Can I safely shoot .40 S&W out of a G20?

[BowHunter252]

Like shooting .38 out of .357, or is that a no no?

[Rexx]

If you do a quick search, especially here:

http://glocktalk.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=38

you will find people do it all the time without problems, but most don't recommend it.

[Unistat]

I would say "No".

Check out this link. He may be slightly over the top in his language and presentation, but he backs up his assertion with some data.

http://www.thegunzone.com/10v40.html

[Ebb27]

Like shooting .38 out of .357, or is that a no no?


It can be done. I've done it in my G20 and full-size Witness.

It's not a great idea since the only thing holding the case in place, when the firing-pin strikes the primer, is the extractor. On the .38/.357 the rim holds the case in place in the cylinder, on .40/10mm like most pistols the lip on the end of the chamber holds the case in place, since the .40 is shorter than the 10mm the .40 case never comes in contact with the lip in the end of the chamber. The only thing holding the .40 case in place is the extractor

It's not going to make your pistol blow-up like a pipe-bomb in your hand though. The .40 is a lower pressure round than the 10mm.

The biggest problem would be reliability. If the extractor fails to hold the case it could be knocked into the chamber without firing. Then of course you have to eject a round that has had a light primer strike.

Not a good idea to do it on a regular basis but in a dire emergency it can be done. It actually worked perfectly everytime I tried it.

[DrMaxit]

It can be done. I've done it in my G20 and full-size Witness.

It's not a great idea since the only thing holding the case in place, when the firing-pin strikes the primer, is the extractor. On the .38/.357 the rim holds the case in place in the cylinder, on .40/10mm like most pistols the lip on the end of the chamber holds the case in place, since the .40 is shorter than the 10mm the .40 case never comes in contact with the lip in the end of the chamber. The only thing holding the .40 case in place is the extractor

It's not going to make your pistol blow-up like a pipe-bomb in your hand though. The .40 is a lower pressure round than the 10mm.

The biggest problem would be reliability. If the extractor fails to hold the case it could be knocked into the chamber without firing. Then of course you have to eject a round that has had a light primer strike.

Not a good idea to do it on a regular basis but in a dire emergency it can be done. It actually worked perfectly everytime I tried it.

+1, safe, sure, reliable? maybe. I wouldn't trust my life on it, but I wouldn't be worried to fire a few off for fun either.

--Chuck

[SGT45]

I did it quite a few times. I did not experience any problems, but I didn't want to push it.