380 auto (9mm short)

604shooter

604shooter

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A friend's father-in-law has recently been clearing out his firearms locker and I happened to be the lucky benefactor of most of the stuff. Anyhow, he's given me a box of German-made .380 auto (9 mm short). Can I use it in my standard 9 mm? All my ammo is sitting in storage so I can't compare the 2.
 
What he said

.380 ACP (aka: 9mm Short, 9mm Browning, 9 mm Kurz, 9mm Corto, 9x17mm)
9 mm Parabellum (aka: 9 x 19 mm Parabellum, 9 x 19 mm NATO)

380acp%20vs%209mmpara.jpg
 
It would seem to me that the reason why the answer is no, reinforced by the pictures shown by OneBarfly, is because the 9mm headspaces on the case mouth. Since the .380 Auto case is substantially shorter than 9x19mm, the round won't headspace properly.
 
If it was a life or death situation it would probably fire and may or may not cycle in most 9mm auto pistols. While it is supposed to headspace on the case mouth, most end up headspacing of the extractor claw. When was the last time you trimmed your pistol brass if you weren't shooting bullseye? One of the astras (4 or 600) digested about 4 different cases, (.380, 9mm, 9mm largo, and styer) with varying degrees of function safley. That being said, fireing any round in a chamber not made for it is not generally a good idea and not to be recomended unless either a axe murderer or the local liberal candidate is banging on your door.
 
The bullets for both are the same diameter. The case is a different story. The 380 auto/9mm short is a straight wall case, the 9 mm luger is a tapered case with the back wider than the mouth.

If you shot the 380 auto in a 9mm luger barrel the case would expand to meet the inside of the barrel. The expansion would stress the brass to an unsafe condition.
 
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