Bugler Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 At the Billings gunshow this weekend I bought an ice cream bucket of mixed brass......mostly .380 auto. I did find about a dozen casings that are headstamped .380 auto but are only 13.35 MM long. What in the world are these for? The left casing is a regular .380 auto casing for contrast. Bugler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan Cord Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 .380 Kurz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Perhaps specially loaded .380 ammo, similar to Hornady specialty loads? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 1 hour ago, Ethan Cord said: .380 Kurz? .380 Corto Kurz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062 Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 ...... .380 lite ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G W Wade Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Possibly 9m/m Browning short(380 auto ) Case is .68 in in length GW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 14 minutes ago, G W Wade said: Possibly 9m/m Browning short(380 auto ) Case is .68 in in length GW 13.35mm is 0.5255 inches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G W Wade Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 6 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said: 13.35mm is 0.5255 inches. Opps, shouldn;t do conversions in my head GW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Ron Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Howdy, Why? Seems to me that the short case allows for a bigger bullet. But less powder? Sure a puzzle. Do the guys working that range know anything about it? Best CR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassnetguy50 Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 28 minutes ago, Chili Ron said: Howdy, Why? Seems to me that the short case allows for a bigger bullet. But less powder? Sure a puzzle. Do the guys working that range know anything about it? Best CR X2, might be someone working on custom loads with heavier 9mm bullets. That is a Herters headstamp which I've only seen in 95gr. Alternatively, is there a discontinued European 9x13 or 14 cartride? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 I was thinking about this and that short case makes no sense at all. It must be a “wildcat” or something someone was trying to experiment with. Both the .380 (9x17) and 9mm Luger (9x19) headspace off of the case length. My earlier comment regarding Hornady brass wouldn’t hold water because the cases that Hornady shortens are straight walled revolver cases like .38 Special and .45 Colt in the Leverevolution and Critical Defense lines of ammunition. Those rounds do not head space off of cartridge case lengths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugler Posted February 15, 2021 Author Share Posted February 15, 2021 Thanks everyone on trying to solve my mystery...... there were only 12 of them.. As they were range pickups, I have no way of asking the original shooter.... Interesting brain teaser for sure!! Bugler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 1 hour ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: I was thinking about this and that short case makes no sense at all. It must be a “wildcat” or something someone was trying to experiment with. Both the .380 (9x17) and 9mm Luger (9x19) headspace off of the case length. My earlier comment regarding Hornady brass wouldn’t hold water because the cases that Hornady shortens are straight walled revolver cases like .38 Special and .45 Colt in the Leverevolution and Critical Defense lines of ammunition. Those rounds do not head space off of cartridge case lengths. Thanks for that heads up, never would have thought to check the length. It might have been interesting at reloading time. Now I'll have to go back thru them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 3 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said: Thanks for that heads up, never would have thought to check the length. It might have been interesting at reloading time. Now I'll have to go back thru them. I found out that Hornady does this when reloading and I had about 20 cartridges loaded and when I seated the bullets I didn’t have the due set to roll crimp. When I started using the Lee Factory Crimp die I discovered all my Hornady cased rounds felt like they weren’t crimping and then I measured and found the Leverevolution brass was nearly a 1/10th of an inch shorter. So I crimped all the other cartridges and I shot thise 20 rounds uncrimped and one at a time from a revolver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bingo Montana Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 I believe those to be Herter's Made in USA target brand.380 ACP, sold at BassPro and Cabalas, at least that is what the headstamp indicates. Why they are not 9x17mm is a good question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Louis Suomi SASS #31905 Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 The .380 Automatic was introduced by FN of Belgium about 1912 and was designed by John Browning. The cartridge has achieved world-wide acceptance and has even been adopted as the standard pistol cartridge by several governments. One reason for the rounds success is that it is the largest practical cartridge that can be easily adapted to small automatic pocket pistols. These handguns tend to be of blowback design, simplifying their construction. As chamber pressures are particularly limited in such an action, ballistics fall far short of the 9mm Parabellum, but are adequate for many self-defense situations. The round has established quite a niche position in this role, often being chosen over more traditional small calibers such as the .25 and .32 ACPs. Europeans recognize the .380 Auto as the 9mm Kurz or 9x17mm. Current factory loadings feature a 95-grain bullet exiting a 4 inch barrel at 905 fps with 192 ft-lbs of energy. .380, .9mm Kurz, 9x17 are all the same cartridger - different names. STL Suomi I think someone was diddling with a cut down case for his own purposes...an experiment... STL Suomi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joke 'um Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 ".380 Cowboy" The load for those for whom "mouse fart" is just too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Harley, #14153 Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 5 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: I found out that Hornady does this when reloading and I had about 20 cartridges loaded and when I seated the bullets I didn’t have the due set to roll crimp. When I started using the Lee Factory Crimp die I discovered all my Hornady cased rounds felt like they weren’t crimping and then I measured and found the Leverevolution brass was nearly a 1/10th of an inch shorter. So I crimped all the other cartridges and I shot thise 20 rounds uncrimped and one at a time from a revolver. I gave all my Hornady brass to a guy who does long range black powder. Apparent the shorter 45-70 cases can be formed into all sorts of old Sharps rounds like the 40-70SS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Remember... "cases" are for cartridges; "casings" are for sausages. Case Casing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 As PR pointed out, rimless straight wall cases headspace on the case mouth. I could find no case in the 9mm family that short. My research showed that the 380 is the shortest case made. Either someone has built a wildcat firearm or made some special brass for an odd ball antique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 I got a bunch of the short Hornady 45-70 brass in a lot I bought off GunBroker. sent it to the recycler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chantry Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 My guess it is either a new type of blank round that does not require a crimp or a variant on the Simunitions type training ammo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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