What if the AR-15 was .380 ACP? Or... pistol speed strips.

[Big Frank]

I knew that .380 ACP had the same rim diameter as the 5.56mm NATO/.223 Remington. Or it was extremely close to the same. It turns out the .380 rim diameter is .374 inch (9.5 mm), vs. 0.378 inch (9.60 mm) of the 5.56mm/.223. Since it's only .004" difference, literally a hair smaller, the .380 fits in 5.56mm NATO stripper clips. At least in the plastic Thermold clips I prefer. I haven't tried it with metal clips. The last time I used metal clips for anything, 3 out of 6 broke and had to be disposed of. If anyone was looking for a convenient way to carry some extra rounds for their LCP or other .380 pocket pistol, here you go. Problem solved. Ten rounds in a clip doesn't take up much room, and it's better than having loose rounds somewhere in your pockets. You can also cut the clips to shorter lengths, like 6 or 7 rounds, and melt the end with a lighter to keep the rounds from falling off the cut end. I actually have a broken Thermold clip bent into a sharp L shape and the broken end cut off that will hold 5 rounds on what's left. I had some leftover blanks I wanted to clip together, but there weren't enough to fill a whole clip, so I made a half-clip from the broken one. The rounds will still strip off one end of the clip, instead of both ends. There's no reason you couldn't do this with new clips. And don't forget, all the pieces left over can be used as fuel for fires.

[alfsauve]

I thought you were going to make an AR in .380.   Wasn’t some of the machine pistols chambered for .380? 

I’ve tried using vacuum sealer to “package” ammo for storing in an emergency pack.  A pain to get them all lined up nice and neat but it did make a compact package and protected the ammo. 

[Big Frank]

The title of the thread was half joking and half serious. There were some .380 machine pistols, but not many I know of. The main thing I wanted to do was see if .380 ammo would even fit the clips. But one day I was thinking "what if". Most .380 ammo is already subsonic, and a .380 PCC with a suppressor and subsonic ammo would be quieter than most 9mm PCCs. You wouldn't need to seek out specialty ammo to shoot subsonic, and could use nearly any kind. It seems like an easy enough conversion from a 9mm. It would need to be re-chambered to .380, and maybe nothing else done to it. And, since .380 fits in stripper clips and 9mm doesn't, it would be faster to load up your mags. At least if you had a clip guide that fit the mags.

But all that's just a thought experiment. The reality is, this is an easy way to carry some .380 pistol ammo. That's the main point, but I put both things in the title. If you put ammo in clips before vacuum sealing it, it would be all lined up nice and neat.

[Majer]

Back in the early 80's there was a .380 pocket pistol that used the stripper clips to load the gun,I can't remember what the brand was,But I was working at a gun shop at the time and we had one for sale. Was under $150.00 if I remember correctly. Also the M-11 MAC was a sub gun chambered in .380.
I looked it up, It was the Grendel P-10.

[Big Frank]

Yep, the Grendel P10 made by George Kellgren who also started Kel-Tec. I've never seen or heard about the clip guides before. There was also a Grendel P12, which was basically just a P10, but with an 11-round detachable box magazine. I'm not sure how, but I forgot about the MAC-11. I was always more interested in the .45 ACP MAC-10, but both would be a lot of fun suppressed.



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