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Yesterday at a gun show I was approached by an acquaintance who showed me a Type 14 Nambu dated 19.8, with a heavy barrel which appeared to be about 7" long. He said it was chambered for 9mm Parabellum, and I could see he was looking for an offer. I looked it over out of curiosity, and judged that it seemed to be a workmanlike alteration. I could not discern if the magazine had been altered. I did question if the Nambu was strong enough to handle the more powerful cartridge, and was told that the original springs were probably replaced with heavier ones. Anyway, I declined to make an offer, and later saw the pistol for sale on a friend's table with an asking price of $650, which I am sure was highly negotiable. He told me that it was sold yesterday to the fellow who showed it to me, but it was returned because the buyer claimed it would not properly chamber a 9mm round. Has anyone ever seen this alteration before, and if so, can it be made to function reliably and safely with the 9mm cartridge?
 

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Aaron, From what I know of Nambus. I would'nt want to fire it. The original Nambu 8mm cartridge is pretty pewny. I don't think the pistol would withstand the pressures generated by 9mm ammo.At least for any length of time. And I sure would'nt want that bolt nob flying back at my face. I don't care if you put a spring off of a Kenworth in it. The pistol itself isn't that strong.

Ron
 

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Sorry, Ed:

I quote from Hand Cannons of Imperial Japan, Derby, pg.141, "Many of the surrendered Type 14 pistols acquired by Asian governments were converted to 9mm caliber.". "In 1967, Sarco, Inc. of New Jersey, acquired approximately 200 Type 14's from Indonesia which had been converted to the larger caliber by replacement of the original 8mm barrel." I have seen and fired one of these examples and live to tell of it. Would do it again, without fear; assuming that I had enough to drink. For the serious collector, assuming that this is a vintage conversion, IMHO, it would be a desirable addition.

Still and all, I do not think it wise to spend any time at the range with these conversions. Even though the Indonesians seemed to appreciate the T-14/9mm, it should be noted that Derby, in his second effort, in collaboration with James Brown, warns against firing the T-14 converted to this cartridge. In this day and age of PC and the ever hungry litigant, it makes good sense to "cover your ***".
 

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If the weapon would not chamber a 9mm luger round, did anyone think to see if it had been rechambered to .380?

As to the Indonisians, we must remember that they also converted the little Dutch 6.5mm Manlichers to fire .303 British.

Best regards,
Greg
 

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Searched and found this old post have a Nambu Type 14 that is converted to 9mm with a new barrel, The grips have a red 9 engraved on both sides, the magazine and grips numbers match the pistol. Bought it from the grandson of a Korean war vet. Have never attempted to shoot it but it will chamber and eject a 9mm Luger cartridge
 

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My answers above are wrong - a friend made a 9mm luger Nambu, made one for me, also an upper in 7.65mm

The only issue is that I need a less than perfect magazine (T14) to bend the feeding lips and it will work fine. Right now, I get sporadic shots from mine
 

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My answers above are wrong - a friend made a 9mm luger Nambu, made one for me, also an upper in 7.65mm

The only issue is that I need a less than perfect magazine (T14) to bend the feeding lips and it will work fine. Right now, I get sporadic shots from mine
 
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Edward, Do you safely shoot the Nambu 14 in 9mm without any parts breakage and the original recoil springs in place? That looks like a Luger barrel on the Nambu
 

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Yes, I could have been more exact. It was suggested that we use a luger barrel, the 7,65 is also a 4 inch take off.
I think a 4 3/4 would have been better, but the couple of barrels I have are pretty poor lands and grooves.
I have not shot it enough - the range I use is snowy and almost 300 yards away in the back 40 :D
 
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