converting caliber

[himanshu]

one of my friend want to convert his luger p08 (9mm) to 380 cal. what modifications are required,regarding ?? what will it cost?? pls help....

[MoA]

You would need to sell the Luger and buy a .380 pistol. That would be the easiest way.
However if you did want to attempt to ruin a perfectly good luger, you would at the least need the following:

New barrel, with a .380 chamber. The cartridge is much shorter than the 9mm Para.
A new Breech assembly with the smaller bolt face to accomodate the .380 base which is smaller than the 9 Para base.
A new magazine, prbably staggered to fit the luger dimensionally and keep the .380 cartridge in it.

In terms of cost, lets put it this way even outside of India it would be a lot cheaper to buy a .380.

Should you decide to go down the modification route... please post updates on the butchery.

[Anand]

First the legalities:
the Luger in 9mm would be considered a Prohibited Bore, and to convert from one caliber to another would require some sort of paper work I imagine. Assuming you have done all the required stuff to undertake such a conversion,
the technicalities:
a .380 ACP cartridge will chamber and fire in some 9mm Parabellum caliber pistols depending on but not limited to the extractor design. While its not good to do this, some pistol extractors are capable of holding the .380 ACP cartridge in place against the breechface inorder to fire it, this will no doubt push the bullet out of the barrel but there will be insufficient recoil to eject the empty case and chamber a new cartridge from the magazine. You must remember that the P-08 Luger was originally designed for full power 9mm parabellum cartridges which are higher pressure than the present SAAMI specification ones.Sometimes even these lower pressure ones don't function well in Lugers, which has contributed to their supposed poor record in jamming. So we can safely say that there will not be enough recoil to function the "slide".
Next, some magazines designed for 9mm Parabellum cartridges MAY hold .380 ACP cartrdiges successfully but, may not have sufficient length to move from the magazine to the chamber without jamming, so you will have to perform a function test. You have to understand that the entire sequence is like a well coordinated ballet, and any new factor entering this may disrupt the sequence of functions.
I dont think even experienced gunsmiths in Europe and USA would undertake such an endevour, let alone India,
Good Luck,
Anand

[TwoRivers]

Here's the "Cheap & Easy" way to ruin...ah, I meant "convert" your Luger. Take an empty steel, not brass, case and low-temp-solder, or epoxy, into the chamber. (Just as an aside, it takes the right fixtures to remove the barrel from the receiver without damage to either.) Now drill out the base, and ream the new .380 ACP/9mm Short chamber. Epoxy a flat metal strip, thickness equal to the o.a.l. difference between the two cartridges, into the back of the magazine, and shorten the follower. You now have a single-shot pistol that will feed from the magazine, or a "manually-repeating" pistol. It may, or may not, extract and eject the fired case reliably.

If it does, and you are still feeling lucky, replace the recoil spring with weaker ones, in small incremental steps, until the pistol functions reliably. This, because of the design, is work for a good and experienced 'smith.

Congratulations! You have now a .380 ACP Luger, have ruined a good pistol, and spent more money on it than would have bought you an IOF Afshani. Don't do it. Cheers.

[ArcherSix]

it would make much more sense to convert to .30 Luger. That would take only a barrel change. Or sleeving and rechambering your original barrel. Mag/ boltface, etc would stay the same. That is, of course, if you can get ammo and a barrel in India......

[MoA]

Anand:

Lets look at the dimensions of the .380

Bullet dia: .355
Neck: .373
Base .374

Now for 9mm Para:

Bullet dia: .356
Neck: .380
Base: .391

Any attempt to shoot a .380 in a 9mm chamber will in the least lead to a failure of the case neck, and quite possibly a catastrophic case failure. Which believe it or not might cause your pistol to turn into a grenade.

No 9mm Para pistol can shoot .380 cartridges safely. It can be done, but is not advised in the least.
The only pistol I am aware of which is capable of safely shooting two different cartridges is the .357 Magnum, where you can use .38 special ammo safely. Put a .357 Mag in a revolver designed for .38 special and you have a grenade.

[winnie_the_pooh]

The only pistol I am aware of which is capable of safely shooting two different cartridges is the .357 Magnum, where you can use .38 special ammo safely. Put a .357 Mag in a revolver designed for .38 special and you have a grenade.

Other examples

1..450 in a .455 and

2..455 in a .476

Getting a .357 mag cartridge in the cylinder of a .38 special revolver would be impossible.

[TwoRivers]

And another: .32 S&W Short in .32 S&W Long, both in .32 H&R Magnum, all three in .327 Ruger.

[Sakobav]

As Anand pointed out its the legal issue needs permission and changes can only be made by a competent gunsmith who has legally entitled to make such modifications..
Agree with other members why butcher the gun unnecessarily...
If it belongs to family member try getting the license as inheritance.

Sad to see a Luger being clobbered frankly I doubt it can ever be easily converted simple reason Luger by far has one of the most complicated design and was expensive gun to manufacture.

best

[MoA]

Getting a .357 mag cartridge in the cylinder of a .38 special revolver would be impossible.

No aware of the others.

.357 in .38... what's the saying... where there is a will there is a way. Yes I know OAL's are different