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Unusual cause of rifle jam (Now something else to watch for)


Possum Skinner, SASS#60697

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Had my rifle fail to extract a case yesterday which jammed my rifle with 7 rounds left.  After finally getting the $%#@ thing out I inspected it and found that it was a 38 AMU case made by Remington UMC.  Never seen or heard of a 38 AMU before that.  Basically identical to a 38 special, but with an undersized rim.  Oh, well.  I have enough Caddies.

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AMU (to my knowledge) is Army Marksmanship Unit.

Maybe that case was something special when they used through the S&W M52 for NM.

Anyhow, our NG marksmanship team had M52's at one time.  But we fired the normal .38 Special ammo that was a full wad.

 

Mustang

 

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52 minutes ago, Goody, SASS #26190 said:

IIRC this is an issue with A-Merc headstamp as well.

Goody,

Yes, I always watch out for AMERC's, but fortunately I don't see them often anymore.  I don't think their rim is smaller, but the rim is rounded and the extractor will slip off.

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2 hours ago, Mustang Gregg said:

AMU (to my knowledge) is Army Marksmanship Unit.

Maybe that case was something special when they used through the S&W M52 for NM.

Anyhow, our NG marksmanship team had M52's at one time.  But we fired the normal .38 Special ammo that was a full wad.

 

Mustang

 

Hey thanks guys.

 

I thought my AMU guess might have been pretty off base.  It was just a guess.

But I did run across from 38's after a range sweep a while back that had the smaller beveled rim but I don't recollect what the head stamp was.

 

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5 minutes ago, Mustang Gregg said:

Hey thanks guys.

 

I thought my AMU guess might have been pretty off base.  It was just a guess.

But I did run across from 38's after a range sweep a while back that had the smaller beveled rim but I don't recollect what the head stamp was.

 

You were right about them being Army Marksmanship Unit.  Still haven't figured out why they were different.  Did they use them in semi-autos?

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19 minutes ago, Mustang Gregg said:

Hey thanks guys.

 

I thought my AMU guess might have been pretty off base.  It was just a guess.

But I did run across from 38's after a range sweep a while back that had the smaller beveled rim but I don't recollect what the head stamp was.

 

 

13 minutes ago, Possum Skinner, SASS#60697 said:

You were right about them being Army Marksmanship Unit.  Still haven't figured out why they were different.  Did they use them in semi-autos?

 

Yep, according to my cartridge head stamp book, the .38 AMU mfg'd by Rem-UMC was a 38 Special full wadcutter cartridge especially adapted for the Smith & Wesson M52 and 52-2 semi-auto handguns.  Among the first semi-auto handguns specifically made for 38 S&W Special.  Now. I gotta go and look up if there are any others.  Interesting!

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5 hours ago, Possum Skinner, SASS#60697 said:

You were right about them being Army Marksmanship Unit.  Still haven't figured out why they were different.  Did they use them in semi-autos?

Yes, a S&W M52 is a bottom-feeder that uses a rimmed round (.38 Special). 

It goes back to when the Army shot composite instead of combat matches so much.

A lot of the 2700 shooting guys used the S&W M52 instead of the M1911A1 which had more recoil and was harder to bring back on target in the rapid fire strings.

BTW:  They only fired full wad ammo.  It was 148 grain lead, I recollect.

Don't ask me how I know.  My age may tell that.

 

Mustang (old Bullseye shooter)

 

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Model 52 takes a regular 38 special with a flush seated wadcutter. Ran many thousands of rounds that I loaded through the 52 in Bullseye days. The AMU was a slightly different variation used by that unit, and I don't believe many others.

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S&W 52 was an interesting arm.  2 inch groups @50 yds from a machine rest according to S&W   .  Shot one for a few years shooting International Bullseye.    GW

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I had a jam from a failure to eject but with a case with about a third of the rim ground off.  I guess it was for dry firing

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14 hours ago, Rip Snorter said:

Model 52 takes a regular 38 special with a flush seated wadcutter. Ran many thousands of rounds that I loaded through the 52 in Bullseye days. The AMU was a slightly different variation used by that unit, and I don't believe many others.

You are correct I also had one.  The AMU round was used in modified Colt 1911 rebarreled in .38 cal. they were made for the Army Marksman Units for competition.  I also owned at one time a Colt 1911 mid range .38 special that took normal .38 S&W cases.

The 38 AMU or A.M.U. for Army Marksmanship Unit is a (semi-rimmed) cartridge vs. the .38 S&W Special (rimmed) cartridge and introduced for the 1964 Army National Match used in special 1911 pistols made by Colt  with Drake Slides.

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