Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Does Anyone Use a Chamber Adapter?

I was wondering if anyone out there has any experience with them. They look pretty simple, and cheap. I'm looking at one from MCA.

Can they can be harmful to your rifling? What kind of accuracy can you expect? I was thinking that I might use a 30-30 adapter to shoot 32ACP from my Marlin. If it was accurate enough, it would allow me to take small game / rabbits with the 32, and still have a rifle that could take deer, elk, blk bear, if necessary.

Thanks for the help.

No. I've never even seen one.

I think they also are called "chamber conversion inserts". I think they've been around a long time, but I haven't heard much about them. Here's link that might better explain:

http://www.mcace.com/adapters.htm

I've used some of those inserts back as far as when Harry Owen started the business that has become MCA Sports. The 22LR in 22MRF inserts have worked quite well for me, but the 22LR and 22 Hornet in 223 and 22-250 would only shoot (maybe) minute-of-rabbit as 25 yards, but you couldn't be sure from shot to shot where the bullet would strike the rabbit. Harry Owen had a big collection of the old Marble's adapters and would, from time to time, sell off some of his duplicates.

I think that, in most cases, chamber inserts/adapters are probably more of a novelty than a practical tool to add to your kit. The best that I've owned were made by an outfit in Bozeman, MT, called Alex, Inc. They used a 22LR cartridge to push a soft lead "Alex Slug/Bullet/Projectile" out of an aluminum alloy "cartridge". Somewhere, I have several of the Alex cartridges and a few bags of the Alex slugs/bullets/projectiles.

I have heard good things about the Hammond Game Getter adapters made in Canada that use modified buckshot and power heads, but I've never owned 1 (that I recall) so I can't offer personal testimony.

Rather than messing with a chamber adapter to shoot small game, you would perhaps be better off buying an inexpensive .22 revolver and shoot the small game with 22 CBs, 22 Shorts, or sub-sonic 22 LRs.

Jeff

I've made a project of shooting 32 S&W Long handloads in both a M54 Winchester 30WCF (9X Unertl scope) and 30-40 Krag using Marbles and Winchester type adapters. I have a Brayton/Marbles adapter that uses the 32ACP/30-30 too. I was able to shoot bugholes (5 shot)in my 40 foot basement range, but when moved back to 50 yards, I found out the BEST I could expect was what Townsend
Whelen reported back in the 1920s - 3-3.5 inch groups.
The adapters are fun, but one tires of them quickly. Substandard accuracy is not a great reward for all the work that goes into them.

Probably be better to make reduced loads for small game.

Bruce

Two old 16x22LR adaptors came with a 16x16x8x57JR Krieghoff drilling about 35 years ago and may be original to the '40s vintage gun. There are places to store them under the trap buttplate, as well as storage for a few 22LR cartridges.

I killed a few sage rats, Nuttals cottontails, jacks and lots of red squirrels with them, but they are tough enough to shoot well with good sights. Guessing hold-off with ball and notch sights on what is essentially a SXS is tough...

I tried the MCA adapter and it would not shoot in a basketball at 10'. Bullets tumbled immediately.

I have had very good luck with the Hammond Game Getters.

gamegetter.ca

The photo below is a 338-06 Imp adapter Mr. Hammond made up for me. Have had similar success with 7mm Rem Mag & 7-08 adapters. They hit plenty hard for putting bunnys or grouse in the pot.

I have one in 32acp for my 30-06 and at twenty five yards it shoots to the same POI as my 220 partition loads. It is a clever, handy little device

Phil,

In fairness to MCA, the adapter I tried used .22 rimfire rounds - it was not an adapter set up for caliber like yours.

I have found that the MCA 22LR in 22MRF inserts work well in 22MRF revolvers and the Savage 24 combination guns. While they don't shoot quite as well in revolvers and the actual 22MRF ammo, they shoot well enough to justify the cost difference, at least they do to me.

Jeff

I bought one for a .25 ACP in .257 Roberts & a .32 ACP in 7.5x55 for my Encore. Both will hit a squirrel target at 25 yards pretty regularly once you know where to hold. Haven't actually used them in the field yet but might carry one squirrel hunting just to see if I can make it work at least once. Naturally, I'll have a real squirrel gun close at hand....

Picked up three McAce .30Carb adapters for my .308w Handi Rifle. Barrel doesn't close on them like it should. Need to have a gunsmith look at why.

Would recommend the .30Carb over the .32ACP. Somewhere I also have a .32ACP adapter for the .308 and while it works okay I think the .30Carb is more versatile and easier to reload for.

StubbleDuck,
I'm not first hand familiar with the McAce adapter, but I would venture a guess that the inserts are made to the larger end of chamber dimensions to minimize slop (because you also have the slop of the 30 carbine cartridge in it's chamber to figure into the dimensional errors). If you have an RCBS precision Mic Gauge, you could test my theory (at least on the cartridge headspace dimension) by taking a reading off the insert, then taking a reading off of a case fired in your Handi Rifle chamber.

I'm betting the insert HS is longer than the chamber HS (fired case as a measurment surrogate).

Chris, I think your post makes a lot of sense! One reason I might not have had any trouble with my .32ACP/.308 adapter is that I tested it in a M77 boltgun, versus the break-open Handi-Rifle for the others. The camming effect of closing the M77 would have helped ensure that adapter was all the way into that chamber. At least that one went "bang" every time!

I'm going to sell my 3X .30Carb/.308 adapters and replace them with .32H&R Mag adapters. I'll remember to use your suggestion if its needed with those adpaters.

The Hammond game getter is excellent. I have one for my .270 and .444, and both shoot very well. I prefer the .444 as I can use round ball unmodified,and it'll hit gophers at 50 yds. Different power loads let you determine how much pop you need.