Cal 9mm / 380? What is it?

C

cjwils

New member
This Gunbroker item is described as a Browning model 1955, in caliber 9mm/380. The seller provides no further explanation of the caliber. My understanding of the Browning 1955 is that it is a newer version of the Browning 1910, and they were produced in 380 ACP and maybe 32 ACP. If you look closely at the photos on Gunbroker, you can see that stamped on the barrel inside the ejection port, it seems to say 9m/m00. What is the actual caliber? Thanks

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/562752344
 
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The .380 is known as:
9mm Browning
9mm Kurz (short)
9X17 (2mm shorter than 9mm Luger)
And a few others. In fact, most .380 Walthers are marked with both designations

Hope this helps
 
tallball said:
I believe that the ammunition which Americans call "380" is sometimes called "9mm browning" by Europeans.
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There are 2 different 9mm Browning cartridges, 9x20mmSR Browning Long and 9x17mm Browning Short. The first was used in the FN Model 1903 and very few other pistols since. The second is the .380 Auto / .380 ACP cartridge we all know and love. :)

The "Long" and "Short" modifiers were added to differentiate the two cartridges during WWI and the interwar period when both were in common use in Europe and the Middle East; the "Long" cartridge has since become a historical footnote thanks to the ongoing success of 9x19mm, but the "Short" modifier has stayed in use.

The word "Short" is often translated to the local European language where the pistol or cartridges are being made, e.g. Kurz in German (pronounced "curts"), Court in French, Corto in Spanish or Italian.
 
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Still no idea why this gun appears to have "9m/m00" stamped on it, as visible in several photos. What could the "00" be referring to?
 
I can solve part of the problem. The "m" is the second "m", part of the caliber marking "9m/m".

I don't know what significance the "00" has, but that gun was not made in any 9mm other than 9mm Browning Short (.380 ACP).

Jim
 
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