There is a decent amount of affordable 32 ACP surplus on the market currently. Any uppers available on the market? I would assume the mags would have to be proprietary or like the Lage 9mm uppers and use a separate mag well in front of the grip to use something like Skorpion mags.
Any 32 Auto M11A1 uppers?
- Thread starter m14fun
- Start date
I hadn’t thought about it, but it might be that all you really need is a barrel to install on an M11A1 upper. I know I’ve been able to convert a Beretta .32 to .380 with just a barrel swap.
The case head diameter of the .32 ACP and .380 are so close that the bolt from one cartridge works just fine with the other.
Magazines are also really close. You may need to tweak the feed lips just a bit, but they may work fine as-is.
I don’t know if you would need to lighten the bolt or recoil springs, as the little .32 may struggle. But if you have the gun, a barrel is a pretty inexpensive investment, so long as you’re prone to tinkering just a bit.
The case head diameter of the .32 ACP and .380 are so close that the bolt from one cartridge works just fine with the other.
Magazines are also really close. You may need to tweak the feed lips just a bit, but they may work fine as-is.
I don’t know if you would need to lighten the bolt or recoil springs, as the little .32 may struggle. But if you have the gun, a barrel is a pretty inexpensive investment, so long as you’re prone to tinkering just a bit.
A&S Conversions
UZI Talk Life Member
I have to ask, where is this surplus ammo? I did some searching. I didn’t see anything that I would consider “cheap”. SG has brass cased 9 mm in bulk for $0.23 per round. That is for new ammo production brass. With having to source a barrel and dedicating an upper, plus whatever spring adjustments for the lower power .32 ACP, I would not consider buying surplus .32 ACP unless it was in the $0.15 per round or less price range. I wish I had bought more of the 7.62X25 Tokarev ammo when it was $0.12 per round.
Scott
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You might be surprised. I find some .380 pistol mags work as-is, while others just need some very minor tweaking.
This is with Betetta 84 mags in a Beretta 81 pistol. I haven’t tried it with M11A1 mags, but would suspect the results would be similar.
This might be something to check out before messing with new barrels, etc.
A&S Conversions
UZI Talk Life Member
So why pay more per round (RTI price of a 4,050 round case is $963.99 which would be $0.238… per round. RTI also wants $75.00 for flat rate shipping. So that is $0.2565 per round. Which is a good price for that caliber. But is significantly more expensive than just using the standard .380 caliber.
S&G has brand new brass cased .380 ammo for $0.27 per round by the case including shipping.
Now if the answer is because I want something different, that certainly is a valid answer. I am not trying to “rain on your parade”. I am just trying to understand what the benefits of the conversion are for you. Again, if the answer is, because I can, I sincerely wish you luck with the conversion.
Barrel Exchange used to do custom work. I don’t know as they do that anymore. I’m not sure who might consider making this caliber barrel for a M11. I have found for custom work, it to be hard to find those who do quality work. If I do, they tend to be very busy and their time is at a premium. Even harder to find someone to do a one off.
It has been my experience that those who want to convert their machine gun to run a different caliber surplus, including myself, tend to do so because it is cheaper per round after making the barrel swap, mag adjustments, and reduced rate spring for a lower power caliber, because shooting a machine gun is expensive.
Again, good luck with your conversion, whatever the reason. It would certainly be different.
Scott
That's the cool thing about this hobby/interest. Nobody else has to understand why you want or like something.
Dude may be sitting on 30,000 rounds of 32ACP and wants a way to use it up. Dunno.
I had that much .32 I think I would rather have a couple of Beretta 81's with frts. That way I can dual wield them and yell "Dodge this" before sending 26 rounds down range. YMMV.
Then if I could convince mec-gar to start making 30 round extended magazines for these...
Now if I already had a Mac, $35 gets you a 5.5 in pre chambered .32 ACP barrel liner. Just grab an existing barrel, drill it out to 1/2 in, and slide this puppy in. A little silver solder and a re-crown job (or leave it sticking out and thread it 1/2"-28) and you're in business.
chaszel.com
Then if I could convince mec-gar to start making 30 round extended magazines for these...
Now if I already had a Mac, $35 gets you a 5.5 in pre chambered .32 ACP barrel liner. Just grab an existing barrel, drill it out to 1/2 in, and slide this puppy in. A little silver solder and a re-crown job (or leave it sticking out and thread it 1/2"-28) and you're in business.
32 ACP Barrel Liners - Barrel Liners https://chaszel.com
32 ACP Barrel Liners, blanks for re-lining or custom builds. Tested to withstanding the preasure of the round they are chambered for.
chaszel.com
A&S Conversions
UZI Talk Life Member
What about the bolt? It’s my understanding that the .32 ACP is a straight case. So the base of the .32 shell won’t be held by the .380 extractor. The bolt would need some kind of sleeve to hold the base of the shell and a modified extractor. The .32 sleeve into a barrel might be able to be done with simple hand tools, a vice and a 1/2 drill. The modifications to the bolt, extractor, and building the sleeve for the bolt to hold the base of the .32 shell, would need a machinist to apply their craft. If I was going to have to get a machinist involved, I would also have them do the barrel work. My local guy could probably do the work, but I think he is up to $125 or $150 per hour. I would think that would be at least five to eight hours of work. Sure if you have the machine and the skills, it would not be very much for materials.
Certainly, a .32 ACP conversion could be made for a M11. For at least 90+% of the members here, I would estimate a $1,200 to $1,500 investment, at a minimum. With the lower power of the round, I would think that the bolt could be shortened, for more stroke with a softer spring, which would bring down the cyclic rate.
It would be fun to shoot, but very anemic. I would think it would be good for paper targets, but would not knock down steel poppers very well. Please post pics when you get it running.
Scott
Certainly, a .32 ACP conversion could be made for a M11. For at least 90+% of the members here, I would estimate a $1,200 to $1,500 investment, at a minimum. With the lower power of the round, I would think that the bolt could be shortened, for more stroke with a softer spring, which would bring down the cyclic rate.
It would be fun to shoot, but very anemic. I would think it would be good for paper targets, but would not knock down steel poppers very well. Please post pics when you get it running.
Scott
According to the Wikipedia entries .380 rim diameter is 9.5 mm and .32 rim diameter is 9.1 mm. .4 mm doesn't sound like a whole lot of difference. Coming off the center line there would be only .2 mm further in the extractor would have to reach. Maybe a few file strokes at the bottom of the extractor groove, but I think the stock set up would probably be close enough.
I think what you're not accounting for is the .380 is rimless and the .32 ACP is semi-rimmed.
Now you might have to lighten the bolt and play with spring tension, but the technical difficulties do not seem to be much of an impediment except maybe for a viable magazine.
I think what you're not accounting for is the .380 is rimless and the .32 ACP is semi-rimmed.
Now you might have to lighten the bolt and play with spring tension, but the technical difficulties do not seem to be much of an impediment except maybe for a viable magazine.
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This is correct. The semi-rim of the .32 makes up the difference.
As noted previously, there are a handful handguns that can switch between the two cartridges with only a barrel change and (sometimes) a change of magazine. Breech face and extractor work fine on either with no modification.
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