Interchangeable calibers?

[shotgunner]

Okay stupid question, but I DON'T want a stupid answer =)

Okay, I hear that some guns can fire other types of ammo as well.
A perfect example would be .38 spl's out of .357 magnums.

Okay
Shooting .380's from a 9MM
Shooting .38 Spl from a .357 Mag.
Shooting .223 Remington from a 5.56 NATO
Shooting .308 Winchesters from a 7.62 NATO

Any others that I might not know about??

Any that I'm wrong about in my list there?
Does anybody know of any websites with this type of info on it?

Thanks!

 

[Slimjim]

45 LC and .454 casull.
.44 special from a .44 magnum.

 

[MrMurphy]

5.56mm/.223 and 7.62 Nato/.308 aren't "different" calibers, the NATO versions have slightly different tolerances. Civilian .223 and .308 generally shoots fine in mil-spec rifles, working the other way around civilian rifles generally have tighter tolerances and don't "always" feed 5.56 or 7.62 Nato, but generally do.



.357 Mag shoots .38 Special.
.44 Mag shoots .44 Special.
.454 Casull will shoot .45 Colt (NOT .45 ACP).

9mm will NOT (intentionally and reliably) shoot .380. It may go bang (once) but it will not likely chamber the next round.

 

[Bear Gulch]

.32 shorts in a .32 S&W Long (or I assume a 32 Mag) although Iwould not recommend the latter.

 

[Joejojoba111]

"5.56mm/.223 and 7.62 Nato/.308 aren't "different" calibers, the NATO versions have slightly different tolerances."


I don't think that's right. Just because the bullets look the same doesn't mean everything. For instance the case dimensions are different. Also the rifling rates vary a lot for 5.56, and the bullets to match them.


http://www.ammo-oracle.com/body.htm#diff

 

[Vic303]

I've heard anecdotaly that you can fire 30-06 from an 8mm Mauser rifle, but I wouldn't try it myself. Mind you, you CAN'T go the other way (8mm Mauser ammo in a 30-06).

 

[shermacman]

Shooting .380's from a 9MM

Tried it with a Beretta 92. This is what happened. The .380's load into the magazine correctly, the first round comes off the top and chambers correctly on slide release. The gun goes bang just like it should when you pull the trigger. Then everything starts going wrong.

More often than not the empty would not eject, the slide would blow back and the empty would either stay put or start to come out, get "dropped" and jam up the second round. Inevitably, the action failed to either eject the empty or feed the next round. As a single shot pistol it 'worked' fine. But that is a whole lot different that saying that the caliber is interchangable.

 

[mr.trooper]

Technicaly, it depends on the gun

Some wepaons, like the Medusa Revolver, can fire many kinds of ammo.

The medusa has a special mechanism on its cylinder that will hold bolth rimed and rimless cartridges alowwing it to fire any "38" caliber rounds. it is capable of firing:

* .357 magnum
* .38 SPL
* 9x12mm Browning
* 9mm Luger
* 9mm Makarov
* 9x17mm (.380 ACP)

The only problem is that Medusa Revolvers are RARE as snot, and fairly expensive. It is also reported that they have poor accuracy with anything other thatn the .357/38, but that they will reliably fire the other mentioned cartridges

 

[T.Stahl]

The metric dimension of the .30-06 is 7.62x63mm, while the Mauser in question is 8x57mm. The case of the .30-06 is too long for the Mauser's chamber.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Quote:
---------------------
The metric dimension of the .30-06 is 7.62x63mm, while the Mauser in question is 8x57mm. The case of the .30-06 is too long for the Mauser's chamber.
--------------------

Correct -- you can't force a .30-06 into an 8X57 chamber, The shoulder of the .30-06 is about a quarter of an inch too far forward.

I think the idea that you can shoot .30-06 comes from the practice of running .30-06 chambers into 8mm Mauser rifles, creating a wildcat known as the 8mm-06. This was a common practice right after WWII when captured Mausers were plentiful and 8X57 ammo scarce.

You CAN fire an 8X57 round in a .30-06 if you have a claw extractor (controlled-round feed). Of course, you'll blow up the rifle and lose a few fingers in the process!

 

[smokemaker]

I heard once that Winchester 1895's got their reputation as a weak gun from guys chambering 8X57's in them accidentally, and then they would blow up when fired.

Oh, yeah, .458 Wichester can be fired in a .458 Lott. And some .410's can shoot .45 LC too.

 

[Chipperman]

Some guns can fire 22 LR, 22 long, and 22 short.

 

[MikeB]

Some wepaons, like the Medusa Revolver, can fire many kinds of ammo.

The medusa has a special mechanism on its cylinder that will hold bolth rimed and rimless cartridges alowwing it to fire any "38" caliber rounds. it is capable of firing:

* .357 magnum
* .38 SPL
* 9x12mm Browning
* 9mm Luger
* 9mm Makarov
* 9x17mm (.380 ACP)

The only problem is that Medusa Revolvers are RARE as snot, and fairly expensive. It is also reported that they have poor accuracy with anything other thatn the .357/38, but that they will reliably fire the other mentioned cartridges

The Medusa will not fire 9mm Mak. The 9mm Mak bullet is actually slightly larger than the others in diameter. It will fire all those others plus about another dozen rounds that use a .357/9mm bullet.

I've never noticed any accuracy issues with mine when shooting other than .357Mag/.38Special. It works particularly well with 9x23 actually. I have hear of some problems with .380ACP. I've never shot much .380ACP out of mine however.

 

[School Belle]

I have fired .32 S&W Long in my .32 magnum revolver. .32 S&W will fit, as will .32 acp. .32 S&W short are too fat to fit.

 

[NMshooter]

.38 super will work in a .38 special/.357 magnum revolver.

I would not make a regular habit of it, though.