Can a bullet from one gun be fired from another?

Chainsaw II

Yes, but it would have to be a custom job. There is such a thing as a sabbotted round. Think shotgun. Many shotgun slugs are saboted, they are wrapped in a plastic shell or casing that when fired down the bore of the gun sluffs off or falls away after leaving the barrel. There is a .223 sabbotted round that can be fired from a .308 rifle. It is a sniper round. The smaller caliber bullet travels faster, flatter, farther, and more accurate with the larger cartridge and more powder and the less friction in the barrel that the sabbot casing permits. I do not know if they are legal for private use. I only became familiar with them when I served in the Army. Additionally, the sabbotted round does not pick up rifling marks (grooves) because it never actually makes contact with the barrel.

If it is possible for a rifle, it is likely adaptable for a handgun.

Update: Hornady and Winchester both used to manufacture Accelerator rounds. Not sure the caliber--.243 for the .308 I think. Actually produced muzzle velocities over 4000 fps.

Just did a quick search and found that Remington still manufatures them in .223 for the .30-06. Look here: http://ammunitiontogo.com/catalog1/product_info.php?pName=20rds-3006-remington-accelerator-55gr-sp-ammo&cName=rifle-ammo-3006

As far as flechettes, the Sweeds used to have a flechette gun in their arsenal. This was back in the '80's, I'm not certain if they still stock it.

ornery and mean

It's risky as H*** ... but it can be done.

I've seen a 9mm cartridge accidentally loaded into a .45 caliber handgun magazine.

Amazingly the round did fire, did not jam the barrel ... and did not damage the firearm in any way!

It also went wild ... didn't even hit the board the target was on!

As long as the smaller round is large enough that the firing pin of the gun hits the primer ... it will fire. If it chambers correctly, does not jam the magazine, etc.

Once the cartridge fires there is a good chance that it will jam in the barrel of the larger gun, damaging the barrel and probably injuring the shooter.

The chances of accurately hitting a target, slim to none!

MusicalMan

What Scrappy5 said. You can fire a .38SPL from a .357 mag, you can fire a .44 SPL from a .44 Mag (and in neither case will vice-versa work), and I've heard a .45 Long Colt is interchangeable with a .410 shotgun shell. Some .22s will take several sizes of .22 shells, i.e., .22 Long Rifle, .22 Long (I think these are obsolete now) and .22 Short. I think, but am not sure, that a .22 mag can be chambered to be compatible with all of those, but again, it doesn't work both ways (can't put a .22 MAG in one of the smaller-chambered weapons). These mentioned are all (generally) handguns, except .22 which are common either way. One other exception I just thought of is a "sabot" which is usually only used in rifles, but it consists of a smaller caliber bullet being placed in a plastic sleeve and mounted in a larger size shell (for example I think I once saw some .223 bullets in sabots mounted in a 30-30 shell). The plastic sleeve contacts the rifling in the barrel, causing the bullet to spin for stability. The sabot drops away after exiting the muzzle. The effect of the smaller bullet is a big powder charge behind greatly reduced weight, which makes the bullet much faster than a "matching" caliber bullet, and also, I think, leaves no rifling marks on the bullet. If you're writing a mystery story, that might be an interesting twist (like the old "bullet made of ice"), but the CSIs would likely find the sabot and still be able to match the rifling in the weapon.

Baron... was thinking of sabot, but said flechette. A flechette is like a small metal dart or arrow. These were used in 12-ga. shotgun shells in Vietnam to better penetrate dense jungle foliage than round buck shot did.

Joe S

In some cases, yes. For instance you can fire 38 ammo in a 357 mag., but you can't fire 357 ammo in a 38. FYI this was the case in NATO weapons in Vietnam. The AK 47 assault rifle would fire the NATO rounds, but the M-14-16 will not work with the slightly larger enemy rounds. Good luck on your story and God Bless.

Mr. Nice Guy

You can fire a .38 bullet in a .357 REVOLVER (not pistol).
You can't fire a .357 in a .38 weapon.

The reason why is both bullets are the same circumference.
The .357 bullet is longer than the .38. That's why the .38 fits inside the .357's chamber.

Also, some .38s can't take the power of a .357 and might blow up.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Guns-Firearms-Projectile-1501/2008/2/Ammo-357.htm

ãƒ„ Connors Mommy ãƒ„

Well, Only if that "bigger" gun can hold the size bullets you want to fire. Are you saying bigger as in size, or bigger as in bullet size?

So, if you have a 9mm gun, and you want to put a smaller bullet in the 9mm, No, because the gun was made to only house the 9mm bullet.

sirbobby98121

More of an indirect answer-
there are adapters that allow [for example] a .45 to shoot .22 cal rounds. Kimber has such an adapter for their pistols.

Scrappy52

Only in 1 or 2 cases, a 38 can be fired from a 357 mag, but in most cases the gun may even blow up if the wrong bullet is put in it.

Kalverye

in rare cases....

there are things called flechettes...

which means a smaller projectile placed inside, larger casings.

When fired flechettes break in three pieces, smaller projectile comes out, of the broke piece.

this is used to achieve a higher velocity.

but flechette rounds are pretty much illegalized now.

and I'm not sure if they ever had them for handguns,

I know once upon a time there wa
s a 7.62 flechtte that fired a 5.56 round.

meaning it was a 7.62 when you placed it in the gun, it came out a 5.56....

Warren H

Can a bullet from one gun be fired from another gun? Yes. Some handguns uses the same bullets but different size magazines. Guns sometimes share the same rounds. Not all guns but only some. You may have to do further research to determine what gun uses the same rounds as another gun.

Peter J

Only if it's ever so slightly smaller.

And that's not how manufacturing works, so no.

bibu

Depends.

JJack

Safest bet: DO NOT EVER DO THAT!
If you don't know what you're doing, you could really hurt yourself or someone else doing that.
Though there are some exceptions in revolvers.

von-l

Se7en Sins

Sounds like your trying to kill someone

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