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Taurus 905 and .380 ammo

7K views 27 replies 12 participants last post by  lee n. field 
#1 ·
I wasn't able to find an answer to this one in a search, so I am posting it. Does anyone have any experience firing .380 ammunition out of the Taurus 905? Is it possible? Ill advised? Seems like the moon clips would work and the diameters are the same?

What would be the advantage? Training for people who are recoil sensitive or maybe for self defense for folks that can't handle the 9mm in a revolver. The recoil is different from a semi-auto vs revolver.

Actual experience would be appreciated.
 
#3 ·
I can see NO advantage, well unless you are a Liability lawyer and need to drum up customers.
380 is more expensive than 9 MM, the weapon is not chambered for it, and I can see no advantage.
will 380 ammo even fit in the cylinders of a 9 MM revolver??
I am not near my SAAMI chart on case size (as far as taper, etc,) not diameter of projectile.
 
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#4 · (Edited)
Possible I think, but ill-advised. The .380 cases are going to at least swell substantially, if not split. The issue is that the 9mm is tapered, and wider at the base than the .380.
 

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#7 ·
Many times the extractor will be tight enough to hold it against the force of the firing pin and it will fire.Likely won't cycle as it does not have enough power against a 9mm rated recoil spring. I still think the case will swell, and maybe split.

I've witnessed a .40 S&W get fired in a .45 ACP. Wasn't pretty. Nobody got hurt or anything but why anybody would want to do it on purpose is beyond me. The .40 case was split. The was a lot of...venting I guess I'd call it. Gas shooting out all over the place.
 
#8 ·
Based on the voices of knowledge and experience, I think what I am hearing is that the relationship of the 38spl to 357mag is not the same as the 380 and the 9mm. Just as it is possible to fire the 380 in this revolver without the moon clip, it is not advised.
 
#9 · (Edited)
If you are going to fire it, you would need the clip or it will fall completely into the chamber. But yes, the .380 is not a short 9mm.
 
#22 · (Edited)
First disclaimer -- not an engineer.

9mm is tapered, .380 is not. Both use the same size bullet.

Which means a .380 in a 9mm chamber will likely be pretty much supported at the case mouth, but not supported at the base.

So you have sealing of the case against the cylinder walls at the front of the cylinder, and pressure build-up (although probably less than in a 9mm, since the .380 fires a lighter bullet).

The problem with the case mouth sealing, but having an unsupported rear part of the case is that if you have splitting, the hot high-velocity gas is going to find its way out the rear of the cylinder -- right around where your hands are. There is no way to know where the split will be or where the gas will go.
 
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#24 ·
Of course this entire discussion is about violating one of the Golden Rules......specifically #8. Just don't.

12 Golden Rule | Gun Safety Rules | Safety University

Just as we have all kinds of rules and procedures we adhere to when reloading ammunition, so too should we do the same for shooting. I do.

Always verify the ammunition is correct by the head stamp before you fire the first shot.

Look at your gun and read the caliber marking. Look at the head stamp. Takes five seconds. I use the head stamp because it's possible that the box has been repackaged. Happened to me once. Bought some 9mm at a gun show. Months later I discovered one box of what was labeled 9mm Luger had .380 in the tray.
 
#26 ·
Although this thread is well over 5 years old, I'm responding to it because today I did about 25 rounds of .380 out of a 905.
The revolver is certainly more than capable of handling any sort of discharge from a .380.
There was no lead spitting, and I wouldn't expect any as the bullet is the same diameter.
Since the .380 case is somewhat smaller than the 9mm (see post #4) though, the cases do swell a little bit, but really not by all that much.
Being a reloader, I always inspect my fired cases closely. I had no split cases, ran them thru a resizing die and inspected again...no splits.
Would they split eventually? Yeah, all brass will eventually. But I'm pretty sure the brass life is likely shortened by doing this though.
One odd thing about it: The 90gr .380 hollow points shot extremely well and were dead-on accurate at 7 yards. Maybe less recoil had something to do with it.
Anyway, I was quite pleasantly surprised by that.
FWIW, this is not something I'd probably do, or recommend doing, on a regular basis and really have no need to. It's just good to find out firsthand that it can be done in the revolver.
Oh, and those .380s are very loose in the TKcustom 9mm moons....took some finagling. Some .380 moons might work better....just a thought.
 
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