turning a model 15 into 9mm

[JAB]

ok i have a S&W Model 15 coming and i was thinking of turning it into a 9mm what would need to be done and can it be done

Edited September 5, 2008 by JAB

[Toolguy]

It can easily be done. Use a 9mm chamber reamer and cut it for moon clips. You will probably get the best accuracy if you load

.357 size bullets in the 9mm brass.

[DougCarden]

Buy 38 short colt brass and get it moonclipped..........Save you a lot of time and hassle.....probably not what you wanted to hear.....been there tried stuff like that

[vrmn1]

Unless you can do the work yourself and have extra cylinders to play with, what Doug said.

[festus1]

I bought an old model 15 for very cheap that had an 8 3/8" barrel from a model 14 installed on it. The finish was like new. I thought about that same thing - 9mm w/ moon clips. I talked to a local smith about it and he said that he did a whole crate full of victory model conversions in the 1960's for the Israeli government when he was just starting out. Britain had given Israel a whole lot of cutting edge victory model smiths – but no ammo. Israel had no 38 S&W but had a boat load of 9MM. It was a long story but to cut to the chase I rounded up a 38 S&W cylinder from a generous collector on the S&W forum and now have a 9MM 8” K frame. The smith said that the conversion works way better with a 38 S&W because it is so short. I think the cost was about $100 plus $20 for the cylinder. I’m going to send it out for Carmonizing after the Nationals this weekend.

Using short colts is probably a cheaper / easier option as Doug and vrmn1 said. I feel more peaceful reloading 9mm and I’m certainly not looking to push the envelope in speed – I do well to just hobble thru a whole match on the same day. After hearing the story and then finding a cheap 38 S&W cylinder, it seemed like a cool thing to try. I’ll let you know how it turns out when Mike gets done with it. Chris