The other down side is that it makes regular .38 SPL / .357 Mag brass UNRELOADABLE due to the ever so slight taper of the 9 mm cartridge. Even if you had modified reloading dyes you now have shells that can get "mixed up" and thus will jam a lever gun or won't chamber in another revolver.

If you get the moon clip job done by TK Custom Guns or one of their affiliate gunsmiths the mod will allow you to shoot 54 different variations of the .38 / .357 / 9 mm family of cartridges like .380 ACP, .38 Short and Long Colts, 9x21 mm, 9x23mm, 9mm Mauser, ect, ect. everything except .38 S&W and 9mm Makorov whose bullets are larger than .358 in bore diameter or .357 Maximum whose case length is too long for the cylinder. It'll also allow the use of non moon clipped .38 / .357 rimmed ammo.

But if your willing to use brass that's coming to the end of it's reloadable case life or use CCI Blazer aluminum cased ammo for your .38 SPL / .357 Mag needs you shouldn't have a problem.

Rifleman 336

 

What's the approximate price of such a conversion? TIA

 

$230, and this was the shop I was going to use:

Pinnacle-Guns.com: Pinnacle High Performance Custom Gunsmithing

I already have a 2" SP in .357, and was going to get another one in 3" and do the conversion on the 3". I also have a GP100 4" that is my range/plinker in .357, so I already have a dedicated .357 blaster.

 

Interesting, for my purposes I would rather just find an older Speed Six or an SP101 in 9mm. I would never use the option to shoot .38 Super or 9x21 etc. because I have no other guns in these calibers and likely won't.

I just wish Ruger would listen and bring back the 9mm Sp101!

 

I just wish Ruger would listen and bring back the 9mm Sp101!

I don't think Ruger ever intended to make the 22's or the 9mm's as a regular production gun.
The frame size on the SP-101 was changed to accomodate 158 grain, 357 loads and the thousands of short frames had to be used for something.

 

Heck, If Ruger wasn't so tight fisted with their parts, how about a ability to buy a fitted crane and cylinder assembly, so all one had to do is a basic takedown and switch other assembly and shoot what ever your heart wants or availabilty allows.

Rifleman 336

 

Oh, yeah , I've been sending e-mails to Ruger for over 6 months now begging for a convertible 9x19-.357 SP101. The ease of cylinder change would make it feasible.

Ruger's staff of lawyers I guess forbid the direct sale of main parts like cylinders.

The odds of making a 9mm Service Six like I have been dreaming of, with a 9mm cylinder on my "beater" .38 Special Service Six 4"......I have a better chance of finding Megan Fox waiting in my bed tonight than finding a spare 9mm cylinder for a Six revolver

 

Yeah, but one can always hope......especially about Megan Fox.

 

Hmmm, $255 to have a GP cylinder converted to take 9mm, very interesting. I would think an adjustable sight GP would be the way to go for this, since the POI would change for 9mm. I do have a well-used 6" GP that I use as my "shooter" that I think would be an awesome candidate for this. I'm kind of attached to it as my dedicated .38 Special plinker though, it's a toss up......I might have to look around for a used 4" SS GP, since I probably couldn't bring myself to alter the one I have now.

Once again, I hope Ruger execs read these forums but they really need to bring back a 9mm SP101. Do they not know that CCW carry is probably the most popular it's ever been as people are exercising the right to carry in states that allow it more than ever before. Snub revolvers are very, very popular. Ruger needs to pay attention to the fact that Taurus brought out their craptastic 9mm snub and these are even impossible to get since demand is exceeding supply. The only SP's and Speed Sixes out there in 9mm command $6-700 prices online and at gun shows, and are "collectible" now. Bring out an SP in 9mm priced the same as the .357's and the orders from dealers will stack up instantly. My dealer says he has sold dozens of the Taurus 9mm snubs,they go out as fast as they come in..... these would all have been Rugers had they been available, and this is only at 1 small gun shop. Even I almost bought one, but coudn't bring myself to buy another Taurus.


I would have to say, as a single guy if I had to choose between Megan Fox and a 9mm Cylinder I would easily do without the cylinder

 

GP100 & SP101 9mm

I had this mod done by Pinnacle to a GP100. Accuracy has been great with all rounds fired. 9x23 is pretty much has to be a reloading situation. Not a lot of data available. Shooting 9x19 is more like shooting a .22 lr. .38 super is also very pleasant. .38/.357 is a different story, cases stick and/or split. I do not use the gun for these anymore. I have others for that purpose.

