot.