Converting a .38 super to 9major

[shooter.860]

Totally newbie to the 2011 gun.

how hard is it to convert from 38 super to 9 major ?

What do you need to do ?

[donnyglock]

9mm barrel. At that point I would put in an aftec extractor if the gun doesn't have one. You may want to put the 9mm follower and spacer in the mags but that might not be necessary.

[Tyshoots]

Fit a new barrel and convert your mags with spacers. If it is super comp you will not need to adjust the extractor. I am going through that process right now.

[Foxbat]

Just shoot 9mm in your gun as it is, usually it works like a charm.

[mwc5]

Just shoot 9mm in your gun as it is, usually it works like a charm.

Load up an STI .38S/9mm mag w 9mm ammo and shoot in an STI .38 Super (TruBore etc) ???

[Foxbat]

Yes. You can shoot either the 9mm minor with a softer spring, or 9mm major as is.

[ctay]

Just shoot 9mm in your gun as it is, usually it works like a charm.

This worked for me too. Did end up using as much powder in 9 major as 38 SC which surprised me. I prefer the impulse of 38 SC so I stopped loading 9 major.

[Parallax3D]

Just shoot 9mm in your gun as it is, usually it works like a charm.

I would NOT recommend this! 9mm in a .38S is not headspcing properly off of the case rim. It's being held by the extractor.

[Foxbat]

Just shoot 9mm in your gun as it is, usually it works like a charm.

I would NOT recommend this! 9mm in a .38S is not headspcing properly off of the case rim. It's being held by the extractor.

It works like a charm. To recommend or not to recommend should be based on experience, not supposition. Yes, it is held by the extractor, but it works every time you pull the trigger. I must have put 30,000 rounds through more than one gun this way, with no single problem, shot two seasons like this.

[Parallax3D]

Just shoot 9mm in your gun as it is, usually it works like a charm.

I would NOT recommend this! 9mm in a .38S is not headspcing properly off of the case rim. It's being held by the extractor.

It works like a charm. To recommend or not to recommend should be based on experience, not supposition. Yes, it is held by the extractor, but it works every time you pull the trigger. I must have put 30,000 rounds through more than one gun this way, with no single problem, shot two seasons like this.

To recommend or not is something that should be based on SAFETY, not on "works for me." Perhaps you were simply lucky? The FACT is, the gun is not DESIGNED to function like that, and at major PF pressures, it is NOT safe!

[KSwift]

It works like a charm. To recommend or not to recommend should be based on experience, not supposition. Yes, it is held by the extractor, but it works every time you pull the trigger. I must have put 30,000 rounds through more than one gun this way, with no single problem, shot two seasons like this.

Complete horsesh**. If it worked perfectly every time, no one would spend significant sums of money to get spare barrels or convert existing guns. I have yet to learn about the mythical gun that "works everytime you pull the trigger".

You can go ahead and tell people that in your experience that you've done it and it worked for you, but don't blow smoke up folks rears and make it sound like there's no notable difference in what is physically happening and risk injuring somebody reading this who may not fully understand what is actually true about what's being said.

A LOT of guns in certain calibers can shoot different caliber ammunition, to varying levels of reliability, safety and effectiveness.

Running 9x19 Parabellum in a .38 Super chambered firearm is NOT a completely safe or reliable decision, it is NOT as dependable as shooting plinker .38 Special through .357 Magnums, .44 Specials through a .44 Magnum, or .22 Short through a .22 Long Rifle.

It's more like shooting .40S&W through a 10mm Auto; harder on the gun, harder on the cartridge, lousy accuracy, less reliability, more dangerous, and voids warranties. Need to defend your family from imminent danger? Yah, I'd slam that mag of 9's home and save the day. Want to cheap out and get a competition level 9x19 pistol by buying someone's used .38 Super? Not that easy, otherwise we'd all do it.

Edited October 9, 2014 by KSwift

[Foxbat]

Just shoot 9mm in your gun as it is, usually it works like a charm.

I would NOT recommend this! 9mm in a .38S is not headspcing properly off of the case rim. It's being held by the extractor.

It works like a charm. To recommend or not to recommend should be based on experience, not supposition. Yes, it is held by the extractor, but it works every time you pull the trigger. I must have put 30,000 rounds through more than one gun this way, with no single problem, shot two seasons like this.

To recommend or not is something that should be based on SAFETY, not on "works for me." Perhaps you were simply lucky? The FACT is, the gun is not DESIGNED to function like that, and at major PF pressures, it is NOT safe!

I can turn the argument around and say there is no reason to think it is unsafe. Unless there is some hard evidence, which goes agains the combined experience of many individuals.

[Foxbat]

It works like a charm. To recommend or not to recommend should be based on experience, not supposition. Yes, it is held by the extractor, but it works every time you pull the trigger. I must have put 30,000 rounds through more than one gun this way, with no single problem, shot two seasons like this.

It's more like shooting .40S&W through a 10mm Auto; harder on the gun, harder on the cartridge, lousy accuracy, less reliability, more dangerous, and voids warranties.

Wow! All that - based on your personal experience, I am sure?

BTW, I have a friend who shoots .40 in a 10mm gun all the time. So far - no loss of accuracy!

Edited October 9, 2014 by Foxbat

[BSeevers]

I can shoot 9mm 38 Super and 38 Super Comp through my .40 but since they all 4 have different dimensions not sure why I would even try. Just because you can do something doesn't mean its a good idea.

That was an extreme example but I guess I draw my lines closer than others.