I also have a SP101 in 9mm. It seems to chamber and fire all of the 9mm/.38 super family fine. These two guns are my favorite shooters. Mark at Pinnacle does great work and is a pleasure to work with.

 

I also have a SP101 in 9mm. It seems to chamber and fire all of the 9mm/.38 super family fine. These two guns are my favorite shooters. Mark at Pinnacle does great work and is a pleasure to work with.

So how does shooting a 9mm revolver compare to a .38/.357? I have always thought the 9mm was a better round because it seems to have better ballistics but the recoil is milder. But I don't know how much of this is due to the slide mechanism of a pistol soaking up some of the felt recoil. I would have to compare apples to apples, feel the recoil, and know how much velocity and energy is produced to be able to make come to a real conclusion.

Charter Arms has been teasing for a couple of years about a new revolver (CARR) that will be chambered for 9mm para but will not need moon clips. Don't know if that will ever happen, but I'd be real interested in one of those.

 

I asked a shop about doing this- I forget who, and I don't feel like searching. If it comes up, I'll find out... But anyways...

They said that i needed to get a new BLANK cylinder to have this done, because of the taper on the 9mm case. On top of that, the .357 bbl is .002 too big to have a really accurate 9mm. I didn't really care, as I would use it for S/D, and everything else works fine in the conversion. I had the idea to have a .357/.38/9mm/.38 super/.380 revolver lol. Something that could shoot ANYTHING with just a cylinder change. But I didn't like the price that I would have to pay- it's just too much to make it worthwhile. Unless you have a special gun that you REALLY want to change over, it's better just to get a 9mm revolver to begin with.

 

converting .357 to 9mm

I sent Mark at Pinnacle just my cylinder and he machined it for moonclips and did the 9x23 conversion. I was not concerned about adding a new cylinder. I looked at the differences in diameter and chamber jump, etc. 9mm revolvers are hard to find. I love my SP101 in 9mm so figured I would give it a try. I know on paper this conversion should not be accurate, but it as accurate as any of my other GP100s. Not a test of accuracy but I have even used it in IDPA before they changed the rules this year. Lots of fun to shoot. I now need a shop to change the caliber designation on my barrel to be legal again for IDPA.
Did this conversion about two years ago and have never regretted it. 9x23 is a hoot.

 

I have my GP100 cylinder ready to ship to Pinnacle right now.

I have so many .357's that a dedicated 9mm revolver is just what I need for a gun I use just for the range, at $200 or so per 1,000 for 9mm reloads it would pay for itself after a few thousand 9mm's over .38 Special.

 

I have heard about the Charter Arms 9mm revolver, the last I checked they seem to feel it wouldn't be economically feasible for them to take production away from their hot-selling .38 snub line, in all those "cool" colors, that seem to be their main bread and butter guns right now. I think they fear introducing a new product and having it die on the vine, rather than stay with production of something that is already making them money. Every gun show I go to has tables full of those "Lavender Lady" and "Goldfinger" snubs, I usually don't buy "budget" guns anymore but I was mighty tempted by the one I saw in Army ACU color.....I guess I'm a sucker for a "gimmick" I think Charter offers a better "value" priced revolver than Taurus, for about the same price, and it's made in the USA which beats Brazil any day in my book.

I almost bought one of those Taurus 9mm snubs but the little voice of reason inside my head told me to put it down and walk away!

 

Ruger is a company whose main objective is to make money. If there was a bunch of money to be made making 9mm wheel guns, guess what, they'd already be making them.

Not saying it wouldn't be a cool thing to have, especially if you're a 9mm semi-auto guy who wants to branch out and buy a revolver. Give me a .357 any day though...

As others have said there are plenty of custom gun makers willing to do the job for you. 9mm SP101s and Speed Sixes pop up from time to time on gunbroker, and the forum classifieds. Just be ready to pay a premium for either option.

 

All of my local gun shops that still stock Taurus (which isn't many) says the 9mm Taurus snubs go out the door as fast as they come in......I'm sure quite a few come right back in the door for service, but the point is Taurus seems to be doing quite well selling it's boat anchors that pass for revolvers chambered in 9mm.

Snub revolvers are making a huge comeback with the growing popularity of concealed carry and a lot of people will gravitate toward a snub in 9mm over a .38. Mostly because of ammo prices and availability, and the fact that the vast majority of people who buy snub revolvers are not "shooters" and they may think the 9mm is more "trendy" than so called "old fashioned" .38 Special, and also .357 is too much recoil for them. People see the prices of 9mm and like the simplicity of a revolver, I think there is a huge market to be captured for a 9mm snub. If Ruger made the LCR in 9mm I could see them flying off the shelves.

