Interchangeable Ammo

[ExAgoradzo]

This is where I spend my time on THR, if it needs to move, so be it.

I'm thinking about ammo that can be loaded into a firearm of a different caliber with no modifications.

Not talking about Ruger convertibles.

For example
.22 S & L can be loaded into a .22LR
.38 Special into a .357 Mag
.44 Spec in a .44 Rem Mag
.45 S&W in a .45 Short Colt into a .45 Schofield in a .45 LColt in a .454 Cas in a .460 S&W [not exactly certain of the order in that stream]
.45-70 in a .45-90 and etc(???)
.375 H&H in a .375 WBY

I suppose you could say
.223 in a 5.56x45
.308 in a 7.62x 51

What are some others?

There are not that many...

Thanks, Greg

 

[Candyman87]

Keep in mind that not all .22LR firearms will be able to feed .22 Short and .22 Long. Revolvers? Sure. Semi auto's? Maybe, maybe not.

 

[rcmodel]

.32 S&W in .32 H&R Magnum, and all of them in .327 Ruger Magnum.

.45 Auto Rim in .45ACP revolvers.

2 3/4" shotgun shells in 3" chambered shotguns.

.44 S&W American, .44 Russian, and .44 Special in .44 Magnums.

.22 WRF & .22 Rem Special in .22 WMR.

.32 ACP auto-pistol in 'some' .32 revolvers.

.32 ACP in the S&W .35 cal auto pistol.

.38 Spl & .357 Mag in the .357 Maximum.

Probably more, but it's getting to late to get my brain to work on it harder right now.

rc

 

[ojh]

It considered safe to shoot .32 S&W Long and .32 H&R Magnum in a 7.62x38R Nagant revolver, even if the cases bulge.

Russian 7.62x54R and Finnish 7.62x53R are pretty much interchangeable.

 

[Inebriated]

.458 Win Mag can go into a .458 Lott
.45 ACP in a .45 Super in a .460 Rowland

 

[mnrivrat]

32 S&W into 32 S&W long into 32 H&R magnum into 327 magnum

and my 32 H&R magnum also chambers and fires the .32 acp with its semi rim case.

 

[Tirod]

.300 Whisper in .300 Blackout.

But it's not really "interchangeable." It's functionally the same cartridge with minor - and we are talking in the thousandths of an inch - variations in dimensions. What is being done is competition between Brand suppliers for the overall naming, in order to dominate that specific shape.

.300BO is the classic contemporary example. The round existed in wildcat form since the mid 1980's, SSK developed it as the .300 Whisper with subsonic loadings, and AAC simply renamed it as an aggressive marketing takeover to promote suppressor sales.

The same thing was tried with the .264LBC, otherwise known as 6.5 Grendel.

I don't consider these "interchangeable" in the strict sense, as they are simply blueprint modification to meet copyright and IP provisions, i.e., dodges around the law to keep from being sued. Some are successful, some aren't, but the overall result is that you shoot either in the gun without any concern whatsoever.

In the sense of the OP, revolvers and manual actions accommodate the more disparate rounds better as the overall length can be significantly different, as in the .22 family. A .22 revolver can shoot them all up to .22LR. A .357 does well with the .38 family as pointed out.

But the reality is there are very few so similar they can be trusted to be interchangeable. If anything that is the caution - because there may be one feature that is inherently non-interchangeable that could cause catastrophic failure. Such as .300 BO in 5.56. Not good when it chambers, and it can.

Best left to the knowledgeable as those new to the sport already have an issue with nomenclature getting the right ammo. And gun store clerks aren't known to be completely proficient with it, either. The market plays with naming conventions to distinguish there offerings and it's not helping, either.

IIRC I've got an AR with barrel marked 6.8x43 NATO, but I can't find ammo with that printed designation. So I shoot 6.8SPC in it. So far so good. But - guys who bought 6.8 barrels are warned that NATO loads aren't safe. Go figure.

 

[Jim Watson]

The old catalogs used to show .38 Short and Long Colt usable in .38 Special.

You sure about .44 American in .44 Russian, etc. RC?

 

[ATLDave]

It is possible, though not ideal, to shoot .40 S&W from a 10mm auto. The case will headspace off the rim/extractor, not the case mouth, so it's a little rough on the extractor and less than optimal from an accuracy perspective (at least in theory - whether it actually makes a difference depends on guns and loads). I'M NOT RECOMMENDING THIS!

 

[mesinge2]

Technically, if you had a 460 S&W cut for moonclips it would be capable of .460 S&W magnum, 454 Casull, 45 Colt, 45 ACP, and .45 Schofield (.45 S&W).

Also, I think 480 ruger can be used in 475 Linebaugh, but I am not sure on that one.

 

[ATLDave]

Another not-supposed-to-do-it: some 38 supers/supercomps (the tough ones built for IPSC/USPSA and other games) will run 9x23.

 

[Browning Guy]

I had a conversation along this line this weekend. I was talking to a guy about the Ruger combo. .357/38/9mm. He said in the case of the 9mm cyl. you can also shoot a .380, as they were the same diameter just shorter. I doubted it but have no experience with it. True or False?

 

[Bigdog57]

A couple more "Not Recomended" interchanges:
9mm Luger in a 9mm Largo gun. Possible breakage of extractor may result.
.22LR in certain .22WMR rifles and revolvers. Yes, we are NOT supposed to do this, but fess up, how many have done it? I have.

