Can .40 S&W be fired out of a 10mm Auto pistol?

So I could probably drop in a .40sw barrel and a lighter spring in a Delta Elite and it would in theory fire just fine?
edit: woot 300th post.
 
I think you'd need an actual conversion barrel to keep the external dimensions the same.

I've got a 10mm conversion barrel for my G21, but it isn't just a G20 10mm barrel, it had to be machined specifically as a conversion.
 
You can fire .40 S&W in a 10mm chambered revolver (with moon clips, of course). In a revolver, the head spacing is at the moon clip. In a semi-auto, the head spacing is at the case mouth.....a .40 S&W is too short to head space in a 10mm chambered SA. That's why it's unsafe to do so.
 
thebaron said:
So I could probably drop in a .40sw barrel and a lighter spring in a Delta Elite and it would in theory fire just fine?
edit: woot 300th post.
Click to expand...

A friend has a Delta Elite with both a 10mm barrel and a 9mm Luger barrel. Works fine. I would think you should have no problem with a 40 barrel.
 
Only in revolver.... for semi you need a new barrel. I have Sig in 40 S&W, but since I have 357Sig barrel, I can shoot it as well. However, if you shoot .40 in 10 mm barrel, I would garantee broken extractor as a minimum... for the maximum you would ruin your hand..... I hope you can shoot both hands ;)
 
thebaron said:
So I could probably drop in a .40sw barrel and a lighter spring in a Delta Elite and it would in theory fire just fine?
Click to expand...

The trick is to find a drop-in barrel in .40 S&W for the Delta Elite. If you find a supply, that don't cost an arm & a leg let me know, I'm up for buying one for my Delta, too.

Would be nice to take full advantage of all that free .40 S&W brass the cops leave lying around the range everytime they practice... ;)
 
Rudy H said:
A friend has a Delta Elite with both a 10mm barrel and a 9mm Luger barrel. Works fine. I would think you should have no problem with a 40 barrel.
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Rudy - I'd be interested to know what make of 9mm barrel your friend is using with his Delta? Is it a "drop-in" with standard link set-up or custom fit [like a full ramp]? And does he have to change out the ejector on the frame to use it or does the factory installed ejector for the 10mm ctg work to eject the 9mm brass?
 
Finally, with pictures.

NAA said:
Rudy - I'd be interested to know what make of 9mm barrel your friend is using with his Delta? Is it a "drop-in" with standard link set-up or custom fit [like a full ramp]? And does he have to change out the ejector on the frame to use it or does the factory installed ejector for the 10mm ctg work to eject the 9mm brass?
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9mm Luger barrel as pictured below. No ejector/extractor change. He changes only the barrel, recoil spring, end cap and magazine. He has only shot about 500 9mm through it (more than 10mm) and said he has had no problems. :)

Looks like it could have been from Colt but not sure. The magazine he bought was after market. He bought the gun with both barrels but no 9mm mag.

DELTA.JPG


DELTA1.JPG


DELTA2.JPG


DELTA3.JPG
 
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thebaron said:
So, I was wondering, can I fire 40 S&W from a 10mm Auto pistol like you can fire 38spl from a 357?
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In short, NO.
38's outta a 357 assumes no changes to the firearm... no barrel swapping, no parts changes. DO NOT do this with 40 and ten. It may??? be done with a bunch of mods etc, but that's not what the question was....
 
Interesting thread, guys :)

Yes, you can swap barrels and shoot not just .40 but .38Super, and 9mm. I have a Series 80 Colt of my own with so many barrels I lose track :)

Let's see - on the .40 slide (a Para ordnance unit) I run 9mm, .38Super, .40 S&W, .357SIG, .30 Armco (a 10mm necked to .30 - a REAL wildcat!) - and all on the same extractor. I confess, the tension is a little tight on the .40's and not as tight as ideal on the smallest rim - the 9mm. But... it works and has never failed to function with decent ammo. I did set up a match extractor with the correct (9mm) tension when I shot this gun as a 9mm in our Provincial Championships, but that was possibly just being anal...
I change recoil springs as needed as the recoil force generated by a hot 10mm and a soft 9mm lead bullet load are miles apart!!

I have another slide for it - a .45 - and it shoots .45ACP, .400 Cor-Bon, and of course the "Bear Load" - the 45-08 Armco. I use the same 9mm size ejector on all these, and I narrowed it slightly so the .45 slide fits on with no other mods.

Now as for NAA's need for a .40 barrel to drop in to his Delta Elite - I use .40 Para Ordnance barrels (great barrels, by the way), and turn off the feed ramp on the lathe so they drop on. Works wonderfully for less than $200, a hell of a lot easier to source than a non-ramped .40 barrel :)

Gunnar

BTW, the 10mm mags work fine unless you want to run real short .40 rounds...

www.armco-guns.com
 
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