Possum Skinner, SASS#60697 Posted August 14, 2022 Share Posted August 14, 2022 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustang Gregg Posted August 14, 2022 Share Posted August 14, 2022 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goody, SASS #26190 Posted August 14, 2022 Share Posted August 14, 2022 IIRC this is an issue with A-Merc headstamp as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possum Skinner, SASS#60697 Posted August 14, 2022 Author Share Posted August 14, 2022 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustang Gregg Posted August 14, 2022 Share Posted August 14, 2022 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possum Skinner, SASS#60697 Posted August 14, 2022 Author Share Posted August 14, 2022 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eliphalet R. Moderator Posted August 14, 2022 Share Posted August 14, 2022 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustang Gregg Posted August 14, 2022 Share Posted August 14, 2022 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) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted August 14, 2022 Share Posted August 14, 2022 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G W Wade Posted August 15, 2022 Share Posted August 15, 2022 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheyenne Culpepper 32827 Posted August 15, 2022 Share Posted August 15, 2022 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheatin Charlie Posted August 15, 2022 Share Posted August 15, 2022 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Rich Posted August 15, 2022 Share Posted August 15, 2022 Some 38 sp ammo has a smaller rim, if the cutout for the extractor in the top of the barrel is not deep enough to allow the extractor to drop over the rim it may not pull the case out of the chamber. kR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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