Handguns, bullets and magazines - a Brit needs your help!?

Question

Hey there. I'm writing a book in which people who don't really know what they're doing are handling handguns, and - as handguns are banned in the UK - I'm hoping someone in the US can help me out with some info.

Basically, my questions are:

- how big would a magazine be for a medium to large-sized semi-automatic?

- how low would it take to remove bullets from a magazine and load them into a revolver?

- would the revolver have any problem firing these bullets? If they were a .45 caliber for example, would you need a .45 revolver to accommodate them?

- if you were a complete handgun novice, would you be able to tell that a certain gun was a Glock, or a Colt, or whatever? i.e. do they have their brand names on them somewhere, or something that indicates the size of cartridge they take?

Thanks in advance for your help with this!

Answer 1

OK handgun magazines are in the 4-5" 100-125mm range length wise and hold 7-15 rounds depending on the caliber and gun they are designed for.  Colt 45 holds 7.

Unloading the ammo from a magazine is a matter of seconds you just push the cartridge forward. It depends mostly  if are you neatly catching them or just dropping them on a surface.

Ammunition for Automatic pistols do not normally work in revolvers. Revolver ammo has a rim (flange) at the base to hold it in the cylinder, semi-auto pistol ammo has a groove cut in the base for the extractor. there have been a small number of revolvers that were designed to shoot semi-automatic ammo held in special clips (3 round normally) that serve the function of the rim. The U.S. did that in WW1 due to a shortage of 45 pistols.  without the clip they semi-auto ammo would not function in a revolver. There are a few exceptions Ruger makes a single action revolver (Wild West  Style) that is chambered for semiautomatic ronds but they are slow to load and unload.  

There is also the is issue of caliber  though 9mm and 38 are close enough.

Well a Glock having a Polymer frame and a Colt being steel  with wood grips they should distinct enough.

BTW all the British Ex-Patriots I have meet here in Texas are great handgun enthusists.  While I am not much into handguns (I only have one now) but I collect Lee Enfield Rifles.

Answer 2

Q:  Handguns, bullets and magazines - a Brit needs your help!?

A:  Greetings and salutations from across the pond!  So you need to know about hundguns, bullets & magazines?  Well sir, you've come to the right place!

How big a magazine would be for a medium to large semi-auto would depend on whether the magazine is double-stack or single or if it fits flush with the base of the handgun grip or is an extended magazine.  The FN Herstal 5.7mm (a sub-caliber but extremely rapid round) holds 20 rounds in the double-stack magazine and one in the chamber for a total of 21 rounds.  Extenders can be purchased for the 5.7 magazine will will increase ammo capacity by 10 more rounds.  Currently there is no commercially made revolver that will chamber these bullets.  

A Colt Government Model 1911 in .45 acp only holds seven rounds in its single-stack mag. (or eight in an extended magazine) plus one in the chamber.  Twenty round extended magazes are available for this Colt (and 1911 clones) but they extend well below the pistol grip making it ackward to carry concealed.  If you own a revolver like the Smith & Wesson Model 25 you can actually shoot .45 acp ammo out of it because that is what this revolver is chambered for.  The .45 acp (automatic-Colt-pistol) ammo is proprietary to the automatic & semi-auto weapons.  The Model 25 can load these rounds in moon-clips which hold 3 to 6 rounds per clip.  For a skilled pistolero it wouldn't take but less than a minute to transfer ammo from the 1911's magazine to a moon-clip to continue firing the same ammo in a revolver.  There are others but this one is a common example.  A bumbler would take the better part of half-an-hour to accomplish this same task.

Could a novice ID a handgun as Glock, Colt, etc?  I suppose he could if he watched a lot of television or movies.  Glocks are easy enough to identify because of their flat-black finish and blocky construction.  A Colt is harder to ID for sure unless you see the Colt (rearing pony) logo because there are so many copies.  Some are excellent and others are really bad.  And yes, the gun's manufacturer logo or name will be stamped somewhere on the gun.  On Colts the most noticable is the rearing Colt pony logo in gold or sometimes silver.  The word 'Colt' is usually harder to see.  Glock uses the big "G" as a logo and the name 'Glock' on the slide.  The caliber is also found either on the gun barrel or the frame of the gun.  In some cases in semi-autos the caliber is stamped on the ejector itself which is usually bright and shiny and easy to see.

I hope that helped.

H

Answer 3

how big would a magazine be for a medium to large-sized semi-automatic? *See links below it varies.*

->how low would it take to remove bullets from a magazine and load them into a revolver? <

*Seconds if they are compatible and the person has experiance*

>would the revolver have any problem firing these bullets? If they were a .45 caliber for example, would you need a .45 revolver to accommodate them?<

* Some revolvers and semi-autos shoot the same round but not all, if its not designed for a round it will not work, may not fit, or can be dangerous*

> if you were a complete handgun novice, would you be able to tell that a certain gun was a Glock, or a Colt, or whatever? i.e. do they have their brand names on them somewhere, or something that indicates the size of cartridge they take?<

* A novice would be lucky to figure out much of anything relating to a firearm and could shoot themselves or some one near them. This is why there are gun safety classes and instruction manuals*

http://www.zimbio.com/Firearms/articles/...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-automa...

NOTE TO OTHERS! Do not click on link by rientsc..above it will lock up your browser.

Answer 4

***** My Answers to you.

- how big would a magazine be for a medium to large-sized semi-automatic?

***** 45 ACP 1911 is a 7 or 8 round magazine, however you can get a 50 round drum for it

Most handguns run from 7 to 13 rounds with the ability, in some locations, upwards of 30 round mags.

- how low would it take to remove bullets from a magazine and load them into a revolver?

**** Semi-Auto rounds will not go from a semi-auto to a revolver they are different types of round. Now there are a few exceptions, Ruger Blackhawk makes a 30 carbine revolver and a 45 revolver that will take the rimless rounds. Moving 6 rounds from my 1911 to my Blawkhawk takes about 30 seconds if I take my time, could do it in less 15 seconds.

- would the revolver have any problem firing these bullets? If they were a .45 caliber for example, would you need a .45 revolver to accommodate them?

***** Yes 45 ACP will go in a Ruger Blackhawk as long as it has the ACP cylinder and not the 45 Colt cylinder

- if you were a complete handgun novice, would you be able to tell that a certain gun was a Glock, or a Colt, or whatever? i.e. do they have their brand names on them somewhere, or something that indicates the size of cartridge they take?

***** Yes, handgun manufactures stamp the frame or the barrel with Manufacturer, Model Name or Number, and Caliber.

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rientsc posted a link with a virus / Trojan on the page

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