Expert: Dean Speir - 11/27/2007

Question
My questions are about the 380 automatic. Is it possible that a 9 mm bullet can be shot from a 380 automatic successfully? And also ballistic testing from what extent do they do testing and when did this kind of testing start?

Answer
Once again, this is not a Second Amendment issue, but I'll give it a stab.

The .380 ACP is elsewhere in the world referenced as "9mm Kurz" (9mm "Short") or the 9 X 17mm. The most common of the "9mm" cartridges today is the 9mm Parabellum, a/k/a 9mm Luger or 9 X 19mm. Both the 9 X 19mm and the two silly millimeters shorter .380 ACP, have the same 0.355-inch bore, so from that standpoint, they are the same, and theoretically a 9 X 19mm projectile can be shot from a .380 ACP.

The operative issue, though, would be the projectile's weight, which determines the overall length of the loaded cartridge. Whereas the typical .380 ACP loadings run from 85-grains to 95-grains, 9 X 19mm loadings are pretty much standardized at 115-grains, 124-grains and 147-grains, and would likely be too long to be safely chambered in your garden variety .380 ACP.

That said, both Remington and Hornady load sub 100-grain 9 X 19mm rounds, and Hornady certainly sells components if you wished to obtain their 90-grain projectiles.

And that's about all I can tell you based on what you asked. Why you would wish to do this is another subject, I guess.

The rest of your inquiry about ballistic testing is incomprehensible, so perhaps you should rephrase and resubmit.