380 acp bolt action rifle ????

[beechbum444]

Been pondering a 380 acp bolt action rifle .... savage 325 action .... used to be a 222 remmy.... the bolt face is close....could in a pinch make 380 brass from 9mm or maybe even 223/556..... 20,000 psi operating pressure .... 80-100 grain boolits .... quiet compared to a 9mm round... a 16 inch barrel would smack small critters ..... just thinking out load .... any thoughts appreciated ..... regards

[Outpost75]

No wierder than my .32 ACP Remington Model 580. Longer barrel is MUCH quieter. I went 22 inches with my .32 ACP.

[beechbum444]

Nice .... is that the action that kinda built like a mini Mauser ???

[Outpost75]

Nice .... is that the action that kinda built like a mini Mauser ???

No, it's a six-lug, rear locker in .22 LR which looks like a Remington 788 which shrunk in the washing machine. Converted to centerfire, made new bolt head, fitted M16 extractor, relined and rechambered.

[405grain]

The Remington 580 was a 22 rimfire bolt action with multiple rear locking lugs. It is very "over built" for a 22rf, and I've heard of these rifles being converted to smaller centerfire cartridges like 32 H&R mag., 32 S&W long, 32acp, etc. A 580 (or any of the rear locking lug Remington 22's) might be converted to 380, but any such conversion would cost a lot and would require some serious gunsmithing. I thought that the Stevens 325 rifle was only made in 30-30 Winchester? I could be mistaken, but I thought that the Savage 340 was the rifle that was made in both 30-30 and 222. Before you decide to use a 340 as a donor for this project I'd recommend that you do an online search regarding the current value of this rifle. An acquaintance that I know through the internet on another forum purchased a 340 in 222 with the mind to convert it to something else. But after trying the rifle and discovering that it shot sub MOA, and finding out that the rifle was worth a lot more than he'd paid for it, he decided to keep it as a 222.
I'm not trying to discourage you from building a pistol caliber rifle, just saying that a 325/340 in good condition is a pretty decent rifle as is.

[beechbum444]

That’s the threat thing about this place, getting ideas from other view points...

[popper]

why not just 9mm and load light?

[samari46]

How about a cadet martini in 9mm?. There was one gent who had built a cadet martini in 9mm and it shot very well with bullets 124 grain weight. Can't remember what site he was on so going from memory. Not sure if you would need to get the firing pin turned down or bushed though. Extractor is a easy fix though. Or you can do one in 38 special and pick up some velocity with the longer barrel. Many types of jacketed bullets and cast as well. Frank

[NObamain2012]

Someone makes a kit to convert 98 mausers to 45acp, and take 1911 mags.

[Drm50]

How about a Spanish Destroyer carbine, 9mm Largo. I played with one a good bit. Used 38Super brass with rim thinned. I saw one that was barreled to 7.63 Mauser in single shot mode. Had nice stock too. Would have went home with me but owner was “to proud” of it. Should be simple to sleeve chamber and ream for 380.

[slughammer]

You could make any length rimless cartridge you want out of 223 brass. 380, 9x19, 9x21, 38acp, 38spl, 357mag, 357max.

Or you could trade it to me for a 30-30.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[Bigslug]

9mm 147 grain factory duty/subsonic loads out of my 16" Ruger PC carbine are louder than a suppressed MP5, but not by a whole heck of a lot. No real reason to drop as low as .380, as the 9x19 could do all the same things and more.

I would be somewhat concerned about getting these short rounds to feed successfully. Maybe a .38 Super with heavy slugs over a light charge of a fast burn rate would be the better combo?

Of course, Ruger's making their 77/.357, which gets you to the exact same place.

[JoeJames]

Someone makes a kit to convert 98 mausers to 45acp, and take 1911 mags.

Rhineland Arms. Got one of their kits a few years ago to convert a junker Golden State Arms 03-A3 - cast receiver so no historical value. The 98k conversion will kind of more or less fit.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

There is a Rock Island bolt rifle for the 22 TCM, should convert with a barrel change. Not very expensive and should feed without much trouble.

[John Taylor]

How about a cadet martini in 9mm?. There was one gent who had built a cadet martini in 9mm and it shot very well with bullets 124 grain weight. Can't remember what site he was on so going from memory. Not sure if you would need to get the firing pin turned down or bushed though. Extractor is a easy fix though. Or you can do one in 38 special and pick up some velocity with the longer barrel. Many types of jacketed bullets and cast as well. Frank

I did my cadet in 32 S&W with an octagon barrel.

[beechbum444]

Kinda thinking just doing a single shot switch barrel on a short action savage ????? Just a barel and bolt head

[Baltimoreed]

Sounds like a neat build. I also like pcc’s but mine are built on the AR platform and are .45acp. There’s no law that says that an AR has to be run as a semiauto. They can also be run as a bolt action, that’s how they shoot them in Britain, just remove the gas tube and add a bolt handle. I’ve also seen a guy building a pump action AR on the utube. The trouble with a true bolt action rifle built into a pistol build is the action is too long. A Martini cadet in a pistol caliber other than 32-20 or 310 cadet [hard to reload for] is what you might want to look into. This one is a .357 mag, my favorite one is in .32-20/310 cadet caliber. Will enjoy watching your build.

[ddixie884]

All very interesting to me.........

[deltaenterprizes]

There is a Rock Island bolt rifle for the 22 TCM, should convert with a barrel change. Not very expensive and should feed without much trouble.

Thanks for giving me another project!

[Outpost75]

.38 S&W using a 10-inch twist 9mm Green Mountain blank gives 720 fps with 3 grains of AutoComp firing an Accurate 36-240H (240 grain FN) bullet from a 20- inch barrel and 0erforates eight gallon water jugs straight through like a laser!