.38 short colt in .38 S&W?

[paisano]

Going to start a firestorm here, but I need opinions.

 

Got a Belgian made top break in .38 S&W. It has a very tight cylinder, only 1 in about 6 or 7 S&W rounds will fit all the way into the cylinder. Just out of curiosity, I tried .38 short colt rounds and they fit perfectly which makes sense as they are a little smaller. Wondered if it would hurt to fire them through the pistol. Not worried about pressure since they are loaded light with Trail Boss. Just need to know that a little smaller bullet with travel down the barrel without doing anything wierd. It's not like I am trying to shoot match groups with the thing either.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks, Paisano

[Charlie Whiskers]

Found this off of a 38 S&W forum.

 

Bore diameters on both calibers varies from 0.348"-0.352".

Nominal .38 Special groove diameter is 0.357"-0.358". This can vary in production periods
and manufacturer to as small as 0.354" in Colts.

Nominal .38 S&W groove diameter is 0.361"-0.362" in S&W Victory models. It can be even
larger in the old-style break top models of non-S&W
manufacture.

These groove dimensions is one reason why .38 Special
bullets usually only shoot with so-so accuracy when loaded and fired in .38
S&W guns.

 

It also says the normal bullt diameter for the38 S&W is 360-361 vs 358 for 38 Spl.

[Rio Brazos Kid]

Paisano,

I don't think that would be a good idea.

First off the 38 S&W case is .386 in diameter, and uses a lead bullet of .361 diameter.

The 38 Short Colt case measures .379 in diameter, and uses a lead bullet of .358 diameter.

 

You are probably trying to load it with reloads, which are improperly resized, or were bulged at the crimp station when loaded and crimped. You may can resize them enough to fit by running them (Partially), into a 38 Super taper crimp die, which is .384 in diameter. Just partially sizing them in the 38 super die will most likely straighten up the bulge, and allow the cases to seat fully in the chambers.

 

If it won't take new factory ammo, then It needs to go to a gunsmith who will correct the chamber dimentions.

 

RBK

[Red Hooker]

Is it actually marked ".38 S&W"? Your Belgian revolver is probably chambered for the europan .380 revolver cartridge, similar to .38 Colt.

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

38 S&W and .38 Short Colt are very similar, but not identical cartidges.

 

Take a .38 Short Colt and make it longer, and it becomes a .38 Long Colt. Make it even longer, and it becomes a .38 Special. Make it even longer, and it becomes a .357 Magnum.

 

You can safely use the Short Colt round in a gun chambered for it, or any of it's longer siblings. Under normal circumstances, you use a .357 to .358" bullet in these guns. However, the Short Colt was originally a heel based bullet, similar to the .22 RF. Therefore, many very old .38 Short Colt guns have a bore that is much larger than the .358" bullets and will give you useless accuacy. For that reason, you need to load it with a hollow base bullet that will "expand" to grab the rifling.

 

The .38 S&W, on the other hand, uses a .360" bullet, and has a slightly fatter case as well, and it can not be chambered in anything made for the Short Colt or its decendants.

 

Now, here is where it can get interesting. If you are reloading, say, Remington or Starline or most other brands of brass, the .360" bullets fit just fine. But if you are using nickeled Winchester brass, the 360" bullet will cause the case to bulge. and they will not chamber. Therefore, with this brass, you need to go to the same .358" hollow base bullets that you'd use in the Short Colt.

 

So, the questions are, what kind of brass are you using? What size bullet are you using with that brass?

 

And then, perhaps even more importantly, are you positive as to what caliber the gun is in?