Makarov single stack .380 holds 9 rounds!!!

[TED]

I was told that this would not be possible but it is. You get one more round in the single stack mag with the .380. Given the marginal power difference between the .380 and the general lack of cheap surplus 9x18mm up here in Alaska the one extra round is nice but not reall "all that. I am just excited becasue I asked if this might be possible and everyone told me no, but it IS!!

TED

[M2 Carbine]

Yes and no.
9 rounds will load in some magazines before the slide catch tab, on the magazine follower, bottoms out on the magazine base.
Of the 2 mags I have handy, one took 9 OK and the second wouldn't.
I'll check some more when I go back down my shop.

The magazine can't be loaded in the gun if the slide is forward but with the slide locked back the magazine will load and feed fine.

So having 9 rounds in your spare .380 magazine certainally wouldn't hurt would it?:)


Nice catch Ted.^c

[Teakwood]

It is also possible to load an extra round of .380 in the 10- and 12-round mags.

[M2 Carbine]

I checked some more mags.
I was using Brown Bear JRN. Only one mag out of 5 would take 9 rounds and it was too tight a fit.

So I dug out some Sellier and Bellot JRN and 9 fit OK.
Tried some Remington JRN and they fit and fed.

[TED]

Teakwood, yes. And those work fine becasue there is enough space left over to get them to seat and everything on the 10 and 12 round mags (they are 10 and 12 in 9x18mm, 11, and 13 in .380).

I am surprised that I am so luck as to get one of the few that will hold 9 rounds.

It might (maybe) be worth trimming the follower and spring a touch to make it 9 rounds of .380 that would reliably seat with the slide forward.

Also remember those +2 extensions for the single stack mags? Well, you could get 9 rounds in the first flush fit mag (with mods as above), one round in the chamber for 10 in the gun, and your reload (if only one) could be one of those with the plus 2 on it, another 10rds. So then you would have one full box worth of personal defense ammo.

TED

[M2 Carbine]

I looked at the idea of trimming the (8 round) follower and spring.
The slide catch stud would be cut off since it's on the very bottom of the follower.
I've got a couple extra followers and springs. I'll give it a try.:)

Good idea about the extension for the second mag. That makes a high cap mag for the 380.
Has anyone used them with the 9x18?

BTW, I put a 21 pound spring in my new .380 just for the heck of it.
It may make it kick like a 22.;f
I only ran 2 quick mags through it. I'll give it a good test, maybe today.

[M2 Carbine]

Another apparent success.:)

Per Ted's suggestion I cut the legs back on a mag follower. After dressing the rough edges off the legs the follower worked smoothly in the mag.

I cut one loop at a time off the spring so the follower could move lower in the mag. I guessed three loops but it only took two.

Nine Brown Bear fit in the mag so any other brand should fit also.

The mag locks in the Mak normally and feeds and fires normally, except of course the slide doesn't lock back on the empty mag.


Now for my screw up.
I had several Makarov mags and parts of mags on the bench as I cut down the follower and kept assembling the mag to check for fit.

Finally I loaded up the mag with Silver Bear .380 to try it out.
On the 4th round the gun jammed with a round going up the feed ramp and partially into the chamber.
I thought, Maks don't jam like this. The round was jammed good since the .380 still has the 21 pound recoil spring.

I pulled the slide off and, you guessed it, a 9x18 round. It was an identical copperwashed looking round just like the Silver Bear .380.

One of the mags on the bench was loaded with the 9x18. When I was fixing to load the new modified magazine I stripped some 9x18 from the mag and mixed it in with the .380, thinking the mag was the loaded .380 mag that was in the gun.

When I went to seperate the ammo after the jam, it was very hard to tell the .380 from the 9x18.

I think I'll come up with some way to mark the .380 magazines.

[TED]

You know, I think that if the follower is steel as I believe it is it should be possible to weld a slide lock tab back onto it. This may necessitate a small relief in the upper portion of the mag for the follower to get all the way up and the tab to engage the slide lock but this should both give you 9rds of .380 that seats reliably and restore the slide lock on empty mag feature.

TED

[M2 Carbine]

Originally posted by TED
You know, I think that if the follower is steel as I believe it is it should be possible to weld a slide lock tab back onto it. This may necessitate a small relief in the upper portion of the mag for the follower to get all the way up and the tab to engage the slide lock but this should both give you 9rds of .380 that seats reliably and restore the slide lock on empty mag feature.

TED

Good idea but the tab was originally at the bottom of the follower, a good bit lower than the new shortened follower's bottom.

I would think if a tab was welded on the bottom of the new follower, the follower probably wouldn't be allowed to rise up far enough to feed the 9th round, when the tab contacted the slide catch.

Back to the drawing board.;f