Fire .38 acp in Spanish Destroyer

Personally, because I handload, I'd just remove the semi rims from a batch of cases. Easier than machining the bolt and perhaps altering the extractor.
 
IMHO if you're going to bastardize it anyway why convert it to 380acp?? If you can't do it yourself, take it to a smith and have the shoulder of the barrel set back and clean up the chamber, if needed, for 9x19 or 9mm Luger which is far easier to find.

some of these rifles and some of the Norwegian pistols chambered for this cartridge had their chambers sleeved to accept the 380acp.

I converted a destroyer with a rusted out barrel to 7.62x25 and it is a great little rifle. I shoot both hand loads and surplus in it. The 7.62x25 is a hot little round.

Your rifle your choice but there are better choices than the 380acp.

The best option for you is a mentioned reload. Mind you many people either don't want to be bothered or have a fear of reloading. Again, your choice.

These fine little rifles are very underappreciated. When they came into Canada they were mix of commercial and police issue surplus. Some of them already had 9x19, 9mm Luger chambers. They don't bring much of a premium in comparison to what was paid for them. I should look for another one as the 7,62x25 has been commandeered by my 12 year old grandson.
 
I don't think this would work. The 9x23 Largo is slightly tapered so the head is .394 and casing just ahead of the rim groove is .391 same as a 9mm Luger. On the .380acp the head is only.374 as is the side wall just ahead of the extractor groove. So that's a total difference of .016. And that's certainly enough to cause excess bulging or even side wall splitting.

Open the bolt face? Why? The head is already too small so no need to open anything. Perhaps you were reading about conversion to the semi rimmed .38Super? But even then the rim is still smaller than that of the .9mm cases so again no need to open anything up.

Then there's the casing length issue which would see the cartridge hanging from the extractor hook instead of properly headspacing off the mouth of the case. And with all the play it might even not hang from the hook correctly.

So all in all this is not a wise option. It would be questionable that it would even stay in place well enough to be fired and if it did the casing would be radically bulged or split.

There's also the issue that the short and undersized rounds would not seat well in the magazine. I can see the likelyhood of a lot of jams from the rounds sliding around and tipping at odd angles.

I converted a destroyer with a rusted out barrel to 7.62x25 and it is a great little rifle. I shoot both hand loads and surplus in it. The 7.62x25 is a hot little round.
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Now THAT would be one sweet carbine ! ! ! ! Is there a link to the thread? Or some other information?
 
starline makes nice 9x23 brass for that, that's the answer. I to converted one to 7.62x 25. I got another mag housing and split both houseings, welded them back together , made it deeper and used a TT33 mag. worked very very well
 
Before 9x23 was available 9mm Win mag and .38 super data was fine.I have an in depth article on the Destroyer in an annual Military Surplus magazine.There was at least 2 versions of the gun ..parts were farmed out and guns cobbled together and not usually interchangeable....... Basque home family gunsmithing.........one built like a cheap stamped.410 and the other based on the 93 mauser....Harold
 
bearhunter said:
IMHO if you're going to bastardize it anyway why convert it to 380acp?? If you can't do it yourself, take it to a smith and have the shoulder of the barrel set back and clean up the chamber, if needed, for 9x19 or 9mm Luger which is far easier to find.

some of these rifles and some of the Norwegian pistols chambered for this cartridge had their chambers sleeved to accept the 380acp.

I converted a destroyer with a rusted out barrel to 7.62x25 and it is a great little rifle. I shoot both hand loads and surplus in it. The 7.62x25 is a hot little round.

Your rifle your choice but there are better choices than the 380acp.

The best option for you is a mentioned reload. Mind you many people either don't want to be bothered or have a fear of reloading. Again, your choice.

These fine little rifles are very underappreciated. When they came into Canada they were mix of commercial and police issue surplus. Some of them already had 9x19, 9mm Luger chambers. They don't bring much of a premium in comparison to what was paid for them. I should look for another one as the 7,62x25 has been commandeered by my 12 year old grandson.
Click to expand...
 
Mine is an OEM Largo and will disgest 9 x 23 Styer-Hahn as well. I did experience the odd primer leak...the handgun ammo wasn't designed to see the pressure for a longer ( greater?) spell I figure.
Lovely gun. Girls love shooting it...very sedate unit
 
I've fed my Destroyer a steady diet of 9x21 Winchester ammo for quite a few years. Supposedly, it's too hot for these little actions.

Don't tell my Destroyer this, because there are zero issues I can see, inside or out.

My Destroyer will chamber and shoot 9x19, 9x21, 9x23, and 9mm Bergmann without a hiccup.

There isn't much call for bolt action rifles, chambered for pistol cartridges but these little rifles and the fmj ammo they're mostly fed are cheap and fun to plink with.

I can see the reasoning behind Police use, and maybe as a survival rifle for small game, such as bunnies and grouse, but there are much better rifles available for such purposes which aren't as heavy/long.
 
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