ANY of these interchanges MAY have problems if the gun is not made to shoot that particular load. Some problems will be minor, like powder residue build-up using the shorter ammo. Other interchanges may cause cycling and extraction/ejection issues. Many will see reduction in accuracy.

A couple unintentional interchanges I have seen were:
.270Win shot in an M1 Garand chambered in .30-06. Fireformed the case to .30-06.
.243Win shot in a .308Win rifle - same fireforming. Accuracy was abysmal in both cases. Safety danger was minimal.

 

[rbernie]

He said in the case of the 9mm cyl. you can also shoot a .380, as they were the same diameter just shorter. I doubted it but have no experience with it. True or False?

They both headspace on the mouth, but if you can get the 380 to headspace off the extractor hook (which isn't always guaranteed, due to the smaller rim of the 380) it will fire without damage to the gun or the shooter.

 

[homatok]

You can shoot 300 H&H in a 300 Weatherby. You will get reasonable accuracy and nicely formed brass for the Weatherby to reload. There is a small case volume reduction when compared to a factory Weatherby round.

 

[Ranger Roberts]

.22LR in certain .22WMR rifles and revolvers. Yes, we are NOT supposed to do this, but fess up, how many have done it? I have.

Guilty as charged. I have a 22 WMR bolt action Marlin that a relative gave me when I was a kid. He told me that it was a 22lr. I shot 22lr out of it for 2 years until another relative looked at the rifle and corrected me. It never harmed anything but the cases would bulge and wouldn't consistently extract.

 

[PapaG]

O.K. My 2 cents worth.
45AR won't work in Ruger single action 45acp cylinders. (Quite a few of the first model of 1984 or whatever it was called 625s weren't bored to headspace on case mouth either...necessitated moon clips.
Some accidental interchanges: my brother fired a 41 mag in my 94 Winchester 44 mag. Pregnant guppy case.
A customer brought in a Kimber that he thought had a bad chamber...along with the fired case. Gun was a 45 acp, case was a 40 S&W. No damage.
Quite a few folks have used 32acp in 32 S&W guns.

 

[rcmodel]

the case of the 9mm cyl. you can also shoot a .380, as they were the same diameter just shorter. I doubted it but have no experience with it. True or False?

False.

The 9mm case is tapered and measures .394" at the rim.

The .380 case is straight wall, and measures .374" at the rim.

It would just fall in a 9mm revolver chamber and rattle around.

rc

 

[the Real Alpo]

44 American is undersize for 44 Russian/Special/Magnum chambers. It will probably fire. I've seen people shoot 32 Colt in a 32 S&W chamber. It bulges all to hell, sometimes splits, but it fires. The American would do the same. Shame to blow away that valuable collector ammo, though.

45 S&W is 45 Schofield - same round, different names. 45 Short Colt has not been made since around 1909, so finding any to shoot in your 45 Colt/454/460 would be a slim chance, and shooting it would be a terrible waste of money.

As someone else said, "45 AR in a 45 ACP revolver" does not apply to single actions - Rugers, pre-war Colts, and several Italian clones.

I've fired 380 in a Smith 940 9mm revolver, using the moon clips. Cases swelled greatly, but no ruptures. Nice to know I could do it in a pinch. Kinda doubt it would work in my Beretta 92 or my Luger, though.

I have, in the past, shot 32 ACP in Smith 32 HEs. I don't do it any more - I've been convinced the ACP has too much pressure for them. I do, occasionally, still shoot them in 32 H&Rs. The case diameter is identical - you use the same set of dies to reload both. The bullets are near enough it does not matter.

 

[mstreddy]

How about 38 Auto in a 38 Super.

 

[JSH1]

I have, in the past, shot 32 ACP in Smith 32 HEs. I don't do it any more - I've been convinced the ACP has too much pressure for them. I do, occasionally, still shoot them in 32 H&Rs. The case diameter is identical - you use the same set of dies to reload both. The bullets are near enough it does not matter.

The issue with 32 ACP in a 32 S&W Long, 32 H&R Mag, or .327 Fed Mag is the rim thickness. 32 ACP has a rim that is 0.045" thick while the revolver 32s have a rim that is 0.055" thick. That makes the 32 ACP sit 0.010 too deep into the cylinder of a revolver and can lead to light primer strikes. I have one revolver that will shoot ACP and one that only lightly dents the primer.

 

[el indio]

7.63 Mauser will shoot in 7.62x25 Tokarev. Do not shoot the 7.62x25 in the Mauser. Too strong for it.

 

[Bigdog57]

Some 9mm Largo pistols will chamber and fire the .38Super, but this is a bad idea. Old pistols like the Star aren't strong enough for repeated firing of the .38Super. Yeah, I did it once in my old Star Modelo Super, but quickly learned to NOT do that! I did use .38Super brass to reload to 9mm Largo levels, and modded the pistol to accept the .38Super's semi rim. With the proper Largo load it worked fine. This was when Largo brass was simply not available. Later I did get the correct brass.

 

[Sav .250]

Everything is fine till you guess wrong.

 

[weblance]

Both my 327 Federal Magnum revolvers, a Taurus M327 and a Ruger Single Seven, will fire 32acp reliably. The first time I fired it, in my Taurus, I opened the cylinder because I thought I had a squib. Man is that ammo weak. Its pretty snappy in a 6 oz pistol... not so much in a 22 oz revolver.