I use D cell batteries in my flashlight even though I could probably make C and even AA work

Oh and yes you can convert to 9mm using the above suggestions but remember the good Cheaper i don't pick up brass and the bad I can't reuse brass much, sometimes a bad one sneaks in and jams(course a Super can jam this way too just not as often)

Edited October 9, 2014 by BSeevers

[MikeRush]

Wow. I'm pretty lucky to have my fingers/eyes/job/fish tank. My super took 9 Major and minor loads fine, but at any moment the extractor could have let the cartridge (action) and (fill in catastrophic blank).

Any guesses? A light strike? Broken extractor? Any first hand reports of the carnage and mayhem? Super didn't originally headspace off of the mouth...

I'm assuming people using asterisked expletives and all caps for emphasis have some knowledge of this that can be shared and enlighten us. As far as being designed for it- if you think that 38 super or 9mm were designed to be run at major power factor you might be dissapointed.

That said, I'm in between the extremes here. There are quite a few threads documenting the use of 9 Major in a Super. Would I try it? I did- I was curious. Would I consider it a long term solution? Personally if I wanted to shoot 9 major I'd have a smith fit a properly chambered barrel.

I'm still waiting to try a 9 Major I like. Maybe its coincidence but all the supers I've tried have felt softer at the same PF.

That said I also reload my ammunition (voids warranties) and when I shot my Glock I cast and loaded lead for it. I take tags off my mattresses and pillows. Are there any manufacturers who recommend 9 Major? SAAMI listings for it?

As far as reliability, what about super chamber dimensions would make it less reliable than a 9 major? If breech face is same, and extractor is properly adjusted why would the gun be any more prone to malfunction than a regular 9?

Just my observations. No dogs in any fights. I've just tried it, and concluded I'd rather pick up brass anyway.

[ctay]

I am honestly curious - what safety issue can pop up from using 9mm in a 38s barrel?

If the round slips by the extractor does that create a safety issue?

[kneelingatlas]

Ctay, I was curious about this issue as well so I asked for some first hand experience, no one posted any but I did get this article from 56hawk and did my own experiments trying to replicate the issue:

I've also shot a few rounds of 40 in my 10mm. Apparently it can cause problems though:

http://www.thegunzone.com/10v40.html

I send my slide off for milling work, so I've haven't fired any more .40 through it, but I did do an interesting experiment with a .380 case which made it's way into my 9mm loads: it was a light steel load (3.15gr Clays under a 115) so I figured I'd shoot it and see what happens

It chambered fine and I could see the rim was securely behind the extractor so I shot it; it sounded funny as the brass fire formed to the chamber, but when I extracted it I could see what this article warned of: there was a scratch in the rim where it pulled past the extractor with the primer ignition then it was slammed back into the breech face, flattening the primer against the head stamp.

Granted, this is obviously less likely to happen with 40/10 because the rim is exactly the same, but I can now see how it could happen.

I've shot 40 in a 10, 9x19 in a 9x21 and even 380 in a 9, never 9x19 in a 38, but that's because I don't have any 38s. Yet.

[Foxbat]

Add to this array one more combo - many people shoot .380's in their 9mm Police guns.

I do.

Some people also shoot .380's in 9mm Makarov pistols.

Edited October 9, 2014 by Foxbat

[Steve RA]

Everybody just do what they feel comfortable with !!!

[dansedgli]

A friend shot a 380 out of his shadow. All worked but every case split.

My 9mm brass doesn't fit all the way into my 38 super case gauge.

[Foxbat]

A friend shot a 380 out of his shadow. All worked but every case split.

My 9mm brass doesn't fit all the way into my 38 super case gauge.

Don't worry about the gauge, usually the chamber is quite a bit larger.

[mwc5]

Just shoot 9mm in your gun as it is, usually it works like a charm.

Load up an STI .38S/9mm mag w 9mm ammo and shoot in an STI .38 Super (TruBore etc) ???

To be clear, I was asking a "loaded" question up above - I'm NOT going to try my 9mm major loads in any .38 super pistol .......................................................

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: I am converting a STI Grandmaster to 9mm right now. Can you shoot 9mm in a 38-sure but I would not want to shoot it in a match. You are trusting the extractor to hold the case and the 9mm case is different on the bottom section. Another thing that could happen is the primer could move or fall out. Just change out the barrel and comp since the money you'll save shooting 9mm will pay for itself in no time. As a side note 9mm shot out of a 38 barrel does feel different than a 9mm out of a 9mm barrel. I think it feels harsher than just using a 9mm barrel for 9mm. Now shooting a 40 out of a 45 barrel that feels soft and 8" low at 10 yards. Thanks, Eric

[kneelingatlas]

Now shooting a 40 out of a 45 barrel that feels soft and 8" low at 10 yards. Thanks, Eric

[Foxbat]

Hello: I am converting a STI Grandmaster to 9mm right now. Can you shoot 9mm in a 38-sure but I would not want to shoot it in a match. You are trusting the extractor to hold the case and the 9mm case is different on the bottom section. Another thing that could happen is the primer could move or fall out. Just change out the barrel and comp since the money you'll save shooting 9mm will pay for itself in no time. As a side note 9mm shot out of a 38 barrel does feel different than a 9mm out of a 9mm barrel. I think it feels harsher than just using a 9mm barrel for 9mm. Now shooting a 40 out of a 45 barrel that feels soft and 8" low at 10 yards. Thanks, Eric

No, it felt just fine, in fact there wasn't much of a difference in shooting 38 or 9 in the same gun. Maybe, kinda, like switching from HS-6 to AutoComp.

Why do it at all? I was curious about all that 9mm business, so I tried it and I liked it. For a number of reasons it was some time before I had a 9mm gun built, but I was getting all I needed in the meantime. Many matches with 100% reliability, tons of practice, great accuracy and cheap brass.

Now... I haven't shot .40 out of .45, but I did, by mistake, shoot .357Sig out of .40, with similar results.

Edited October 10, 2014 by Foxbat