.380 in a 9x18 is a real bad idea. Diameter of .380 is .355, and 9x18 diameter is .363 or more. Creates blowby. Also, cases are too small and short (by 1 mm) for the chamber. Only thing making case head engage bolt face is the extractor. There have been instances of case rupture causing personal injury. Cases always bulge and become useless. Lots of "experts" will tell you it's okay, but they are dead wrong.
Dennis Kroh of Empire Arms told me about someone in Viet Nam who was using .380 ammo in a captured 9x18 Mak. The case ruptured and the flame jet took off his right thumb. Sounds like he had an unorthodox hold on the weapon, but Dennis claims to have first hand knowledge of the incident.
Here's the makarov.com take on this issue:
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Can I fire .380 ACP ammo in my 9x18M Makarov?
NO NO NO NO NO !!! There are those that disagree with me including an author of an article in Handguns magazine and gun dealers who wants to sell you a Makarov. The 9x18M cartridge is not a "true" 9mm because it's really 9.2mm. Therefore the bullets are sized .364" and .365" (barrel sizes vary...slugging yours is best to find out your bore size). Yes, you can probably get away with it a few times, but accuracy will suffer, you'll get gas blow-by, your barrel will wear out faster and for what? Save a few pennies? Hardly. 9x18M ammo is usually cheaper since you can get it surplus. If you absolutely want to shoot .380 ACP ammo from your Makarov, then buy a .380 Makarov or a .380 replacement barrel.
For a car analogy, have you ever seen or owned a car that burned oil? How long did the engine last after it started blowing blue smoke? Probably not long. The reason is that the pistons and rings are now smaller than the cylinders and each explosion sends gasses by-passing the piston ("blow-by"). You're literally burning the sides of your pistons now and engine death is imminent. That's basically what you're doing by shooting undersized bullets.
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Here's their website: http://www.makarov.com/ They were a great online store, and against my advice opened a storefront in West Vigrinia. Didn't end well, but at least they left up their website which is a real resource.
The two main guys occasionally show up on the Gunboards Makarov forum when interesting questions/comments are posted.
The Mak forum isn't as active as it once was, but is still a good place to get info. http://forums.gunboards.com/forumdisplay.php?46-The-Makarov-Forum
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