A 9mm 4"+ revolver, maybe not, probably wouldn't sell very well, but like was said above, if we really want one we can have someone convert a .38 or .357.

 

Shooting 9mm revolver

It's hard to make an apples to apples 9mm comparison. My GP100 is much heavier than any of my semi 9mms. Recoil of 9x19 in my GP100 is about the same as shooting .22lr in my taurus 94. 9x23 on the other hand is stouter. It is about the same as shooting .38 +P in my other GP100s. My 9x23 load is pushing a 124gr @ 1350 fps. I realize that a 4" 9mm revolver probably would not sell enough to make real profits, but my 9mm GP100 is the one gun that always goes to the range with me. It is just fun to shoot.

 

If the recoil or power of a converted 9mm GP100 isn't "enough" you could always try 9x19 +p+ or the Hirtenberger subgun ammo!

Once I get my cylinder back I plan to just use regular 9x19 for range shooting, and I'll probably see what the .38 Super can do.

 

Just a follow up. Been leaning more toward actually buying a 3" gp for the conversion. I already have a 4" and think that either gp would be better suited for firing 9x23. Also found another shop that does the conversion for much cheaper:

Moon Clip Conversion - Clark Custom Guns, Inc.

Anyone have any experience with them?

 

Makes sense, it was a good idea and Ruger should have ran with it, a .357/9mm and a .22 LR/WMR convertible SP101 would sell like hotcakes right now. People are starting to see the .22 WMR as a "sleeper" round, because it's cheap, available and packs enough punch to make it a decent defensive gun for recoil sensitive people.

I have a cylinder at Pinnacle right now, I have heard good things about Mark's work, and $255 plus shipping seems high but the ability to use 9mm will pay for itself after I run a few thousand rounds through it. Plus Pinnacle is only a couple hours away from me in PA so I know my part doesn't have to go far in the mail. Not that Clark's Custom isn't good, but I figured for my first conversion on a GP I would go with Pinnacle. The Clark's Custom work doesn't seem like a 9mm conversion, just a moonclip conversion.

 

I used Mark to cut my Smith 625mg for moon clips and now I shoot 45lc & 45acp, he does excellent work and I can highly recommend him.

 

Never mind 9mm in the GP or SP, 380 acp would be like firing an airgun. Interesting for my local range plate matches!

 

A 38 Spl case loaded with 125 gr cast bullets over 3 grs of Bullseye does fine on plates with no serious recoil.

Jack

 

Just seen Numrich has 357 cylinders for £83. And Wild West Guns is quoting $80 plus shipping for the conversion:

Wild West Guns - Pistolsmithing Services

Hmmmmmmmm $190 all in and just the small hassle of changing out the cylinder for 9mm to 357.

 

Soooo....everyone is saying that all that needs to be changed is the cylinder to go from 38/357 to 9mm?

And cylinders can be cut/channeled to accomodate the 9mm with moon clips?

What are the possibilities of finding spare SP101 cylinders? Would the lock up still be the same for two cylinders for the same frame?

I'm in the market for a 9mm SP101, but as you know...they are hard to find and command high $$$.

 

Soooo....everyone is saying that all that needs to be changed is the cylinder to go from 38/357 to 9mm?

And cylinders can be cut/channeled to accomodate the 9mm with moon clips?

What are the possibilities of finding spare SP101 cylinders? Would the lock up still be the same for two cylinders for the same frame?

I'm in the market for a 9mm SP101, but as you know...they are hard to find and command high $$$.

Read my post before yours - Numrich has 357 cylinders for $83. They list 9mm cylinders but are sold out.

Not sure how much of a 'drop-in' fit they would be. Spacing and timing issues possible.

 

A 9mm SP101 crane/cylinder, with moon clips, for sale by Ruger would make so much sense! I really don't understand why they don't do it. They've already got the mold and casting set up for this.

 

For the life of me I cannot understand why anyone would want to "covert" a fairly powerful handgun to an anemic handgun except perhaps for target rounds

 

It's nice to grab a couple of guns and only one type of ammo to go to the range.

I have a Bisley Blackhawk Convertible in .45...grab it and the 1911 and I'm set with an ammo can of .45acp.

Why do you feel 9mm is anemic?

Jon